... I have proof right here that you are ignoring my points...
You have points? Imagine that, the iPhone came to Verizon and sprockkets had points, all on the same day. Can you tell us the temperature in Hell, while you're there?
Wasn't there an addendum to CDMA to offer data and voice at the same time?
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
The only people who know anything about updates (or care) are the people who read the blogs... and, from what I've seen and heard, that's a very small number of people.
True, but I would expect to see TV & other media ads for this soon, so that's not a show stopper.
Quote:
As an example... friends of mine going to buy an iPad... "Me: Hey, why don't you wait a couple of months to see if Apple announces an iPad 2. Them: There's an iPad2? Me: Most likely... and fairly soon. Them: Oh... interesting, Thanks." ... Next Day.... "Me: Hello. ... oh, you want help activating your new iPad?! Sure, whatever."
Wow, that's just self-inflicted. They'll still get the device they paid for, but just a couple month's worth of patience probably meant getting more for the same money.
The reason VZ has been claiming they will not have network issue is the simple fact, No talk and data at the same time. Of course they will not have issue since you will be automatically limited on how much bandwidth any one person can consume.
That's not relevant. It is data use that hurt AT&T's network, not data use while phone calls were active. As for bandwidth limitations, Verizon is offering the iPhone with unlimited bandwidth, initially, so any data-hungry consumers will have every opportunity to do their part.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maestro64
This is not going to be good for Apple, people are not going to understand the user experience is a VZ issue not an Apple issue.
Typical consumers, focusing their time on other events than understanding the technical background behind their wireless service and mobile phones, do not necessarily understand that their iPhone's poor performance may be due to AT&T (or Verizon going forward). If any significant number of them do understand this, it is not because they understand the technical background, but rather because AT&T has received a lot of bad publicity for its network.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maestro64
You lack any understand of Steve Job. He has made all annoucement as they relate to Apple, only time he did not make them is when he was sick, well he is not sick so allowing someone else taking the limelight says Steve does not see this as any value to Apple.
Well, except for every other mobile carrier announcement (except those discussed during major keynotes). And as an aside, observing the simple truth that Steve Jobs is present for every Apple keynote for which his health has been good enough to make an appearance does not make you some kind of expert on Steve Jobs. He rarely ever appears for other company announcements regarding Apple products.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maestro64
If you saw what happen today, the markets ran up this morning and tanked after the market digressed the announcement, so Apple is down in an up market not normal for Apple.
Please don't try to describe something which you do not understand. It does a disservice to others who might be trying to learn from a discussion. As of this writing the Nasdaq (the relevant category of the market) is up 0.07%. The Dow is up 0.11%. These changes are not particularly significant to the market—it is not an 'up' market in any statistically meaningful interpretation of the word. AAPL is down 0.60% ($2.27; not 'tanked', by the way) after ramping up significantly (especially in recent days) as it became expected that this would be the iPhone announcement. AAPL kept nearly all of those gains in market which hasn't changed significantly.
I hope you don't have much invested in the stock market—for your sake.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maestro64
Honestly, If Steve thought this was strategic move and valuable move the announce would have occurred in CA and Steve would have made the announce and explained why this was important to apple and then introduced VZ's CEO and let him explain the value to VZ customers, that did not happen.
All this tells me is Apple is not standing solidly behind this at this time at least. It like when Motorola announce the ROKR with Itunes, Steve was no where near that announcement and it failed. There are others things like this and when Steve distance himself, it means he not supporting it.
And no point in discussing your argument at this point because it is based on some extremely broken and inaccurate reasoning. And more to the point, it should be pretty obvious to anyone who has paid attention to this product that it is going to sell millions. After all, why should we expect Verizon customers to be less interested in the iPhone than AT&T customers?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
No, this happens after every single Apple product launch ever. Buy on rumors, sell on news. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
See above.
Edit: though this does to some extent explain some of today's reduction. People hear about the Verizon announcement and buy to enjoy the ramp up, then sell after/during the announcement, knowing that it will stabilize. They get to take their profits. It just so happens that, this time around, AAPL got to keep a lot of those gains.
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
How many people use this? Do you regularly put your phone on speaker so you can surf while talking? Come on.
