Apple to Enter Verizon-AT&T Spat With Two New iPhone Ads

[LagunaSol]

I just said AT&T sucks, and I'm not the only one.

Getting emotional over a cell phone carrier?

Is there an App for that?

I just summed up every post you've ever made on MacRumors in 4 simple lines. Now that we know where you stand, I saved us all some bandwidth by sparing you the need to constantly reiterate your tired position.

And who's emotional? I think AT&T sucks. And I think Verizon sucks too. Yeah, I just blew your mind.

 

[3460169]

I live in a Hillbilly Town in "the middle of nowhere" (Given, West Virginia) and have perfect 3G service from AT&T on two iPhones. Most of WV has flawless 3G service with few if any dropped calls or other problems.

Just my $0.02.

It's not the coverage of the area so much as the number of users (the load) in a particular cell that leads to dropped calls. You have an ideal scenario -- perfect 3G coverage with minimal number of users and therefore load. Come to NYC and you'll have a totally different experience. ;-)

 

[Hattig]

Good, positive adverts by Apple.

Touting a strength, rather than being negative about a competitor.

People respond well to positive messages.

 

[Cleverboy]

I did not hear people complaining when Verizon had the best phones. Now that AT&T clearly has a superior product on their hand everyone wants the exclusivity deals to go away. I think they should stay and the iPhone should only be on AT&T. This will force Verizon to push the phone makers they work with to develop better phones and in turn push to continue to improve the iPhone. In the end we will be the winners since the phones will continue to improve.

I thought the trend was "Verizon always had the worst selection of phones" until relatively recently.

Why You Can’t Get a Good Phone With Verizon
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/verizon-smartphones/

Verizon Wireless gets plaudits for its coverage and call quality, but consistently loses out to AT&T, T-Mobile and even Sprint when it comes to getting the newest high-end handsets.

“They lack the star products that their competitors have,” says Avi Greengart, research director, consumer devices for Current Analysis. “They recognize they don’t have compelling devices right now but feel they can make up for it with network quality.”

In the end, your conclusion is even more correct however. The iPhone has PUSHED Verizon to be more competitive, open, and permissive with regards to their smartphone devices than they have been in the past. And before anyone contradicts this, pleaase draw your attention to Verizon's "open" policy, announced just last year (which wouldn't need to exist if they WERE open already). Moreover, GSM is already "open", so AT&T's response was pretty much, "Yeah, we're already here, thank you.".

http://gizmodo.com/369961/verizons-open+door-policy-what-it-actually-means

Verizon Wireless just pulled back the curtain on its Open Development "Any App, Any Device" initiative, but the conference itself was developer oriented and heavy on the jargon.

~ CB

 

[lex750]

And who are you, spokesperson for AT&T's 80 million plus customers?

And who are you an AT&T "lobbyist"? Are you on the payroll? Focus on the FACTS like AT&T's ****** 3G service not on who has a better phone. Your way off topic on this thread. Maybe you could start your own.

 

[kdarling]

No, it's a valid point. An AT&T phone will work in nearly every country in the world. (snip) It's definitely a valid point for anyone who travels the world.

Anyone who travels the world, could get a Verizon dual CDMA+GSM phone. (Or buy a cheap throwaway GSM phone, which is the usual recommendation to iPhone owners going overseas.)

Verizon will also unlock the GSM side of their world phones, so the owner can use local SIMs... unlike ATT and their locked iPhone. (Unless they jailbreak+unlock, and I doubt Apple wants to advertise that option.)

Verizon's 3g *area* coverage may be 5 times ATT's.

The relevant comparisons are:
- total *population* coverage (probably close)
- 3G *population* coverage (at most 33% better for Verizon)

Geographic comparisons are quite relevant to those of us who live or travel outside of major cities. I live a mere 25 miles west from NYC and ATT has poor voice coverage and almost no 3G. Even Sprint has more 3G here.

As for overall population, Verizon 3G covers ~40 million more Americans than ATT 3G according to numbers each carrier publishes.

 

[javaGuru]

Verizon's ads not only attacked AT&T but they also indirectly attacked Apple by encouraging consumers to not purchase an iPhone because of AT&T's network. It was only a matter of time before Apple responded with their own ads. The ads are simple but they are also very effective.

