The SITUATION is messed up in the first place. The Genius was only trying to help.
If you look at the work authorization and the date of purchase, the guy is out of warranty. In the end his only option through the Genius Bar would have been to purchase an out of warranty replacement for $200.
But the Genius tried to help him (which many people do not grasp or wish to look past). He didn't necessarily give that guy that option as the only thing they could do. They marked the person's warranty status as CR (Customer relations/Appeasement) and put in his case notes what they observed so AT&T can remedy the situation. If not, then at least the warranty status was temporarily changed. If AT&T shows there's nothing wrong with the network and says that 22% IS a high amount of dropped calls, then a Genius can replace it under that CR.
The guy in this situation failed to grasp that the Genius was only trying to help. As such, he's an ungrateful a-hole who does not deserve a free replacement.
Just proves we really need to see the iPhone on T-Mobile & Verizon. Then people can choose the device they want on the network they want and we can truely see if it is the network or the iPhone.
That being said my 2G iPhone works great on T-Mobile and I've had maybe one dropped called in the 6 months of so i've had the iPhone.
Not sure how many others post here are from Oklahoma but it's not just NYC it's OKC too and the surrounding areas. Now we are no NYC by any means and it's pretty much flat out here but man it can be a hit and miss when it comes to coverage. Go about 5 miles from the interstate (East or West) and you may or may not get a 3G signal. Granted we feel like the step child in the AT&T network but it really surprises me that in a state with less than 3 million folks that this is such an issue. This goes for the University of Oklahoma's campus too. If you can find a hot spot, that's your best bet and most of my friends that have an iPhone use skype to call each other when on the campus or if they are at home. From what I've been through these past few months and from posts like these, nothing has really changed from sea to shining sea. Not happy paying for a service that is attached to an outstanding device.
Here's a hypothetical - say ATT has this phone that induces users to use a ton of data compared to other phones. Verizon on the other hand, say, might just have millions and millions of people sending all text emails back and forth on their Blackberrys. Each phone generates about $30 per month in revenue, so whichever service has more devices will be higher on your chart. But if iPhone users use 10x the revenue than a typical BB emailer, then that $30 million in revenues that the 10 million ATT iphone users pay results in usage that would take 100 million BB users sending emails.
No....this chart only shows data revenue. It has been stated before that a typical iPhone user consumes about 10 times the bandwidth of a typical smart phone user. Given this chart, it appears that AT&T is handling about 10 times the traffic.
When/if Verizon gets the iPhone, do I really want to jump over there and experience their growing pains (like I did with AT&T)? Hmmmmm.
The SITUATION is messed up in the first place. The Genius was only trying to help.
If you look at the work authorization and the date of purchase, the guy is out of warranty. In the end his only option through the Genius Bar would have been to purchase an out of warranty replacement for $200.
But the Genius tried to help him (which many people do not grasp or wish to look past). He didn't necessarily give that guy that option as the only thing they could do. They marked the person's warranty status as CR (Customer relations/Appeasement) and put in his case notes what they observed so AT&T can remedy the situation. If not, then at least the warranty status was temporarily changed. If AT&T shows there's nothing wrong with the network and says that 22% IS a high amount of dropped calls, then a Genius can replace it under that CR.
The guy in this situation failed to grasp that the Genius was only trying to help. As such, he's an ungrateful a-hole who does not deserve a free replacement.
I can't believe a whole thread is posted based on one Genius incident.
Hey, did I ever tell you about the time this here Genius.........!
The MicroCell isn't going to do a damned thing for dropped calls that aren't at home or work where you have your own MiicroCell with less than 5 users. Once you go out in public, you are still destined for the craptastic service. At least in the areas I have problems, AT&T needs to provide picocells that round out their own infrastructure (light-pole mounts in shopping districts would work most places) rather than relying on Macro Cell towers and femtocell subscriber stations.
All the MicroCell really does is help AT&T monetize other people's infrastructure where people use cable internet, or help stave off wireline subscriber losses.
The two biggest complaint areas are NY and San Fran. I bet if you took any phone, on any network, and drove around town thru hills and valleys (San Fran) and steel/concrete structures (San Fran and NY), you would have the same drop rate.
Physics is physics. Radio signals do not like to go through steel, concrete, tinted windows, passing Semi's, etc.
Physics is physics... and with that, it's physics that dictate that different radio frequencies penetrate solid objects with different effectivess. The lower the frequency the better the penetration. So while it will be higly dependent on the number and location of the cell towers, it also depends on what frequencies your carrier is using in your area. I believe I recall ATT making the statement that they were going to begin to move more of their areas to a lower frequency band where possible because of this. Perhaps NY is an area where they don't have that option? Is so, they'd need more towers than a carrier on a lower frequency (such as Verizon) to provide the same coverage.
And reality is reality. Verizon has no such problem here in NY.