Actually that's the decision maker for me with my teams phones. I'd like to move some of my team off AT&T and onto Verizon (and would base that decision on which has the best signal strength at each team members home location), but they do remote support and need to be able to get e-mails during calls all the time.
I was hoping Apple might insist on Verizon making this possible as a requirement for getting iPhone (like I believe they insisted on AT&T doing visual voicemail). Maybe this is actually a fundamental limitation of CDMA technology, does anyone know?
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
I wouldn't call it an, "utterly obscure feature," but I have no doubt Verizon will sell millions of iPhones even without it.
However, for those who are used to it, giving it up would be hard.
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
It is only an obscure feature for those that don't have it. I absolutely use it all the time, to the point of not even thinking of it as a feature.
Another point, why have mobile hotspot to hook up your laptop to the wifi connect only to have it go dead while you talk, and oh BTW it kills those 5 other connected devices at the same time as well.
STOP. SPREADING. FUD.
If you're downloading something, the call goes to voicemail. If you're connected but not active on the data network, it goes to the call.
If you're downloading something, the call goes to voicemail. If you're connected but not active on the data network, it goes to the call.
I don't know if that sounds any better. If you are sharing your connection, let's say you have you and your friend's laptops tethered at a coffee shop without wifi, and a call comes in. Then you either miss this call (goes to VM) or you receive the call if you both weren't accessing data at that moment and you are then both cut off from browsing while you talk on the phone. Or if you are on a business call and need to look something up on your laptop, you can't.
A friend of mine does IT work for a bank and does some on call work on weekends. There have been times when we are at a pub and he gets a call. He simply goes to his car while continuing the call, fires up his laptop and VPN's into his corporate network to work while on the call. Again, this would be a non-starter for him.
Not saying this is a critical feature, but it certainly is a useful one. I would be wary of giving it up. It'll obviously come down to an individual's needs, but it is unfortunate one has to trade off features like this in order to move to Verizon.
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
Couched in those terms, current VZW customers obviously won't notice this feature missing. They are, after all, already living with this limitation and have chosen VZW for other considerations besides concurrent data+voice. There are definitely millions of handsets in play within their network, and Apple will sell lots of iPhones to those customers.
On the other hand, that limitation may blunt VZW's efforts to attract AT&T's iPhone users. But I think it will come down to how the pricing plans work out and whether AT&T's service is adequate where you live/work.
It is only an obscure feature for those that don't have it. I absolutely use it all the time, to the point of not even thinking of it as a feature.
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.
Never felt the need to tweet while talking myself, I hold the phone to my ear - like most people ( earphones exist i know but I rarely see them in practice).
As for the tiny market who see this feature as essential - it still exists but you need to stay on the AT&T network. You are where you were yesterday.
Since you bought an iPhone and are already on the AT&T network that is not much of a challenge.
This announcement is for people who want an iPhone on a carrier which has greater reach, and better coverage. They may have Android phones on Verizon but will move to the iPhone when available, or are waiting for the iPhone on Verizon and staying with a non-smartphone for now, or have the iPhone on AT&T and are not happy with the coverage. That group ( as analysts have pointed out)runs to the millions.
Your statistically unimportant selves dont matter so much,
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.
Never felt the need to tweet while talking myself, I hold the phone to my ear - like most people ( earphones exist i know but I rarely see them in practice).
As for the tiny market who see this feature as essential - it still exists but you need to stay on the AT&T network. You are where you were yesterday.
Since you bought an iPhone and are already on the AT&T network that is not much of a challenge.
This announcement is for people who want an iPhone on a carrier which has greater reach, and better coverage. They may have Android phones on Verizon but will move to the iPhone when available, or are waiting for the iPhone on Verizon and staying with a non-smartphone for now, or have the iPhone on AT&T and are not happy with the coverage. That group ( as analysts have pointed out)runs to the millions.
Your statistically unimportant selves dont matter so much,
Wow, someone took their arrogance pills today.
Anyway, again, just because you and other use your smartphones the way others used their dumb phones in the 90s is no reason to claim it is obscure. Obviously there are millions of people that don't care whatsoever. There are even more that have never used or owned a smartphone. What sad logic says that makes smartphones 'obscure'.
