'The Truth Hurts': Verizon Zings AT&T in Advertising Spat

[mr_matalino]

I cannot see the misrepresentation that AT&T is complaining about. The whole Verizon commercial talks about 3G coverage and the map is clearly labeled "3G coverage". AT&T is all worried because it doesn't show EDGE coverage?? C'mon!

 

[carmenodie]

like little boys fighting.
Verizon has a point but they don't have the iphone. They are smarting from all the defectors running to at&t for the iphone. Now Verizon has the Moto Droid but c'mon. That is a step back from the iphone which is a power house product right out the box. I don't have a freaking V cast product like all them smart phones on Verizon. The moto droid doesn't have an app store or a multimedia ecosystem like the iphone and they won't get ine either. Why? Cause Verizon pimps all their phones.
I have the iphone and I'm not leaving at&t.
Also, did you hear all the noise coming from the net about how Verizon has increased their early termination fee. It is now $350.00 bucks. Go over to engadget(I'm not spamming) to read the article. WTF! Yeah, Verizon is really trying hard to keep the suckers on their network.
Oh, did you also hear how NASA is using the iphone as a chemical sensor? The iphone is more than what Apple has us to believe it is. It is a revolutionary product far beyond that rebranded, gimmicky trash coming down the pike from them tired cell phone vendors.

 

[Rootus]

Meh. They all suck. Verizon has the slimiest business practices of any wireless carrier (e.g. disabling data transfer on the RAZR so that you are forced to download pictures through the Verizon network ... for a fee, of course).

AT&T may not have as good a coverage, but in my experience what this demonstrates is that having coverage across large swaths of unpopulated desert does not benefit many people. I rarely lose 3G coverage. :shrug:

Also worth noting ... I took my iPhone down to Loreto, Mexico a few weeks ago for a couple weeks and I had 3G coverage the entire time down there. What kind of coverage would I have had if I were a Verizon customer?

 

[javaJake]

Good gravy, where does the madness end? Why can't customers be given the choice of whether or not to pay attention to Verizon commercials? Why can't AT&T come back with their own ad campaign? Why must the government be called in every time AT&T has an issue?

Jealous much, AT&T? Is that it? 🙄

</mild rant>

 

[kdarling]

And I suspect Apple is secretly disgusted with AT&T and would love to open the iPhone up to rival carriers. They just have to be sure they can justify the cost of a new iPhone with different technology that would pretty much only work in the US on Verizon's network.

Every other phone manufacturer can justify the cost.

Apple wouldn't make a CDMA-only phone, though. They'd most likely do the same as HTC, Samsung and RIM, and make a combination GSM + CDMA phone.

A combo phone means one factory model, that can be sold to both GSM carriers and to the 130+ million North American CDMA users (and however many other compatible users, I believe New Zealand is one).

 

[Xavier]

buzz-zing!

.. AT&T still has better phones though. Verizon, please do something about that (Yes the Droid is nice)

 

[Goona]

CDMA is inferior technology, which is why it's being dumped. Bell and Telus in Canada just dumped it and moved to GSM. Why should Apple jump onto an inferior and dying technology?

 

[sanford]

Meh. They all suck. Verizon has the slimiest business practices of any wireless carrier (e.g. disabling data transfer on the RAZR so that you are forced to download pictures through the Verizon network ... for a fee, of course).

AT&T may not have as good a coverage, but in my experience what this demonstrates is that having coverage across large swaths of unpopulated desert does not benefit many people. I rarely lose 3G coverage. :shrug:

Also worth noting ... I took my iPhone down to Loreto, Mexico a few weeks ago for a couple weeks and I had 3G coverage the entire time down there. What kind of coverage would I have had if I were a Verizon customer?

AT&T does have great international coverage arrangements. I get great voice and 3G coverage in the EU.

 

[*LTD*]

As long as the iPhone is locked to AT&T, the "truth" doesn't really matter.

 

[tuhoops]

I was told that Verizon's 3G network is just for data. AT&T's carries both data and voice. (I could be wrong).

Personally, I haven't had any trouble with AT&T. Dropped calls are rare (once a month if that often). 3G Data is speedy. Edge is horrible, but my area is covered by 3G.

But I think Verizon will win this PR war.

