iPhone Drives AT&T's Record-Smashing Quarter for Smartphone Sales with 7.6 Million Activations

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It is true that AT&T only offers an unlimited texting plan but is nos just texting, it comes with unlimited minutes to ANY mobile number .This allows you to get the one of the lowest minutes package (450 or 700 minutes) that are use ONLY for calling landlines.

Record quarter huh?

AT&T was given the gift of the iPhone for this record quarter but they never cease to find ways to screw us customers over with their price hikes and limited plans.

I'm not really surprised at the "activation" numbers considering AT&T has had the iPhone for 4 1/2 years and a customer base in the tens of millions already that have an iPhone. Not to mention they have 3 iPhones to choose from (3GS, 4, 4S).

I would say Verizon has done quite well compared to AT&T considering they have not had the phone a full year yet.

Give it time, Verizon will pass AT&T in iPhone "activations".

Glad to see AT&T outperforming Verizon in the iPhone race!

voonyx said:

The point being made is that 4G and 4 inch screens are not a necessity like some androids say it is, nor is it something that obviously will hurt iPhone's sales as androids swore it would.

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No surprise that you and others immediately want to make this about iOS/Apple vs Android. Heaven help us on that day when a fantastic sales report or metric comes out and it can just be celebrated by itself without dragging in the competition.

wickerman1893 said:

Glad to see AT&T outperforming Verizon in the iPhone race!

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Sprint is getting a taste, but T-Mobile must be really kicking themselves for the incompatible frequencies. BTW, my iPhone 2G is on T-Mobile.

*LTD* said:

That's power. A single vendor can virtually make or break a carrier.

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Verizon did just fine for all those years AT&T had the iPhone exclusively. If Apple didn't add more carriers, iPhone sales couldn't grow at a rapid rate since AT&T's network would have become even more overtaxed.

linux2mac said:

I know. Makes me laugh when I see comments like this:



LOL! Classic example of another "supposed expert" here to clear up any misunderstandings us Apple users have about Apple's success. I have never seen so many "supposed experts" in one place like I do here.

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So far you are behaving like one of those self proclaimed experts that you are writing about.

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linux2mac said:

Uh-Oh, brace yourself, any minute the self-proclaimed Windows/Android experts will be here to clear up any misunderstandings us Apple users have about Apple's success. I am glad these folks are here to help us out. There must be a good explanation of why my iPhone "just works", looks better than the ugly POS Androids out there, is not full of malware, and is by far the best smart phone.

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There u go again with your "expertise"

Sweatshop Apple

This news rings well with an article I just read in New York Times describing in what conditions the Chinese workers have to endure to keep Apple's (and others' as well) high demand keeping the cost down.

Bravo Apple!

kalex said:

So far you are behaving like one of those self proclaimed experts that you are writing about.

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There u go again with your "expertise"

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Gee, almost as original as Samsung, Android, and Microsoft put together. Almost.

rdowns said:

A story on ATT's quarterly results and nary a mention of the $6.68 billion loss they posted.

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Must've used Obama's SOTU speechwriter...
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As an ATT customer this kind of makes me sad b/c surely it means it's not going to be any easier to get text or 3G data service (or 4G when time comes) anywhere there is a concentrated crowd like a concert or ball game.

iPhones for everybody

KoolKid said:

iPhones for everybody

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Nope they're wayyy overpriced.

Activations

I'm glad that three out of the four main carriers have iPhones now. I would not want everyone on my carrier, Verizon, to overload it. I do IT for a living and from my own experience asking people what their experience is with their carrier where I live, New Orleans, AT&T is the worst. The biggest issue regardless of phone brand is garbled audio and dropped calls.

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/southeast/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/northeast/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/north-central/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/mid-atlantic/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/southwest/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/west/

Over the past several months, my AT&T iPhone at home has seen reception drop from a solid four bars to one. When I started with AT&T four years ago, I had one bar at home. The signal strength gradually increased over the years. But I guess I've gone full-circle. Maybe it's an AT&T cycle.

capteeou said:

I'm glad that three out of the four main carriers have iPhones now. I would not want everyone on my carrier, Verizon, to overload it. I do IT for a living and from my own experience asking people what their experience is with their carrier where I live, New Orleans, AT&T is the worst. The biggest issue regardless of phone brand is garbled audio and dropped calls.

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/southeast/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/northeast/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/north-central/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/mid-atlantic/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/southwest/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/west/

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Well, I have Verizon right now and their call quality is horrible. The sound is garbled, there are constant echos not to mention tons of dropped calls. All when the phone shows 4-5 bars. And have you ever dealt with Verizon's customer service? Condesending, arrogant and rude. No to mention incompetent and just don't care.

Herrow said:

Overall, ATT has been a good carrier over the past few years. They aren't GREAT at any one thing, but the cover all there bases and it averages out to a decent user experience.

Plus we are grandfathered with unlimited data, so that ball and chain has us pretty well "Tethered."

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I have two iPhones, both were originally with AT&T service. I ported one over to Verzion and got the 4S there. I came home with the Version iPhone to discover that I had absolutely no 3G service while at home and my calls dropped nearly 100% of the time. A few days later, I was able to make calls at home without them dropping but I still have no 3G at home. I get the small GPRS circle. Anywhere else, I get about 2Mbps downloads which is right in line with what I get with AT&T.

