Verizon Wireless to offer iPhone 4 in February

(NEWSCORE) - Verizon Wireless unwrapped its highly anticipated version of the Apple Inc. iPhone Tuesday morning, ending AT&T; Inc.'s exclusive hold over the blockbuster smartphone and shaking up the industry.

Verizon Wireless said the iPhone 4 will be available beginning Feb. 10, with certain Verizon Wireless customers being able to pre-order the device Feb. 3. A 16 gigabyte Verizon iPhone will sell for $199.99, while a 32 gigabyte will go for $299.99, each with a two-year customer agreement.

Prices for the Verizon's iPhone-related data plans were not immediately available.

For Verizon Wireless, getting the iPhone means a major shift in the competitive dynamics between the nation's two largest carriers with AT&T; losing its largest advantage. Apple, meanwhile, gets access to Verizon Wireless's 93 million customers, essentially doubling its potential customer base.

"Two industry innovators are coming together to deliver something to customers that they've been hungry for for years," Verizon Communications Inc. President Lowell McAdam said at a launch event in New York. Verizon jointly owns Verizon Wireless with Vodafone Group PLC.

Verizon said the iPhone 4 also will include new "Personal Hotspot" capabilities allowing customers to use the smartphone to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.

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