And I suspect Apple is secretly disgusted with AT&T and would love to open the iPhone up to rival carriers. They just have to be sure they can justify the cost of a new iPhone with different technology that would pretty much only work in the US on Verizon's network.

Verizon's EVDO Rev A can't handle voice & data simultaneously. So, you can't be on a call and check your email at the same time, etc. AT&T's 3G does handle voice & data simultaneously. This is a big difference IMHO. That said, AT&T should just be concentrating on improving their existing 3G network and working diligently to have the best, most expansive 4G network.

 

[sanford]

Verizon's EVDO Rev A can't handle voice & data simultaneously. So, you can't be on a call and check your email at the same time, etc. AT&T's 3G does handle voice & data simultaneously. This is a big difference IMHO. That said, AT&T should just be concentrating on improving their existing 3G network and working diligently to have the best, most expansive 4G network.

You're kidding. So I can't be on a call and get an email from whomever I'm on the call with? Or look up something on the web or via a web App and tell the caller? I do that all the time. That would be a deal-breaker for me w/ Verizon, if that's the case.

 

[shiseiryu1]

Stop wasting time and money AT&T

AT&T needs to stop wasting time and money with its lawyers and instead focus on expanding it's 3G service. There is still no 3G service in the Asheville, NC area even though reps said that it would come late summer...then September..then November. I would SO switch to Verizon if I could get the iPhone on that network.

 

[jaredmauch]

AT&T gets what's coming to it

AT&T finally is getting what they've been deserving. Even if it's just their Mobility(Cingular) division.

I hope they have some similar wake-up calls given to all their lines of business. I'm tired of their still-monopoly selves giving me crappy service for PSTN as well as Cellular. I regularly get dropped calls with AT&T enough that I will avoid those roads while on a call. The baseband crashes on the iPhone all the time for me. Its easy to see how the JB community would find holes in it.

I'm waiting for something more than FTT-maybe-neighborhood, more like FIOS for internet access at home. I wish there was real competition instead of the faux competition. It's just sad. Makes me want to return to Japan where there is real [fast] internet access and better cellular coverage.

 

[guzhogi]

I knew that the maps in the commercial were for 3G coverage only. Because they actually say their 3G coverage, not total coverage (3G or not). But, to be fair to AT&T, I can see how people would think that the maps for for total coverage. Mainly because people practically never take the time to actually pay attention to what things say. I'm a techie where I work, & we have a color printer & a black & white printer in my office. I have a big sign on the color printer that says "This is the color printer" & a sign that says "This is the black & white printer" on the black & white printer. You won't believe how many people ask me "Is this the color printer? Or is it that one?" Reading: it makes life a whole lot easier.

 

[sanford]

AT&T needs to stop wasting time and money with its lawyers and instead focus on expanding it's 3G service. There is still no 3G service in the Asheville, NC area even though reps said that it would come late summer...then September..then November. I would SO switch to Verizon if I could get the iPhone on that network.

That's pretty much the point I was making: You have to pick the best phone on the best carrier for the area in which you'll use the phone most. For some people the phone matters more, for some the service type and coverage.

But a $350 contract cancellation fee is outrageous. I'd not sign for that, ever.

 

[drbroom]

Love my iPhone... HATE HATE HATE my network (AT&T)

Look the facts are that Verizon is right; AT&T's 3G service is awful! There is nothing AT&T can do about it but stop crying and start fixing it! That said I would love to have my iPhone on Verizon.

However Verizon has problems of their own... For example read Pogues article on how Verizon OVER charges it users and f#(k$ with it's members... (http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2009/11/12/technology/circuitsemail/index.html?8cir&emc=cir).

Look they are all bad and we (as users) love to see them fight! I am an OLD time Apple developer and love what Google is doing too (anything that messes with M$ is a good thing in my book).

All in all, the droid, the Apple tablet and what ever next interesting mobile device that comes down the road, I hope is open to what ever service we want to put them on...

 

[sanford]

I knew that the maps in the commercial were for 3G coverage only. Because they actually say their 3G coverage, not total coverage (3G or not). But, to be fair to AT&T, I can see how people would think that the maps for for total coverage. Mainly because people practically never take the time to actually pay attention to what things say. I'm a techie where I work, & we have a color printer & a black & white printer in my office. I have a big sign on the color printer that says "This is the color printer" & a sign that says "This is the black & white printer" on the black & white printer. You won't believe how many people ask me "Is this the color printer? Or is it that one?" Reading: it makes life a whole lot easier.

