Official iPhone on Verizon Press Conference, Announcement and Discussion thread (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

I'm not switching just for this. But, I've now seen AT&T's suckitude in driving through the Midwest. This is great for those that want an iPhone in a bad AT&T area. Ron says it's sad that Verizon isn't giving us all ponies to switch from AT&T Why would you expect special favors to switch? They're the largest carrier. They have the best network. I think a lot of people see plenty reason to switch; and consider the data / voice thing small fries compared to actually getting a signal in their house or on the highway. It's also gear for iPhone users in general because it's going to double the US market, keeping the iOS ecosystem strong, ensuring iPhones advancement and good apps for years to come. It might also help keep those android heathens at bay

 

[Sam Posten]

The tale of the tape:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/atandt-iphone-4-vs-verizon-iphone-4-whats-changed/#


Why no LTE?

http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/11/lte-iphone/#


Official Press Release:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/01/11iphone.html

 

[Sam Posten]

Reiterated, no crapware:

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/01/11/verizon-iphone-4-preinstalled


Just like AT&T has owner apps on marketplace, so will Verizon.


Vast majority of geek voices say they are sticking with AT&T for the time being:

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/11/why-im-staying-with-atandt/


Andy Ihnatko weighs in:

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/3258880-478/verizon-iphone-apple-data-network.html

 

[Sam Posten]

Hotspot in pictures:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/11/verizon-iphone-personal-hotspot/


It works via either wifi (for up to five connections) or via single connection Bluetooth or USB, unlike the AT&T one which only allows a single usb/BT tether.

 

[Sam Posten]

No way am I switching until LTE, but for those of you who are tempted, here ya go:

http://www.macworld.com/article/157081/2011/01/how_to_switch_att_verizon_iphone.html?lsrc=twt_chartier

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

AT&T also allows Bluetooth tethering.

 

[Sam Posten]

Noted.


But, whuuuuuuut?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/cdma-ipad-coming-to-verizon-too-says-cfo/

 

[Sam Posten]

More hands on

http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/01/11/hands-on-with-the-verizon-iphone/

http://cnettv.cnet.com/hands-verizon-iphone/9742-1_53-50098666.html

 

[mattCR]

Buttons have been moved, so new cases.. the case manufacturers have to be happy.

 

[DaveF]

What Verizon taketh, they giveth. No simultaneous voice and data. But now 5-device wifi hotspots. Suck on that AT&T!


It would seem to confound the choice a bit to someone who's otherwise carrier agnostic. And the hotspot makes a wifi iPad more attractive.


Any speculation on the precvious absence of wifi hotspotting being an Apple thing or AT&T thing? Maybe that's a concession Verizon wrung out of Apple? Will AT&T get it? It's spec-list bulletpoint that I have no use for, but still feel that I want it

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The WiFi hotspot thing is probably carrier-specific (in one way or another). Verizon had been offering that for their Android smartphones for some time now, so it's nothing new for them.


Also, near as I can tell, use of that service comes w/ a data limit (even though their current $30/month smartphone data plan is unlimited). In the end, it sounds like the hotspot feature has about the same data limit as AT&T's tethering feature when you account for everything that's needed though you'd still have unlimited data for the phone itself.


Still, I guess Verizon's hotspot feature would be more useful than AT&T's tethering feature for use w/ a WiFi-capable tablet -- whether it's the iPad or the upcoming Motorola Xoom or some other Android tablet...


_Man_

 

[Sam Posten]

Rumor is that the hotspot is coming to AT&T in 4.3

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/01/11/apple_to_add_wi_fi_hotspot_to_gsm_iphone_with_ios_4_3_rumor.html


BUT the VeriPhone doesn't have deathgrippage!

http://www.slashgear.com/verizon-iphone-4-doesnt-suffer-from-death-grip-11125827/


Who is afraid?

http://www.marco.org/2709841284

 

[mattCR]

Sam, that analysis at Marco is ridiculous.

I get the feeling that very few people except anti-Apple geeks really care about Android itself. The buying decision for most seemed to be, “I’m on Verizon and don’t want to switch, so which of the phones in the Verizon store looks best? They say this one is just as good as an iPhone. I guess I’ll get that.”

No.


