iPhone Buyer Statistics, O2 Confirmed for UK?

[Sobe]

Verizon has totally screwed themselves over this. If apple has sold 1million iPhones, which Im sure they have by now, that means roughly 250,000 have left Verizon assuming that 25% of the users have switched to AT&T for the iPhone from Verizon. I can only see the number of people eventually switching from Verizon to reach half a million if not eventually reaching the 1 million mark sometime mid to late next year. If I remember correctly, didnt Verizon end up edging AT&T for most number of users in America? Well I guess they went ahead and screwed that up....

Do you realize how many people would have went to Verizon from AT&T to get the iPhone? FAAAAR more than went from Verizon to AT&T thats for sure....

yeah it is sort of unfortunate. I was perfectly happy with Verizon, except for the fact that they didn't have the hardware I wanted (iPhone).

I suppose in an ideal world, I would have an iPhone on a Verizon network, but (knock on wood) so far so good with AT&T.

 

[Passante]

35% paid an early termination fee

WOW! That surprises me. I'm waiting until December when my contract expires (or MacWorld expo if a new revision has not been released) until I buy mine.

 

[trevorlsciact]

I just hope apple opens the iPhone up to 3rd party apps; the Macintosh sold very well initially too.....

 

[mickeymikey]

From my experience, the statement that iPhone purchasers over the past two weeks are "early adopters" is a stretch. I personally know nine people (including myself) who purchased an iPhone within the first week of availability, and I am the only consistent "early adopter".

 

[devilot]

Do you realize how many people would have went to Verizon from AT&T to get the iPhone? FAAAAR more than went from Verizon to AT&T thats for sure....

I think I'd have to agree with that. While AT&T has very broad coverage, and yes, I'm sure Verizon doesn't have perfect coverage everywhere, I think it's safe to say that VZW's coverage is more highly regarded than AT&T's.

And while it's not guaranteed that I'll get an iPhone, I am switching from VZW (contract's up this August) to AT&T and the fact that the iPhone is tied down to them definitely didn't hurt my decision to switch carriers.

 

[mrzippy]

I figured Apple wouldn't do Europe until they came out with a version 2 which would include 3G. But if they plan to sell in Europe very soon, that almost certainly means it will be the very same EDGE phone in the US. Say hello to EDGE, guys! With the seamless WiFi in there, it's tolerable..

Only 1 UK network has EDGE (Orange), and at last press release this covered 1/8 of their network... They plan to add EDGE capacity in areas that will not have 3G coverage for a long time.

All other UK networks are GPRS + 3G with no EDGE support at all.

My network 3-UK has the best 3G coverage, and has a roaming GSM agreement for their non-3G areas which are getting less and less.

 

[Sobe]

I think I'd have to agree with that. While AT&T has very broad coverage, and yes, I'm sure Verizon doesn't have perfect coverage everywhere, I think it's safe to say that VZW's coverage is more highly regarded than AT&T's.

And while it's not guaranteed that I'll get an iPhone, I am switching from VZW (contract's up this August) to AT&T and the fact that the iPhone is tied down to them definitely didn't hurt my decision to switch carriers.

In my area (DC area) Verizon is even more desireable due to being able to use it in the metro. Basically if you live in this area and ever use the metro, Verizon is a no brainer.

So while AT&T might have fine coverage (so far so good), I have no doubt that Verizon's metro presence is hurting iPhone sales in this area. People won't want to give that up if they are used to it.

 

[zedLondon]

It's funny how different people's experieces vary. I switched to O2 from Vodafone about 2 years ago because vodafone's customer service was just shocking. They aslo had the idiotic thing where good plans were only available to new customers and if i wanted one i had to change my number

I walked accross the road to O2 and switched the same day. And since I've only got good things to say about their customer service. And no complaints about their network coverage. In my office and at home it's actually better than vodafone's.

But of course i realise that's only anecdotal

 

[dscottbuch]

From my experience, the statement that iPhone purchasers over the past two weeks are "early adopters" is a stretch. I personally know nine people (including myself) who purchased an iPhone within the first week of availability, and I am the only consistent "early adopter".

I agree and this is well supported by the poll. 30% were first time Apple customers - Not apple fanboi's. 40% this was their first iPod - not early adopters.

