Enterprise Mobility: Verizon iPhone 4 Sales Draw ATandT Refugees, Valentine Gift Shoppers
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Verizon Wireless opened its stores early on Feb. 10 to accommodate customers who wanted to purchase their new iPhones in person. Sales to existing Verizon Wireless customers had been available online previously. The Feb. 10 opening made the new version of the iPhone available to all customers, including customers from other carriers who had been waiting for another company—besides AT&T—to make the popular Apple smartphone available. On Feb. 10, eWEEK visited a Fairfax, Va., Verizon store in suburban Washington, DC, to see how the launch was going. The Fair Oaks Mall that hosts the Verizon store opened its doors at 5 a.m. so that customers could line up inside the heated building while they waited for the special 7 a.m. store opening that marked the start of Verizon iPhone 4 sales. The first customers in line at the store visited by eWEEK reported that their new iPhones were being purchased as gifts for loved ones to be presented on Valentine's Day. Others said they were escaping AT&T or other carriers, but wanted a chance to work with the iPhone.
Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazine's Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.
