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Survey Says Most iPhone Users Love AT&T
Hugh Pickens writes "In a report sure to raise eyebrows, CNN Money claims that despite a very vocal group of detractors, the vast majority of iPhone users love AT&T. A survey released this week by Yankee Group reports that 73% of iPhone owners scored their satisfaction with the carrier as an 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale. The results seem surprising, given the pounding AT&T has taken in the media and on the blogosphere about its service-related issues with the iPhone and AT&T's recent iPad-related security glitch. For its part, AT&T says its network really isn't as bad as many people think. 'There's a gap between what people hear about us and what their experience is with us. We think that gap is beginning to close,' says Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman. 'It doesn't mean we're perfect; we still have work to do. But that's no surprise to us, because we have a great network.'" Buried in the penultimate paragraph is the somewhat alarming note that "77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone."
Actually, I think it's just ignorance and lack of technical knowledge from the users. Apple and its users tend to run around telling how great their products are and there are no faults in anything. They most likely think it must be the same thing with every device.
Another great example of this ignorance (and misinformation spread by Apple) is that Mac OSX is virus-free and will stay so, while in fact there have been several recent instances of malware on OSX. The funny thing is that because Apple spreads these lies and users blindly trust them, they also are ignorant and can't see it. It's the classic lalalalala.
Ignorance is what is happening here too.
OMG, that is alarming! Someone call fox news!
Posted from my iPad.
I bought a 3G 2 years ago. Then bought a 4 as soon as I could.
I've played a little with my friend's Androids. They don't do anything for me. Too many options. I'm a fairly hard core geek but sometimes you just don't want to be bothered with all the options. They just make things confusing.
---Technology will liberate us if it doesn't enslave us first.
In related news, the iPhone4 has no antenna problems.
Obligatory
Who did they ask? People inside of Apple's campus.. You've got to be kidding me.
but where are these Android users going to go? I highly fucking doubt it's to the iPhone, since People seem to never want to break their plans or contract with an existing devil-service.
Mac/Apple lovers are generally loyal to the bitter end, like devoted followers of most products and can look past most faults. For someone that wants an iPhone, there is nothing else that will produce an iPhone but the real thing, and service level be damned. Besides that, the rumor mill abounds that AT&T's exclusivity is almost over.
Android users come from a more diverse population who are probably not loyal to any one thing but want good 'product' in a smart phone but have no tying factor to the platform. If all you want is what you perceive to be a good smart phone you have many options, one of which is also the iPhone. You may not even know that the next cool phone being advertised is an Android based product since they mask it pretty well. I personally have never had a cell phone I would buy the next generation of, including my Blackberry Storm, but that's a different story since work says that I shall have a blackberry of some variety.
----- - The beatings will continue until morale improves
Around me, AT&T has nearly (I'd say 85-90%) of the coverage of Verizon, and probably 130-200% more coverage than the next best. When comparing my speed to those on Verizon about a year ago, my data was twice as fast. Then again, I'm not in a major metro area. I doubt we have a lot of iGoobers streaming youtube and pandora on every cell.
I will say that the iPhone appearance of speed in Safari is about twice that of any WinMobile phone I've had, though no faster or slower than the browser on the couple of Blackberries I've seen.
I suspect the satifaction, aside from the Apple factor, has more to do with the particular default setup of the OS than the actual OS efficiency. Android can do a hell of a lot more, but since most (80%? 90%?) of users never change the defaults, most of the people with Android phones are missing out a lot of the potential features. iPhones, otoh, are more of a WYSIWYG experience - if it doesn't exist in the default profile setup, it simply doesn't exist.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I didn't realize that telephones were capable of becoming obsolete. All they have to do is transmit a vocalized conversation... nothing to really update there.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
Both respondents answered "Ofcourse!"