 

[dscottbuch]

It's funny how different people's experieces vary. I switched to O2 from Vodafone about 2 years ago because vodafone's customer service was just shocking. They aslo had the idiotic thing where good plans were only available to new customers and if i wanted one i had to change my number

I walked accross the road to O2 and switched the same day. And since I've only got good things to say about their customer service. And no complaints about their network coverage. In my office and at home it's actually better than vodafone's.

But of course i realise that's only anecdotal

It seems that this mirrors the US is some ways. Verizon has the best network/coverage no question (I my experience and I travel a lot) but the customer service sucks. This is why I switched previously to t-mobile. Now I'm ATT/Cingular. Both t-mobile and ATT have more coverage problems but I get help when I need it.

 

[efengle]

VzW Lost out

One thing that has been talked about a lot is the how much cheaper the plans for iPhone are compared to other providers. Once I saw the rate plans, I was hooked. For me and my fiancee, we had Verizon, 2 Blackberry 8703e and a Moto E815...great phones, but the BB8703e is not a mainstream consumer phone. It is strictly a business phone and does what it needs to for business purposes in a GREAT way. For the 2 of us...the 3rd phone was an added line so she could get a new BB. The monthly bill came to $211 (Family Share, 2 BB Unlimited data, insurance, 250 txt msg). For any of you who had the 8703e, this WAY TOO MUCH money for what you get, although you are getting 3G speeds and great call quality. Well needless to say, we have 2 iPhones now (8GB) and will pay about $100/mo. for 2.5G speeds and very similar signal strength (Washington-Philly corridor). It is not like you will rely on EDGE and Safari as your only browser, so we can accept the slower speeds. When all is said and done, over the next 2 years, we will save about $1300 by having ATT/iPhone vs. VzW/BB. This is including activation fees and 3 ETFs from VzW (only $160 each b/c of their new declining ETF rule).

As for the iPhone itself. I honestly think you cannot get any better than it. Although, I am already on my second iPhone...1st one had a dead pixel or dirt underneath the glass or a bubble in the touch material and glass. Any which way, it was annoying for a $600 device. Apple store Suburban Square in Ardmore, PA replaced it without any hesitation. New one works great, only problem is the battery charge indicator not showing 100%...software related.

 

[alembic]

Steve Ballmer's Reaction to iPhone Sales

We all know Steve Ballmer laughed at the iPhone when it was announced in January. Does anyone know if he's changed his tune since the launch? I haven't seen anything yet.

 

[trevorlsciact]

We all know Steve Ballmer laughed at the iPhone when it was announced in January. Does anyone know if he's changed his tune since the launch? I haven't seen anything yet.

I bet he imploded

 

[dizastor]

I really hope Verizon is kicking themselves.

Verizon was very cocky going into the iphone's launch, thinking of it as just another phone. Then iDay came and they lost four times as many customers as they do on a normal day and started to panic. They are now scrambling for a response.

My cousin's uncle's brother work's for them... or something like that.

 

[Cabbit]

Glad its going to be o2, i was hoping o2 or orange. Vodaphone have a horible logo, are english and put up they adverts with that idiot football player. 3 dosnt work anyware and t-mobile are expenicve.

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Never had any beef with Verizon coverage - that was the only thing holding me back.

Verizon selection of phones - is patheatic at best. The slowest carrier to "quality test" new phones, and by the time they're released, half of the features have been stripped out. Oh yes, and Verizon has some sick (#*#ing fetish with having all their phones painted silver.

Silver-Painted Plastic = (#*$

As for the iphone itself, love it, except my camera stinks. It blurrs like a SOB with ANY motion, and half of my pictures are "skewed" to one side. Rather annoying. Aside from that, happy.

 

[Matteh117]

It's funny how different people's experieces vary. I switched to O2 from Vodafone about 2 years ago because vodafone's customer service was just shocking. They aslo had the idiotic thing where good plans were only available to new customers and if i wanted one i had to change my number

I walked accross the road to O2 and switched the same day. And since I've only got good things to say about their customer service. And no complaints about their network coverage. In my office and at home it's actually better than vodafone's.

