Yeah, I know another iPhone carrier thread, but it's something the analysts haven't even considered...
Follow the logic...
1.) Apple is gearing up to release a CDMA iPhone
Well, there's a lot of secondary evidence to support this. Apple is reportedly going to use Qualcomm chips in the next iPhone. There was that whole Qualcomm job listing for an iPhone developer that was quickly pulled. Qualcomm designs CDMA chips. There are also reports Qualcomm is working on a chipset capable of CDMA and GSM. I personally think a CDMA capable iPhone is coming but it's likely to support both CDMA and GSM in one body.
2.) Verizon turned down the iPhone once already
And I'll tell you that considering the Apple iPhone retention rate at AT&T, Verizon wishes they had caved in to Apple's demands. While Verizon will likely still balk at any onerous terms, Apple is likely to demand less. That's because Apple has outgrown AT&T. The deal made sense four or five years ago considering Apple's brand image and the need to start out fresh in a completely new market.
In today's market, Apple is an influential player even if they're not the largest player. For continued growth of the iPhone I don't think it is critical that Apple moves to Verizon. However, Verizon is the ideal partner. It has the largest network in the USA and the capacity needed to support higher data use that Sprint does not. Sprint also uses WIMAX and not LTE which is what both AT&T and Verizon will be using for their 4G networks.
3.) Jobs if nothing else has a pretty massive ego (I'm not saying he shouldn't have one, but he does, He likely holds a grudge against Verizon)
I think holding a grudge is overplayed. He likely hates Bill Gates and Steve "Developer" Ballmer for certain stuff that Microsoft has done to Apple but that doesn't mean he won't work with them if it benefits Apple. Heck, he likely hates Eric Schmidt (Google CEO) for releasing Android and competing with Apple while Schmidt was on Apple's board. That doesn't mean he won't work with Schmidt and Google either.
4.) Apple loves to leverage carriers that will negotiate with them, They could get a better deal from Sprint.
Agreed. They could get a better deal from Sprint but I think Verizon provides the better use network as well as use of resources. See comments above.
5.) Verizon hates to leave phones alone, likely they're demanding their own app store from Apple or a cut of the app sales from any iPhone on Verizon's network.
I dunno, I like to think out loud sometimes...
Verizon does love to dictate stuff but in this case, I think they'll make an exception. I think this factor, more than any other, will determine if Verizon and Apple works together. Verizon, and other carriers, are so used to milking the customers with custom ring tones and game downloads. Apple's iTunes, and to a lesser degree Androids app store, threatens a hugely profitable revenue stream. The cat is already out of the bag though and I think they are willing to compromise.
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