It's obvious that Verizon's talks with Apple haven't / aren't going well, but given that Apple can provide the iPhone to another company after the exclusivity contract ends with AT&T in June of next year, this is just awful strategy. Sure the talks may not have been going well, and sure Apple would need to make a CDMA version of the iPhone for it to work properly on Verizon's network... but the odds of Apple doing a deal with other cell phone providers for June are very high. Why wouldn't Apple do a deal with T-Mobile or Sprint? You know they will be trying to, if anything just to get AT&T to pay more to re-up the existing deal.
It seems to me that rather than killing all chances of getting the iPhone ever--which they have essentially done at this point knowing Steve's propensity to hold grudges-- they could have saved the money they are putting into the anti-iPhone ads and "iPhone killer" phones and just... done a deal to get the iPhone. As it is Verizon's tired story of "awesome network, crappy phones" will just continue to be true. Or at the very least become "awesome network, better phones than before but not the best/most appealing phone on the market."
Could this attack be a sign that Verizon is starting to panic? And that all its prior moves, i.e., Storm, Blackberry 2-for-1, have failed to stem the tide?
Has the $99 iPhone and iPhone 3Gs really caused its churn rate to spike even more than it has over the last two years? We'll know soon enough.
By the way, I know a bunch of people (workplace, neighborhood) who in the last 3 months switched from Verizon/T-mobile to AT&T but didn't get an iPhone. Crazy.
ATT's network deployment is the very definition of "FAIL", as it may work in metro areas, but unless you have no desire to explore what may be outside the local loop freeway, ATT's network is useless.
I travel all over the US and carry an iPhone and a Verizon BlackBerry. I would say that overall, Verizon has a slight lead on AT&T, but not a huge one.
I also have to say that it took me awhile to get used to the virtual keyboard. I can now type a little faster on it than my BB, but not quite as accurately. Thankfully, the auto-correct is awesome so the iPhone still wins.
I don't find the Droid to be ugly, and from what I've read it will be pretty snappy. I'd really like it to be a great phone. Don't want Apple to get too lazy.
That was a major mistake allowing them to name the phone Droid. First of all, they'll be sued by Lucasfilm, second, if the phone is a bust it'll be tied very, very closely to the entire Android moniker. They would have been much wiser to call it the "Transformr" (yes, there's a letter missing on purpose) and license the name if necessary from Hasbro.
It's been licensed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noexpectations
iDon't support concurrent web access and voice calls.
We don't know that yet however it is likely to be both true and not a concern to most people.
Quote:
iDon't support international network standards (like GSM).
We also don't know if that is true yet as well. It is possible to design a phone for both as RIM has done with the Storm2. Even if it turns out to be EVDO only what percentage of customers do you think this would affect since they already have millions of customers now who clearly do not have that concern.
Quote:
iDon't have over 85,000 APPs (at least not yet).
I say this as an iPhone owner, that number is so overblown. Most of the apps are pure crap, repackaged web content or a container to access web content. Am I not going to consider this phone since it doens't have a Wells Fargo app, or LA Times or CNN app or will I just go to their website instead?
Quote:
iDo want complete control of all hardware and Apps on your smart phones.
iWill disable features that do not benefit my bottom line.
iWIll nickel and dime you for everything.
iWill bash the other guys..until my network fails under the same pressure when it is finally tested.
2005 called and wants their talking point back. This reasoning would be just like bashing Apple for lack of MMS. It is dated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erac3rx
It's obvious that Verizon's talks with Apple haven't / aren't going well, but given that Apple can provide the iPhone to another company after the exclusivity contract ends with AT&T in June of next year, this is just awful strategy. Sure the talks may not have been going well, and sure Apple would need to make a CDMA version of the iPhone for it to work properly on Verizon's network... but the odds of Apple doing a deal with other cell phone providers for June are very high. Why wouldn't Apple do a deal with T-Mobile or Sprint? You know they will be trying to, if anything just to get AT&T to pay more to re-up the existing deal.
