Verizon Media Event Today, iPhone Expected

[lilo777]

Yeah. I imagine the earliest we'll see LTE is 2012.
Apple will probably wait for the service to mature.


And still the best phone on the market.

But yeah, I'd wait out those extra months for the new iPhone.

So, you think 3G phone is better than 4G phone? Many new phones also have faster CPUs (even dual cores) and more RAM. I know, it's all about the "overall experience" but still.

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Your point about Verizon is correct, but you are wrong when saying that "AT&T was a good option for them in the United States." The first iPhone was totally compatible with T-Mobile, so Apple should have either gone with them exclusively or offered the iPhone to them in addition to AT&T. Prior to the first iPhone launch, T-Mobile had won J.D. Power and Associates awards, whereas AT&T was infamous for their horrendous service and customer service.

AT&T's service was better at the time of the iPhone launch, and it is still plenty good for many customers. But to address your point directly, T-Mobile would have been a good additional carrier, but their network could not have sustained the iPhone as the exclusive iPhone provider. Also, T-Mobile's service coverage is poorer than AT&T's and Verizon's in most areas.

Whatever problems AT&T encountered, T-Mobile would have had it much worse.

And the argument that 3G compatible iPhones would not have worked on T-Mobile is utter garbage. Yes, T-Mobile uses the GSM 1700MHz AWS band for 3G. It would have been far easier and cheaper for Apple to add that band on their iPhones than to make a CDMA version.

I hope it goes without saying that Apple's decisions have been based on profitability and business, and that they've made the right decisions in this regard (though I guess I shouldn't underestimate the considerably large band of armchair CEOs on the internet). They didn't get it wrong when they went to AT&T initially, and they didn't get it wrong when they got Verizon at this point. The only improvement I can imagine would have been landing Verizon sooner, though they probably wanted to do some considerable product testing to make sure the CDMA version worked properly. If they're going to scoop up other US providers, though, I imagine it will happen soon.

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

So, you think 3G phone is better than 4G phone? Many new phones also have faster CPUs (even dual cores) and more RAM. I know, it's all about the "overall experience" but still.

Sorry, missed ya.

Conceptually, who doesn't want the option to use 4G if it is available? But it isn't worth Apple making other sacrifices in terms of device size, for example, and there's no worthwhile business case for adopting it when it is still such a young technology. In time they'll be able to integrate it using less space and they'll be able to better address any associated battery concerns.

As for CPUs and RAM, I can only assume you're speaking about phone contents relative to the LTE hardware? I doubt these factors really played into the LTE decision Tim Cook alluded to in his Q&A. Or if you're just mentioning it generally, the iPhone 4 was in the top class when it was released, and whatever follows up will evolve again as well. Not that these statistics are the most important factor when deciding on phone performance anyway. OS optimization is far more important.