Don't let it get away!
Keep track of the stocks that matter to you.
Help yourself with the Fool's FREE and easy new watchlist service today.
Fans of Apple's (NYSE: AAPL ) iPhone now have a choice.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) officially rolled out a new version of the iPhone 4 on its popular network this week. The days of AT&T (NYSE: T ) exclusivity are over.
You're already seeing AT&T take a new tack in its advertising campaign. It is actively promoting the ability to surf the Web during voice calls, a feature that isn't available on Verizon's network.
It will be interesting to see whether Verizon fights back, though it may want to make sure that the influx of data-hogging iPhone users doesn't slow down its own network first.
Having two fierce competitors will ultimately reward consumers. Verizon already threw a curveball at AT&T by offering an unlimited data plan with its iPhone. That's unlikely to last, though it very well might if it's both effective at luring customers and cost-effective. AT&T has meanwhile been beefing up its tethering offering and relaxing its mobile-to-mobile stance.
I'm already looking forward to June, when both carriers are likely to be hawking the fifth-generation iPhone. This was already a good fight when only one of them had the iconic smartphone. It's about to get even better.
Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.
- Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI ) is axing its Guitar Hero franchise. The niche-defining music-timing game once had families everywhere clicking away on plastic guitars. Now that gamers aren't clamoring for an encore, it's time to call it a night.
- Nokia (NYSE: NOK ) CEO Stephen Elop turned heads this week, when an internal memo leaked. "We poured gasoline on our own burning platform," he wrote. I love Elop's frank assessment. Nokia has a right to be blunt. However, just because you realize the problem, that doesn't mean that there's a feasible solution.
- Disney (NYSE: DIS ) posted better-than-expected quarterly results. As a bellwether for consumer spending, it's encouraging to see most of Disney's segments growing nicely.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
See a stock in this story you'd like to follow? Add it to My Watchlist, which will find all of our Foolish analysis on it.
RSS Headlines
Fool UK
Comments from our Foolish Readers
Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the
Report this Comment icon found on every comment.
Be the first one to comment on this article.