Filed under: iPhone
Verizon to iPhone, 'iWhatever'
Verizon ain't afraid of any iPhones. Verizon COO Jack Plating sent out a memo to Verizon workers yesterday ensuring them that the only thing to fear about the iPhone is fear itself. The memo, entitled 'iWhatever,' addressed all the hype and posited that this was merely AT&T's reaction to the awesomeness that is Verizon.He does make one good point though, AT&T's network isn't as robust as Verizon's (disclosure: I have a Verizon smartphone and I am very happy with the coverage and speeds I get).
Luckily, I think even if you don't want an iPhone you are still going to benefit from its existence. This phone will undoubtedly make other phone marks take a good hard look at the software which runs their phones. Everyone wins!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joe said 4:12PM on 6-29-2007
Verizon seems to be of the opinion that the phone is only as good as the network it's on.
So how does that tie in with Verizon's pattern of crippling phones so that we can't use all of the functionality of the phone? I'd love to be able to transfer pictures off my phone onto my mac using bluetooth or USB, but both of these interfaces are disabled, thanks to Verizon. I'm leaving Verizon once my contract is up, regardless of the iPhone, because the network does me little good if the network operators cripple the phone.
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NNTPgrip said 4:13PM on 6-29-2007
Agreed... The "Visual voicemail" feature that the iPhone, and all the VOIP providers have will certainly be making an appearance on other stuff.
I don't think Windows Mobile will change that much for 7 due to iPhone (at least not in a good way - see Vista as a response to OSX) Symbian might.
Definitely will push the resolutions of the screens up. Overall, the interfaces will get better. It may push verizon to not forcing their UI on all the non-WM phones, and letting the manufacturer have at their own thing again.
Opera for Windows Mobile and Symbian is very similar to Safari on iPhone, and it has flash support. So.. you can get the features of the iPhone elsewhere, but without the lickable interface and such.
Of course one or both of the big CDMA providers may cave to apple's demands if the thing sells well and we may get an EVDO iPhone like Oct 08.
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Fornya said 4:28PM on 6-29-2007
Verizon ain't 'fraid o' no iPhone, eh? Well, the employees at the Verizon and Sprint kiosks at the local Cambridgeside Galleria were sitting at their stations today, heads in hands, bored to tears (more so than usual), staring at the massive throng of people in lawn chairs, with Dunkin' Donuts iced coffees, waiting to get themselves an iPhone. Those dudes looked genuinely depressed. Good thing Verizon's COO is so full of pride… or is it piss and vinegar?
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punkassjim said 4:31PM on 6-29-2007
So, uh...if Verizon has nothing to fear from the iPhone and AT&T, could someone please explain to me why I received an unsolicited "customer satisfaction survey" from VZW exactly 24 hours after AT&T published their iPhone rate plans, and about two days before the iPhone launch?
I kinda like their service, but they crippled my phone to suit their own ends and siphon my wallet. **** them. I hope Apple will use their clout to force AT&T to do right by me. And I hope I'm not punished for my naivete.
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Stealth43 said 4:39PM on 6-29-2007
*Cough* You Wharton geeks and your Windows Mobile 6 smartphones... *cough, cough*
Ohh did I say that out loud? Oops ;)
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jovah45 said 8:53PM on 6-29-2007
The Iphone is a great concept but ATT's network sucks, I have verizon and the network works flawless ly for me wherever I travel even in the Caribbean. When I had ATT I went upstate in NY and I had a bill for 500 dollars stating that I was roaming meanwhile I was suppose to be in the network and there wasn't suppose to be any roaming charges. I hate the devil that ATT is and there monopolizing ways. I just wish that the iphone was in americas best network.
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Drupa said 5:12PM on 6-29-2007
I would buy an iPhone in a minute but for one HUGE problem - the EDGE network. Verizons EVDO is faster by a factor of 10. You are going to hear a LOT about this once folks start trying to use the iPhone to its advertised potential. EVDO lets me get speeds faster than good DSL on my Powerbook G4 while sitting in the middle of a park. The EDGE network is a bit faster that a dial up modem. Just wait until you try to download a song from iTunes on the EDGE network!!!
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sleepwalker said 5:06PM on 6-29-2007
When I worked for Verizon, we asked about their policy of crippling new phones. Their reply: "We're just trying to prevent revenue leakage." Ohh... and they also published an internal memo in response to T-mobile's new rate plans. It's title: Whenever, Whatever... sound familiar?
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eestes said 5:06PM on 6-29-2007
Same with me-just buying time until my contract is over and i can toss the crippled verizon phone, flip my number to att and pick up an iphone. My god-managing my music, pictures, address book on my terms. What a freakin concept. "Can you hear me know?" "Sorry, i'm too busy listening to my iphone's music..."
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cyberarya said 5:36PM on 6-29-2007
to "Drupa"
So what if its on EDGE, you can access wifi on the iphone, so the edge doesnt matter!.!
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artifex said 6:05PM on 6-29-2007
what's "phone marks?"
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Jerry-the-Miah said 10:48PM on 6-29-2007
Ye---ah... I'm thrilled about the iPhone myself but I'm not thrilled of the network. I can't stand Cingular's/AT&T's network. Verizon is much better in consistency of service.
