This information seems to make some sense. My only question is this, why? If vzw really wants to ditch apple, are they moving their point of sale terminals to ipads?
They want to ditch Apple in regards to the iPhone. I suspect we will see many POS systems move to tablets, though I think we may see them end up running Windows 8 down the road as Clover Trail continues to mature. There is a strong argument to be made that Windows devices are more secure and I suspect that the prices will end up being lower for a business than Apple.
Most of the reason why the iPad for POS right now is because it is the most developed at the moment. But there are severe limitations to those systems. Once again, I think 8 or RT will end up being a stronger solution down the line because of the kernel itself and other features. Imagine integration of Live Tiles into a POS system for real time information.
The iPad is the most well developed tablet of the moment, but it has peaked. That's the danger in arriving first. Android will prove more versatile and Windows will prove more secure and likely have more capability deeper in.
The problem with the iPhone is the amount of shared revenue that takes subscription money away from the carriers. Apple has been able to make a lot of demands in regards to the iPhone in the past. As its market share declines and its reputation also sinks, Apple will cease to be in a strong bargaining position. Verizon will keep it IF Apple is treated like any other phone maker. That also means that Verizon gets to negotiate what they pay for the phone, not be dictated to. Apple has been in a strong position for the past few years, but I suspect the carriers will get bolder.
In short, expect Apple to have to cut their sell through prices to the carriers if they expect to have them keep the iPhone. I'd guess that means carriers will pay $100 less per phone. That's over $2 Billion less per quarter in revenue to Apple, meaning Apple will lose over 5% of their revenue and most of it will come out of their profits.
If the carriers put their foot down, Apple's profits will decline by 15-20%. Apple gets $2 Billion per quarter from the carriers and it is all pretty much pure profit. Once the shine comes off Apple, they will have a rough go. As their profits fall, their stock will plummet and heads will roll.
The problem is that this is how it will be because of how they have structured their business. Their massive profits have come from bullying other companies and their own customers. They inflate prices and have done a great job of making people believe their products are better. But their lack of LTE in all but the iPhone 5 and how crummy the iPhone 4 and 4S are compared to cheap or free Android and WP8 devices will hurt their image long term. It won't happen over night, but we're seeing the first stages as investors begin to bail little by little.