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AT&T Offers Video Update on iPhone MMS and Cellular Network Issues
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Don't turn this into an issue of partisan politics, especially for the current administration which has been in power for less than eight months.
The American mobile telecommunications industry started to fall behind many, many years ago.
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Still no word on a legit TETHERING option?
Wasn't that supposed to arrive in 'late Summer' as well?
Marc
Still no word on a legit TETHERING option?
Wasn't that supposed to arrive in 'late Summer' as well?
Marc
ummm yeah... have you ever sent a video.. it takes up more bandwidth than you would believe... no one is gunna send a 5 second video.. and they are preparing for streaming video too not just mms smarty
I am happy with AT&T and once all the people who want to jump ship to Verizon leave, it will only mean better connectivity due to less congestion. AT&T's rates are pretty much the same as a smartphone plan from Verizon, but they charge extra for VVM, where AT&T doesn't.
verizon eh?
Why is it that all the people yapping about things being so much better if this was on verizon conveniently forget that IT WAS PITCHED TO VERIZON AND THEY REJECTED IT! And besides verizon would not have been able at the time do some of the basic foundations of the iphone because of the network, an example being being able to be on a phone call and access the web at the same time VERIZON'S CDMA NETWORK CANT DO THAT. As others have stated here before, if this was say exclusive to verizon they would have had a crap load of problems too and hey dont forget that verizon is the carrier that spends more time locking out features from their phones as well such as blue profiles, wifi and 3rd party GPS software. The grass isnt always greener on the otherside people, take a chill pill...eventually it will be available on Verizon too (LTE?) and we can all enjoy/suffer together
Why is it that all the people yapping about things being so much better if this was on verizon conveniently forget that IT WAS PITCHED TO VERIZON AND THEY REJECTED IT! And besides verizon would not have been able at the time do some of the basic foundations of the iphone because of the network, an example being being able to be on a phone call and access the web at the same time VERIZON'S CDMA NETWORK CANT DO THAT. As others have stated here before, if this was say exclusive to verizon they would have had a crap load of problems too and hey dont forget that verizon is the carrier that spends more time locking out features from their phones as well such as blue profiles, wifi and 3rd party GPS software. The grass isnt always greener on the otherside people, take a chill pill...eventually it will be available on Verizon too (LTE?) and we can all enjoy/suffer together
That is true based on the shear amount of area cell providers have to cover, compared to other countries.........
yes but they are assuming it won't be 'the occasional MMS'.
I for one am glad that they made that assumption because I would rather they expect the worst than assume folks won't use the function and when they do they crash something.
I just wish they had made the assumption and done the prep so that they were ready if not on the day of the software release, within the next week. not weeks later.
Have you went through the menu of a non branded version of the same phone? When you do you'll see what I mean.
In all honesty, I'm going to actually side with AT&T here because if you've noticed, a lot of carriers are having problems supporting the iPhone around the world - it's not just AT&T. The problem is that no one has ever had "that many" smartphone users (with a mandatory data plan mind you) on their network at one time. So, everyone took a hit to their network.
As someone who works in this industry (the cellular industry that is) I can honestly tell you that the situation wouldn't be much different on Verizon either. For starters, Verizon's data speeds are actually quite lower than AT&T's despite widespread "theory". AT&T is significantly faster. Verizon is definitely a bit more consistent, but at the same time, they aren't dealing with the traffic that AT&T deals with for the iPhone. So, realistically, Verizon's network would suffer just the same.
Second, there are some significant downfalls to a Verizon iPhone (at least currently) that many people don't consider. For starters, CDMA doesn't all multiple data streams. So, that ability to be on a phone call, receive/send emails, browse the web or use instant messaging clients is gone on Verizon since you can only do one thing at a time. So, the very limited iPhone's multitasking is cut even more short on Verizon if you're on a phone call. LTE will rectify this, but keep in mind that their LTE won't be widespread at least until 2011 despite their launching in "various markets" (it won't be in any major market next year except New York and Chicago).
Verizon sells a ton of BlackBerry's and has arguably an equal amount of BlackBerry users when compared against AT&T's iPhone users (and the plans are mandatory as well), but BlackBerry is incredibly light on network load because majority of the work goes through RIM's BIS and BES and NOT Verizon's end. BIS/BES also compresses data by 70% so that takes strain even further off their network. Verizon has commented that BlackBerry arguably takes the least amount of bandwidth of any device on their network. Whereas, all the work for an iPhone goes through the network. App downloads, music downloads, browsing full HTML, streaming YouTube. Can you imagine how much network strain having 1/3 of your customer base (one-third of AT&T's customer base is iPhone users) doing all of those things does to a network?
In the end, I hate to say this, but all you I-Want-a-Verizon-iPhone-people are pretty ignorant to real situation and the story would be the same on Verizon simply because of what the iPhone (and the amount of users) does to anyone's network.
Keep dreaming people.
As someone who works in this industry (the cellular industry that is) I can honestly tell you that the situation wouldn't be much different on Verizon either. For starters, Verizon's data speeds are actually quite lower than AT&T's despite widespread "theory". AT&T is significantly faster. Verizon is definitely a bit more consistent, but at the same time, they aren't dealing with the traffic that AT&T deals with for the iPhone. So, realistically, Verizon's network would suffer just the same.
Second, there are some significant downfalls to a Verizon iPhone (at least currently) that many people don't consider. For starters, CDMA doesn't all multiple data streams. So, that ability to be on a phone call, receive/send emails, browse the web or use instant messaging clients is gone on Verizon since you can only do one thing at a time. So, the very limited iPhone's multitasking is cut even more short on Verizon if you're on a phone call. LTE will rectify this, but keep in mind that their LTE won't be widespread at least until 2011 despite their launching in "various markets" (it won't be in any major market next year except New York and Chicago).