Even before Apple implemented 'multitasking' in iOS, one always had the ability to continue to browse or use data while on a call. It was there before copy and paste. It was there before tethering. It was there before MMS. It was there because it was considered an important ability to include. It was so obscure that Apple felt the need to promote it as an important feature in two ads. So obscure that of a small handful of questions at the Verizon event, it was one of the questions. So obscure that probably millions of people use it everyday without thinking about it.
You say most GSM user don't know about it. Have you conducted a poll? I'd love to see your results. If you haven't and are planning to, perhaps I could suggest a couple questions for you to include: "Have you ever, while walking, chewed gum at the same time? Is this an important feature? Have you ever, while talking on your cell phone, used the internet?"
My 70 year father looks things up on his iPhone 4 while talking on the phone. I am sorry your circle is less capable or inclined.
I don't know if that sounds any better. If you are sharing your connection, let's say you have you and your friend's laptops tethered at a coffee shop without wifi, and a call comes in. Then you either miss this call (goes to VM) or you receive the call if you both weren't accessing data at that moment and you are then both cut off from browsing while you talk on the phone. Or if you are on a business call and need to look something up on your laptop, you can't.
A friend of mine does IT work for a bank and does some on call work on weekends. There have been times when we are at a pub and he gets a call. He simply goes to his car while continuing the call, fires up his laptop and VPN's into his corporate network to work while on the call. Again, this would be a non-starter for him.
Not saying this is a critical feature, but it certainly is a useful one. I would be wary of giving it up. It'll obviously come down to an individual's needs, but it is unfortunate one has to trade off features like this in order to move to Verizon.
If it's such an oft-used feature or one that was so important, Verizon wouldn't be the largest network in America and there wouldn't be so many "relatively" happy Android users on the network.
Let's face it: AT&T has its pluses (voice/3G data at the same time, data download speeds, rollover minutes). Verizon has its pluses (more reliable network, broader 3G coverage, 5-device mobile hotspot for iPhone, Facetime over 3G [according to Boy Genius Report], better coverage in large cities).
Pick whichever is more suitable for your needs. Neither carrier is perfect and there's no reason to act like one is.
I don't know if that sounds any better. If you are sharing your connection, let's say you have you and your friend's laptops tethered at a coffee shop without wifi, and a call comes in. Then you either miss this call (goes to VM) or you receive the call if you both weren't accessing data at that moment and you are then both cut off from browsing while you talk on the phone. Or if you are on a business call and need to look something up on your laptop, you can't.
A friend of mine does IT work for a bank and does some on call work on weekends. There have been times when we are at a pub and he gets a call. He simply goes to his car while continuing the call, fires up his laptop and VPN's into his corporate network to work while on the call. Again, this would be a non-starter for him.
Not saying this is a critical feature, but it certainly is a useful one. I would be wary of giving it up. It'll obviously come down to an individual's needs, but it is unfortunate one has to trade off features like this in order to move to Verizon.
Data is mostly bursty in nature --- which means that you are probably going to hear the phone ring. Millions of Droid users on Verizon and we never get to hear complaining --- even though Droid users download more data than iphone users.
When the iphone 4 comes up on Verizon next month, you are not going to hear much complaining on that either.
If it's such an oft-used feature or one that was so important, Verizon wouldn't be the largest network in America and there wouldn't be so many "relatively" happy Android users on the network.
Let's face it: AT&T has its pluses (voice/3G data at the same time, data download speeds, rollover minutes). Verizon has its pluses (more reliable network, broader 3G coverage, 5-device mobile hotspot for iPhone, Facetime over 3G [according to Boy Genius Report], better coverage in large cities).
Pick whichever is more suitable for your needs. Neither carrier is perfect and there's no reason to act like one is.
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.
Comments
... I have proof right here that you are ignoring my points...
You have points? Imagine that, the iPhone came to Verizon and sprockkets had points, all on the same day. Can you tell us the temperature in Hell, while you're there?
what is the announced feature that you are waiting for in the iphone 5?
lte - 4g
The only people who know anything about updates (or care) are the people who read the blogs... and, from what I've seen and heard, that's a very small number of people.
