Verizon WP8 Launch - 2 years in the making

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Just got a bombshell from a friend who works in corporate sales with VZW - actually got to look at some internal memos from the past few years. Feel free to take it with a grain of salt - I understand.

Verizon has known about WP8 and many of the aspects of it, including the inability of WP7 devices to upgrade. They've been working in the background on getting top tier devices from cell makers and have been working with Microsoft as well for two years. It seems that both they and MS had no intention of WP7 being their mass market version.

And Verizon states unequivocally in the memos that their goal is for WP8 to become their top smartphone product due to MS support and the cost savings the platform prevents them. The desire is very clear to minimize iOS marketshare and remove leverage from Apple while also reducing the costs inherent in Android for them.

The goal is ambitious. They are aiming for a 60-70% mix for Windows Phone sales for VZW by the end of next year, with most of that coming from Android but incentives are apparently planned to get people off of iPhone. It seems VZW wants to break Apple's ability to set price with a contract and wants to get to a point where they can make demands of Apple, not visa versa. And there is a strong feeling in VZW that AT&T is looking to do the same thing, so there's quite a bit of contemplation about what will happen if AT&T and Verizon refuse to abide by the price structure for the 2013 refresh.

The clearest thing is that Verizon sees Windows Phone as the best smartphone for carriers and cell makers. Microsoft is a good partner. Google is pretty hands off and a pain to deal with for the cell carriers and manufacturers in regards to updates while Apple thinks that the cell companies can't survive without them.

Seems MS knew who's butt to kiss.

 

[theefman]

So can we expect the 920 on VZW? If they want top tier, doesn't get any higher than that. ��

 

[odin09]

I hope this is true and will be paying close attention to Verizons efforts.

Sent from my mwp6985 using Board Express

 

[scottcraft]

Hopefully that means a 920 on Verizon in November! I think it will be interesting to see how those sales reps change their tune about WP once there focus is no longer on android.

Sent from my HTC Trophy using Board Express

 

[VagrantWade]

Just got a bombshell from a friend who works in corporate sales with VZW - actually got to look at some internal memos from the past few years. Feel free to take it with a grain of salt - I understand.

Verizon has known about WP8 and many of the aspects of it, including the inability of WP7 devices to upgrade. They've been working in the background on getting top tier devices from cell makers and have been working with Microsoft as well for two years. It seems that both they and MS had no intention of WP7 being their mass market version.

And Verizon states unequivocally in the memos that their goal is for WP8 to become their top smartphone product due to MS support and the cost savings the platform prevents them. The desire is very clear to minimize iOS marketshare and remove leverage from Apple while also reducing the costs inherent in Android for them.

The goal is ambitious. They are aiming for a 60-70% mix for Windows Phone sales for VZW by the end of next year, with most of that coming from Android but incentives are apparently planned to get people off of iPhone. It seems VZW wants to break Apple's ability to set price with a contract and wants to get to a point where they can make demands of Apple, not visa versa. And there is a strong feeling in VZW that AT&T is looking to do the same thing, so there's quite a bit of contemplation about what will happen if AT&T and Verizon refuse to abide by the price structure for the 2013 refresh.

The clearest thing is that Verizon sees Windows Phone as the best smartphone for carriers and cell makers. Microsoft is a good partner. Google is pretty hands off and a pain to deal with for the cell carriers and manufacturers in regards to updates while Apple thinks that the cell companies can't survive without them.

Seems MS knew who's butt to kiss.

I don't believe you. But it's a nice bedtime story.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Hopefully that means a 920 on Verizon in November! I think it will be interesting to see how those sales reps change their tune about WP once there focus is no longer on android.

Sent from my HTC Trophy using Board Express

I've been told that the 920 is coming. There wasn't any discussion in the memos of hardware details because all of the memos are from prior to the WP8 device announcements but HTC, Samsung, and Nokia are all mentioned. LG had been mentioned in earlier memos, but those mentions disappeared in some of the memos from earlier this year.