Exactly. It's not that Verizon absolutely misrepresents the coverage on the map. It's that the maps look like the usual total coverage maps, so AT&T is claiming they are designed to mislead the audience -- which of course they are. Not that AT&T doesn't mislead in advertising. But their point is not what the ad actually says, but what the ad may be most commonly be interpreted to say. Which is a matter for a court to evaluate.

 

[mattwolfmatt]

Check and Mate.

 

[reckless2k2]

Why doesn't AT&T come up with a commercial to combat Verizon's?

Why doesn't AT&T's commercial show a map of their total coverage compared to Verizon's total coverage? I bet AT&T has better coverage than Verizon.

The problem herein lies that Verizon does have better voice and data coverage across the US. It can be easily verified comparing maps. I have personal experience with both and can say that Verizon is better.

Unfortunately, Verizon doesn't have nearly as many phone offerings and the prices trend higher. The real issue is that Verizon doesn't have the iPhone. I mean we are in a Mac forum talking about the iPhone. I've always stood behind that fact that if Verizon got the iPhone, I may switch. The may is really more dependent on how much the overall charges are going to be. I'm sure AT&T does the overall prices better which is definitely a consideration that must be taken into account with overall cost of doing business.

The reason I switched from Verizon was because of the higher pricing. And this was before the iPhone. The device works well in the areas that I need it. If I started traveling regularly again, I'd have to jump back to Verizon.

 

[jholzner]

You're kidding. So I can't be on a call and get an email from whomever I'm on the call with? Or look up something on the web or via a web App and tell the caller? I do that all the time. That would be a deal-breaker for me w/ Verizon, if that's the case.

It's a deal-breaker 'cause it is in fact the case with VZW. Then again, it was also the case with Edge which I was stuck on until we finally got 3G here two months ago.

 

[acurafan]

note to ATT: upgrade your network already! 😡

note to Verizon: upgrade to LTE already! 🙄

can't wait to get off ATT, i hate their coverage/service too.

 

[robanga]

Maybe...just maybe companies should expend their energy telling the public why there products are good, and not why the competition is bad. (including Apple)

The Brits have some good laws about this.

 

[sanford]

It's a deal-breaker 'cause it is in fact the case with VZW. Then again, it was also the case with Edge which I was stuck on until we finally got 3G here two months ago.

Absolutely. I had an EDGE iPhone originally, and I hated I couldn't do anything w/ data while on voice. I mean I'd go to do it all the time and then remember, oh wait, I can't, I'll have to call you back. Nightmare for convenience and usability.

 

[rjtyork]

Add my voice to the many screaming that ATT's network sucks. I love my iPhone, but it can't be the world's best phone on the world's worst provider. The only thing about this is that Apple saved ATT by letting them have the iPhone exclusively. If Apple wouldn't have done that, how many of these ATT employees would be added to our growing unemployment population? But then again... Bad companies need to die out. I hope by the time the iPhone goes to other carriers, the economy will be turning around so that ATT can go out nice and peaceful.

 

[dogzilla]

You're all missing the point

All this pointless arguing of whether AT&T or Verizon is better strikes me as incredibly stupid. Let's face it, in just about any metric you want to measure, *both* AT&T and Verizon suck. The point of this campaign by Verizon isn't to attract new customers - it's to stem the wholesale defection of its customers to the iPhone. Notice how quickly they changed to focusing on AT&Ts network as opposed to attacking the iPhone itself (eg: iDon't campaign). They realized quickly that attacking the iPhone made them look peevish and out of touch.

Their current campaign is quite effective, and AT&T is only making themselves look even dumber by lodging a legal complaint. When they heard about the lawsuit, I'm sure the Verizon folks were rubbing their hands in glee, and I'm certain their response was prepared well in advance.

But for everyday customers to be fooled by this theater into a "Verizon/AT&T is better" pissing match is ridiculous. You're acting like the mindless consumers *both* companies want you to be - easily distracted by irrelevant posturing while ignoring the obvious fact that neither company can even approach what a rational person would call "good service".

And Americans wonder why the rest of the world laughs at us.