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.'"
Re:Ok (Score:3, Interesting)
So how is Verizon going to spin this to backpeddle against their previous bashings of the iPhone? Weren't they just a year or so ago telling how puny and weak the iPhone was in comparison to their Droid?
Not free tethering - WiFi hotspot, unknown price (Score:5, Interesting)
They didn't just say they would support tethering, they said you could use it as a hotspot - about time.
BUT what I don't think was stated, was how much (if anything), this will cost... it might be free but I don't think the price of anything was made clear. They also didn't talk about unlimited data plans even though that was a rumor, and the Verizon data plan page says there is a 2GB cap on smartphone plans.
disconnect (Score:4, Interesting)
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?
Re:Too late. (Score:3, Interesting)
Too late for you, perhaps, but there will be many who will dump their Andriods for an iPhone.
Should be interesting to see what effect this has on marketshare.
Re:Mums the word. (Score:5, Interesting)
They promised to give up the one thing that Verizon has held out on all this time, Verizon branding all over the phone.
It will be verizon free, free of all the extra apps and crap they want installed on the system. It will remain an Apple device, exactly what Apple has always wanted and only AT&T would agree to.
It hasn't been an exclusive agreement or Apple's will that kept the phone on AT&T, it's Verizon's vanity and need for control over a device that is yours to use.
With LTE coming up, they didn't want to miss out on an iDevice for another generation of wireless data.
Go haggle with ATT. Right now. (Score:5, Interesting)
After the announcement, I called ATT and asked for incentives to keep me on their network. I told them about the Verizon announcement, and offered to renew my contract if they would upgrade me to the iPhone 4 at no cost, and knock $15 off my month rate. They accepted the deal. ATT know the threat Verizon poses, and are eager to stop the bloodletting. I would encourage everyone who is willing to stick around to haggle.
Re:The good and bad... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not going to say "I've never have had this happen", because in the nearly five years I've owned an iPhone it has... three times I think. It's not actually all that common because of a factor you're not considering. You can simultaneously use voice and wifi. Usually (not always obviously, but usually) when I need to reference Internet stuffs while on the phone I'm in a static location where there's wifi. I wouldn't complain about the problem going away, mind you, but it's not really a huge issue most of the time.
Hate to say it... (Score:2, Interesting)
I ran into a close friend of mine at the mall the other day and she was excited about her new Windows phone. (we are both artsy/designer types). I was taken aback since she was an AT&T customer, she then hit me with a point I hadn't thought of: The Windows phone is cleaner and more artistic in design. Instead of a jumble of unchangable icons on the iPhone the tiles are either all one color or can be customized with photos, etc. to create a really beautiful look. In about an hour from her getting her new phone it was actually a beautiful thing... I looked down at my iphone and realized it was horribly ugly in comparison.
I still like the function and overall design of the iPhone but I also won't begrudge MS when they get something right.
Re:The good and bad... (Score:2, Interesting)
Without simultaneous voice and data, if I stream Pandora or Last.fm on my hour-long train ride home (as I usually do), then I would not be able to receive any phone calls during that time, and people calling would be dumped to voicemail. That's a pretty serious issue.