But of course i realise that's only anecdotal

Have to agree. It seems like everyone is having completely different experiences with all the network providers.. Any will do me! Just give us the iPhone!!

 

[Yixian]

Is it likely to be possible to upgrade to the iPhone if you are already on O2? My contract doesn't expire until March 08.

 

[BKF]

Still trying to hold out for rev 2 but getting weaker...

Great news. And I would think that early adopters would be as critical as anyone.

As for AT&T, I occasionally think about how the folks there take it as they keep hearing that the number 1 problem with the iPhone is... AT&T. I suppose the fact that 51% of iPhone users are new AT&T customers helps them get through the pain.

 

[oscuh]

It's good to see data like this. Only strengthens my resolve to get an iPhone when my current contract expires. I'd love to get one now, but throwing away $200 in early termination fees just doesn't make much sense to me ...

 

[lazyrighteye]

I figured Apple wouldn't do Europe until they came out with a version 2 which would include 3G. But if they plan to sell in Europe very soon, that almost certainly means it will be the very same EDGE phone in the US. Say hello to EDGE, guys! With the seamless WiFi in there, it's tolerable..

Having never used/seen 3G, but a 2-year Treo 650 user with VZW, EDE is not near as bad as I was expecting (based on pre-launch chatter in these forums). A complete non-issue for Mail & SMS. Safari page loads & youtube function fine, for my needs/expectations. And Maps is surprisingly effective (aka: completely useful).
For me, Safari's lack of Flash and youtube's largely un-H.264 content are my biggest "issues" (with concerns to media, or, things that would be effected by 3G). More free wifi hotspots will always be more than welcome. As you can imagine, when using wifi, the device smokes. And if 3G is as large a battery hog as some report, then I am fine with EDGE.

My subjective ¢2.


<edit>
Factor in my cell phone reception is better at my house than it was with VZW AND my monthly bill went down ~$20 while my functionality/experience went way up...
Yeah, pretty pleased.
</edit>

 

[Mitch1984]

51% of buyers switched to AT&T for the iPhone alone? Wow, that's great news! I really hope Verizon is kicking themselves. A half percentage of a whole... that's huge.

Verizo say they have something up their sleeve, probably a brown zune phone from toshiba, sorry I mean Microsoft.

 

[arn]

Having never used/seen 3G, but a 2-year Treo 650 user with VZW, EDE is not near as bad as I was expecting (based on pre-launch chatter in these forums

I switched from a Treo 700p with EVDO. And the browsing speed is probably comparable on the iPhone due to the better/faster page rendering. On the treo I would not try to browse full sites due to the time it took to render and use.

Beyond that, the browsing expereience is obviously much better on the iphone.

arn

 

[dscottbuch]

Having never used/seen 3G, but a 2-year Treo 650 user with VZW, EDE is not near as bad as I was expecting (based on pre-launch chatter in these forums). A complete non-issue for Mail & SMS. Safari page loads & youtube function fine, for my needs/expectations. And Maps is surprisingly effective (aka: completely useful).
For me, Safari's lack of Flash and youtube's largely un-H.264 content are my biggest "issues" (with concerns to media, or, things that would be effected by 3G). More free wifi hotspots will always be more than welcome. As you can imagine, when using wifi, the device smokes. And if 3G is as large a battery hog as some report, then I am fine with EDGE.

My subjective ¢2.


<edit>
Factor in my cell phone reception is better at my house than it was with VZW AND my monthly bill went down ~$20 while my functionality/experience went way up...
Yeah, pretty pleased.
</edit>

Exactly my experience. Edge has been a non issue for me.

 

[Donnacha]

Personally, the choice of carrier doesn't bother me that much because I know the whole point of Apple's tough demands has been to ensure a realistic, flat-rate pricing structure. O2 is fine as long as they leave behind their $2 per MB data fee!

Right now, there are only 2 things that, as a typical European customer, I'm holding out for before signing up relate to the iphone itself:

1. 3G (obviously).

2. Ability to send that 3G connectivity to my MBP via Bluetooth (not enabled on the US iphone, presumably because the AT&T network can't handle the extra burden that would create).


Anyone know of any reason why they wouldn't offer that, in particular the 2nd feature?