True, but I would expect to see TV & other media ads for this soon, so that's not a show stopper.
As an example... friends of mine going to buy an iPad... "Me: Hey, why don't you wait a couple of months to see if Apple announces an iPad 2. Them: There's an iPad2? Me: Most likely... and fairly soon. Them: Oh... interesting, Thanks." ... Next Day.... "Me: Hello. ... oh, you want help activating your new iPad?! Sure, whatever."
Wow, that's just self-inflicted. They'll still get the device they paid for, but just a couple month's worth of patience probably meant getting more for the same money.
The reason VZ has been claiming they will not have network issue is the simple fact, No talk and data at the same time. Of course they will not have issue since you will be automatically limited on how much bandwidth any one person can consume.
That's not relevant. It is data use that hurt AT&T's network, not data use while phone calls were active. As for bandwidth limitations, Verizon is offering the iPhone with unlimited bandwidth, initially, so any data-hungry consumers will have every opportunity to do their part.
This is not going to be good for Apple, people are not going to understand the user experience is a VZ issue not an Apple issue.
Typical consumers, focusing their time on other events than understanding the technical background behind their wireless service and mobile phones, do not necessarily understand that their iPhone's poor performance may be due to AT&T (or Verizon going forward). If any significant number of them do understand this, it is not because they understand the technical background, but rather because AT&T has received a lot of bad publicity for its network.
You lack any understand of Steve Job. He has made all annoucement as they relate to Apple, only time he did not make them is when he was sick, well he is not sick so allowing someone else taking the limelight says Steve does not see this as any value to Apple.
Well, except for every other mobile carrier announcement (except those discussed during major keynotes). And as an aside, observing the simple truth that Steve Jobs is present for every Apple keynote for which his health has been good enough to make an appearance does not make you some kind of expert on Steve Jobs. He rarely ever appears for other company announcements regarding Apple products.
If you saw what happen today, the markets ran up this morning and tanked after the market digressed the announcement, so Apple is down in an up market not normal for Apple.
Please don't try to describe something which you do not understand. It does a disservice to others who might be trying to learn from a discussion. As of this writing the Nasdaq (the relevant category of the market) is up 0.07%. The Dow is up 0.11%. These changes are not particularly significant to the market—it is not an 'up' market in any statistically meaningful interpretation of the word. AAPL is down 0.60% ($2.27; not 'tanked', by the way) after ramping up significantly (especially in recent days) as it became expected that this would be the iPhone announcement. AAPL kept nearly all of those gains in market which hasn't changed significantly.
I hope you don't have much invested in the stock market—for your sake.
Honestly, If Steve thought this was strategic move and valuable move the announce would have occurred in CA and Steve would have made the announce and explained why this was important to apple and then introduced VZ's CEO and let him explain the value to VZ customers, that did not happen.
No need to write a response to this when John Gruber has explained it with exceptional clarity.
All this tells me is Apple is not standing solidly behind this at this time at least. It like when Motorola announce the ROKR with Itunes, Steve was no where near that announcement and it failed. There are others things like this and when Steve distance himself, it means he not supporting it.
And no point in discussing your argument at this point because it is based on some extremely broken and inaccurate reasoning. And more to the point, it should be pretty obvious to anyone who has paid attention to this product that it is going to sell millions. After all, why should we expect Verizon customers to be less interested in the iPhone than AT&T customers?
No, this happens after every single Apple product launch ever. Buy on rumors, sell on news. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
See above.
Edit: though this does to some extent explain some of today's reduction. People hear about the Verizon announcement and buy to enjoy the ramp up, then sell after/during the announcement, knowing that it will stabilize. They get to take their profits. It just so happens that, this time around, AAPL got to keep a lot of those gains.
I can use phone and text at the same time. Internet search and phone, etc.
You should be able to text while talking on a Verizon iPhone. Texting does not use the data connection.
http://wirelesssupport.verizon.com/f...html?t=5#item8
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
How many people use this? Do you regularly put your phone on speaker so you can surf while talking? Come on.
