Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone
Whoa! AT&T has had enough of the Verizon slams
AT&T is clearly not going to take it anymore. Today, they blasted back at Verizon for the nasty ads about AT&T coverage.In a press release today, the communications giant pulled out all the stops:
"AT&T's wireless data coverage reaches 303 million people – or 97% of the U.S. population, where they live and work.
AT&T is the #1 network for smartphones, with twice the number of smartphone customers than Verizon, our closest competitor. Some of the reasons include:
Most popular smartphones. Unlike Verizon, AT&T offers the most popular smartphones in the industry.
More wireless apps. Unlike Verizon, AT&T customers have access to more than 100,000 applications, more than with any other wireless company.
Talk and E-mail at the same time. Unlike Verizon, AT&T's 3G network lets wireless customers simultaneously talk and surf the web or do e-mail.
Fastest 3G in the nation. Unlike Verizon, AT&T has the nation's fastest 3G network."
It's a bold move to respond to someone doing a number on you. Microsoft tried to counter Apple pricing with mixed reviews, and AT&T, unlike Apple, has a lot of unhappy customers. This will be fun to watch, but one wishes AT&T was improving service and features (tethering anyone?) instead of getting into these lawsuits and public mud baths.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
dukrous said 2:07PM on 11-13-2009
As an iPhone owner who jumped from Verizon to AT&T with the original launch, I hope Verizon keeps hitting AT&T as hard as they have been. Maybe then we'll have a network worthy of the iPhone.
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9600baud said 4:07PM on 11-13-2009
Give them hell Verizon! And then some more! AT&T you would have no need to defend yourself if your customers were happy!
PowerHouse said 6:00PM on 11-13-2009
AMEN.
David said 6:11PM on 11-13-2009
I can't believe how out of hand it is getting over there and also if AT&T is really that bad why its taken competitors this long to pick up on it? Over here in the UK AT&T seem like the worst company in the world:
1)When the Iphone was first announced I remember alot and I mean alot of people on forums and blogs complaining about the network choice.
2)I don't know if their network doesn't like customers who are roaming (which is insane as they make about $3 per minute from our calls) but my experience of AT&T is awful reception both 2G and 3G, when I travel to the states my phone nearly always connects me to t-mobile as it has a stronger signal. Sometimes it connects to AT&T will normally switch over to T-mobile within a couple of hours.
3)Tethering / MMS problems when 3.0 came out.
4)In the UK o2 will unlock your phone so you can use it on another network for free... ...as long as you stay with them for the 18 months on your contract, yes 18 not 24!!!
Oh well, I guess one day it will be on all networks and everybody will be happy.
FantomRedux said 10:23AM on 11-14-2009
@David
Do they do that for Pay and Go customers? I was thinking of switching to Orange now that they have the iPhone too. They seemed to be cheaper last time I was with them, even if the customer service seems to be worse than AT&T's coverage. They wanted me to top up by £10 just to get my number transferred to O2 when I got my iPhone. They sneakily didn't mention that I'd lose the credit, so I just hung up and got a new number from O2 ^^
pee tee said 7:49PM on 11-14-2009
We all know that AT&T service is now on a plummet but we also need to settle the facts first and see the side of AT&T
Updates: ATT had recently released a statement why they are suing Verizon. May the "there's a misinterpretaion for that that” image help you to understand better why AT&T is having a boiling-point over the matter.
detailed sources: http://bit.ly/ATT-VS-VERIZON-Theres-a-misinterpretation-for-that
Hint: The conflict is about not including AT&T’s Zedge on the picture :D
Flame-on!
tekkenshihan said 9:25AM on 11-16-2009
You're a tool
I doubt any cellphone carrier will be worthy pompous douchebaggery
Jeff Black said 6:11AM on 11-22-2009
I don't see why AT&T is so upset, all they need to do is do a survey and ask their customers about their service.
verizon bill pay
Nick said 2:07PM on 11-13-2009
How does anyone know if AT&T's 3G network is the "fastest in the world" if it never works?