I read just under a dozen papers from them over the past two years, but they were given a WP8 presentation by MS that sold them. Their own lack of WP7 support beyond the Trophy was to limit customer dissatisfaction. Most of their Trophy sales occurred within the first six months of its release on VZW, so most of those customers will be eligible for an upgrade by summer of next year. There's also a lot of Droid and iPhone raw tracking numbers that they have concerning upgrade targets.

In short, WP8 devices might possibly have an additional $50 off upgrade special that Droid phones will not have. As I said, no details, but the 920 may be priced lower than other 32GB Android devices like the Galaxy, etc.

I also expect them to have at least one if not more lower cost WP8 devices. They are planning on getting rid of a lot of their lower end Android stuff.

 

[lancguy]

This article is very interesting. Verizon has been working hard to position themselves. I'm glad they are looking to break Apple's grip on the market. I always firmly believed that Apple products were too high priced for what you got. I have an iPod and barely use it. I'm really hoping that the 920 fills that gap.

Speaking of verizon and the 920, I was in the area of a verizon store today and stopped in. I asked a sales rep if they heard anything definitive yet, and she said not yet. But they usually don't find anythng out until 2 weeks from launch. I was rather impressed that she knew what it was and was following the rumors also.

 

[Reflexx]

I don't believe you. But it's a nice bedtime story.

I don't believe you about you not believing him. I believe that you believe. Believe that.

 

[HeyCori]

I don't believe you about you not believing him. I believe that you believe. Believe that.

Believing in Beliefs others Believe - YouTube

 

[VagrantWade]

I don't believe you about you not believing him. I believe that you believe. Believe that.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

This article is very interesting. Verizon has been working hard to position themselves. I'm glad they are looking to break Apple's grip on the market. I always firmly believed that Apple products were too high priced for what you got. I have an iPod and barely use it. I'm really hoping that the 920 fills that gap.

Speaking of verizon and the 920, I was in the area of a verizon store today and stopped in. I asked a sales rep if they heard anything definitive yet, and she said not yet. But they usually don't find anythng out until 2 weeks from launch. I was rather impressed that she knew what it was and was following the rumors also.

I think the 920 has a pretty good level of awareness.

For Verizon, it really all comes down to maximizing profitability. Android is expensive largely due to support since the ecosystem is very haphazard. There are a lot of issues with people switching phones due to a lack of consistency across manufacturers and even on different manufacturer product lines. Even though the phone makers prep updates, the carriers have to play a major role in roll outs.

With Apple, the carriers have to share a lot of revenue and it hits their bottom line. And neither Android or iOS give them carrier exclusives inside the app stores, though Android does give carriers more options.

Microsoft offers the best solution. The hardware and OS are consistent - that will cause carrier support costs to plummet as people move over. Due to the consistency, MS will be able to deliver updates easily. MS also offers phone makers and carriers the ability to offer exclusives in the WP Store and MAY be offering carriers a small cut of MS WP Store revenue that comes off their customers. For phone manufacturers, WP8 will be cheaper to license than to pay patent fees on Android and will offer protection against Apple lawsuits. It also appears the MS is willing to listen more to OEM partners and will work with you like they did with HTC and Nokia.

MS has worked with VZW as well. That is the notable thing in the memo. Apple is not spoken of as a partner. Google is not a partner. Samsung is a partner. And Microsoft is written of as "our new partner".

I saw plenty of coverage for the HTC and Nokia phones. I think WP8 awareness is growing. It won't conquer the world overnight, but if AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, HTC, Nokia, and Samsung are all on board in a big way then the potential for HUGE growth is there. I'm expecting WP marketshare to at least climb above 10% in the early part of next year and get past 15% by this time next year with continued climbing. I think these estimates are conservative. Android will sit at #1 for a while, but I think the Windows 8/RT experience coupled with multiple strong and lower cost device options will cause WP8 to eclipse iOS within two years. This is predicated on carrier support, but I think it is there.