Apple's iPhone 4 coming to Verizon on Feb. 10 for $199 - Page 6

No disagreement. Just funny to see people trying to disparage it with silly claims. Like it being 'obscure'.

I am an outsider looking in, as I am in Canada. It is just sort of hilarious to see the partisan sniping come out and how ridiculous some of the claims on either side are. Pathetic really.

It is hard to understand how someone can have an emotional attachment to their wireless carrier. They all suck in their own way.

I have an emotional attachment to mine. I hate them with my entire being.


...but their network is usually pretty good

Steve did not announce every time they added a new carrier in any of the other countries - why would he do so now? Because he loves the US so much? VZ is just another, albeit large carrier - which is why Tim Cook was there to help announce the partnership, not Steve Jobs. This was about Verizon, not Apple. Steve handles the Apple-centric stuff, he lets the rest of the guys handle the other stuff.

Now stock reaction is typical, and previously Apple stock was UP in a DOWN market yesterday, so it becomes a wash in real terms. Apple is as solidly behind this as they are behind any carrier coming on board.

You are placing way too much emphasis on this as an Apple event (which it isn't - because Apple is selling more iPhones internationally than domestically) and not seeing it for the very much Verizon event - which is why it occurred the way it did with the people it did. It ISN'T an Apple event - Verizon is just another piece of the US wireless market they are adding into their framework, period.

When I'm looking for a restaurant, or booking reservations or checking movie times, or checking the weather bug app for updates and forecasts, or adding something into my calendar, on making a quick note, or just pulling up a link I want to send to them - all while talking on the phone. Of course I use a wired or bluetooth headset most often, so going on speaker sounds silly to me, but hey - whatever works for you.

Not funny - it just works and that's why I think [I] can know this.

Who said anything about making "smartphones obscure". This feature does not define a smartphone.

Have I conducted a poll? No I havent. I rely, instead, on

1) the analysts I have already mentioned who think that millions of people will move to the iPhone as defectors from either Verizon Android phones, or AT&T iPhones, or somewhere else with no reference to this feature, no interest in it, no mention of it, and no concern about it's absence on Verizon.
2) The fact that millions of people are on Verizon - the majority carrier - and clearly dont care about this feature, on any smartphone platform.
3) The lack of movement from Android users to AT&T when AT&T started selling Android phones and the total dis-interest in Android forums about simultaneous voice and data.


. Your dad is an anecdote, my list is statistical.

I have no horse in this race. I live in the UK - and have no idea if my (GSM) phone offers this. If it mattered to APple - who I do care about as an investor and developer on iOS - then I would care about it. That is if Android had it and iPhone didnt and this was materially affecting growth of the iPhone platform ( as the reliance on one carrier clearly has).

But it isnt. Nobody cares. This thread contains the only part of the internet where it is even a remote issue.

Good for you but you are a statistical outlier. If you weren't a statistical outlier then Verizon would be bleeding customers to AT&T and they would "fix" their network. They dont care because they dont have to care. If it mattered to even 5% of their customers they would care.

Anecdotes are not statistics. Enjoy AT&T with it's data plans but most people just dont know, nor care. Most people dont read when talking. However you can stay where you are, on AT&T, so it shouldn't be an issue.

There is ONLY ONE DETERMING FACTOR in a CELLULAR NETWORK.

Coverage! Period.

Its irrelevant if x has rollover minutes, simultaneous voice/data, high speed etc....

What good is any of those if you CAN NOT USE THE DEVICE be it a phone, smart or dumb, mifi, or broadband device.

No coverage, poor coverage, or coverage that just doesn't work does no one any good.

You want coverage and reliable you get: VZW...

I got a great deal with x, but can't use it at work|school|home|part of commute|vacation spot etc... So how's that deal working if you can't use it 80% of the time? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

You want to cut costs, get minor features etc.. take your pick of carriers. They are not a commodity of equals.

When I need to use my device phone (smart or dumb) or mifi or wireless modem, then I expect it to work, period. Not oh well I got a great deal, so its ok to not work.

I've had VZW for DECADES, would not consider any one else, and have not. And I am very disappointed that it appears VZW caved into the cupertino tyrants, sad, really sad VZW!

And YES 100% I have an Android phone, and I am very pleased with it. I am also some one who decides what what phones several thousand users get, and it won't be anything from apple or rim! VZW is the agency carrier, and we put out an email, NO iphones, don't bother to ask! right after this disappointing news. Will probably have to send it out from now till February...

Thats not a good argument because there are many other factors to consider. If I said "If its such an oft-used feature or one that was so important, AT&T wouldn't be the fastest growing network with less people leaving the network over Verizon, and there wouldn't be so many "relatively happy iPhone users on the network.

But I seem to be (anecdotally) surrounded by people who do the same thing - consistently, frequently and with many others. So do I think this is a profound game-changer resulting in masses moving from VZ to ATT? Of course not. But the fact remains that like power windows on a car, having it and using it are nice features that would be missed if not available on VZ or any other carrier, by anyone who was used to being able to do that.

So... back when it was Bell Atlantic Mobile, right? Because Verizon didn't exist until 2000.