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kentawilson said 2:19PM on 11-13-2009
I think I read "fastest 3g in the NATION not WORLD.
Neil said 2:08PM on 11-13-2009
I've been an iPhone user since the original came out (currently have a 3G S), and frankly I'd like to see AT&T stop their whinging and improve their network. They have the audacity to charge me extra for 3G data (compared to original edge-only iPhone data plan) and they don't even provide 3G in my area.
So stop complaining about Verizon and start competing with them.
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KP said 2:47PM on 11-13-2009
Did anyone own a smartphone before the iPhone?
The original iPhone plan was cheaper than any smartphone plan that had been offered by AT&T or Verizon before. I believe it was $20. At that time, Verizon's data plan was $45. I was on AT&T with a non-iPhone smartphone for $30, having just switched from Verizon, and was stoked not to be paying $45. Nobody else on Verizon or AT&T was getting a discount for living in an EDGE/1X area, nor ever has in the history of telecommunications that I'm aware of.
The reason for the $20 charge, I believe, was because they were aiming the iPhone at the high-end feature phone market, to people who were not accustomed to having to pay a data fee, who would also be shelling out $600 for the phone. By the time the 3G came out, the iPhone was established in the market and no longer needed to coddle the people who were not used to paying for data.
To this day, the iPhone plan is still cheaper than what I was paying before, and is in line with the going rate for smartphones, which have never been priced according to what kind of service is available where a person lives.
It sucks to have no 3G, but the $20 data plan for the 2G phone was a gift, not the norm, for an edge phone or otherwise.
Josh Burks said 2:10PM on 11-13-2009
I'll be the first to admit, I am not at all satisfied with the way ATT has handled such a jewel of a product like the iPhone. HOWEVER, I don't think the slams that Verizon are entirely deserved.
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Michael Hodges said 2:17PM on 11-13-2009
"Talk and E-mail at the same time. Unlike Verizon, AT&T's 3G network lets wireless customers simultaneously talk and surf the web or do e-mail."
umm, excuse me? that's an outright lie. you can do that on CDMA from both Verizon/Sprint too.
Additionally, with phones that allow multitasking beyond just a few Apple apps (iphone), such as a blackberry, you can do MORE than just talk/web/email at the same time.
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Jon said 3:00PM on 11-13-2009
Correct me if I'm wrong, but regular old CDMA (or CDMA2000) doesn't support voice/data at the same time. I don't think even regular EVDO does. EVDO Rev. A on the other hand allows it.
That said, GPRS/EDGE on AT&T is voice or data at any given time. It's not unless you're on HSPA that you can do both.
CHRiS said 3:27PM on 11-13-2009
not a lie at all, you CANNOT MAKE OR RECEIVE A VOICE CALL on Verizon's 3G network while doing any sort of internet activity at the same time (unless it's WIFI).
Michael Hodges said 3:35PM on 11-13-2009
Jon - EVDO rev A *is* CDMA.
Chris - yes you can. I do it all the time on my blackberry.
metric152 said 4:05PM on 11-13-2009
I was surprised to read this because I just bought the Droid. I called myself and work and tried to load a web page. It didn't work at all. You can't talk and browse at the same time. Good thing I didn't cancel my ATT contact.
talon46 said 10:38PM on 11-14-2009
You are highly mistaken. Being able to see your browser during a call is not the same as maintaining a data connection. It is a widely published fact that Verizon's implementation of EVDO Rev. A does NOT support simultaneous transmission of data and voice.
Your smartphone on Verizon can receive a call during a data transmission, but it disconnects your data connection as soon as you accept the call. It is either data or voice on Verizon, not both at the same time (unless you have a WiFi internet connection on one of the few Verizon phones that offer it).
http://www.abiresearch.com/Blog/Wireless_Blog/57
Beniitec said 4:39PM on 11-13-2009
That's a slam? Please. Verizon's ad is about coverage not how many users or whether edge covers everyone. It's classic AT&T wanting to "respond." I have an iPhone and I hate the network.
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