NY Times article (blog): The iPhone Excuse"

[cellocello]

But he didn't blame the iPhone.

He said that owning an iPhone on AT&T doesn't work as well as his old provider, and I would agree with that.

Where does he say it's the iPhone's fault and not AT&Ts? It looks like he's making it very clear that the difference was leaving Verizon.

Hey, don't get me wrong - I'm all about Apple putting the iPhone on as many networks as possible.

The unfortunate nature of the cell phone "game" is that the big players (Ma Bell and the other big telcos) ruin sh*t for the little guy (aka the normal consumer).

I fully expect that once Apple is able to sell their phone to whoever wants one, they will.

 

[Oskee2001]

I'm perfectly happy with my service and iphone. I've been an AT&T customer for 10 years now, and service right now is better than ever. Rarely have dropped calls and service is reliable. really can't ask for anything more. this is in Chicago

 

[ayasinsk]

All of you people out there who complaign about how bad your service is then cancel your contracts and go with sprint or verizon or others.

 

[crazydrumma]

I think a lot of it is really area based. I live in the Chicago suburbs, and out here AT&T rules. I have verizon right now, and get terrible service, and I have friends come over to my apartment who have AT&T and say "Wow, you guys have amazing service here." Then my wife and I pull out our verizon phones to see one bar/ a shaky two. Erg.

 

[TheSpaz]

AT&T is great here. I get service almost everywhere (3G too!) I wish 3G was a little faster, but oh well. AT&T always seems to do well around here... Verizon isn't as popular in my area. Most everyone has AT&T.

 

[Benguitar]

I am an owner of an iPhone 3G and my first generation iPhone (which is no longer in use).

I have not had any conflicts with my cellular service. My first gen iPhone did have a dropped call problem but Apple fixed that with one of their updates.

I love my iPhone, and I love it's service.

 

[FearNo1]

Interesting. Most ppl I know in chicago complain about how crappy iphone works on at+t. It seems to be bad lake front and downtown areas.

I'm perfectly happy with my service and iphone. I've been an AT&T customer for 10 years now, and service right now is better than ever. Rarely have dropped calls and service is reliable. really can't ask for anything more. this is in Chicago

 

[Sean006]

I will say...the original iphone was really bad in my area..i returned it after 8 days..

I won a 3g 16gb in september of 08 and could not be happier...the service in tampa bay is great on the 3g. Home & office i get full strength...went to daytona a couple of weeks ago for bikeweek and had no problems also..

i dont have any complaints with my 3g iphone

actually this is a record for me...on the same phone for 7 months now...3g def fixed my phone addiction i had...all in one phone and the phone part is great for me.

 

[bigjnyc]

reception is about 95% carrier 5% phone

I'm not too sure about that, with all my other AT&T phones i always had amazing reception and could probably count on one hand how many calls i dropped. even with the first iphone i had great service. with the 3G iphone i'm dropping calls left and right, hitting dead spots all over.... like for example when i walk in to my mothers building on the upper west side it never fails if i am on a call it drops, with the original iphone no problems at all.

 

[chwhale]

From day 1, my reply to people who ask how I like the iPhone is this: "It is a great ipod but a crappy phone". I live in an area that doesn't get 3G service. AT&T can promise to make their 3G and 4G network the fastest, but the availability is spotty for it. I wish they'd spend more time upgrading basic communications and not focus so intently on a faster data network. I constantly drop calls and cannot get any reception in my office. I am in one of their preferred coverage areas, so I would expect to be able to make and receive calls. Right now, I'm rocking a "no service" on my phone.

That's my $0.02

 

[Gee]

Yep, totally. I had an iPhone with AT&T in the Kansas City area when I lived in the States and the service was ok. But now that I'm on O2 in the UK it's much better.

Come on, seriously? The reception on my iphone is absolutely terrible both where I live (SE London) and where I work (Central). And on the journey between the two, it's woeful. 3g drops out constantly, even close to Charing Cross and London Bridge which are big stations, and I don't even get Edge around New Cross.

 

[dongmin]

I'm not too sure about that, with all my other AT&T phones i always had amazing reception and could probably count on one hand how many calls i dropped. even with the first iphone i had great service. with the 3G iphone i'm dropping calls left and right, hitting dead spots all over.... like for example when i walk in to my mothers building on the upper west side it never fails if i am on a call it drops, with the original iphone no problems at all.

Your other AT&T phones weren't probably trying to get on the 3G network. It really bites where I live (downtown LA). During peak hours, I just downgrade my iPhone to EDGE.

AT&T's 3G may be a decent network but it is simply not ready to handle the full-on internet usage that the iPhone users demand. And therein lies the problem. iPhone's superior browser and UI experience encourages people to really use mobile broadband, much more so than other smartphones. That's got to be one of the reasons why AT&T's 3G seems so weak.

 

[Galley]

My workplace is a black hole for cellphone reception. The only place I can get a signal is the breakroom, up against the window.

 

[Goona]

This AT&T has terrible reception is a myth. AT&T is home to many customers and not just iphone customers, why aren't all those users leaving AT&T in droves if their network is so terrible and going to other carriers. AT&T is as reliable as the other networks. As with everything Apple and iphone, people just want to find a way to complain. If the iphone was on Verizon, they will still complain about network problems.

 

[zapbryann]

read the article, i guess i could understand his frustrations if hes having those problems. personally att dominates texas, all other companies service pales in comparison to att. i split living time in suburbs of austin and dallas and get full 3g pretty much everywhere i am.

