Apple's jumped into the Verizon versus AT&T fray, according to BusinessWeek, with a couple of new ads -- and, somewhat surprisingly, they come out in full defense of AT&T. Both ads show an iPhone user in the middle of a phone call who multitasks by looking up movie information, restaurant ratings, and many other things over AT&T's 3G network. The ads end with the question, "Can your phone and your network do that?" with a very prominent AT&T logo in the final seconds of the ads.

As I'm personally somewhat on the outside looking in at the U.S. telecom spats, I don't know how much US smartphone users really miss the ability to do simultaneous data browsing and phone calls while on Verizon's network. Based on what I've heard about AT&T's network reliability, however, there are some areas of the U.S. where you'll be lucky to be able to make and receive calls at all, or hold on to a call in progress, much less multitask in the manner depicted in these ads.

What's most interesting about these ads is how favorable they are to AT&T. It's no secret that Apple's been less than thrilled with AT&T over the course of their relationship, and it's even less of a secret how dissatisfied U.S. customers have been with the telco giant. It's understandable that Apple wants to paint the iPhone in a favorable light, but I'm admittedly surprised that they seem to be going to bat for AT&T at the same time. Sure AT&T is their business partner, but from my point of view this smells a lot like telling your family that your less-than-presentable date for Thanksgiving has 'a really great personality.'

Read on to see the ads in action.

The Associated Press is reporting that an Atlanta Federal judge has denied an AT&T request to pull the Verizon 'there's a map for that' ads.

The judge has set a December 16th hearing to give AT&T another chance to make a case.

AT&T filed suit earlier this month looking for a temporary restraining order to stop the ads, and wanted a permanent injunction to halt them. The ads say that the AT&T network is not up to the quality or range of the Verizon network, and shows two coverage maps to make the point. AT&T claims the maps are misleading, and injures the company reputation.

Verizon has said the commercials are truthful and accurate.

The case pits the two communication giants against each other as they fight for increasing shares of the mobile market. AT&T has an exclusive on the iPhone, and that has brought AT&T an increasingly growing share of mobile customers.

Verizon was reportedly offered an exclusive on the iPhone more than 2 years ago but turned it down. There have been sporadic reports that Verizon would like to get the iPhone back when the AT&T contract expires, but with some Verizon ads targeting the iPhone as well as AT&T that looks to be increasingly unlikely.

Verizon isn't fazed by the AT&T legal claims that the Verizon ads attacking poor coverage are false and misleading. Our sister site Engadget broke the story of the Verizon response to the suit and you can read the it here.

Verizon isn't pulling any punches and says "AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon's "There's A Map For That" advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and the truth hurts."

Then to drive home the point:

"In the final analysis, AT&T seeks emergency relief because Verizon's side-by-side, apples-to-apples comparison of its own 3G coverage with AT&T's confirms what the marketplace has been saying for months: AT&T failed to invest adequately in the necessary infrastructure to expand its 3G coverage to support its growth in smartphone business, and the usefulness of its service to smartphone users has suffered accordingly."

Ouch!

This latest salvo follows AT&T sending a message to customers complaining about the Verizon ads and telling customers their coverage is great, that they sell more smartphones than Verizon and that the AT&T 3G network is faster. So there.

Well AT&T, your move. It's great for the lawyers, and actually, we admit we just love the spectacle.

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.

Last week we covered the possibility that the iPhone would get a hybrid chip allowing it to work on CDMA and UTMS carriers (like Verzion and AT&T) simultaneously. Today, Appleinsider is citing industry analyst Ashok Kumar who says that such a chip hasn't reached field trial status, and that the lead time required for this type of device makes him think consumers won't see it in 2010. Kumar goes on to suggest that this new "worldmode" chip would be more likely to show up in 2011.

While it would be ideal for Apple to have one model of iPhone that would work on nearly all wireless providers in the world, the technology just doesn't appear to be there at this point. Kumar points out that even though the hardware is in development, the software necessary for the basebands of such devices doesn't even exist yet but would get there eventually.