Actually that's the decision maker for me with my teams phones. I'd like to move some of my team off AT&T and onto Verizon (and would base that decision on which has the best signal strength at each team members home location), but they do remote support and need to be able to get e-mails during calls all the time.
I was hoping Apple might insist on Verizon making this possible as a requirement for getting iPhone (like I believe they insisted on AT&T doing visual voicemail). Maybe this is actually a fundamental limitation of CDMA technology, does anyone know?
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
I wouldn't call it an, "utterly obscure feature," but I have no doubt Verizon will sell millions of iPhones even without it.
However, for those who are used to it, giving it up would be hard.
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
It is only an obscure feature for those that don't have it. I absolutely use it all the time, to the point of not even thinking of it as a feature.
Also you can't please everybody all the time and nothing is perfect.
Another point, why have mobile hotspot to hook up your laptop to the wifi connect only to have it go dead while you talk, and oh BTW it kills those 5 other connected devices at the same time as well.
STOP. SPREADING. FUD.
If you're downloading something, the call goes to voicemail. If you're connected but not active on the data network, it goes to the call.
STOP. SPREADING. FUD.
If you're downloading something, the call goes to voicemail. If you're connected but not active on the data network, it goes to the call.
I don't know if that sounds any better. If you are sharing your connection, let's say you have you and your friend's laptops tethered at a coffee shop without wifi, and a call comes in. Then you either miss this call (goes to VM) or you receive the call if you both weren't accessing data at that moment and you are then both cut off from browsing while you talk on the phone. Or if you are on a business call and need to look something up on your laptop, you can't.
A friend of mine does IT work for a bank and does some on call work on weekends. There have been times when we are at a pub and he gets a call. He simply goes to his car while continuing the call, fires up his laptop and VPN's into his corporate network to work while on the call. Again, this would be a non-starter for him.
Not saying this is a critical feature, but it certainly is a useful one. I would be wary of giving it up. It'll obviously come down to an individual's needs, but it is unfortunate one has to trade off features like this in order to move to Verizon.
Thought I'd jump in here to point out to people who are kevetching about lack of talk and simultaneous data on Verizon- you can stay on AT&T.
To those of you who think this will have an effect on sales : the millions of existing customers of Verizon clearly don't care about this utterly obscure feature.
Couched in those terms, current VZW customers obviously won't notice this feature missing. They are, after all, already living with this limitation and have chosen VZW for other considerations besides concurrent data+voice. There are definitely millions of handsets in play within their network, and Apple will sell lots of iPhones to those customers.
On the other hand, that limitation may blunt VZW's efforts to attract AT&T's iPhone users. But I think it will come down to how the pricing plans work out and whether AT&T's service is adequate where you live/work.
It is only an obscure feature for those that don't have it. I absolutely use it all the time, to the point of not even thinking of it as a feature.
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.
Never felt the need to tweet while talking myself, I hold the phone to my ear - like most people ( earphones exist i know but I rarely see them in practice).
As for the tiny market who see this feature as essential - it still exists but you need to stay on the AT&T network. You are where you were yesterday.
Since you bought an iPhone and are already on the AT&T network that is not much of a challenge.
This announcement is for people who want an iPhone on a carrier which has greater reach, and better coverage. They may have Android phones on Verizon but will move to the iPhone when available, or are waiting for the iPhone on Verizon and staying with a non-smartphone for now, or have the iPhone on AT&T and are not happy with the coverage. That group ( as analysts have pointed out)runs to the millions.
Your statistically unimportant selves dont matter so much,
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.
Never felt the need to tweet while talking myself, I hold the phone to my ear - like most people ( earphones exist i know but I rarely see them in practice).
As for the tiny market who see this feature as essential - it still exists but you need to stay on the AT&T network. You are where you were yesterday.
Since you bought an iPhone and are already on the AT&T network that is not much of a challenge.
This announcement is for people who want an iPhone on a carrier which has greater reach, and better coverage. They may have Android phones on Verizon but will move to the iPhone when available, or are waiting for the iPhone on Verizon and staying with a non-smartphone for now, or have the iPhone on AT&T and are not happy with the coverage. That group ( as analysts have pointed out)runs to the millions.