To what the heck did they "cave"? If you like Verizon so much, there should be zero reason not to get iPhones.

I think we should be very careful what we say about the differences and similarities of the two phones.

For example,

If we should say anything, lets, that is those of you that have an AT&T iPhone, post your most recent overall reception relative to specific locations that you've frequented most. It is useless to declare that "I get 5 bars" or "virtually none" without indicating where.

For those of us that love our iPhones, do we really care what service is chosen other than it provide the best experience for the user. Based on much of the rhetoric here, it is all over the place. Much of the complaints seem to come from non-users or trollers. However, there are some who are legitimately getting terrible or great reception. Should we chastize either. I don't think so.

Needless to say, there are a number of reasons to choose one over the other. But if you can't make a phone call, does it really matter if you don't get data at the same time. If it does, then the iPhone and/or Verizon shouldn't be a consideration.

We should also keep in mind that there is no perfect network. Some were there first. Some have established such a solid base that their towers can literally knock out a competitors services. And there are some communities that won't allow new or further installations for so-called aesthetic or perceived health issues. And because one brand of other cell phone work or doesn't work in certain regions, it doesn't mean that either choice of iPhone will equally act likewise.

So lets help each other help make the best choice. But in the end, if this is your first iPhone, don't forget you have at least 30 days to test it.

P.S. For what it is worth, my primary location is Metro Toronto. On Rogers, Great in Toronto (except a couple of spots around the airport and where the Humber meets the Gardner), down to the Peninsula, north to Orillia, east to Peterborough and west to Windsor. As well as in Vancouver, south to Seattle and east to Pitt Meadows. Great in Boston and along the I-95 to Worcester. As well as Shanghai, Beijing and London, UK. Note: International locations on Roaming. All in the last 6 months.

While YOUR usage may demand coverage be the end-all/be-all for the phone you choose, it is one one factor and to roundly dismiss everything else as immaterial flies in the face of the very real impact the iPhone had on ATT subscriber increases and the incredibly high demand by VZ customers for the iPhone. And since you carry your biases so forward in your reasoning I imagine I should be glad that my decisioners around what tech I get to use in my Fortune 50 company are not so arrantly irresponsible and make their decisions based on something so ridiculous. And if you were someone I had hired to manage my user infrastructure and device portfolio, you and I would be having a very serious and career impacting conversation right about now.

No, you said
"SO obscure that most GSM users dont know about it, and have never used it. So unimportant that no analyst has ever discussed as an advantage of either AT&T and the iPhone, so uninviting that there been no rush of Android users to AT&T in the last few months, so unknown that Verizon sells millions of Android ( and other smartphones) regardless of this restriction. "
So, lack of use by some makes it obscure. Millions of people don't use smartphones. That doesn't make them obscure. That would be asinine logic, so? Using the same logic to say simultaneous voice/data is 'an obscure' feature is similarly asinine. Millions of people do use it.


Doesn't make it obscure. Perhaps it means it isn't the killer feature, but it doesn't make it obscure. Bad reasoning again.


Millions on Verizon don't use smartphones at all. Were you trying to use that to make a point? I hope not. Again, all this point means is it not critical to many. Neither are smartphones in general.


Obviously Verizon has feature and capabilities that matter more to many people. No question. Like coverage and reliability. Does the fact that millions have stayed with AT&T mean that coverage and reliability don't matter at all? Does it make them 'statistically' irrelevant? Nope.


Not really. Your list is certainly approximates. It might be guesses. One thing it certainly is not, is relevant to why you think it is 'obscure'.


It matters a little to Apple. They did devote two ads just to that ability. That's more than they devoted to many other built in features. They included support for it before many other features people would have thought more critical. Obviously the realize it doesn't mater to millions or that for millions of others there are more important priorities they expect from their carrier.


There were maybe 5 questions asked at the Verizon event. Guess what one of the questions was about. The second I think. So few people care about it, it was one of the first questions asked.

Talking this afternoon to a co-worker in the US. He isn't a huge Apple follower, but is a fan and has iPhones and a Mac. I asked him if he'd be switching to Verizon. Only response? "No, they don't support browsing while talking-very lame".

You might not care about it. Tens of millions of users might not care about it. To say it is obscure or almost no one cares about it is just nonsense.

Where did I say that it was the OS?! You probably need to read my post again. The Hotspot feature on the Verizon iPhone is not enabled by default. You need to activate it through Verizon. There are many GSM carriers world wide that offer the feature but iPhone users can't use it because it doesn't exist on the iPhone.. yet.

Everyone is assuming there will be an iPhone5 in June. I personally doubt that it will be released until later in the year (at the earliest). iPhone4 was released in June last year and the company still can't make enough of them to meet customer needs.
Here in Australia, you still have up to a 2week wait to get one.

Why? The iPhone 2G came out something like four months before the 3G in the first international markets. People still bought it.

