Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said he isn’t too concerned about the growing rumors that the Apple iPhone is coming to Verizon as soon as January of 2011.
Motorola has been the biggest beneficiary of the lack of an Apple iPhone Verizon, as the nation’s largest carrier has invested millions in high-profile marketing campaigns for devices like the Droid, Droid 2 and Droid X. Not being Verizon’s go-to handset maker can have a strong impact on your bottom line – Research In Motion has felt the hit from its BlackBerry Storm losing top-dog status on Big Red.
At a conference yesterday, Motorola CEO Jha said he was “comfortable with the dynamic that would create” thanks to the strong performance of the Droid lineup.
“It seems unnatural for them to walk away from Droid,” Jha said. “I don’t think the value we bring to Verizon becomes any less important when the iPhone is there.”
If AT&T loses the exclusivity, that also opens the door for Motorola to work closely with that carrier to provide healthy alternatives. How great would it be for Motorola to bring a beefed up Droid X to AT&T and call it something spiteful like the AndDroid?
Look, Jha can’t say he’s soiling his pants with the idea of an Apple iPhone on Verizon but he has to be worried. We already know that the Verizon CEO wants the handset and I’m sure plenty of Verizon customers will hop on board as soon as possible. You can also bet Sprint and T-Mobile customers who were on the fence will hop over thanks to Verizon’s reputation for having a great voice and data network.
I’m fairly certain a Verizon Apple iPhone will be a big hit but it could also grind Big Red’s network to a halt. Imagine how much stress 1 million Verizon iPhone users will have on launch day.
[Via Fierce Wireless]