There are lots of people on ATT who also chose Android. And people on other carriers, etc... even T-Mobile, where unlocking an iPhone has been an option for them (GSM). People chose phones carefully. I have openly said that I carry a blackberry. I have no interest in ever giving it up; I've carried one for years. The iPhone isn't even a consideration for me (though I love the iphone touch). Outside of a keyboard, which I view as the only "killer" element of a phone.. and without it, I wont' consider a phone, there are other issues. The iPhone is a great phone, my wife loves it.. but it isn't for everyone. If I was to switch, it would likely be a Windows7 phone... and I don't even care for those yet. Why would Blackberry and W7P be the only ones in the running? Because they are the only ones that I can run multiple exchange servers seemlessly on. Without that functionality, a phone is completely worthless to me, I'd have to carry two phones to manage accounts, and I wont' carry two phones if I can avoid it - I did that for a while, no interest in going back.


More then that, the "phone" portion of hte iPhone has always been to me a weak spot.. I'm that idiot who goes through a crapload of minutes.. my last statement from ATT says in December I went through 2,832 minutes. As I'm writing this, I have speakerphone going in mute while I'm in a conference in a small office. A great speakerphone is also critical to me.


People chose phones for all sorts of different reasons. I haven't met one that I thought was perfect. I came very, very close to switching to Android last year, because there were rumors about multiple exchange support (turns out, it was just using a secondary as IMAP, which is no good, as it means you still can't do acceptances, etc.) W7P has some lure to me, but not enough because I don't find the keyboard particularly snappy and BBM is for me a killer app.. and, since I've got a client where I cannot have a phone with a camera, I can't seem to find a W7P that doesn't have a camera, which makes it a non-choice.


Marco's assessment of "people settle for Android, if they had the choice, they'd chose iPhone" is a lot of hubris... a LOT of hubris.

 

[Sam Posten]

I agree Matt. Sorry if it seemed like I endorsed that but I was just posting it cause it's interesting. Here's one that goes one step further and I definitely disagree with its conclusions:

http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20110112/verizon-iphone-will-suck-the-wind-out-of-androids-growth/?mod=tweet


I think Android has a bright future despite its warts, just as the iPhone has its own warts. They will get better because they push each other.


One thing that article says that IS interesting tho is if you got an Android for Christmas Verizon will let you trade it in for an iPhone!


BGR is confirming that AT&T will get mobile hot spotting:

http://www.bgr.com/2011/01/12/confirmed-personal-hotspot-feature-coming-to-all-iphones-in-ios-4-3/


Jon Stewart likes the VeriPhone;

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20110112/jon-stewart-praises-verizons-liberation-of-the-iphone/

 

[Todd H]

This is good news for me. I'm an NOAA storm spotter for our area and I'm often on the road when storms head our way. One of my favorite chasing tools is an app called Radarscope, which gives me access to lots of different radars as well as my current position in relation to storm cells. With my iPhone I often have no signal and therefore can't pull up an updated radar scan. Of course, my brother's Verizon phone never drops below 2-3 bars in these same areas. Not being able to pull up a current radar sweep can make an already dangerous job even more so. Since AT&T apparently doesn't plan to update their coverage for my area any time soon, I'll be switching to Verizon as soon as financially possible.

 

[Sam Posten]

4.3 comes out of hiding in beta form!

http://www.macstories.net/news/breaking-apple-releases-ios-4-3-beta/#

 

[Sam Posten]

Interesting interview with Verizon's Ivan S:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_04/b4212032719210.htm

 

[TonyD]

So how much extra will it be for att hot spots, I wonder.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

[SIZE= 12px]Consumer Reports Cautions Against Verizon iPhone 4http://www.informationweek.com/news...html?articleID=229000778&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News[/SIZE]

 

[DaveF]

and its 3.5-inch screen in an era where a number of smartphones are shipping with 4-inch-plus displays

They ought to caution against those "middle-aged smartphone" with meager 4-inch displays when Dell has its cutting edge 5" Streak!


It's getting more complicated in knowing where Consumer Reports can be trusted and where they're out of their depth and should be ignored. Sadly, on smartphones, they're looking ever more foolish (to me). It's like the bad old days when I'd try to get something useful on receivers and DVD players from CR; what a waste.