I understand Verizon is crippling their cellphones, but patience is a virtue. Verizon like other companies are going to have to step up their software. Not to mention, this'll be like when the RAZR first came out. Sure, AT&T has it for the 1st gen, but 3nd gen, watch out. ^_^
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Eric said 6:27PM on 6-29-2007
Verizon has nothing to fear... after all, they get their quarter every time I want a picture from my Bluetooth-capable phone to be on my computer... since I'm forced to send it, rather than just transfer.
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George K. said 6:45PM on 6-29-2007
I think you're misunderstanding the idea of "disclosure."
If Verizon sponsored your blog or paid you in some other way, or if they gave you a break on your phone or phone service, that would be a disclosure of a quid pro quo arrangement.
What you really mean here is that you can personally vouch for what Verizon is claiming by virtue of your own experience.
It would be silly of someone to claim "Well _of course_ McNulty would report that Verizon has better coverage, he uses a Verizon phone!"
Not to overextrapolate here, but I think you're being sensitive to the fanboy syndrome, where, for example, anyone who uses an Apple product and has something positive to say about an Apple product has their opinion rejected and branded as fanboyism.
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Elias said 8:00PM on 6-29-2007
Verizon cripples phones and you can't swap phones at will like with GSM. Just like you can't just buy neat phones from overseas and use them here.
ATT has HSDPA in major cities, which is much faster than EVDO.
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Johnny Thrash said 8:22PM on 6-29-2007
I'm glad you Verizon customers have Verizon coverage. There is no Verizon coverage in my state whatsoever. So there is really no comparison between the two.
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William Crabtree said 12:43PM on 6-30-2007
Try BitPim for your phone problems. Also surf around the Howard forums for phone help.
Anyways...
I hate Verizon's "give me money" schemes. It seems the major carriers market/cater to a different group.
Verizon SEEMS to be going for the people that want reliability and coverage overall. They lock phones to get the masses to spend the 25¢ for the pix/text/video..et al messages, $20 a month for wireless syncing..or whatever you want to do. Sad to think that I have been on Verizon for just over 3 years and have seen them more than double and triple prices on items. I remember when ringtone and music were 99¢. Apps were like $1.99 for unlimited use. Now its...$2.99 for a ringtone or $1.99 for one week program use.
ATT/Cingular/ATT seems to cater/market to the tech crowd. They get the iPhone..they get the better phones overall. Sony Walkman phones..cool Nokia phones..etc. You can change your phone simpley by taking SIM card from phone to phone.
T-Mobile & Altel..well..I havent heard too much from them lately but it seems they are trying to cater to people just wanting to talk on a cheaply priced phone. They both seem to be grasping for air being smooshed between the iPhone and VZW.
Sprint seems to be all about the annoying walkie talkie business/redneck crowd. They seem to be people (at least around here) that want to be seen as much as the person that has a phone strickly for the new Justin Timberlake ringtone they have in their library of 100s. They are the same older Gen that want to be "hip" and leave their cell phone ringers on in a college class or in a business meeting. "OH! Let me get that after it has been ringing 4 - 5 times!"
As for me...ATT is horrible around where I live. I live in between about three major cities and the reception is still horrible. Dropping calls like crazy around here. Sprint has a defined line around here too...get on the major highway and travel 10 minutes north and you instantly don't have any service for a good 10 miles or so. No this is not a forest area either. So my choices are quite limited around here. I hate Verizon for the money grubbing ways but the wife (the talker) has most of her family on the network. It is the best reception where I am at too.
So I guess I will keep feeding the beast!
...althought "iWhatever" is about as bad as all the other i"Insert-item-here" marketing of the last 7 or so years.
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PaperQueen said 9:36AM on 7-07-2007
When thr iPhone deal with Cingular was announced, everyone chimed in about how lousy they were.
When Cingular switched to AT&T, everyone chimed in about how big a mistake Apple made by not going with someone more reliable...like Verizon.
Now that Verizon’s written an admittedly poorly titled memo, the bashing has begun again, aimed at the very provider everyone thought should have gotten the iPhone deal in the first place.
C’mon, folks. Face it. There’s *no such thing* as a perfect service provider, and the sooner we all just accept the fact every choice we have involves some kind of trade off, well....do the math.
I’ve been on Verizon since long before it was called Verizon (15 years? 16 years?). Yes, I hate that certain features are locked out, and that essentially, their phones are PC-oriented. But would I switch to one of the other providers for worse coverage or worse service? Nope. What fun would an iPhone be if I was constantly ticked off at the service provider behind it?
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Ozbone said 10:03AM on 7-07-2007
Verizon is playing up the only - and its a Big 'un - strength they have: their network. That's smart.
The problem is that by doing so they're ignoring issues that really matter to some of their customers. With a game-changer like the iPhone that could really bite them, but only time will tell.
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Albert Martin said 9:17PM on 7-07-2007
This was the reason I switched from Verizon in the first place ... the "whatever" attitude. Only this time it wasn't directed at a phone, it was directed at me as a customer. When I tried to get support on my phone and network problems I basically ended up getting a "so switch to another network, we don't care because we're so huge"
Perhaps they have better customer service elsewhere ... but this left an EXTREMELY bad taste in my mouth. So now I am sitting very happy with US Cellular with excellent coverage (never less than 5 bars in my local area) and amazing people to help you out.
Once AT&T improves their network in my area (or more importantly when I can actually afford an iPhone) I'll be switching ... but until then I am very happy to be with such an awesome cell phone company.
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