SNL: Google phone to challenge iPhone by "making calls"

Perception of SNL is usually way off. People always think that it used to be funny "back when (older cast member name) was on." But back when that person was on, nobody thought it was funny, rather, it was funny "back when (even older cast member) was on."

It's always funny, never 100% of the time and your favorite sketches of yester-year will always trick you into thinking they came from a time when everything was as good as that one thing you're thinking of.

It was a solid joke.

I never have a problem with 3G in my area--even while out hiking in the wilderness, where my friend often can't get a signal on his Verizon phone.

Go figure.

@Jordan

The world is not the USA. Moreover the world is not NY & San Francisco. I live in the most densely populated area of Canada (Toronto). I am on Rogers. I have had absolutely zero dropped calls and excellent 3G coverage since day 1 with my iPhone 3G and now 3GS. This is the sentiment that seems to be shared by millions of iPhone owners in Canada.

So tell me. How is it the iPhone itself and not AT&T that is at fault here??

Is it really necessary for TUAW to regurgitate every single remotely-related Apple post from Engadget?

The TUAW headline is incorrect.

"SNL: Google phone to challenge iPhone by "making calls"

Your own story contradicts the headline

"It was reported this week that Google would soon launch its own cellphone as a challenge to the iPhone.........(PERIOD)

ALSO a challenge to the iPhone? Making phone calls."

The second part is separate from the first part. It has nothing to do with Google!

AT&T should be embarrassed by their coverage problems.

To everyone assuming it's the network - I'm not so sure.

Here in Australia, I have a number of friends that have iPhones (As I do), on different networks, and most have a worse phone experience than people using different phones.

Reception, dropped calls, quality, does seem to be an issue with the "phone" part of iPhone.

as you noted, SNL hasn't been funny in many, many (many, many, many) years, so I don't think this was an attempt at comedy. I think this was an actual news report by SNL, and it was very accurate.

I've had an iPhone since the 1st gen and I can't even remember my last dropped call. All I ever have are stable calls and fast data and at the same time no less.

Every Network Drops Calls, I'm an iPhone 3GS owner and this was still funny!

Pwned!

Cheers

All in all, I have to give credit to the great joke. I can call myself a mac-head, and I love my iPhone too, but the joke made me crack.

No need to beat on a dead horse: the sum of carrier + handset is throwing out awful results.

Regarding whose carrier was to be used, let me drop my 2 cents here:

1. Verizon uses CDMA/WCDMA as where the iPhone, as a global phone, had to be GSM/HSPA to be actually useful elsewhere than the states.

2. T-Mobile uses a frequency pair that is not the most common for HSPA (3G) (2100/1700)

3. The only network that had the most common pair of frequencies for HSPA was Cingular (then bought due to that by AT&T) which is (2100/1900)

Sad but true, if the iPhone had to go abroad, has to be on the mot used frequencies.

Try to roam to europe with Verizon's CDMA and you will find a whole continent of non-coverage area. Try to roam anywhere with the iPhone and you will find coverage, even if is EDGE or GPRS, but you will be able to use the phone to make actual calls. With GSM covering more than 75% of world's base, take a guess what technology was to be used: CDMA or GSM?

Do not blame just the phone or just the carrier, is a combination that everyone has to suffer.

Why is the monopoly in the US when elsewhere the iPhone is sold there are 2, 3 or even 4 carriers offering it? Because the only network with the standard 2100/1900 frequencies belong to... yeah, you guessed right: AT&T is not just a matter of name, is a matter of standards.