You're being overly dramatic. This is not a black and white issue. Coverage matters in the sense of whether you can use the phone or not, but that's not how it usually plays out in the real world. More likely, a consumer has a choice of at least a few mobile providers who provide coverage, but at various degrees of reliability, and in this gray area, elements like rollover minutes, data speed, mobile-to-mobile, family networks, phone selection, and all that other jazz can make all the difference.

If you have the TomTom app, you're good to go. TomTom has all the maps on board, so the only data it will use is when it downloads traffic info. In my experience, TomTom will keep giving voice directions, even if you answer, and also if you exit the app/start playing music/whatever. It just keeps on blabbing directions.

AT&T versus Verizon 3G speeds (AT&T on the left, Verizon on the right)

From AnandTech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkfaV...embedded#at=24

Jobs has publicly stated they they want to change publishing just as they have music and video. That's why Jobs will be there.

You have more or less answered your own question. Since the bulk of Verizon iPhone customers are likely existing Verizon customers they will: a) be new to smartphones so have no other experience to base an impression on; or b) are current Verizon smartphone users who are already familiar with this limitation on Verizon's network. They won't be blaming Apple or the iPhone.

I was honestly surprised to see Cook there. I had predicted in other threads that we would get a pre-recorded message or a live video feed welcoming Verizon's customers.

It's good to have it, but I wonder how many people use it. I've personally only rarely seen anyone use an iPhone with any kind of headset, earbuds, headphones, or use it in speakerphone, and that's what's necessary to do simultaneous data and voice.

It looks like it's a temporary problem though, where a solution (hopefully finished phones) will supposedly be available the first half of this year:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...333071694.html

That would be a good reason to hold off for a little while.

+1,000！

I Can't Agree With YOU MORE！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

And according to you, they were stupid for making that purchase.

NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

If You Call Those Who Buy Verizon i-Phone NOW " STUPID ", How Do You Call People Who Bought i-Pad for Their Dear ONES for ChristMas Present, Despite Being Rumored that i-Pad2 is Due in Course Within 2 Months？


Are They Stupid！？


I Don't Think SO！


People Are Free to Choose to Decide When to Spend THEIR MONEY at BEST TIME They Think IT To Be！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

Whew, I'm glad they finally did it. It would have been embarrassing if today's media event was yet another false Verizon iPhone alarm, and all Verizon was announcing was another iClone running Android.

I'd like to also add the word "FACE"!

One reason not to switch to Verizon just yet: I can use my GSM iPhone in Europe.

I'm already on Verizon, have been for 9 years. No LTE on the iPhone is a deal breaker...they had years to get this right and they blew it. What a let down.....
Oh well, looks like I'll be getting a Thunderbolt after all which is probably for the best.

Ignorance is bliss.

Also, what fricking country do you come from that every word in sentences is capitalized? I won't even get started on your use of the wrong characters for the unnecessary punctuation.


I'm sorry, show me who has an LTE network available. No LTE networks exist. No CDMA-LTE or GSM-CDMA-LTE chips exist that would have given the iPhone even remotely acceptable battery life yet. There's zero point in having LTE yet. Wait two years for your Android contract to run out and get iPhone 6.

Wow, really? This may be a stop-gap model, who knows what June may bring? It sounds like VZW wanted one now, rather than six months from now. If the size of the chips is an issue (being early in the standards cycle with first gen LTE chips and all), then I can see why Thunderbolt can fit it, because it probably has more board surface area to fit an LTE chipset.

...not getting all worked up about "the next great thing" is not the same as ignorance. Perhaps "contentment" would fit in that case.

And you have LTE now - right? Any idea how long it will take carriers to deploy LTE in your area? NO?? Awwww. Why encumber the iPhone with crap chipsets for a technology not even fully deployed yet?? Especially with a potential refresh just months away? Not that I think they will include LTE in the next iteration then either necessarily. They might if they have enough assurance about the deployment schedules for the carriers bringing LTE online within the year. But remember LTE is actually a GSM technology that Verizon has to backstrap onto their CDMA network - ATT at least is GSM already and can move within the technology.

Nothing blown here - but feel free to feel let down and enjoy your Thunderbolt, which is, for you probably for the best as you probably had no intention of buying an iPhone in the first place.

Now compare AT&T Edge speeds against Verizon 3G speeds, for all the times when I can't get a 3G data connection on AT&T.

As even Anand points out on his site the speeds are not typical of Verizon. They are likely from a Femtocell which can offer low latency speeds. We wont have any real world results until these start shipping and we can see viable side by side comparisons.

My prediction is Verizon is will fairly consistent across the country, with AT&T having issues in some places and having break away speeds in other places.



Does Verizon still have EV-DO 1z in use? If so, AT&Ts 2G EDGE would likely be faster than Verizons 3G.

Being content with a current offering is impossible without knowledge of other offerings. You can't say that someone is content with A if they have no knowledge of B. With the knowledge of B, A may no longer be a point of contentment.

What are you? One of those know-it-all naysayers who can't admit that they were wrong? If you don't like people gloating about it, then don't act like a know-it-all naysayer in the first place.

Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.

Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about third party iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.

Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.

Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.

Apple will never switch to Intel processors.

Dunno. When I get the little blue "E", 'faster' isn't exactly the word that comes to mind...