Yes, I used to have Verizon and had fantastic service (but really cruddy phones). I would say that my dropped call rate on Verizon was under 1%. But AT&T is having the problems it's having due to the success of the iPhone and the high levels of data and internet usage by iPhone users. I suspect (but can't prove) that if Apple developed a CDMA version of the iPhone for Verizon, they'd probably quickly have the same service level problems.
I would say 80% of my AT&T iPhone calls get dropped. And in spite of AT&T claiming that they're improving the network, I would say things have gotten worse in the last month or two.
Verizon worked perfectly in my apartment, with AT&T I have to stand by a window.
I can almost never get my iPhone to work at all anywhere on 5th Avenue in midtown.
But even though I think Verizon would have the same problems, I'd switch back in a minute if the iPhone (or a new model) would work on Verizon.
Even when I had Verizon, one thing I noticed was that my battery life in New York City was always far worse than when I was out of town. I always attributed this to the difficulty of finding a cell tower in the skyscraper canyons of New York City. I was always amazed that I rarely had to charge my phone when I was out of town.
Verizon has no such problem in NYC. Must be the CDMA thing. But whatever, they work and most corps here use them. I had them for 6 years- never a problem.
Verizon don't have half a million phones constantly downloading and uploading large amounts of data. I think even Verizon would creak under the strain.
30% is probably about right. I'd say one in for or so calls is dropped for me.
I'm glad I don't live in NY: my friends there had such a terrible dropped call rate with Sprint that it scared me off of cell phones! Sounds like AT&T is just as bad or worse. You'd think a major city would be a top priority for quality infrastructure, yet my medium-sized city seems to fare much better.
i have a sprint BB curve and a 3GS in NYC. with Sprint my major issue is voice quality.\\
there are cell towers everywhere you look here. the problem is the buildings and the fact that a lot are built so the cell signal doesn't penetrate. and the tall buildings cause canyon effects.
on the west side where i work a few days a week there has been a huge improvement in the last month. and i was in the hilton on 53rd street last week for a conference and my iphone worked perfectly inside the building
Verizon don't have half a million phones constantly downloading and uploading large amounts of data. I think even Verizon would creak under the strain.
30% is probably about right. I'd say one in for or so calls is dropped for me.
Every crackberry here in NY is usually Verizon- I'm sure they use their share.
Comments
I have 3g 8 gig with the latest O/S installed.. Would like to upgrade to the 3gS but whats the point...
Again a 3G issue. See I hear many 3G problems in NYC with dropped calls. Don't know - just saying.
If you look at the work authorization and the date of purchase, the guy is out of warranty. In the end his only option through the Genius Bar would have been to purchase an out of warranty replacement for $200.
But the Genius tried to help him (which many people do not grasp or wish to look past). He didn't necessarily give that guy that option as the only thing they could do. They marked the person's warranty status as CR (Customer relations/Appeasement) and put in his case notes what they observed so AT&T can remedy the situation. If not, then at least the warranty status was temporarily changed. If AT&T shows there's nothing wrong with the network and says that 22% IS a high amount of dropped calls, then a Genius can replace it under that CR.
The guy in this situation failed to grasp that the Genius was only trying to help. As such, he's an ungrateful a-hole who does not deserve a free replacement.
That being said my 2G iPhone works great on T-Mobile and I've had maybe one dropped called in the 6 months of so i've had the iPhone.
I can assure you that I would rather live (as most) in NYC with a lousy AT&T network than live in NC with a great network.
Ouch. Everyone loves a NYC snob.
To be fair, and assuming the statistics discussed here are true, Verizon also isn't managing the iPhone.
That person stated:
Physics is physics. Radio signals do not like to go through steel, concrete, tinted windows, passing Semi's, etc
.
my point is-If the signal is weak don't blame the concrete, etc. Blame the transmitter, tower and the provider.
Ouch. Everyone loves a NYC snob.
With your name ending in NJ you must have felt that for quite some time?
...it appears they handle an equal amount of mobile data.
http://gigaom.com/2009/09/22/us-lead...ile-data-boom/
That's data revenue, not data transfers.
Here's a hypothetical - say ATT has this phone that induces users to use a ton of data compared to other phones. Verizon on the other hand, say, might just have millions and millions of people sending all text emails back and forth on their Blackberrys. Each phone generates about $30 per month in revenue, so whichever service has more devices will be higher on your chart. But if iPhone users use 10x the revenue than a typical BB emailer, then that $30 million in revenues that the 10 million ATT iphone users pay results in usage that would take 100 million BB users sending emails.
With your name ending in NJ you must have felt that for quite some time?
You're so smart!
My name is Camero, and I'm from NJ.
What a dummy.
...it appears they handle an equal amount of mobile data.
http://gigaom.com/2009/09/22/us-lead...ile-data-boom/
No....this chart only shows data revenue. It has been stated before that a typical iPhone user consumes about 10 times the bandwidth of a typical smart phone user. Given this chart, it appears that AT&T is handling about 10 times the traffic.