77% of iPhone users are fan boys/girls
80% of Android users value freedom of choice
95% of all fanboys don't realize they're fanboys.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
I have an iPhone and where I live voice and data coverage is great, much better than Verizon. I go to LA a lot and I usually have a lot of problems with reception there for some reason. As for the device itself, I can compare iPhone with Droid directly since my girlfriend has one and I can tell you I wouldn't swap the phones or the providers. She would though. They both do more or less the same things but iPhone UI is much nicer. Btw I can't make the antenna problem happen at all. The best I can do is get one bar to drop and that's with holding it in a completely unnatural way.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
77% of iPhone users would give money again to Apple.
20% of Android users would do the same to any number of manufacturers
Is it any wonder Apple's cleaning up in the mobile industry?
Analog cell phone are obsolete. Modern cell phones will become obsolete as well when they start turning off the radios on the towers.
I write apps for the android, I've compared 5 different models in my office full of engineers. I continue to stick with each iPhone version because I find the android interface and integration with my computers to suck frankly. I do not have reception problems, I've never been bricked.
I keep hoping android will do better, but the carriers are acting like music companies and screwing up the products in ways I find problematic. I'm not basing this on news, but on evidence from personal experience.
Am I in the reality distortion field or are you?
The vocal minority bitch and moan. The majority of people like the service. It can't be all bad otherwise people would flee. Also, Apple would have nothing to do with a company that its consumers don't support. If Apple is happy then the majority of people are happy.
As I sit here at my house with at best 2 bars of signal. I can't even get push notifications at my own home with AT&T because of poor coverage.
In general in well-travelled places the coverage is okay, although the system does overload at big gatherings (too many iPhone owners in my area I suspect). But if the Verizon deal is real, I'll switch in an instant, just so I can use my phone at my house properly.
After all, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and in addition to that, satisfied customers usually don't go to great lengths to praise service they're satisfied with.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
Its not like they had the opportunity to try an iPhone with another carrier.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I think phone companies are much like banks. They're fine until something happens that causes the user displeasure, and then they become the most evil thing on the face of the earth causing them to change their service to some place else. The new place is fine, or even great, until something bad happens there, and then there are two most evil things on the face of the planet.
I'm with AT&T (and an iPhone). They have good service in my area ( I did ask around first for people's opinions of various phone company's service in my city), they had the phone I wanted (pre-iPhone), the store next to my house where I bought my phones, they give my company a discount, and I've never had any issues with them. Why shouldn't I like them?
i bet it is a large case of stockholm syndrome.
...
Buried in the penultimate paragraph is the somewhat alarming note that "77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone."
It's a throw away comment at the end of the story, but I don't believe that 'statistic' for a second.
The only way I can make sense of it, is perhaps the idea that only 20% would buy another Android phone from the same manufacturer. Due to the number of options, the grass always being greener and the effective 'arms race' between Android manufacturers etc that sounds vaguely plausible. But 80% ready to abandon the platform? That has to be nonsense. Apart from anything else, where are they gonna go?
FWIW I have an iPhone, never owned an Android, blah, blah...
In fact, he nailed it spot on. The GP doesn't like the conclusions of the study, so he just assumes the study or the researchers are wrong. It's an excellent illustration of confirmation bias (or, in this case, its inverse).
I didn't realize that telephones were capable of becoming obsolete. All they have to do is transmit a vocalized conversation... nothing to really update there.
If "[a]ll they have to do is transmit a vocalized conversation then iPhones, Android phones and all 'smart phones' are unnecessary. The 'tech support' and warranties for phones (analog, feature phones and smart phones) runs out well before the minimum 2 yr required contract with a carrier does. The nature of their portability and use means cell phones take a beating.
If a carrier like Verizon moves away from CDMA (which is a real possibility over the next few years) all the CDMA phone still using their network will see an end to their useful life. Consumers are simply buying a subsidized handset with a slow hourglass running out before they know it.
