This has several strategic advantages for Apple and tips more power over to Apple. I thought the following bit from the post was funny (IT Examiner):
But what is strange about the whole deal is that Verizon claimed it was relieved not to get the Iphone exclusivity deal because Apple CEO Steve Jobs insisted on too much control over Iphone distribution.
This is not strange– this is what all business leaders say when they lose big distribution partners. As with all big relationships, the tradeoff for the big payday is that you get yourself into a relationship where your partner holds a lot more power than you do. When you enter into negotiations and you lose, you can convince yourself that you actually won by stating the above.