When/if Verizon gets the iPhone, do I really want to jump over there and experience their growing pains (like I did with AT&T)? Hmmmmm.
...it appears they handle an equal amount of mobile data.
http://gigaom.com/2009/09/22/us-lead...ile-data-boom/
That is using data revenue as a basis, not actual data usage.
You're so smart!
My name is Camero, and I'm from NJ.
What a dummy.
Well I'd guess I'd be angry too if I was named that and from there. So sorry.
The SITUATION is messed up in the first place. The Genius was only trying to help.
If you look at the work authorization and the date of purchase, the guy is out of warranty. In the end his only option through the Genius Bar would have been to purchase an out of warranty replacement for $200.
But the Genius tried to help him (which many people do not grasp or wish to look past). He didn't necessarily give that guy that option as the only thing they could do. They marked the person's warranty status as CR (Customer relations/Appeasement) and put in his case notes what they observed so AT&T can remedy the situation. If not, then at least the warranty status was temporarily changed. If AT&T shows there's nothing wrong with the network and says that 22% IS a high amount of dropped calls, then a Genius can replace it under that CR.
The guy in this situation failed to grasp that the Genius was only trying to help. As such, he's an ungrateful a-hole who does not deserve a free replacement.
I can't believe a whole thread is posted based on one Genius incident.
Hey, did I ever tell you about the time this here Genius.........!
22-30% of calls are either dropped outright, or so bad that customers are abandoning them rather than try to stick it out.
... and people really think Apple is going to tough it out and extend the exclusivity agreement...
Apple will do whatever makes them the most money. If AT&T offers them a sweet enough deal, they will extend the agreement.
-kpluck
All the MicroCell really does is help AT&T monetize other people's infrastructure where people use cable internet, or help stave off wireline subscriber losses.
The two biggest complaint areas are NY and San Fran. I bet if you took any phone, on any network, and drove around town thru hills and valleys (San Fran) and steel/concrete structures (San Fran and NY), you would have the same drop rate.
Physics is physics. Radio signals do not like to go through steel, concrete, tinted windows, passing Semi's, etc.
Physics is physics... and with that, it's physics that dictate that different radio frequencies penetrate solid objects with different effectivess. The lower the frequency the better the penetration. So while it will be higly dependent on the number and location of the cell towers, it also depends on what frequencies your carrier is using in your area. I believe I recall ATT making the statement that they were going to begin to move more of their areas to a lower frequency band where possible because of this. Perhaps NY is an area where they don't have that option? Is so, they'd need more towers than a carrier on a lower frequency (such as Verizon) to provide the same coverage.
And reality is reality. Verizon has no such problem here in NY.
Yes, I used to have Verizon and had fantastic service (but really cruddy phones). I would say that my dropped call rate on Verizon was under 1%. But AT&T is having the problems it's having due to the success of the iPhone and the high levels of data and internet usage by iPhone users. I suspect (but can't prove) that if Apple developed a CDMA version of the iPhone for Verizon, they'd probably quickly have the same service level problems.
I would say 80% of my AT&T iPhone calls get dropped. And in spite of AT&T claiming that they're improving the network, I would say things have gotten worse in the last month or two.
Verizon worked perfectly in my apartment, with AT&T I have to stand by a window.
I can almost never get my iPhone to work at all anywhere on 5th Avenue in midtown.
But even though I think Verizon would have the same problems, I'd switch back in a minute if the iPhone (or a new model) would work on Verizon.
Even when I had Verizon, one thing I noticed was that my battery life in New York City was always far worse than when I was out of town. I always attributed this to the difficulty of finding a cell tower in the skyscraper canyons of New York City. I was always amazed that I rarely had to charge my phone when I was out of town.
Verizon has no such problem in NYC. Must be the CDMA thing. But whatever, they work and most corps here use them. I had them for 6 years- never a problem.
Verizon don't have half a million phones constantly downloading and uploading large amounts of data. I think even Verizon would creak under the strain.
30% is probably about right. I'd say one in for or so calls is dropped for me.
I'm glad I don't live in NY: my friends there had such a terrible dropped call rate with Sprint that it scared me off of cell phones! Sounds like AT&T is just as bad or worse. You'd think a major city would be a top priority for quality infrastructure, yet my medium-sized city seems to fare much better.
i have a sprint BB curve and a 3GS in NYC. with Sprint my major issue is voice quality.\\
there are cell towers everywhere you look here. the problem is the buildings and the fact that a lot are built so the cell signal doesn't penetrate. and the tall buildings cause canyon effects.
on the west side where i work a few days a week there has been a huge improvement in the last month. and i was in the hilton on 53rd street last week for a conference and my iphone worked perfectly inside the building
Verizon don't have half a million phones constantly downloading and uploading large amounts of data. I think even Verizon would creak under the strain.
30% is probably about right. I'd say one in for or so calls is dropped for me.
Every crackberry here in NY is usually Verizon- I'm sure they use their share.
But whatever AT&T is to blame not iPhone.