 

[FerrariV12]

It's not the coverage of the area so much as the number of users (the load) in a particular cell that leads to dropped calls. You have an ideal scenario -- perfect 3G coverage with minimal number of users and therefore load. Come to NYC and you'll have a totally different experience. ;-)

I understand completely and totally agree.

 

[lex750]

I just summed up every post you've ever made on MacRumors in 4 simple lines. Now that we know where you stand, I saved us all some bandwidth by sparing you the need to constantly reiterate your tired position.

And who's emotional? I think AT&T sucks. And I think Verizon sucks too. Yeah, I just blew your mind.

Saying something sucks is not being emotional. Yet your response to me was. Until this site becomes "LagunaSol's Mac Rumors" you are in no position to tell people to "go away". Now go cry me a river, in your most emotional way. Have a nice day!

 

[*LTD*]

Hesseldahl reports, "The ads will appear tonight during 'House' on Fox, 'Dancing With The Stars' on ABC, 'How I Met Your Mother' on CBS and several others including 'The Daily Show' on Comedy Central and several of the late-night talk shows."

Perfect timing, too.

 

[AidenShaw]

Sushi is IN, by the way. It's incredibly popular, and there is a certain refinment to Sushi as a food choice. It shows taste.

Sometimes bad taste...

Jeremy Piven's Doc: Star Stricken by Toxins from Sushi

 

[PeterQVenkman]

I dislike AT&T as a company, but I have to say I've never experienced the epidemic call dropping that everyone seems to be claiming. Is the FUD just thick and steamy or am I just one lucky bugger?

From what I've learned on these forums and from people I know (like my bosses) who travel, it is very, very inconsistent. In my area, it's abysmal and I don't travel to other parts of the country.

My bosses live in the same city and have said it is horrible here- but then they travel to other states for business and they said it was absolutely wonderful in some cities, while just as awful in others.

I guess the big thing is- AT&T is inconsistent at best. And it's a shame, because the iPhone is wonderful. Meanwhile I have to satisfy my techno lust with an iPod touch.

 

[Goona]

And who are you an AT&T "lobbyist"? Are you on the payroll? Focus on the FACTS like AT&T's ****** 3G service not on who has a better phone. Your way off topic on this thread. Maybe you could start your own.

What about you who is on Verizon's payroll? And you have the audacity to call someone a lobbyist, lol.

Sometimes bad taste...

Jeremy Piven's Doc: Star Stricken by Toxins from Sushi

This dude always has to find a way to spin anything about Apple negative.

 

[MecPro]

This advert actually made me LOL quite loudly

Kudos

 

[kdarling]

I thought the trend was "Verizon always had the worst selection of phones" until relatively recently.

The trend was that Verizon always got the neat smartphones a year after everyone else. That seems to have radically changed lately, with all the latest HTCs and Droid phones showing up pretty quickly.

In the end, your conclusion is even more correct however. The iPhone has PUSHED Verizon to be more competitive, open, and permissive with regards to their smartphone devices than they have been in the past.

A fair conclusion, at least in regards to GPS. (Nothing else was ever locked on VZW smartphones before.)

And before anyone contradicts this, pleaase draw your attention to Verizon's "open" policy, announced just last year (which wouldn't need to exist if they WERE open already).

Looking forward to the first phone to be certified (hopefully soon) under that policy, the Saygus Android phone with video calling, from a startup in Utah.

 

[Jesus on OSX]

Those money-grabbing whores at verizon aren't laughing now.

Good job, Apple.

 

[mikejoann]

Mike B, you have some serious personal issues man. Lets be clear, and I'm talking as an outsider to the US but reasonably frequent visitor, ALL the US networks are pretty rubbish, lets be honest. But you have to understand that Apple have an agreement with AT&T, and as business partners they have an unwritten obligation to support each other. Let's not forget, both companies are there to make a profit!

Personally, I think the ad's are great, very funny really. And come on, you want to sell your Blackbook? Gee's, you want your mom to wipe your butt too? Grow UP!