So that's one vote against a 2010 debut for the Verizon iPhone, despite the corroborating rumors from other supply chain analysts. As eager as everyone is for an alternative to AT&T in the USA, I don't think this is the last we'll hear of the story.

If you're tired of dropped calls and dead zones, and pondering the merits of turning in your iPhone for a DROID... hold on there, champ. AppleInsider says it's received a copy of a report by OTR Global, claiming that Apple has signed contracts to produce a UMTS / CDMA hybrid iPhone to be released in the third quarter of 2010.

The hybrid handset, built around a dual-system chip from Qualcomm, would allow the iPhone to run on virtually any GSM/UTMS cellular network worldwide -- and also on the CDMA2000 networks of US carriers like Verizon and Sprint. In particular, Verizon is cited in the report as the target carrier for the new devices.

The report states that Foxconn, the Taiwan-based sole-source provider of iPhone hardware at this time, will not build the new device. Instead, a subsidiary of Asustek known as Pegatron has been selected to kick off manufacturing. It's also rumored that the hybrid device uses a 2.8" screen, making the handset smaller than the current model which uses a 3.5" display.

Photos of the smaller display were first featured on iLounge in June of 2008 (see photo at right), sparking widespread rumors at the time that an "iPhone nano" was on the way. Over a year later, neither the smaller iPhone nor a Verizon model are available. However, if the leaked report is any indication, 2010 could be yet another year of incredible growth for the iPhone economy.

Most American television viewers have been treated recently to endless reruns of Verizon's "iDon't" advertisements. These ads attack the iPhone, playing music that's similar to that played in iPhone ads while displaying a series of messages stating such brilliant and cutting phrases as "iDon't have a real keyboard," "iDon't run simultaneous apps," and so on.

Mac fan and Chicago Sun-Times writer Andy Ihnatko was apparently as fed up with the ads as most of us here at TUAW, so he took Verizon to task in a Wednesday column. In the column, he takes on Verizon's claims and for the most part finds them lacking or at least overblown.In describing the faults of the ad campaign, Ihnatko says "Its claims about the limitations of the iPhone are baloney (Mostly.)"

Andy has been testing the new Motorola Droid phone for an upcoming review, and he does like the phone -- a lot. But his take on the ad campaign is right on the mark: "Verizon's 'iDon't' is a terrible commercial. It provokes experienced iPhone users like me to get all Tyra Banks on the phone and the Android 2.0 OS. That can't possibly be good for business."

Don't mess with us iPhone fans, Verizon...

[via Chicago Sun-Times]

Stung by some pretty aggressive advertising by Verizon, AT&T has had enough and is suing the communications giant for false and misleading claims.

AT&T says the ads, which show that AT&T has poor 3G coverage compared to Verizon are causing it to lose "incalculable market share."

According to the lawsuit which AT&T filed in Atlanta federal court, a recently broadcast ad campaign shows maps with white spaces that mislead consumers into thinking AT&T has no network coverage outside of areas where it offers high-speed mobile services, known as 3G.

But AT&T argued that its customers can "fully use their wireless devices outside of a '3G' coverage area and undisputedly have coverage in areas depicted by white or blank spaces on the maps used in Verizon's advertisements."

Verizon says the lawsuit has no merit, and Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Nancy Stark said the ads "clearly state" that voice and data services are available outside 3G areas. She said the ads were intended to tell consumers about coverage for smartphones, which are used for data services.

If you want to see the ad that sparked the lawsuit, click here.

[via Engadget]

Just last week, Verizon released Media Manager for the Mac. While many customers are saying it's less powerful than its Windows-based counterpart, it received significant changes this week. Namely, users can now stream content from their iPhoto and iTunes libraries to a FiOS DVR (something TiVo did three years ago, but let's not nit-pick).

With the desktop app running (configured as a simple preference), you can browse iTunes playlists as well as your entire library. From iPhoto, browse your library, events and slideshows. Keeping events intact is nice for when you want to show Aunt Shirley pictures from your trip to Scranton.

Note that this requires a FiOS TV DVR Set-Top Box, Mac OS X 10.4 or greater, iTunes 7 or greater, iPhoto 6 or greater and QuickTime version 7 or greater. For an unnecessarily enthusiastic demonstration of the software, check out the video after the break.

