This Video says it all....to me, Verizon embarrassed Apple....not a good start.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUaFywhywjA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUaFywhywjA
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Verizon Says Short iPhone Lines Due to Strong Online Sales, Staggered Rollout
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device.I am glad this craziness with forming lines in front of Brick and Mortar stores in this day and age of online sales did not happen this time.. And that too the news outlet using that as an indicator of sales and popularity was insane.. Partying and store meet-ups are great but these added pressures take the fun out of it.
Was there ever any doubt?
How was this not completely obvious from the start? They announced that the pre-orders alone made the verizon iphone the fastest selling phone Verizon has ever had. The only people who would be in stores a week later are people not stuck in a contract on another network (a few people), or willing to pay hundreds just to get out of their contracts (practically no one).
I'm still amazed at the vapid reports of "short lines" on the day of the retail launch a week after the same news outlets reported the huge number of pre-orders. Are people this stupid (as indicated by the comments so far on this post) or are they trying to fabricate controversy for page hits?
How was this not completely obvious from the start? They announced that the pre-orders alone made the verizon iphone the fastest selling phone Verizon has ever had. The only people who would be in stores a week later are people not stuck in a contract on another network (a few people), or willing to pay hundreds just to get out of their contracts (practically no one).
I'm still amazed at the vapid reports of "short lines" on the day of the retail launch a week after the same news outlets reported the huge number of pre-orders. Are people this stupid (as indicated by the comments so far on this post) or are they trying to fabricate controversy for page hits?
I am not locked into a contract, but why would I enter a new 2 year contract for a phone that will likely be outdated in 4 months? I WILL switch to VZW when the next generation iPhone is released and I think there are a huge number of people in my situation.
Or because people reupped their AT&T contracts last year and have to wait another 14 months until they can leave and go to Verizon? Or they were smart enough not to buy an old phone at a high entry price tag knowing an update is coming this year?
I think this is the source of the confusion among iPad 2 and 3 rumors. 2 is 1.5 with a camera and features. 3 is LTE + HD, goal to need no more local storage than now, but ramp RAM.
Rocketman
I convinced myself even Apple wouldn't be arrogant enough to release a verizon iphone5 less than 6 months after the iphone4 launch, even if they do release an AT&T upgrade.
Even if Apple does pull a dick move and upgrade the verizon iphone 4 months after launch, that's still 4+ months (and 3+ major trips for me) with a smart phone I would have missed out on by waiting for a *possible* summer upgrade. So meh, it's a gamble either way, it'd suck just as much to wait 6 months, finally buy one, and then have them do a verizon iphone5 next february/march. At least this way I have a smart phone while I wait it out. If I had gotten an android 1-2 years ago I think I'd be waiting for the inevitable LTE model.
Apple will pull that dick move, making iPhone 5 "universal". They'll play that same move when they release iPad 1.5 with mobileMEH "cloudTunes" next week and in September, release iPad 2.0.
It's cute Verizon says online orders are strong thus you don't see long lines at the store. I liked Verizon before this.. now it just seems they are trying too hard to stay on Apple's good side. We all know what happens when $teve Job$ gives you two thumbs down and 2 middle fingers at the same time. Adobe and Nvidia are just two companies well aware of that ambidextrous feat!
It's cute Verizon says online orders are strong thus you don't see long lines at the store. I liked Verizon before this.. now it just seems they are trying too hard to stay on Apple's good side. We all know what happens when $teve Job$ gives you two thumbs down and 2 middle fingers at the same time. Adobe and Nvidia are just two companies well aware of that ambidextrous feat!
No
Watch the numbers over a year. In this economy, people in contracts will wait rather than buy out.
Time for CR to set the ego aside and accept that something that MIGHT happen to some people in specific situationsand which is very similar to what happens with ANY phone in specific situationsdoes not negate all the massive advantages that the iPhone has.
And those could in turn be looked at as deal-breaker problems with every other phone: maybe CR should refrain from giving a Recommended to any phone without a retina display, HDR camera and consistently-handled copy-and-paste... because those affect ALL users.
I can get my AT&T iPhone 4 to drop bars (but not calls) by cupping the bottom tightly. My previous iPhone 3G was the same.... I just never knew it until the big stir made me test it. Lots of phones are the same. But I cant make anything happen by touching the black line without cupping. Ive tried. Meanwhile my iPhone 4 holds a signal out in a national park where people I know with Droids friends cant. They get one bat, I get one bar... but my phone holds the call. I get virtually no dropped calls, ever.
But ask someone in a different area and theyll report a different experience. Fair enough, because signal issues are very complex.
In the end, I see bloggers and organizations (like CR) with an axe to grind complaining about antenna issues... but actual user complaints are rare.