No serious personal issues here at all. 1st off you really do show your true colors as a company that is supposed to care for it's customers like Apple. I don't care if I was selling an item to a company I would not target my other customers like apple computer owners to support such bad service provided by AT&T. 2nd since you are not a united states citizen here .. You really should not be giving your .02 on something you don't deal with day to day so... Don't go sugar coat what they are doing here. Oh I hope you know iphone is not the only thing Apple markets... What a shame for their other customers.... P.S let me guess you were one that drooled on the iphone and needed one unlocked for your carrier from ebay right ??? You probably don't have either service... so your opinion really means NOT to everyone that actually pays for and uses these networks... You have a nice day !!!

 

[Txjole]

I love how people gripe about service in their area. Wouldn't you think a person would check to see which company has the best service in a certain area??? AT&T looks like the smarter one if they can sell a service that is sub-standard in an area and you bought it. WHO'S THE REAL FOOL HERE???? PS service in Dallas is great I checked it out before I signed up too.

 

[miketcool]

Yes, yes my Android on T-Mobile can do that.

 

[AidenShaw]

This dude always has to find a way to spin anything about Apple negative.

Is Apple selling raw fish now? I never knew.

 

[Pierrick]

GPRS Class A device = two radios, one for voice, one for data. No such consumer device exists, as far as I know.

Or... a GSM network can implement Dual Transfer Mode (DTM). Ditto on lack of devices, unless someone else knows of any.

The iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS are DTM-capable phones.

"Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) is a protocol based on the GSM standard that allows simultaneous transfer of Circuit switched (CS) voice and Packet switched (PS) data over the same radio channel (ARFCN). DTM is a 3GPP baseline R99 feature.
A mobile phone which is DTM capable can be engaged in both CS and PS call and simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_Transfer_Mode

"X-Gold 608:This is the baseband processor used in the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS.It is also known as the PMB8878."
http://www.theiphonewiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=X-Gold_608

"PMB8878 X-GOLD 608: DTM class 11..."
http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/channel.html?channel=ff80808112ab681d0112ab6ab94205ef

 

[LagunaSol]

This dude always has to find a way to spin anything about Apple negative.

You gotta give it to the guy. He could go pro.

Some people would rather Bing for Olive Gardens on their Windows Mobile phones. Surprisingly, some of them are permanent residents on MacRumors.

(Nothing else was ever locked on VZW smartphones before.)

Looking forward to the first phone to be certified (hopefully soon) under that policy, the Saygus Android phone with video calling, from a startup in Utah.

That phone looks a lot like the DROID.

And Verizon's "open" policy will be anything but. Wait and see.

 

[Cleverboy]

And who are you an AT&T "lobbyist"? Are you on the payroll? Focus on the FACTS like AT&T's ****** 3G service not on who has a better phone. Your way off topic on this thread. Maybe you could start your own.

"Wooden wheels" are wooden everywhere, not just in certain places, so your comparison is pretty poor... hence the comment about whether you were spokesperson for ALL of AT&T's customers. --It's because your analogy was so subjective and inaccurate, not because he was changing the subject.

Moreover, it IS about the device and the OS it runs as well. For FAR too long, Verizon (as a carrier) did not offer customers a lot of choice, and used an iron fist when it came to controlling devices on their network.

Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney says the carrier would rather focus on its network than on the gadgets that use it.

“Keep in mind that for Verizon Wireless, it isn’t so much about the device as it is about the delivery,” she says. “We have the nation’s largest 3G network so when we offer devices on our network, customers can be assured that they will deliver as promised.”

Now, seeing the writing on the wall, Verizon has been trying a number of things to keep consumer interest. Consider the comment of one of the commenters on the Wired article mentioned above:

Posted by: glebovitz | 09/16/09 | 9:33 pm
My wife is technologically very conservative and a die hard Verizon fan, and has resisted any attempt on my part to move us to another carrier. After recently visiting the Verizon store to look for her next upgrade device, she decided to hold off until the contract expires so she can get an iPhone.

Verizon, if you lose my wife’s business, then you know your future will look pretty grim.

Now that Verizon has Droid, they can breath a little sigh of relief. This (comparable device availability) is a REAL problem for them, not some Apple fanboy wet dream.

~ CB

 

[Mister Snitch]

Nope. Ads are perfect.

Agreed.

 

[topmounter]

I'm just glad to see everyone agrees: The ads are working.