Verizon Finally Unveils Apple iPhone 480
Velcroman1 writes "The most asked question in all of technology finally has an answer. When will Verizon get the iPhone? The answer: early next month. Verizon COO Lowell McAdam unveiled a new iPhone Tuesday during a presentation in New York that was short on surprises as most of the tech press already knew what was coming. 'If the press writes about something long enough and hard enough, eventually it comes true,' McAdam joked. Nevertheless, the move clears a major hurdle for Apple as they face increasing competition in smartphones, particularly from devices based on Google Inc.'s Android software which has exploded in popularity. Verizon's Lowell McAdam described the unveiling as a 'great day for wireless customers across the US.'"
Lame press conference (Score:5, Informative)
Anyway, there were exactly 3 things of interest at the press conference:
That's it. I would think if they're going to bother holding a press conference like this that they would be willing to talk a bit more about the device first, but no, it's was only the most minimal sip of information they could get away with divulging.
Re:The good and bad... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Ok (Score:2, Informative)
They won't have to. The iPhone IS puny and weak compared to the Droid.
Re:disconnect (Score:5, Informative)
What actually happens when a call comes in? Obviously any data streams stop, but if I have a laptop tethered will TCP connections get reset or is it like all of a sudden having dropped packets?
That's exactly what happens. I travel a great deal for business and given that most hotel's WiFi tends towards the sucktastic side of speeds I tether my Droid constantly. When a phone call comes in the radio kills any data coming through it. The connection doesn't get a reset, the packets just stop coming.
Re:The good and bad... (Score:5, Informative)
That's because GPRS/EDGE baseband doesn't support simultaneous voice+data, because there's only one transceiver. All the UMTS (3G HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA) ones, in order to get higher speeds use channel bonding and multiple data contexts, which requires additional transceivers on additional channels. When a voice call comes it, it's just a control message to shut down a data context, switch a transceiver to the voice channel, and continue. The only thing that you'll notice is the data comes in a bit slower.
As for LTE support - LTE rollout isn't everywhere, and LTE at the moment is only guaranteed for data - the voice path has not been fully ratified yet. No doubt you can run VoIP, but I'm sure the carriers are trying to figure a wya to limit the built-in VoIP to their network only in nice high priority while other VoIP services get stuck with regular data services...
Awesome. (Score:4, Informative)
You may confidently assume that I'm counting the months on my AT&T contract, and will hop to Verizon when it's over.
I really do value the iPhone in a number of ways, but dealing with AT&T has been a nightmare. I had tons of trouble with them in the past, but the most recent one is still fairly typical:
My last payment to them apparently didn't make it. Now, I can show that the other three checks I mailed out the same night all got cashed, but whatever. Could be the post office, could be their mailroom, no one is ever likely to find out.
1. The letter to me was hostile and sort of rude. I've never missed a payment before. Heck, I don't think I've had ANY payments late, for anyone, in the last four or five years. I don't think the first letter you send to a customer with a flawless payment record should make the assumption that it's their fault that you didn't get paid. I deposited the payment in the US Mail in a timely manner, assholes.
2. So I called in. Navigated through a voicemail system. Which hung up on me.
3. So I called in again. Navigated through a voicemail system. Got someone who made meaningless noises a lot but implied that things were all good.
4. So I went to the web site to online-bill-pay it, and kept getting dropped on a page saying "the function you've selected isn't available". Turns out you have to have JavaScript on or the login page doesn't work. Noticed a late payment charge, which the previous rep had not mentioned.
5. So I called in again, navigated through the same voicemail system, and got someone to ACTUALLY reverse the late payment fee.
That was an awful lot of hassle given that the most likely explanation is that their mailroom lost something. No one I dealt with during the process seemed friendly.
I call T-mobile sometimes, and they're always pleasant to talk to.
Re:The good and bad... (Score:4, Informative)
I beg to differ. As a Blackberry user with this limitation I find it incredibly annoying. This is my ONLY phone device and I frequently spent 4-6 hours / day in con-call meetings. When someone says "here... I'll send you that number (or whatever)..." I can't get it until hanging up.
While I agree that the lack of simultaneous voice/data will not impact everyone, don't discount the importance of that in the business world.
Re:Ok (Score:2, Informative)
Check out wirefly.com, they have deals with all the carriers and might be able to squeeze something out for you possibly including buying a CDMA version outright (I haven't bothered to check).
On another note, I deal with mobile apps and watch a lot of the carrier bashing going on. It really boils down to what's better for you in your area and if you travel much.
AT&T's network wasn't ready for the flood of iPhones, while Verizon has been ramping up. However, AT&T gets 7.2mbps on 3g while Verizon gets about 1mbps. Verizon has much more 3g coverage than AT&T does.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Ok (Score:5, Informative)
http://support.vzw.com/faqs/iphone/iphone_faq.html#item12 [vzw.com]
5. Do I need to sign up for a 2 year agreement? When purchasing iPhone at the 2 year promotional price a new agreement is required. However, you will also have the option to purchase iPhone at full retail price, which will not require you to sign a long-term agreement.
Re:Not free tethering - WiFi hotspot, unknown pric (Score:3, Informative)
Tethering on Android costs like $10 a month, I doubt they would remove that cost from the iPhone. Also, I don't know what you are reading, but Verizon has unlimited smartphone plans by default, there are 2 GB caps on the portable hotspot devices.
According to the VZW site, the plans are $15 for 150 MB or 29.99 for unlimited.
Wow, if you think that's bad Verizon is worse (Score:5, Informative)
Verizon is a phone company that doesn't know how to answer a phone, transfer a call, make a three-way call, or anything else involving phones.
Their billing department plays games, randomly changing your bill by a few extra cents each month, even if you're on a set-amount negotiated by contract. Their CSAs (when and if you get through to one) will *say* they are doing everything to resolve your issues, but nothing happens.
And then of course, my favorite: Sales guy swears up and down on a stack of bibles that your bill is going to be $89.99, plus a few taxes and fees. He'll tell you "About $114" when all is said and done. And you ask him again. So that's *everything* right? I won't get a huge bill with set-up fees and crap? He says "No. I guarantee your bill won't be over $114". Three weeks later the first bill arrives and it's $250. You then get to spend the next 6 months fighting with them over that bill. You will threaten to take them to court. You will write the Attourney State General, your Senators, your Congressmen. You will speak to every Vice-President Verizon has, wasting over $1000 of your time and theirs. Finally, they will agree to credit your bill. Except that no credit ever appears and you get to start all over again, or give up.
That's the Verizon I know. I hope you faire better. All I know is that I wouldn't trust them to clean toilets, much less run critical infrastructure.