While we probably won't know until Apple wants us to know, it is very likely that U.S. customers will see an iPhone on Verizon's network within a year. The thing that everyone wants to know is: "What will this mean for sales?"
According to a recent survey from research firm Morpace (published on
TechCrunch), offering an iPhone on Verizon's network will mean huge things for both Apple and Verizon. One thousand consumers were surveyed, and a few surprising statistics were found.
The first surprising number they found was that 34% of those surveyed who had iPhones said they were holding off on upgrading their present iPhone until an alternative to AT&T is available. A total of 47% of current iPhone owners said they would consider buying an iPhone from Verizon in the future. While that gives us an idea of how many people would leave AT&T for Verizon, that number does little for Apple who would maintain the same overall number of customers.
When non-iPhone users were polled, the survey returned numbers that should make Apple
very happy. Twenty percent of T-Mobile and 22% of Sprint customers said they were either somewhat or very likely to purchase an iPhone if it were available on Verizon's network. While Verizon users are on a mix of feature phones, as well as BlackBerry and Android devices, 51% of Verizon users surveyed said they are somewhat or very likely to drop their existing Verizon device for an iPhone when it becomes available. Keep in mind that the survey is talking about 51% of
all Verizon customers, not just smartphone buyers. If these numbers hold true, it could be a severe blow to both BlackBerry and Android market share and possibly put the iPhone on top of the phone market.
While there is a big gap between a survey and reality, the numbers are definitely encouraging for the release of a Verizon iPhone. How about you? Are you planning on getting a Verizon iPhone after they become available? Let us know in the comments box below.