Your statistically unimportant selves dont matter so much,
Wow, someone took their arrogance pills today.
Anyway, again, just because you and other use your smartphones the way others used their dumb phones in the 90s is no reason to claim it is obscure. Obviously there are millions of people that don't care whatsoever. There are even more that have never used or owned a smartphone. What sad logic says that makes smartphones 'obscure'.
Even before Apple implemented 'multitasking' in iOS, one always had the ability to continue to browse or use data while on a call. It was there before copy and paste. It was there before tethering. It was there before MMS. It was there because it was considered an important ability to include. It was so obscure that Apple felt the need to promote it as an important feature in two ads. So obscure that of a small handful of questions at the Verizon event, it was one of the questions. So obscure that probably millions of people use it everyday without thinking about it.
You say most GSM user don't know about it. Have you conducted a poll? I'd love to see your results. If you haven't and are planning to, perhaps I could suggest a couple questions for you to include: "Have you ever, while walking, chewed gum at the same time? Is this an important feature? Have you ever, while talking on your cell phone, used the internet?"
My 70 year father looks things up on his iPhone 4 while talking on the phone. I am sorry your circle is less capable or inclined.
I don't know if that sounds any better. If you are sharing your connection, let's say you have you and your friend's laptops tethered at a coffee shop without wifi, and a call comes in. Then you either miss this call (goes to VM) or you receive the call if you both weren't accessing data at that moment and you are then both cut off from browsing while you talk on the phone. Or if you are on a business call and need to look something up on your laptop, you can't.
A friend of mine does IT work for a bank and does some on call work on weekends. There have been times when we are at a pub and he gets a call. He simply goes to his car while continuing the call, fires up his laptop and VPN's into his corporate network to work while on the call. Again, this would be a non-starter for him.
Not saying this is a critical feature, but it certainly is a useful one. I would be wary of giving it up. It'll obviously come down to an individual's needs, but it is unfortunate one has to trade off features like this in order to move to Verizon.
If it's such an oft-used feature or one that was so important, Verizon wouldn't be the largest network in America and there wouldn't be so many "relatively" happy Android users on the network.
Let's face it: AT&T has its pluses (voice/3G data at the same time, data download speeds, rollover minutes). Verizon has its pluses (more reliable network, broader 3G coverage, 5-device mobile hotspot for iPhone, Facetime over 3G [according to Boy Genius Report], better coverage in large cities).
Pick whichever is more suitable for your needs. Neither carrier is perfect and there's no reason to act like one is.
I don't know if that sounds any better. If you are sharing your connection, let's say you have you and your friend's laptops tethered at a coffee shop without wifi, and a call comes in. Then you either miss this call (goes to VM) or you receive the call if you both weren't accessing data at that moment and you are then both cut off from browsing while you talk on the phone. Or if you are on a business call and need to look something up on your laptop, you can't.
A friend of mine does IT work for a bank and does some on call work on weekends. There have been times when we are at a pub and he gets a call. He simply goes to his car while continuing the call, fires up his laptop and VPN's into his corporate network to work while on the call. Again, this would be a non-starter for him.
Not saying this is a critical feature, but it certainly is a useful one. I would be wary of giving it up. It'll obviously come down to an individual's needs, but it is unfortunate one has to trade off features like this in order to move to Verizon.
Data is mostly bursty in nature --- which means that you are probably going to hear the phone ring. Millions of Droid users on Verizon and we never get to hear complaining --- even though Droid users download more data than iphone users.
When the iphone 4 comes up on Verizon next month, you are not going to hear much complaining on that either.
If it's such an oft-used feature or one that was so important, Verizon wouldn't be the largest network in America and there wouldn't be so many "relatively" happy Android users on the network.
Let's face it: AT&T has its pluses (voice/3G data at the same time, data download speeds, rollover minutes). Verizon has its pluses (more reliable network, broader 3G coverage, 5-device mobile hotspot for iPhone, Facetime over 3G [according to Boy Genius Report], better coverage in large cities).
Pick whichever is more suitable for your needs. Neither carrier is perfect and there's no reason to act like one is.
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.