It appears that when Verizon turned down the iPhone when Apple approached them first, the company had a good reason. The company believes that the exclusivity of the phone won"t do much to help AT&T. Instead, Verizon hints that it has a superior network and cellular technology. "The issue is not the Apple-ness of the iPhone itself, but with the cellular network that it is running on. That will be the true test of the iPhone: What will the iPhone experience be?" said Denny Strigl, Verizon"s chief operating officer, insinuating that AT&T"s network is sub-par. Strigl confirmed that Verizon is already working with an unnamed manufacturer on a phone that will directly compete against the iPhone. "We do have a very good response in the mill. You"ll see that from us in the late summer," said the Verizon CEO.