"80% of Android users value freedom of choice"
And 100% of Android users want the ability to remove shovelware from their phone without having to root it.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
I started out with Sprint, then Nextel, neither of which was any good. Could never hold on to calls, mad dead spots, problems with reception at home, etc. Then I got verizon and loved it (but hated the phone). Verizon's service was rock solid, but their data plans were way too much. Then my iPod (which I live and die by) broke and I didn't have the cash for both a new phone and a new ipod, so I changed to ATT and got my 32 gb 3gs. The service in the boston area is on par with verizon. I can't speak to the data network, but there are no significant dead spots, I can talk on the phone and move around, etc. The internet is fast enough for what I need it for when Im out.
Even when I drove out to western ny on 88/86 we mostly had (edge) service. A few dead spots between towers, but good enough.
I think NYC has it much worse than I do anywhere I've been.
So I think it just depends on where you are, and also what your expectations are. If you're a wicked heavy internet user and you travel all over the country, yea, obviously verizon is going to beat the shit out of everybody. But if you mostly stay in a place where att has decent coverage and is not overloaded too bad then it will be fine.
We haven't experienced a lot of trouble with the service. I get the occasional dropped call when I'm driving, but it's not enough to be more than a nuisance. I did see a significant network slowdown in terms of data while I was at a Rockies game, but, well, it was at Coors Field with thousands of people there, and many of them probably had AT&T phones, so the network was probably a leetle bit stressed. For the most part, the service is unobtrusive.
This time around, for some reason, one of our phone numbers was eligible for a full-subsidized upgrade to iPhone 4, but the other was not, so we elected to wait and stick with the 3GS another year; in the meantime, iOS 4 would give us many of the advantages of the new phone without having to switch hardware. We made this decision before the antenna flap started, which just made it look all the more intelligent afterwards. It's my opinion that the next iPhone will almost certainly do something about the antenna problems we've seen on the iPhone 4, and it's likely that Apple will take a look at all aspects of the unit's RF performance. When they do, and when they release a new model that incorporates these improvements, we'll upgrade.
Be who you are...and be it in style!
Ah forced ignorance. I'm sure you think you are clever trying to prove a point, but anyone with two braincells can tell that the only fucking idiot here is you.
(Hint: Telephones != smart phones and smart phones, like most consumer technology, becomes obsolete pretty quick. But don't let that get in the way of you and the five people who think you're method of reasoning is somehow intelligent).
That's not a translation. That's a stupid spin. 80% of Android customers would not buy Android again, given the oppurtunity. 77% of iPhone users would. You fail statistics but you clearly excel at sucking slashcock
Ah, the "Yankee Group".
Let's take a look at the "independent research organization" called the "Yankee Group" who was the publisher of this rather surprising "study".
The single-sentence introductory paragraph to the rather glowing Yankee Group Wikipedia entry reads as follows: "Yankee Group, a Massachusetts company, sells advice and market-research information relating to information technology".
The Yankee group makes a considerable amount of it's income from the "consulting services" it offers to corporations. Consulting about what? About marketing products.
You might remember the Yankee Group because they were the ones who Microsoft hired to do a study showing that Windows 2003 was superior to Linux "in terms of quality, performance and reliability and that the Windows users are more satisfied than Linux users (think about that). Who did Yankee Group hire to do the actual "study" part? Ah, well, they hired "Sunbelt Software, a vendor of Windows utilities, which publicised the survey solely through a mailing list called W2Knews, billing itself as "the World's first and largest e-zine designed for NT/2000 System Admins and Power Users"."
So, the impartial study about Windows vs Linux was solely published in a Windows user group's online forum.
When Yankee Group was criticized for the many press releases that they put out trumpeting Windows obvious superiority over Linux, this is what happened:
This according to ZDNet.
So, at a time when Microsoft was engaged in a FUD campaign against Linux, pushing their "revolutionary" 2003 Server, they hire the Yankee Group to frame "radical" Linux users as "extremist fringe" and "loonies" and are "disrespectful" and "threatening".
So you're an IT manager and you read that. You want "disrespectful and threatening loonies" working for you or do you want to hire the more satisfied Windows administrators whose platform is "superior" in terms of "quality, performance and reliability"? That was exactly how the press releases from the Yankee Group read.
So, all you iPhone users are just thrilled to death with AT&T? Fascinating...
