Survey Finds U.S. iPhone Users Generally Pleased With AT&T

[fredfnord]

Danger! Danger! Near lethal levels of smugness detected!

Not to sound unsympathetic, but it cracks me up when ... blah blah blah.

You don't sound unsympathetic, exactly. You just sound like you've achieved near-lethal levels of smugness. (Lethal because you're probably constantly in danger of having the carp beaten out of you by anyone sitting nearby.)

To paraphrase you:
"You chose to live there, so you shouldn't complain about any aspect of the place where you live! If you don't like every single thing about it, just move to somewhere where you will like everything! Hey, I live somewhere where everything is perfect, and clearly I'm perfect too!"

Dude, I live in San *****' Francisco. It may be possible to come closer to the perfect place to live than San Francisco, but if so, there must not be anyone living there, because otherwise I'd have heard of it.

But damned if I'm not going to do my best to make it a better place. Which includes agitating for better cell coverage, showing up at public meetings and telling them where the public transit system isn't working well, and so forth.

-fred

 

[CFreymarc]

So if a criminal drops calls it doesn't count? LOL. You silly....

There is not enough public executions these days. Imagine the money you could make auctioning off on eBay the opportunity to pull the switch to kill someone in a public execution!

 

[Archipelagos]

As John Gruber pointed out

I thought this was the most interesting statistic from the CNNMoney article,

The iPhone is also the gift that keeps on giving: 77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone.

I can't believe there's such a disparity. I guess that's good news for Apple no matter where the iPhone eventually lands.

 

[neoelectronaut]

I've been on Cingular/AT&T Since at least 2003 and I've had no complaints. No dropped calls. Excellent service.

Always makes me a bit baffled when I hear folks complain.

 

[aristobrat]

Dude, I live in San *****' Francisco. It may be possible to come closer to the perfect place to live than San Francisco, but if so, there must not be anyone living there, because otherwise I'd have heard of it.

But damned if I'm not going to do my best to make it a better place. Which includes agitating for better cell coverage, showing up at public meetings and telling them where the public transit system isn't working well, and so forth

Good, because if Job's anecdotal quip of it taking ~3 years to get a new cell phone tower approved in San effing Fransisco is true, then your local gov't sounds like they're the biggest bottleneck.

 

[sziehr]

So your argument is that since Verizon does not allow simultaneous voice and data transmission, they do not have a 3G network? I'm sorry, but you're incorrect. Sure, there may be some disadvantages to Verizon 3G vs. AT&T 3G, but Verizon most certainty uses a 3G technology.

P.S.- Using a rumor as a "source" will not get you far in arguments.

I think if you go by the chart your correct vzw uses 3g network. I however would beg to differ with you that it is not a real 3g network. I find that a 3g network should do more than the predicessor and with evdo Rev 0 and Rev A there is no voice and data at the same time. This could have been done if Verizon had gone REV C. They canceled REV C to go LTE. I think EVDO REV A is more like 2.85 G just not quite enough to be full 3g. But i am not going to site some rumor i am going to say it is just not logical to call something that is not apple to apples pardon the pun 3g. EDGE does not allow voice and data just like EVDO

 

[inkswamp]

You don't sound unsympathetic, exactly. You just sound like you've achieved near-lethal levels of smugness. (Lethal because you're probably constantly in danger of having the carp beaten out of you by anyone sitting nearby.)

Okay, now that we have the temper tantrum out of the way....

Dude, I live in San *****' Francisco. It may be possible to come closer to the perfect place to live than San Francisco, but if so, there must not be anyone living there, because otherwise I'd have heard of it.

You talk about choosing to live in SF because it's the closest thing to the Shangri-La of your high expectations and I'm the smug one?

Anyway, I've known people who have lived in SF and you know why they moved? The cost of living there has gotten beyond stupid. So please, save your treatise on why SF is the most perfect beacon of hope shining out of the arse of God for someone else.

 

[iphones4evry1]

I have been a continuous AT&T subscriber since 1999 (Ericsson cell phone in 1999). I have had no complaints. One time a cell tower near my house went down, and I called AT&T and they said they had people on the way to fix it. It was working again two days later. Over ten years, that was the only problem. Otherwise, AT&T has been great.

I do have to say though, now have a SUPER FAST iPhone 4, the weakest link is now the slow data connection. The iPhone 4 is LIGHTNING FAST! So, by comparison, 3G seems slow.

