Verizon has admitted that WP7 is not a priority for them, probably due to the fact that the platform won’t be on any CMDA devices until next year. In an interview with CNET, Verizon #2 Lowell McAdam had this to say about Microsoft and Windows Phone 7:
What about Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 phones? Microsoft is launching new Windows Mobile 7 phones next week on AT&T’s network. Will Verizon offer some new Windows Mobile 7 devices on the LTE network?McAdam: I can’t really say which phones we’ll offer yet. We like our relationship with Microsoft. But clearly in the U.S. there are three major mobile operating systems: RIM, Google, and Apple.So you don’t view Microsoft as a major player in mobile anymore?McAdam: No not at the moment. Microsoft is not at the forefront of our mind.
I guess Verizon users might miss out on the WP7 boat.
[via Seattle PI]
The problem here is that, whether you like Verizon or not, the Big-4 wireless networks in the United Sates are all-powerful. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile are the four kings of mobile.
Microsoft seems to have only one of them at launch, with possibly T-Mobile doing something later.
Microsoft has had a strained relationship with the wireless carriers. That was what killed the Kin phones.
T-Mobile is presenting at the official launch of WP7 in New York, so hopefully they’ll be pretty heavily involved. The no-CDMA thing pretty heavily precludes Verizon and Sprint from getting in on the action.
I remember a story about Sprint’s CEO dismissing Android. It seems like Sprint is releasing a new Android phone every day, so I don’t read too much into this quote. Verizon will be on board and so will Sprint. The first two or three months will belong to AT&T and T-Mobile. I’d be concerned if Verizon and Sprint don’t show new WIndows Phone 7 devices at CES in early January.