 

[RTiii320]

Ha

Great excuse actually.

 

[iPhoneNYC]

An Observation

I posted the Times article a couple of days back and just had a look at the comments in the Times vs. Mac Rumors. I did a fast count:

NYTimes: Pro-Apple/iPhone 8
Negative Apple/iPhone: 10
N/a 7

Mac Rumors: Pro Apple/iPhone 15
Negative: 6
N/a 4


Yes, these rankings are subjective but one can't help but notice MacRumors are twice in the positive related to the general observations of a NY Times reader.
Reasons? Deluded? More objective? What do you think?

 

[anjinha]

This AT&T has terrible reception is a myth. AT&T is home to many customers and not just iphone customers, why aren't all those users leaving AT&T in droves if their network is so terrible and going to other carriers. AT&T is as reliable as the other networks. As with everything Apple and iphone, people just want to find a way to complain. If the iphone was on Verizon, they will still complain about network problems.

I don't think it is a myth. There is a forum for the iPhone in Portugal and I haven't found one single thread there about problems of reception with the iPhone, dropped calls, etc

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

This AT&T has terrible reception is a myth. AT&T is home to many customers and not just iphone customers, why aren't all those users leaving AT&T in droves if their network is so terrible and going to other carriers. AT&T is as reliable as the other networks. As with everything Apple and iphone, people just want to find a way to complain. If the iphone was on Verizon, they will still complain about network problems.

To say this is a myth is short-sighted. There's places I've been where AT&T coverage was laughable but where I work, live and dwell my 3G and Edge reception are excellent. I have a strong five bars in most places. I think a lot of people overreact when they drop a few calls (something I haven't experienced) and a lot of people on these forums are extra dramatic.

Personally I can't stand people who go into the "My service sucks" threads and tell people to go to a different carrier if they're not satisfied. It's one of the laziest, most overused comments I see here. But in no way do I disagree with it. If you're in an area where AT&T service is weak, there's really nothing that can be done about it. You can either wait for them to put some money into their 3G towers or you can find a carrier that provides suitable coverage for your area. Period.

 

[ZiggyPastorius]

When people ask about my iPhone I tell them "I absolutely love it. I'm addicted to it. Greatest thing since sliced bread. It's a terrible phone though".

Haha, I do this as well. Don't get me wrong, I haven't had any problem with the service, and I live in the middle of nowhere, but I do know that I don't get the best service and it can be sort of slow (but the 3G areas, like in Ann Arbor seem to be pretty fast, but I don't know much about 3G on other carriers). So people always ask, "What's it like? Is it amazing? Do you like it?" I say, "It's not amazing, but it's a damn good phone, perfect for me needs. Although the biggest weakness of the phone is AT&T."

 

[Gathomblipoob]

To say this is a myth is short-sighted. There's places I've been where AT&T coverage was laughable but where I work, live and dwell my 3G and Edge reception are excellent. I have a strong five bars in most places. I think a lot of people overreact when they drop a few calls (something I haven't experienced) and a lot of people on these forums are extra dramatic.

Personally I can't stand people who go into the "My service sucks" threads and tell people to go to a different carrier if they're not satisfied. It's one of the laziest, most overused comments I see here. But in no way do I disagree with it. If you're in an area where AT&T service is weak, there's really nothing that can be done about it. You can either wait for them to put some money into their 3G towers or you can find a carrier that provides suitable coverage for your area. Period.

Wow - well put.

 

[SFStateStudent]

Personally I can't stand people who go into the "My service sucks" threads and tell people to go to a different carrier if they're not satisfied. It's one of the laziest, most overused comments I see here. But in no way do I disagree with it. If you're in an area where AT&T service is weak, there's really nothing that can be done about it. You can either wait for them to put some money into their 3G towers or you can find a carrier that provides suitable coverage for your area. Period.

+1 ^^^ wait am I one of those bitching and moaning?

I definitely would have moved to another carrier if there was one out there that was better than AT&T, but there isn't. I get anywhere from 0-4.5 bars at any given time during the day or night, and have learned to live with it, b/c it's actually gotten better with AT&T v. Sprint....

 

[Emulsion]

I seriously didn't think people still had problems getting a signal.

 

[iPhoneNYC]

I'm sitting in my apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan right now with no signal. To receive a call I keep the iPhone on the window in a room that faces the street and hope that I hear the ring. Thanks ATT!

 

[redman042]

AT&T certainly has poor coverage in several large cities, including NY, SF, and LA. This is widely known. They are moving all their cell sites to the 850 MHz frequency this year which should help a lot. Sections of LA have already switched and the difference is "night and day" according to posters on Howardforums.com. I haven't heard whether NY is on the list, but I believe it is.

Where I live (Sacramento Metro Area), AT&T used to suck royally, but by the time the 3G came out last June, it was FAR improved, so my wife and I switched from Verizon to get the iPhone. We have been pretty happy overall. The signal is a little more spotty than Verizon was, but not bad at all.

My brother lives in the Bay Area and is on AT&T. His Blackjack gets a pretty lousy signal there, though it has improved as well. Once the 850 MHz frequency change is done, I'm hopeful he will see better service.

Those in the big cities: hang in there, it may get better very soon. I'm hoping AT&T will flip a bunch of switches around the WWDC timeframe to coincide with the announcement of a new exclusivity agreement. Or Verizon gets a CDMA iPhone. One or the other (or both) would be great.