 

[angusslo]

shure you yanks can be satisfied with AT&T because you haven't tried our european carriers. we have full signal mostly everywhere, not only big cities.

 

[Adrian jhon]

Actually, this negative thoughts are mostly because of bad media influence. But i guess new generation does not have negative thoughts for Christians that much i guess. And yes, majority is Sunni Muslim, but the percentage is less like, maybe %80. And as a Muslim, yes, i do believe that there's only one true religion, but this is a though in Islam. But also that doesn't mean to hate non-muslims. i have Christian friends and i get along with them quite well. As long as people do not spread their religions to other people like missionary work, or spreading by terrorism, people can believe any religion they want to.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

there is some gay sex going to happen between those two smiling boys.

Sex is good.

 

[bleaknik]

Somewhat Satisfied

There are many things I appreciate about AT&T as a provider. I have more bars wherever I go with AT&T than with Sprint, Verizon, or T-Mobile. I have few, if any, dropped calls. Data speeds (for over 3G seems pretty fast).

What I don't appreciate about AT&T is their inability to take credit and/or blame for what they don't do right. Tethering shouldn't have taken a year to come to the iPhone, and I shouldn't have to pay an extra $20 "tax" just to have tethering. I can't download a tethering app (without jailbreaking) my iPhone, and there's a little thing that I really want--a native Google Voice app. Oh, and AT&T refuses to unlock my out-of-contract iPhone 3G for me. They say it's part of their "exclusive contract with Apple, and if you want an iPhone, you're going to use AT&T". Complacency--that's what that is.

I've been an AT&T customer since they were Cingular. Since Cingular was Cellular One. The iPhone experience has bittered me to my provider, and while I like the iPhone, I am exploring my options. I'm about ready to jump ship. Sorry, AT&T--your customer service sucks.

 

[Stately]

Article Link: Survey Finds U.S. iPhone Users Generally Pleased With AT&T

Liiiiiies . .

 

[turleymuller]

Agreed, but it is probably where the highest density of iPhone users and probably the most unhappy AT&T people are. Therefore you can not dismiss this on a Apple forum.

A lot of people say their coverage is fine because they life in a flat area with low population density. Cell Tower planning in these areas is fine.

Introduce tall buildings, population density and in SF case hills and you have a much bigger issue with the need for micro towers all over the place.

No kidding. SF is a nightmare for any cell provider. I have many friends there and visit often (or call al lot). And for years, reception has always been splotchy regardless of carrier. It's chiefly about location. 100 yards up, down, left, right... can change everything.

Older buildings and homes are smothered in lead paint. That's not mobile carriers fault. The ridiculous hills and tower zoning aren't either. Nor is it that the population is extremely mobile, bouncing from cell to cell to cell. This is not a new phenomenon. Cell boundaries can literally shift by the minute due to traffic, weather, interference etc. Overlapping cell grids leads to towers interfering with others, so naturally dead spots can't be totally saturated everywhere, all the time.

 

[taylorharris50]

The issue is exclusivity and not how good the chosen carrier is

I use Sprint because I get a free plan through work. I used to use AT&T and thought the service was fine plus play around on the iPad over 3G. I do not own an iPhone ONLY because of the required AT&T contract.

 

[ark561]

AT&T has really good coverage in Columbus and Cincinnati Ohio. I've always been happy with the service and haven't had many issues with the iPhone 4. I can't speak for too many other areas, but places I used to travel for my previous job (Detroit, Baltimore/Aberdeen, San Antonio) had good coverage as well (with my 3GS and Blackjack before that).

 

[techkidd4400]

There is definitively a lot of room for improvement in AT&T's performance but I'm one of those that is satisfied.

Unsatisfied users are very vocal about it, while pleased customers might not care to actively share their experience. After all, AT&T does not have an outstanding/excellent performance but is good enough. Is definitively not as bad as many say it is.

Your comment illustrates why some surveys are unreliable. What one user may tolerate as being "good enough," "satisfying," or even "excellent" service may vary dramatically among other users. I would never consider a cell phone service provider that had "a lot of room for improvement" as one whose service I would be satisfied with.

 

[techkidd4400]

I've been on Cingular/AT&T Since at least 2003 and I've had no complaints. No dropped calls. Excellent service.

Always makes me a bit baffled when I hear folks complain.

Hmm... do you use your phone? I have never owned a cell phone from any cell phone provider that did not occasionally drop calls. Some service providers are better than others, but none are excellent (in the U.S.). Not yet.

