The reasoning is that what would happen if and when AT&T's (or another carrier's) service becomes the same or better than Verizon's? They would lose ALL their edge right at that moment.
They would want to differentiate themselves by having exclusive phones, apps, services etc. that they can bilk money from. Though I think carriers/OEMs of both phones and computers can add more value by NOT shipping the crapware, it's almost universally bad and crash prone.
I think AT&T will be hard hit by the lack of iPhone exclusivity. Their Android offerings suck(perhaps intentionally) and their network has been getting real bad press over the past few years compared to even Tmobile or Sprint(which do have some very nice Android options).
They would want to differentiate themselves by having exclusive phones, apps, services etc. that they can bilk money from. Though I think carriers/OEMs of both phones and computers can add more value by NOT shipping the crapware, it's almost universally bad and crash prone.
I think AT&T will be hard hit by the lack of iPhone exclusivity. Their Android offerings suck(perhaps intentionally) and their network has been getting real bad press over the past few years compared to even Tmobile or Sprint(which do have some very nice Android options).