And why not just say we recommend the iPhone 4 highly, but keep in mind that you MIGHT need a $10 case. Any other response from CR is irrational.
And those could in turn be looked at as deal-breaker problems with every other phone: maybe CR should refrain from giving a Recommended to any phone without a retina display, HDR camera and consistently-handled copy-and-paste... because those affect ALL users.
I can get my AT&T iPhone 4 to drop bars (but not calls) by cupping the bottom tightly. My previous iPhone 3G was the same.... I just never knew it until the big stir made me test it. Lots of phones are the same. But I cant make anything happen by touching the black line without cupping. Ive tried. Meanwhile my iPhone 4 holds a signal out in a national park where people I know with Droids friends cant. They get one bat, I get one bar... but my phone holds the call. I get virtually no dropped calls, ever.
But ask someone in a different area and theyll report a different experience. Fair enough, because signal issues are very complex.
In the end, I see bloggers and organizations (like CR) with an axe to grind complaining about antenna issues... but actual user complaints are rare.
And why not just say we recommend the iPhone 4 highly, but keep in mind that you MIGHT need a $10 case. Any other response from CR is irrational.
Well, by that logic, why would anyone buy any Android phone?
At least when an iPhone model is discontinued you be certain of getting the next few OS updates anyway 
Yes.
Companies rarely do things like this for the customer's benefit. If there's one thing Verizon would have wanted it's a long line of people outside its stores for publicity purposes so it could shout "Look at all the people rushing to get off AT&T's network!" or something similar. The fact he's delaying giving sales figures for the Verizon iPhone only proves it. After a big launch most carriers would want to be gloating about all the phones they sold.
People stuck on AT&T contracts may be to blame, so by delaying the sales figures until the regular earnings announcement they can hopefully pick up a few new customers coming off "off-cycle" contacts for iPhone 3GS (the people who didn't buy at launch but bought their phone mid product cycle) who aren't locked in for months yet for iPhone 4 purchases.
Plus there's going to be weaker demand for the Verizon iPhone by virtue of it coming out now. Everyone knows there'll be a new iPhone out later this year, and many are probably waiting until then to jump over so they aren't buying "last year's" model when they get locked into a new contract with Verizon.
There's really nothing surprising about the Verizon launch. First off, it's NOT a new model, so I don't know why we'd expect that kind of launch day interest.
Second, everyone that could buy an iPhone over the past 4 years, got one. That meant, in the States, you were on AT&T. All of the people that refused to switch to AT&T, but wanted an iPhone, got whatever handset was available. Perhaps waiting it out for the Verizon launch.
Last report I remember on actual numbers, indicated daily sales basically even with *current* AT&T sales. This makes sense. It's not the launch of a new model. AT&T's numbers for every single quarter since the launch of the iPhone 4 have been stellar. If Verizon's numbers are even with this, then they'd be QUITE happy with the launch on their network. I doubt any *single* phone on their network, was outselling the iPhone.
This is something people constantly forget, with the *army* of Android devices it takes to outsell *one* very popular phone.
Second, everyone that could buy an iPhone over the past 4 years, got one. That meant, in the States, you were on AT&T. All of the people that refused to switch to AT&T, but wanted an iPhone, got whatever handset was available. Perhaps waiting it out for the Verizon launch.
Last report I remember on actual numbers, indicated daily sales basically even with *current* AT&T sales. This makes sense. It's not the launch of a new model. AT&T's numbers for every single quarter since the launch of the iPhone 4 have been stellar. If Verizon's numbers are even with this, then they'd be QUITE happy with the launch on their network. I doubt any *single* phone on their network, was outselling the iPhone.
This is something people constantly forget, with the *army* of Android devices it takes to outsell *one* very popular phone.
Nope. I see the internet geekfest demanding blood for zero sales of iPh....no, I mean low sales of iPh....wait, that should read stacks of unsold iPho....um, actually, the ****ing things sell out as soon as they come in and Verizon sold more of this at launch than any other phone ever. That's right, the stupid LINES weren't AS LONG as they "should have been".
So I guess the blood demanded can only be answered with answers.
Yes.
Verizon now has the greatest pitchman on their side.
At this point they can do no wrong, Steve will spin the story in ways mere mortals would never think of.
There's nothing Jobs can't explain away.
No matter how bad he's got answers for everything.
What will Apple ever do without him?
I totally believe this. As I said earlier, everyone I know with a Verizon iPhone ordered it online. I don't know one person who bought it in a store. Including the launch-day orders.
Uhh - I guarantee that if the iPhone 5 came out in the dead of winter - on the coldest day of the year and a blizzard - the line would still be around the block.
The weather wasn't much (if any) of a factor.
Yeah but AT&T and Apples online order system melted down and they sold out very quickly. I am sure Verizon and Apple were more prepared for it this time.