It seems to me that rather than killing all chances of getting the iPhone ever--which they have essentially done at this point knowing Steve's propensity to hold grudges-- they could have saved the money they are putting into the anti-iPhone ads and "iPhone killer" phones and just... done a deal to get the iPhone. As it is Verizon's tired story of "awesome network, crappy phones" will just continue to be true. Or at the very least become "awesome network, better phones than before but not the best/most appealing phone on the market."
I'd say the iPhone talks have pretty much ended and thus Verizon is going with the anyone but Apple iPhone camp. Considering every other smartphone will soon be able to work on whatever network works best around their home it only makes Apple look bad. Verizon had an ad a while ago where they flaunted Blackberry but on the Verizon network. The AT&T Blackberry was in "paperweight" mode if I recall correctly. Blackberry, Android, WebOS and WinMo all look like they will be available in a number of ways across a number of carriers. Apple will be the simplified but limited choice here.
People should also worry because many folks have been tolerating AT&T until their contract is up hoping another major carrier would be added. Now it appears AT&T and all the strain their network is undergoing is going to be the norm for the forseeable future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark2005
Could this attack be a sign that Verizon is starting to panic? And that all its prior moves, i.e., Storm, Blackberry 2-for-1, have failed to stem the tide?
Has the $99 iPhone and iPhone 3Gs really caused its churn rate to spike even more than it has over the last two years? We'll know soon enough.
By the way, I know a bunch of people (workplace, neighborhood) who in the last 3 months switched from Verizon/T-mobile to AT&T but didn't get an iPhone. Crazy.
Stem the tide? Dude are you nuts? Verizon is in a great position. The iPhone is great but it would be like claiming that lack of Mac sales harms Intel. The sales just go to the alternative. Verizon is making sure there are plenty of alternatives, has an equally low rate of churn and still is growing by leaps and bounds.
That said, I'm still looking forward to Tmobile improving their network and won't mind pocketing some extra cash if Project Dark comes to fruition by using my 2G iPhone on it for unlimited everything for $60 a month.
flip out a touch screen with the keys, or be able to use it for more screen space, build a larger battery, i don't need a credit card to talk into. who cares if it weights another 6 oz.
what they have is great for 12-21 year old kids, but let's get real for the business traveler.
No offence but I think you are just out of touch on what people generally want.
Virtual keyboards are not just for kids 12-21. Lots of people love them to death and prefer them over the physical ones (me included, and I am far, far, far from that age group). Also most people value the thin-ness and lightness of their handsets, a bigger one would be ridiculed, not welcomed by most consumers.
Doesn't Steve Jobs own Lucasfilm? In fact Google tells me that Lucasfilm was renamed to Pixar. Does anyone else see the irony in Verizon paying Steve Jobs every time they ship a Droid?
Oh. I just remembered that Steve sold Pixar to Disney a while back. Jobs is a board member at Disney and probably got lots of stock. But the connection isn't as significant as I thought it might be.
So you've never actually used an iPhone, even going so far as to admit never typing on it but blasting the iPhone because LG's virtual keyboards suck? Wow, you are quite possibly the worst kind of troll I have ever seen. Go to an Apple store, AT&T store, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, wherever, and just try an iPhone for 15 minutes, then tell me what you think (that is, of course, assuming you can have a coherent thought).
Doesn't Steve Jobs own Lucasfilm? In fact Google tells me that Lucasfilm was renamed to Pixar. Does anyone else see the irony in Verizon paying Steve Jobs every time they ship a Droid?
Pixar is a former subsidiary of Lucasfilm, sold to Jobs, now (as you indicated in your followup) to Disney. But, no, Pixar would not derive any income from the Droid trademark.
I guess this iPhone bashing means I'll have to switch over to T Mobile to get an iPhone. I'm disappointed as I planned on waiting for a Verizon iPhone. Doesn't look likely at this point
What's the deal with that protruding lip at the base? I can't understand what it's supposed to be. It doesn't look functional (although, maybe, something to grasp when you slide the keyboard out?) and it seems like it would be kind of a pain in the ass in use. Just something to get fouled on keys or lint in your pocket.
good comparison actually. the iPhone has all the apps people want
I have an iPhone 3G and an European HTC Hero so I can compare the two platforms.