Verizon sells a ton of BlackBerry's and has arguably an equal amount of BlackBerry users when compared against AT&T's iPhone users (and the plans are mandatory as well), but BlackBerry is incredibly light on network load because majority of the work goes through RIM's BIS and BES and NOT Verizon's end. BIS/BES also compresses data by 70% so that takes strain even further off their network. Verizon has commented that BlackBerry arguably takes the least amount of bandwidth of any device on their network. Whereas, all the work for an iPhone goes through the network. App downloads, music downloads, browsing full HTML, streaming YouTube. Can you imagine how much network strain having 1/3 of your customer base (one-third of AT&T's customer base is iPhone users) doing all of those things does to a network?
In the end, I hate to say this, but all you I-Want-a-Verizon-iPhone-people are pretty ignorant to real situation and the story would be the same on Verizon simply because of what the iPhone (and the amount of users) does to anyone's network.
Keep dreaming people.
This fellows performance jolted me back to childhood. I remember watching the news announcement of the launch of Sputnik. The networks were flabbergasted and were hard pressed to have an announcer tell the masses what had occurred. One guy was put on camera to explain it all and he had not a single clue what space or spacecraft was about. It was like watching a deer in the headlights as he fumbled about like a total buffoon.
That announcer has been born again as the AT&T guy on this clip. Hair askew, a dark stubble, a side-cocked head..... Wow! He's like that mad scientist who handled the alien bodies at Area 51 in the movie 'Independence Day'. Where did they find him? His calling is certainly NOT calming customers. (Except maybe as comic relief).
That announcer has been born again as the AT&T guy on this clip. Hair askew, a dark stubble, a side-cocked head..... Wow! He's like that mad scientist who handled the alien bodies at Area 51 in the movie 'Independence Day'. Where did they find him? His calling is certainly NOT calming customers. (Except maybe as comic relief).
I know that Verizon rejected the iPhone, but that's more than likely because they wanted control of it like they have over every other phone on their network. I can pretty much assure that every major carrier would struggle with the iPhone. We are unique in that we actually use our device more than the average smartphone users. Granted I am sure there are competing smartphone users who are heavy users, but I don't think they have the percentage of heavy users the iPhone has.
Now that Verizon has it's own App Store portal, I wonder how Apple would feel about having to go through Verizon's store to sell from their own store? That's essentially what Verizon's portal is. You have to go through my store to sell from your store. Two hard headed companies going at it........I'll get my popcorn.
Now that Verizon has it's own App Store portal, I wonder how Apple would feel about having to go through Verizon's store to sell from their own store? That's essentially what Verizon's portal is. You have to go through my store to sell from your store. Two hard headed companies going at it........I'll get my popcorn.
My head is now permanently tilted 40 degrees to the right and I've lost the ability to blink. Thank you very ****ing much, AT&T.
Knowledegable folks with facts are not allowed in this thread. Go elsewhere.
Rocketman
Why so much hate for AT&T? They had to upgrade their network to compensate for the MILLIONS of iPhone users that came to the network. Things take time so have a little patience.
I for one applaud AT&T for making the video to explain things, and I'm happy that MMS is finally here. BTW I've had an iPhone since launch day so yes, I too have had to wait.
Most macrumors users here are not very intelligent (as I can see by the comments) so I'm not surprised by the amount of "negatives" this article has.
I for one applaud AT&T for making the video to explain things, and I'm happy that MMS is finally here. BTW I've had an iPhone since launch day so yes, I too have had to wait.
Most macrumors users here are not very intelligent (as I can see by the comments) so I'm not surprised by the amount of "negatives" this article has.
No offense mate... but you are simply wrong here.
The vast majority of iPhones out there are 3g and 3gs; the 3g outsold the original by a massive amount.
The thing is, they know that as soon as it released, everyone that has an iPhone with mms will be using the hell out of it like a new toy. They'll flood the network with images, and potentially bring it down.
Look, I'm no massive fan of AT&T, but the reality is that no existing cellular network in the US (including Verizon's) is equipped to handle the sudden massive data burden that the iPhone has created. Now, should they have anticipated this, accounted for this, of course they should have... no question.
But, don't delude yourselves.... about 5% of Verizon's users use any sort of data at all... leaving their [largely unused] EVDO network feeling snappy, and you feeling happy. However, they would be in the exact same position, were they to suddenly acquire 10,000,000 + data crazy iPhone users.
So chill a little, and cut them some slack.
As for your personal attacks on the guy himself... leave him alone. I hate that the web makes it so easy for people to launch tirades and personal attacks on people based solely on their own perceptions, prejudices, and meanness.
It's a bloody phone, if you aren't happy, cancel, buy a RAZR, and carry on with your lives.
People can have opinions what the guy looks like and what the video is about.
People who want iPhones made a good a$$ decision. I on the other hand have to have best of the best and I think the iPhone is qualified. I think I did my review shopped around and saw nothing compare to it.
I been with AT&T for many years yet to see a phone without MMS till now. Talk about absurd. It is simple as that by adding this n that with $$$ which they have plenty of.
It's a typical cellular carrier just wants one thing "$"
It's actually worse than that. According to AT&T (here), they have activated 10.4 million iPhones since 2007. According to a press release (here) their customer base is 78.2 million.
So this means that iPhone customers comprise only ~13% of users, not 1/3 as you stated. So only ~13% have cause the network problems.
I live in a region where AT&T's coverage is pretty consistent and reliable so I have no gripes, but I understand that's not the case everywhere. However, I have to give them points for acknowledging the gripes directly like this. Seems like a sincere gesture. Let's hope it's not all talk though.
