UPDATE: Want to learn more about the Verizon iPhone? Here's everything you need to know. --At a press conference in New York City, Verizon CEO Lowell MacAdam announced that the iPhone 4 will be available on Verizon's network starting February 2011.
A 16GB version of the iPhone 4 will cost $200, with a two-year contract. Apple's smartphone will launch on Verizon on February 10th of this year, with pre-orders for existing Verizon customers starting on February 3rd. The Verizon iPhone will offer a mobile hotspot to which up to five devices can be connected. However, the iPhone will not run on Verizon's new, ultra-fast 4G LTE network, and, as with all CDMA phones, users will not be able use data while on a call, which means no browsing the web while you're talking on the phone.
"We've been looking forward to today for a long time," said Apple COO Steve Cook, who joined MacAdam onstage, according to Engadget.
MacAdam said, "Our relationship with Apple has developed over the last two years. In 2008 we started talking about bringing the iPhone to a CDMA network. We spent a year testing."
Critics--among them Verizon rival AT&T--have expressed doubts that Verizon's network has the capacity to withstand the additional burden from millions of iPhone users.
Verizon's Dan Dee emphasized the robustness of the network during "Big Red's" press conference. "We're ready for this launch," he said. "Our iPhone 4 customers will get a terrific wireless experience."
See Verizon Wireless' official iPhone 4 webpage.