You are welcome on my lawn.
I herby revoke your geek license.
Seriously, AT&T and the iPhone are probably good enough for the majority of people for what they need it to do. People know nothing is perfect and, so, good enough is fine.
Be more satisfied with what "is" than dissatisfied with what "could be".
Me? I own a Qualcomm QCP-1900 from around 1997 using PrimeCo/nTelos. Don't use it a whole lot, but the phone still works like a champ and I have *never* had a call dropped. I say "bah" to your fancy text and web-enabled phones, mine actually works as a *phone* :-)
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I didn't realize that telephones were capable of becoming obsolete. All they have to do is transmit a vocalized conversation... nothing to really update there.
And how many iPhone/Android buyers bought their phones to transmit vocalized conversation? Considering the fact that the apps and the multi-functionality of the devices are their selling points, I'd say that for the purposes these phones are bought for, they become quite quickly obsolete.
In a shocking development today, it was learned that 97% of the US population actually does not live in New York City or San Francisco.
Um, if you do a subjective survey of only people who use the service, of course it's going to get high marks. The people who are dissatisfied with it have mostly left for a different service. This is why you do random samples. So you get a representative sample of the entire population.
The only way the stat they measured carries any weight is if you compare to an identical survey of customers with other phone networks. The relative satisfaction rate between different providers can carry some statistical meaning. e.g. If AT&T's satisfaction rate is 73% and Verizon's is 90% (made up as an example), that tells you something. Otherwise, all you're doing is measuring the degree of self-selection of a self-selected population, which is pretty useless for market analysis.
I had no idea Android phones' ratings were so low; I'd like to see some other studies to make sure this isn't a fluke. That said, anyone who is spinning these numbers as good for Google is self-delusional. If you're claiming a 20% "Would buy again" rating as proof that Android is superior to iPhone, you've crossed into Baghdad Bob territory.
I think Google has done a great job with Android as an operating system, but they really need to start thinking about the Android "experience". As much as people obsess over Apple's banning of apps, it's much easier to write for the iPhone as it has a standard screen size and aspect ratio and the feature set is always a superset of the previous phones. Writing for Android means you have no clue what the screen size, aspect ratio, or resolution will be. You don't know how fast a CPU or how much memory you'll have, or what hardware buttons you'll have, or if you'll have a keyboard and what its layout will be. Android developers either have to only target a subset of phones or try a clunky generalist approach.
Since Android is open-source and has rather permissive licensing, Google doesn't have a huge amount of control over who uses their code. But they could still do like Mozilla and limit use of the Android trademark and logo. Google could insist that "Android"-branded phones meet specific requirements, like, say, their suggested hardware for Android 3: 3.5" screen, 1GHz CPU, 512MB RAM. Giving developers a specific target for would do wonders for the Android app market and for the user experience.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
I wonder if the major reason people say they love AT&T is because they know it's their only option for an iphone, and they are exceedingly happy with their iphone? I know a lot of people who are extremely happy with their iphones but have nothing to say about AT&T service
Could it REALLY just be the vocal minority that has given rise to the familiar "AT&T sucks, verizon is awesome" mentality? I hear this way too often to believe that it's only a small subset. New York for example has long seemed to be a running gag of AT&T's bad coverage from what I've heard over the years.
98% of statistics are made up on the spot.
..."Get off my lawn!"
AT&T is just like any other carrier they have there good and there bad coverage areas.
http://www.thetechnologygeek.org
Shird hates Apple.
They just make things confusing.
Well, that will get you no cred here. I suspect you're like me - it's not about confusing, its about wasting time. My Fuze worked great for a year without incident. I spent probably 50 hours and $80-$100 on apps and ROM customization, and it worked very well, given it's inherent limitations (I wanted a finger OS, and WM is stylus oriented). I never had a lick of problems with it rebooting or not being able to answer calls. Until I had problems pairing it with a Kenwood head unit. I tried reinstalling, using the latest ROM, only to find that the screen lock on the new OS made the phone unanswerable 85% of the time. I probably wasted 20 hours trying to fix it.