Perhaps the App Store have a lot more applications (well, we can discount the 10 thousand fart/sound/etc applications) but with my iPhone I can't listen to Spotify while surfing the web. And the Android notification system (both for local or internet applications) beats up the messy Push Notifications of the iPhone. Pleas, why a calendar application have to have Push Notifications and be online to get them?
I think it's somewhat telling that the G1 (and Pre) users clamored for a virtual keyboard, claiming that the physical keyboard often wasn't convenient to use. Virtual keyboards are the future, probably even at the desktop (or laptop).
I actually think speech to text is the future for mobile devices. Assuming that the quality is good enough, it's ideal for composing email and text messages, which is the vast majority of typing situations for mobile devices.
Admittedly, speaking emoticons might be a bit weird -- or deleting parts of your message might be easier using the touchscreen. But overall, it seems like the fastest way to compose conversational messages.
Then again, envisioning a future where people just walk around and speak text messages to each other rather than using traditional communication is a bit eerie...
I actually think speech to text is the future for mobile devices. Assuming that the quality is good enough, it's ideal for composing email and text messages, which is the vast majority of typing situations for mobile devices.
Admittedly, speaking emoticons might be a bit weird -- or deleting parts of your message might be easier using the touchscreen. But overall, it seems like the most optimal way to compose conversational messages.
Please, no! It is a world full of people, and think how much noisier it would be if everyone depended on speech to text. It's bad enough now with all those damn cell phones!
obviously everyone wants thin and light, otherwise apple wouldn't be selling these things by the millions. I'm just saying that one size doesn't fit all, and some people like slip out keyboards, and a replaceable battery. Might as well leverage the iPhone and take more market share, and profits. Let's have a choice, (besides color.)
Please, no! It is a world full of people, and think how much noisier it would be if everyone depended on speech to text. It's bad enough now with all those damn cell phones!
To me it's not so much the noise that's troublesome, it's the fact that I don't know if I'd be able interact with people who spend most of their time speaking partial messages to each other rather than having interactive conversations (or, moreover, whether they'd be able to interact with me)?
I already find the text message generation to be awkward enough at face-to-face communication as it is. I've spent most of my life in front of computers and even I don't understand them.
Comments
It's obvious that Verizon's talks with Apple haven't / aren't going well, but given that Apple can provide the iPhone to another company after the exclusivity contract ends with AT&T in June of next year, this is just awful strategy. Sure the talks may not have been going well, and sure Apple would need to make a CDMA version of the iPhone for it to work properly on Verizon's network... but the odds of Apple doing a deal with other cell phone providers for June are very high. Why wouldn't Apple do a deal with T-Mobile or Sprint? You know they will be trying to, if anything just to get AT&T to pay more to re-up the existing deal.
It seems to me that rather than killing all chances of getting the iPhone ever--which they have essentially done at this point knowing Steve's propensity to hold grudges-- they could have saved the money they are putting into the anti-iPhone ads and "iPhone killer" phones and just... done a deal to get the iPhone. As it is Verizon's tired story of "awesome network, crappy phones" will just continue to be true. Or at the very least become "awesome network, better phones than before but not the best/most appealing phone on the market."
Could this attack be a sign that Verizon is starting to panic? And that all its prior moves, i.e., Storm, Blackberry 2-for-1, have failed to stem the tide?
Has the $99 iPhone and iPhone 3Gs really caused its churn rate to spike even more than it has over the last two years? We'll know soon enough.
By the way, I know a bunch of people (workplace, neighborhood) who in the last 3 months switched from Verizon/T-mobile to AT&T but didn't get an iPhone. Crazy.
Where did that guy come from?!!? I'll bet even the Swedes say "Woh!?! is that dude is WHITE or what?!?!"
Yes, as sheff said, "Talk about out of place color..."
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
good one
I never thought of it before, but could the Jobs RDF be the same as the Jedi mind trick?
I wish Apple would hire Mark Hamill to make a response ad, using the quote you cited.