(Screenshot courtesy of Dave Zatz / Zatz Not Funny)

[Via Engadget]

Is AT&T holding back the iPhone's sales potential? That's the conclusion of analysts at Piper Jaffray. In a report issued today, the firm says Apple is likely to go with multiple carriers, as the company is already doing in other world markets like France and the U.K.

To make the point, the report cites iPhone sales in France, where Apple's share of the smartphone market zoomed to 40% from 15% since Orange lost the exclusive there.

What does that mean for AT&T? If Apple finds additional partners, AT&T could lose a hefty chunk of customers who haven't been too thrilled with the way the communications giant has performed with the iPhone. There is still no tethering, MMS took a long time to roll out, and there is a continuing complaint of dropped calls from every corner of the country.

One wonders what is going on inside Verizon. The best-regarded US cell carrier for coverage & network quality is the subject of many rumors about the iPhone being offered, and others rumors of the mythical Apple tablet coming to Verizon. It's all especially interesting as Verizon has been bashing the iPhone in a series of TV ads hyping the upcoming Droid from Motorola and Google. Doesn't seem like Verizon is warming up the relationship.

It will be an interesting next few months as competition increases; partners may or may nor change, and Apple will be looking to increase market share for one of the hottest phones on the market.

[via Business Week]

For the last couple of weeks, I've been testing the Verizon MiFi portable WiFi hotspot. After writing about the MiFi, a few months back, I was placed on a waiting list to receive a test unit. Could the MiFi enhance the iPod touch experience to bring it into the realm of the iPhone? A unit finally came free and I finally got my hands-on experience to discover whether my assumptions would be proved right or wrong.

The MiFi, which is a portable EV-DO router, provides a 3G connection through an absolutely tiny unit. All plastic, it's about as thick as an iPhone and about two-thirds as large as its front face. The MiFi's entire user interface is its single button (seen at the bottom right of the image here). When pressed, the button switches on and glows green. Pressed again and held, the unit turns off and the green glow disappears. Sprint offers a near-identical unit, except it's finished in brushed metal instead of black.

Read on to discover how my MiFi testing went...

Gene Munster, the Piper Jaffrey senior research analyst who usually hits the nail on the head when it comes to Apple forecasts, thinks that Apple will move to multiple U.S. carriers within the next year. He believe that this will happen next summer, which has been the time when Apple has introduced new models of the iPhone.

Munster noted that having multiple carriers in a market has helped Apple to achieve greater success in terms of market penetration. He pointed to France as an example; originally, Apple inked an exclusive arrangement with Orange. When it moved to a multi-carrier deal, Apple's market share in France jumped to about the 40 percent range. In the U.S., the iPhone's market share is only in the mid-teens.

Many industry pundits expect the next iPhone carrier to be Verizon, since they are beginning a transition to a new, iPhone-compatible 4G network (LTE) in the next year. This would make the transition rather simple for Apple, since they wouldn't have to design an EV-DO iPhone, but instead just use the current hardware design.

Update: Per TUAW reader Ben C., the Verizon 4G transition is not expected to be completed until 2013. In addition, a CDMA-based iPhone would need to be deployed for Verizon. Thanks for the correction and explanation.

[via LoopInsight]

Apparently yesterday's poll about the release date of Mac OS X 10.5.8's made some waves in the Apple swimming pool, since we've seen over 6,400 responses in about 15 hours. That poll also made TUAW reader Clinton hungry for a new poll. He wrote:

"Could you do a poll? There is so much speculation about Verizon and a 4G network and the possibility of iPhone going to that platform once it is up and running in 2010. I would like to see a poll to substantiate all the speculation that AT&T customer will leave for Verizon's network if iPhone is available on Verizon's new 4G."

Along with that explanation, Clinton also provided a question and several multiple choice answers. Since he had done most of the hard work, we couldn't help but run this poll. If none of the answers meet your needs, or if you have additional comments to make, please use the comments link below.