I have to fix all the computers and the server at work, the home theater system at home, my personal desktop, and my laptop. Quite honestly, I'm tired of applying hacks just to make machines passably useful. I just want my phone to fucking work, and I don't want to have to track and install patches and upgrades. I was ->- this close to sending my iP4 back to Steve with a letter bomb attached after 4.0.1 bricked my phone. It took 2 damned hours to fix. It has certainly clouded my view of iOS, but I'm screwed anywhere else I go, too.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Generalizations always suck.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
So If I looked at the Android and the other networks and I decided to go with AT&T and iPhone because they were the best products for me. I am most likely a fan boy?
I agree a lot of the Android Phones are getting really good... However Apple has been the company that has been really raising the bar... Not Android. What Android does is raises their bar to Apples Level for Apple to raise it again.
Having been a Verizon Customer then to switch to AT&T I have to say I was happier with AT&T... Their Reps were always more polite... I never had a pushy sales person on me. And were very nice on finding ways to lower my bills. Now I may have been lucky and just gone to the right locations and called at the right time, while with Verizon I was rather unlucky. Also perhaps AT&T just has more towers in the areas I travel too... But really the only part I hate about AT&T is that their plans cost as much as Verizons.
Now I am not saying AT&T is perfect. Gosh Darn It! I want Unlimited 3G networking, and allow the Smart phones to tether. Nor is Apple perfect either, Let me put run my own apps without jail breaking the phone, or going threw iTunes. Allow me to backup my music any way I want. and Give Me Flash support...
But having made decisions and seen the competitors I am Happy with the iPhone and AT&T. Now I know a lot of people who rather have some of the features Android is better then Apple is at, that is great more power to them... However I dislike being called a Fan Boy who does what Mr. Jobs says just because I buy Apple Products. Or I value freedom of choice any less just because I don't choose an Android or a Linux or GNU based choice.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I'm a fairly hard core geek but sometimes you just don't want to be bothered with all the options. They just make things confusing.
True, but why would you choose an *iPhone* in that case instead of a far simpler, robust and above all *cheap* phone of the sorts that can be gotten for free with your contract is beyond me.
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
77% of iPhone users are fan boys/girls
80% of Android users value freedom of choice
and whenever the geek holds the short end of the stick he makes up the stats that will explain it all away.
_____
In the news this week:
MEASURED by profits, Microsoft trounces Apple and Google. In the most recent three months, Microsoft earned $4.52 billion, versus Apple's $3.25 billion and Google's $1.8 billion. But, dear investors, where is the love for this beaten-down company?
Lost from view is what arguably is Microsoft's very best story -- its transformation into a powerhouse supplier of the specialized software that meets the complex needs of large corporations, what the trade calls selling to "the enterprise."
Microsoft's enterprise software business alone is approaching the size of Oracle. But despite that astounding growth, Microsoft must accept that, fair or not, victories on the enterprise side draw about as much attention as being the No. 1 wholesale seller of plumbing supplies. Even With All Its Profits, Microsoft Has a Popularity Problem [July 24]
Well, if Apple fans love AT&T, surely there's nothing wrong with them...
DNA -- National Dyslexic Association
What Apple has created is almost the perfect perception filter.
A lot of people are more capable than they give themselves credit for, they just like to say "it's too complicated" without even trying to make an effort. But iWhatevers are easy, because "everybody" says that so they actually give it a go. I've had several people show off stuff on their iPhones that I would bet they could do on the Android, but they wouldn't have tried it there. So it's like "all thanks to Apple" and Apple scores.
Likewise, whenever people can't figure something out - and there's plenty to fiddle with that isn't so easy - they assume it's their own fault, because "everybody" says the iWhatevers are so easy. Every other phone would certainly be far too hard for them, but hopefully they'll at least be able to figure out the iPhone in time if they'll even admit they can't make it work. So even on the rebound they become more convinced Apple is the only phone for them.