 

[ezl]

Wife and I both have iPhone 4s and live and work in and around NYC. No issues with dropped/failed calls or anything ever. And these are our main phones - no land line. We've had AT&T service for about 3 years, since iPhone 3g.

And for the record, the I have improved reception with the new design and can't duplicate the death grip.

 

[slughead]

I guess most people are generally pleased with lackluster service. Heck McDonalds sells the most hamburgers and nobody will call that "quality food". Fact is most people are lazy and go with the flow even if they should demand better.

Right. Not only that, but iPhone users usually haven't owned a smart phone before (or in most cases, a phone with any usable internet at all).

I was waiting to see "73% of iphone users are happy with service, 99% don't have a basis for comparison in the smart phone market."

I'm sure if you teleported someone from 1985 into today's area inside shielded basement at Area 51 and gave him an iphone4, even with 1 bar and dropped calls every 5 minutes, he'd be freaking out.

I want unlimited data and free tethering. A good network would be nice too.

 

[iPhoneFour]

SF reception

No kidding. SF is a nightmare for any cell provider.

I'm no longer living in the area, but I'd have to agree - heck, the hills even play hell with normal radio reception (watch the stations drop-out around the Presidio approach to the GG Bridge).

I did most of my business in SOMA so it wasn't too bad there, or the financial district up thu Levis Plaza, but I can only imagine what the core of the city was like. I remember spotty coverage on the edge of the China Town, but I'm sure it was bad elsewhere.

 

[davidbrummy]

Hmm... do you use your phone? I have never owned a cell phone from any cell phone provider that did not occasionally drop calls. Some service providers are better than others, but none are excellent (in the U.S.). Not yet.

Last night at 6pm my wife called me to say she had picked up the kids from their SF preschool. I was in Burlingame at Safeway. The initial call dropped in 5 secs. I called her back and got three call failed. I finally got through and got a whole 30 secs in before the call dropped. I called her back one more time and the call dropped with the last words I uttered "This is stupid I will speak to you at home". This is a typical Friday evening. We generally text now as it is less frustrating.

This is not unusual. We both have 3G iPhones and I was did try to pre-order an iPhone 4 as I am a Apple fan. However after the whole order mess when the site was down and the current three week wait I have lost the desire and are in wait until my contract runs out in December.

BTW for the people who say it is your fault for living in the Bay Area, get a grip. This is the tech center of the world and I work in tech. Also forgive me for wanting to make a call when I pay the same as people who live in the middle of nowhere. I do have some sympathy for AT&T but saying its users choice is stupid. AT&T coverage map of SF should have some colour that corresponds to coverage but no chance of making a call.

 

[davidbrummy]

Last night at 6pm my wife called me to say she had picked up the kids from their SF preschool. I was in Burlingame at Safeway. The initial call dropped in 5 secs. I called her back and got three call failed. I finally got through and got a whole 30 secs in before the call dropped. I called her back one more time and the call dropped with the last words I uttered "This is stupid I will speak to you at home". This is a typical Friday evening. We generally text now as it is less frustrating.

This is not unusual. We both have 3G iPhones and I was did try to pre-order an iPhone 4 as I am a Apple fan. However after the whole order mess when the site was down and the current three week wait I have lost the desire and are in wait until my contract runs out in December.

BTW for the people who say it is your fault for living in the Bay Area, get a grip. This is the tech center of the world and I work in tech. Also forgive me for wanting to make a call when I pay the same as people who live in the middle of nowhere. I do have some sympathy for AT&T but saying its users choice is stupid. AT&T coverage map of SF should have some colour that corresponds to coverage but no chance of making a call.

PS. When we had Treo's on Sprint no issue. AT&T just sucks in the Bay Area and it is their fault not mine.

 

[techkidd4400]

Wife and I both have iPhone 4s and live and work in and around NYC. No issues with dropped/failed calls or anything ever. And these are our main phones - no land line. We've had AT&T service for about 3 years, since iPhone 3g.

And for the record, the I have improved reception with the new design and can't duplicate the death grip.

I think it is terrific that you haven't experienced "dropped/failed calls or anything ever" for the 3 years you have had an iPhone in NYC. It sounds like you have been very lucky since ATT has acknowledged service problems with it's network capacity in NYC.

 

[xxgilxx]

27% Whiners...Sounds like a society standards.

God I hate whiners!!!!