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Irrespective of the fact that Apple & AT&T signed a 5 year contract in 2007 for iPhone making AT&T the exclusive carrier for iPhone, Verizon iPhone release date is being expected very strongly this year and there are many reasons for that. The speculations ofiPhone releasing with Verizoon this year found strength with reports quoting source in Taiwan that Apple ordered a 24 million CDMA units. Then a different design of iPhone this year was reported adding to the excitement. And now AT&T has itself fuelled speculations by deciding to double early cancelation fee for iPhone. So overall iPhone 4G release date is highly being anticipated with Verizon this year. But what happens to the Apple AT&T exclusive contract in that case? Apple had signed an agreement with AT&T to carry the iPhone in 2007, as per an old court document. But if the contract is valid today, remains a question. An ongoing class action suit filed in 2007 against Apple and AT&T said that the two companies entered into wrong practices by holding a monopoly over the iPhone. The suit alleged that these companies created monopoly by locking consumers into a contract for an indefinite amount of time. Anyway, Engadget found out that the Cupertino-based firm filed a brief in October 2008 citing a USA Today article, which reveals that Apple and AT&T inked the deal in 2007. “AT&T has exclusive U.S. distribution rights for five years — an eternity in the go-go cellphone world. And Apple is barred for that time from developing a version of the iPhone for CDMA wireless networks,” the USA Today article dated May 23, 2007 said. The deal means that AT&T will be the sole carrier of the iPhone until 2012 in the US but the contract now looks in trouble as speculations are abound that Apple will end the contract this year and a Verizon iPhone is due this year.
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