ATT's network deployment is the very definition of "FAIL", as it may work in metro areas, but unless you have no desire to explore what may be outside the local loop freeway, ATT's network is useless.
I travel all over the US and carry an iPhone and a Verizon BlackBerry. I would say that overall, Verizon has a slight lead on AT&T, but not a huge one.
I also have to say that it took me awhile to get used to the virtual keyboard. I can now type a little faster on it than my BB, but not quite as accurately. Thankfully, the auto-correct is awesome so the iPhone still wins.
I don't find the Droid to be ugly, and from what I've read it will be pretty snappy. I'd really like it to be a great phone. Don't want Apple to get too lazy.
Yep, from wikipedia:
"Droids are robots seen in Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Ben 10 and is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd"
Good call. I was going to say you're full of sh!t until I looked up the facts before I did so.
How do you guys know that Motorola didn't already procure limited rights to the trademark from Lucasfilm Ltd prior to announcing this product?
Thompson
That was a major mistake allowing them to name the phone Droid. First of all, they'll be sued by Lucasfilm, second, if the phone is a bust it'll be tied very, very closely to the entire Android moniker. They would have been much wiser to call it the "Transformr" (yes, there's a letter missing on purpose) and license the name if necessary from Hasbro.
It's been licensed.
iDon't support concurrent web access and voice calls.
We don't know that yet however it is likely to be both true and not a concern to most people.
iDon't support international network standards (like GSM).
We also don't know if that is true yet as well. It is possible to design a phone for both as RIM has done with the Storm2. Even if it turns out to be EVDO only what percentage of customers do you think this would affect since they already have millions of customers now who clearly do not have that concern.
iDon't have over 85,000 APPs (at least not yet).
I say this as an iPhone owner, that number is so overblown. Most of the apps are pure crap, repackaged web content or a container to access web content. Am I not going to consider this phone since it doens't have a Wells Fargo app, or LA Times or CNN app or will I just go to their website instead?
iDo want complete control of all hardware and Apps on your smart phones.
iWill disable features that do not benefit my bottom line.
iWIll nickel and dime you for everything.
iWill bash the other guys..until my network fails under the same pressure when it is finally tested.
2005 called and wants their talking point back. This reasoning would be just like bashing Apple for lack of MMS. It is dated.
It's obvious that Verizon's talks with Apple haven't / aren't going well, but given that Apple can provide the iPhone to another company after the exclusivity contract ends with AT&T in June of next year, this is just awful strategy. Sure the talks may not have been going well, and sure Apple would need to make a CDMA version of the iPhone for it to work properly on Verizon's network... but the odds of Apple doing a deal with other cell phone providers for June are very high. Why wouldn't Apple do a deal with T-Mobile or Sprint? You know they will be trying to, if anything just to get AT&T to pay more to re-up the existing deal.
It seems to me that rather than killing all chances of getting the iPhone ever--which they have essentially done at this point knowing Steve's propensity to hold grudges-- they could have saved the money they are putting into the anti-iPhone ads and "iPhone killer" phones and just... done a deal to get the iPhone. As it is Verizon's tired story of "awesome network, crappy phones" will just continue to be true. Or at the very least become "awesome network, better phones than before but not the best/most appealing phone on the market."
I'd say the iPhone talks have pretty much ended and thus Verizon is going with the anyone but Apple iPhone camp. Considering every other smartphone will soon be able to work on whatever network works best around their home it only makes Apple look bad. Verizon had an ad a while ago where they flaunted Blackberry but on the Verizon network. The AT&T Blackberry was in "paperweight" mode if I recall correctly. Blackberry, Android, WebOS and WinMo all look like they will be available in a number of ways across a number of carriers. Apple will be the simplified but limited choice here.
People should also worry because many folks have been tolerating AT&T until their contract is up hoping another major carrier would be added. Now it appears AT&T and all the strain their network is undergoing is going to be the norm for the forseeable future.
Could this attack be a sign that Verizon is starting to panic? And that all its prior moves, i.e., Storm, Blackberry 2-for-1, have failed to stem the tide?
