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Apple likely has deal for tablet with Verizon

by on21 January 2010

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Doubtful that AT&T will be excluded

As we get closer to the suspected announcement of the launch of the new Apple tablet product being all but assured at this point, news that Verizon will be offering it is coming from our sources. While we know that Verizon has talked to Apple about the iPhone in the past, it does not surprise us that Verizon will be offering the iTablet when it arrives.

Some sources are already insisting that this will be an exclusive deal and Verizon will have the iTablet first, but we doubt that this is the case and find it hard to believe that Apple would choose to exclude AT&T from offering the iTablet.

Much of the reason for this has to do with the price tag. Sources seem to agree that the iTablet is expected to retail for $800 and if you sign up for a two-year contract with a $60+ per month data plan it is likely that you will be able to buy it for $600. At $600, the price is still high enough that we think that Apple will want to move as many of these devices as it can, and limiting itself to one carrier doesn’t seem to make good business sense.

While the speculation on the hardware continues, the latest seems to indicate an ARM Cortex 8 processor licensed from Samsung with a PA Semi custom chip to enhance the video and graphics performance of the unit. As part of the licensing deal, Samsung is expected to be the supplier of the flash memory for the unit.

The news of Verizon potentially being the exclusive vendor is an interesting wrinkle to Apple’s product launch. With the expected announcement less than a week away, we expect tongues to be wagging with all kinds of wild information the closer we get to launch. Still, we have reason to believe that AT&T is not likely to be cut out from offering the iTablet.

Last modified on 21 January 2010
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