I'm due for an upgrade on AT&T next week and I'll be buying a 4S for that line as well and will gladly stay with AT&T on that line. I still have unlimited but I'm seriously giving the 3GB plan some thought because I want to use data and not be limited on the unlimited plan.

stockscalper said:

Well, I have Verizon right now and their call quality is horrible. The sound is garbled, there are constant echos not to mention tons of dropped calls. All when the phone shows 4-5 bars. And have you ever dealt with Verizon's customer service? Condesending, arrogant and rude. No to mention incompetent and just don't care.

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Maybe you have a bad phone or you are in an area where Verizon sucks. My personal experience with customer support has been great.

The quarter results show that the heavy subsidies that Wireless providers are giving to Apple hurt their (providers) profits. None of them is benefiting from these subsidies. There is only one way how this may be resolved - they will slash the subsidies and Apple profits will drop (as will the number of iPhone users).

capteeou said:

I'm glad that three out of the four main carriers have iPhones now. I would not want everyone on my carrier, Verizon, to overload it. I do IT for a living and from my own experience asking people what their experience is with their carrier where I live, New Orleans, AT&T is the worst. The biggest issue regardless of phone brand is garbled audio and dropped calls.

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/southeast/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/northeast/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/north-central/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/mid-atlantic/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/southwest/

http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-network-quality-ratings-(volume-2)/west/

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I live in Kansas City and Sprint who has it's billion dollar HQ here is horrible, Verizon is ok in most area's over a 50 or 60 square mile metro, but data speeds are horrible. I've had AT&T since it purchased Cingular some 7 or 8 years ago and have had great service. The data speeds on 3G even prior to the 4S in early 2010 was pushing 2.5 to 3mbits and on the 4S have seen upwards of 4mbits down. Call quality has never been an issue except the usual dead spots, which of the three AT&T has the least here in Kansas City.

Point being... every person in every city will have a different experience. I don't care what any commercials or survey's show each carrier has their great markets and their crappy ones. This debate of who is best is retarded, use the service that is best in your market. It's really that simple.

physicsprof said:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/b...and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html

Speaking about "news and rumors you care about"---this is something that we SHOULD care about.

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Thank you for the link. Keep in mind that unsafe working conditions abroad, and in Apple's vendor's factories are really hard to police. Compare Apple's position to OSHA's position. In the U.S. OSHA, a government entity, still finds hundreds (if not thousands) of unsafe conditions in U.S. factories each year. In addition, hundreds and hundreds of workers in the U.S. are killed in work-related accidents.

Now if our government cannot bring these numbers to zero within the U.S., what kind of success should we expect Apple to have with foreign vendors? You might say, "Well Apple can threaten to cut off business with those vendors." What if those vendors represent the BEST compliance with safety standards within Apple's alternate vendor options?

In addition Apple is also trying to effect change within a culture of skirting rules and low regard for employee safety. I think Apple is tightening the vice on requiring compliance, but any change will be incremental and not rapid.

Thank you AT&T for helping Apple change smartphone technology!

basesloaded190 said:

I am clearly in the minority, but I have 0 problems with AT&T so I'm glad to see that they are still activating all these phones. Now let's get real 4G rolling out this year!

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Your not in the minority, but rather the far majority. People who complain about AT&T, either have:

-a common problem all carriers have, associated with cellular service as a whole - DROPPED CALLS
- work for Verizon or another jealous competitor
- have never had an AT&T iPhone to compare their FAR inferior viPhone

or

Are clueless to the fact that Verizon has them in a far inferior network, with almost none of the selling features of the iPhone working to their advantage or they bought two iPhones to get the features working right

You go blue! Thanks for helping Apple change smartphones

High subsidies = No commission

GuyiOSncognito said:

Due to the high cost of doing business with Apple, "record smashing" iPhone sales are a direct contributor to short term losses. Companies need higher margin Android and Blackberry devices to offset. It's no coincidence that both ATT and Verizon showed huge iPhone numbers for 4Q but both had losses.

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You are absolutely correct about the subsidy. Ever wonder why the reps at at&t authorized retail locations try to divert customers to Android or Windows Phone? It is because they do not get paid any commission to sell iPhones. At&t has fragmented their products to where reps like myself who love iPhone have to try to steer customers to another OS in order to make a living and pay bills. I love Apple products and have no problems with at&t's network. I would however like to get this word out to everyone. Reps should be able to be excited about whatever product is best for their customer. This fragmentation causes customers to be confused and have an all around bad experience with at&t. By changing this, getting everybody on the same page, perhaps at&t can get off of the 10 most hated companies list.

stockscalper said:

Well, I have Verizon right now and their call quality is horrible. The sound is garbled, there are constant echos not to mention tons of dropped calls. All when the phone shows 4-5 bars. And have you ever dealt with Verizon's customer service? Condesending, arrogant and rude. No to mention incompetent and just don't care.

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Just proves everyone's experience is different.

I could post the exact same thing you just did, but subbing in "AT&T" for "Verizon."

I've had nothing but positive experiences with Verizon, call quality is outstanding (whereas I used to get call drops on AT&T every call in Chicago...every, single call) and their CS have been extremely helpful and gracious when I've dealt with them.

And on the news article, although its clear AT&T outsells Verizon, they've had exclusivity for so long that I'm sure there are many who just re-up when the newest iPhone 4/4S was released. I'm actually pretty impressed that Verizon has added 10+MM new iPhone users in only a years' time! That's impressive!