Has the $99 iPhone and iPhone 3Gs really caused its churn rate to spike even more than it has over the last two years? We'll know soon enough.
By the way, I know a bunch of people (workplace, neighborhood) who in the last 3 months switched from Verizon/T-mobile to AT&T but didn't get an iPhone. Crazy.
Stem the tide? Dude are you nuts? Verizon is in a great position. The iPhone is great but it would be like claiming that lack of Mac sales harms Intel. The sales just go to the alternative. Verizon is making sure there are plenty of alternatives, has an equally low rate of churn and still is growing by leaps and bounds.
That said, I'm still looking forward to Tmobile improving their network and won't mind pocketing some extra cash if Project Dark comes to fruition by using my 2G iPhone on it for unlimited everything for $60 a month.
Considering it's "open source" (notice the quotes) then a software keyboard shouldn't be so hard.
Ships w/ one.
flip out a touch screen with the keys, or be able to use it for more screen space, build a larger battery, i don't need a credit card to talk into. who cares if it weights another 6 oz.
what they have is great for 12-21 year old kids, but let's get real for the business traveler.
No offence but I think you are just out of touch on what people generally want.
Virtual keyboards are not just for kids 12-21. Lots of people love them to death and prefer them over the physical ones (me included, and I am far, far, far from that age group). Also most people value the thin-ness and lightness of their handsets, a bigger one would be ridiculed, not welcomed by most consumers.
Doesn't Steve Jobs own Lucasfilm? In fact Google tells me that Lucasfilm was renamed to Pixar. Does anyone else see the irony in Verizon paying Steve Jobs every time they ship a Droid?
Pixar is a former subsidiary of Lucasfilm, sold to Jobs, now (as you indicated in your followup) to Disney. But, no, Pixar would not derive any income from the Droid trademark.
verry moto-esque design
verry 2000.
its really so tired in design that it could be bought as a retro device and considered cool.
As I looked at those pictures I couldn't come up with it. It's a retro look.
good comparison actually. the iPhone has all the apps people want
I have an iPhone 3G and an European HTC Hero so I can compare the two platforms.
Perhaps the App Store have a lot more applications (well, we can discount the 10 thousand fart/sound/etc applications) but with my iPhone I can't listen to Spotify while surfing the web. And the Android notification system (both for local or internet applications) beats up the messy Push Notifications of the iPhone. Pleas, why a calendar application have to have Push Notifications and be online to get them?
I think it's somewhat telling that the G1 (and Pre) users clamored for a virtual keyboard, claiming that the physical keyboard often wasn't convenient to use. Virtual keyboards are the future, probably even at the desktop (or laptop).
I actually think speech to text is the future for mobile devices. Assuming that the quality is good enough, it's ideal for composing email and text messages, which is the vast majority of typing situations for mobile devices.
Admittedly, speaking emoticons might be a bit weird -- or deleting parts of your message might be easier using the touchscreen. But overall, it seems like the fastest way to compose conversational messages.
Then again, envisioning a future where people just walk around and speak text messages to each other rather than using traditional communication is a bit eerie...
I actually think speech to text is the future for mobile devices. Assuming that the quality is good enough, it's ideal for composing email and text messages, which is the vast majority of typing situations for mobile devices.
Admittedly, speaking emoticons might be a bit weird -- or deleting parts of your message might be easier using the touchscreen. But overall, it seems like the most optimal way to compose conversational messages.
Please, no! It is a world full of people, and think how much noisier it would be if everyone depended on speech to text. It's bad enough now with all those damn cell phones!
Please, no! It is a world full of people, and think how much noisier it would be if everyone depended on speech to text. It's bad enough now with all those damn cell phones!
To me it's not so much the noise that's troublesome, it's the fact that I don't know if I'd be able interact with people who spend most of their time speaking partial messages to each other rather than having interactive conversations (or, moreover, whether they'd be able to interact with me)?
I already find the text message generation to be awkward enough at face-to-face communication as it is. I've spent most of my life in front of computers and even I don't understand them.