In a minefield of failed "iPhone killers" one is making some headway on fulfilling that murderous promise: the Palm Pre.

Perhaps it's no surprise: the Palm Pre was conceived by a team that includes plenty of Apple alumni, including Jon Rubenstein, who was made Palm's CEO yesterday to replace Ed Colligan. (John Gruber reminds us of one of Colligan's more famous quotes.) Rubenstein used to be the general manager of Apple's iPod division.

Not only that, but Fred Anderson, Lynn Fox, and Mike Bell are all connected (if not employed by) the re-energized Palm. Valleywag's Ryan Tate says it's no wonder, then, that the Pre syncs with iTunes right out of the box.

Competition is good, though, right? We'll see improvements to both the iPhone and the Pre because of the products' competitive relationship with each other. Look at the rivalry between Canon and Nikon: The result? Awesome cameras both. In the end, the customer wins.

This is true with carriers, too, as exclusivity agreements begin to expire. There were rumblings that the Pre would be released on the Verizon network around Christmas, but blowback from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse pushed the rumor mill's schedule back a month to January 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Watercooler talk suggests that the iPhone's exclusivity agreement with AT&T expires around the same time for U.S. customers, but the Magic 8 Ball says that we might not see an iPhone for Verizon until both they and AT&T finish their LTE networks.

If you're using a Pre with your Mac, especially if you're taking advantage of the iTunes sync capability, let us know in the comments how it's going.

Here at TUAW central, we fell into a debate last night about the merits and tradeoffs of MiFi and the iPhone. If you haven't heard of MiFi, it's a portable EV-DO router from Verizon. For $149 for the equipment (there's a $50 rebate), and for $60/month, you get up to 5GB of WiFi based data that you can tether and share.

The MiFi has a fairly limited WiFi range (about 20-40 feet max) and supports only 802.11b and g. Battery life seems limited to about 4 hours of active use. So why the attraction, and why the debate? After yesterday's slightly disappointing iPhone updates, namely the hefty hardware prices for in-contract customers and lack of AT&T announcements on tethering, I felt that the MiFi might provide a cost effective tethering solution for iPhone, iPods, and laptops.

The reasoning works like this. If you can bear to stick another gadget in your pocket or backpack, both iPods and iPhones can use MiFi's data plan. You can Skype to your heart's content (or, realistically, up to the 5GB monthly limit). This helps especially if your EDGE or 3G coverage is already awful when compared to Verizon's EV-DO network. MiFi gives you the opportunity to dump your entire iPhone plan and replace it with possibly better data. And with no US tethering yet announced for the iPhone, MiFi offers laptop as well as iPhone data; its WiFi connection appears to be platform agnostic.

So are you ready to dump your iPhone data plan? If so, you'll want to consider a phone number for your iPhone. If you've already got an AT&T plan on another phone, just pop in the SIM. If not, consider Pay As You Go. For $100, you can buy a one year credit that charges at either $0.25 a minute or $0.10 a minute with a $1/day minimum. This gives you a phone number for incoming calls, allows you to use Skype for outgoing calls, and should you have problems with MiFi or just aren't carrying it along, you can use those minutes to place normal calls. Obviously normal AT&T plans have better per-minute and SMS rates.

There are drawbacks. Along with convenience (now carrying two gadgets around? Plus your laptop?), you give up Visual Voicemail. It's one of the iPhone's nicer features. Pay As You Go, for example, gives you regular voicemail but it's not quite the same. Plus, the $60/month price? It's okay for what they give you but it's no huge bargain. Here's a quick summary of some of the the pros and cons of this approach.

Pros

• Tethering. Above-board and sharable with a couple of nearby friends.
• Works with iPod touch.
• For that matter, works with iPhone in a laptop-free way that an Express Card does not
• Skype becomes a reasonable communication option

Cons

• Two gadgets to charge, two gadgets to carry
• No Visual Voicemail
• Skype is what it is, lagged audio and all
• For a data-only plan with tethering, pricing is not great but it's pretty much in-line with other plans out there
• Bulkier than express card

Thank you to the TUAW reader who sent us the MiFi tip!