During his keynote Wednesday at CTIA Wireless 2009, Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, indicated the company has certified some 36 devices in its Open Development Lab, including a smart-grid device that monitors energy consumption and a wireless tablet for the healthcare industry that serves as a portable medical chart.
Verizon Wireless President Lowell McAdam gave a bit more color to what types of devices the operator is certifying during the operator's press conference today. The big question is whether we'll see smartphones and other high-end devices.
"We said we wanted to be smart and move where the market drove us," McAdam said. "Right now there is pent-up demand for machine-to-machine communications. You'll see phones, PDAs and laptops. Things like e-readers are hot. We have four or five of those working through the lab."
McAdam also addressed whether Skype could or would operate on Verizon Wireless handsets. "Do we care whether voice is packet or traditional? No. But we have moved away from unlimited data plans. The excitement in an unlimited environment (for Skype) means one thing, but in an environment where you are paying for every byte, is a different environment."
Related article: Seidenberg's keynote