Apple is walking on their own self-fueled cloud and it's amazing to watch. Like you say, I'm fairly sure most aren't aware that it's happening.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I think we have a pretty good example of what she's talking about here in the comments section. I own one apple product, an iphone 4. I'm happy with it. I've looked at my co-workers android phones (including the EVO) and I still prefer my iphone but I'm constantly ridiculed as a "sheep", fanboi, etc...
First, It most certainly may be used as an ID number, just not by the federal government. It's a number I can find out about you, given your name and address, for about $30 or less. They're about spend $30 on you at their call center to answer your stupid ass questions you could have figured out from their website. They're going to make sure that you actually have the credit necessary for them to give you an $800 handset for $200, and let you walk out the door having (effectively) financed the rest over two years.
Someday, you may grow up and own a company, and you'll understand this kind of thing. We don't give a shit if you're a billionaire wearing a T-shirt and ripped jeans. There's a 99.999% chance your a bum with nothing better to do than waste our time and money because you're bored, and your attitude shows it. Real billionaires don't usually have a chip on their shoulder, and those that do - well, let's just say you'd rather not do business with them anyway.
Consider this troll well fed.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I have both carriers and i will say that verizon has much better coverage then at&t. However at&t coverage isnt as bad as people make it out to be. I travel around the country and there has only been a handful of places that my at&t phone wont work. Mostly in the lower part of michigan but its usually only for short time when traveling down the road. But to be fair my service on my verizon phone in these areas is only slightly better. Rather then not being able to make a call i can make one but its the type of call that u have to speak in fragments so that people understand what you are saying since if you talk steady every other word is lost. Given if your counting bars and not actual quality of service verizon wins hands down. But i base it on the fact that if i make a call the call goes through and doesnt get dropped.
What a load of crap. It's impossible to come up with any sort of 'translation' without knowing what question was asked of the pollees. If it was "when you buy your next phone, will it be the same one (iPhone/Android)?" then your rewording would be entirely false.
You're also insinuating that 77% of iPhone users are numbskulls who will just keep buying iPhones until Apple makes a 'good' one, in their eyes, while Android users are much more thoughtful and bright. As much as slashdotters love to drag out that old joke, you know it's ridiculous.
Additionally, it's laughable to assume that any smartphone owner who is happy with their current phone will never buy an updated model in the future. I'm guessing you were happy with your PC in 1995 -- do you still use that PC as your main machine, or have you upgraded since then?
I was going to post something similar, but you have stated the case very well. As far as Iphone verses Android, people will buy what they think is cool. It is just a matter of perception. At&t verses other carriers, that is a matter of location of use. Polls are useless and should be ignored. They are a marketing ploy used to sway peoples opinions.
iPhone users could care less about cell phone reception.
iPhone.
1. What BSD had in the 80s and 90s, those were worms, not technically viruses. But you can be forgiven for not understanding the distinction.
2. OSX kernel is not a BSD variant. the userspace is a BSD variant. The kernel is a Mach variant with a BSD personality welded onto it. (If I showed you some BSD code in the Windows98 kernel would you claim that Win98 is a "BSD variant").
3. Apple's website specifically mentions malware. So any over-simplification is on your part, not Apple's in this case.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
That article is freaky, mostly because every pro-apple comment regardless of how inane it is gets 30+ and every anti-apple comment gets 30- regardless of it's content. Quite a different atmosphere then Slashdot.
It's posts like these that make people want to ridicule you, it has nothing to do with your preference for Apple products.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Living in the Tampa bay area, I honestly believe I would go back to a land line (which I left in 97') before going back to AT&T. Most phone calls with them would drop within 3 minutes. There suggestion was for me to purchase another phone, even though my phone was less than 6 months old. I will never be an AT&T customer again. Same goes for my Sprint experience. AT&T is the only reason I will not buy an iPhone. Currently pleased with my Verizon/Droid combo. T-mobile was fine, as well.
My iPhone drops a *lot* of calls - at least a few every day (whether I'm at home, at a client or on the road).
My iPhone drops calls a lot too, it seems. Which is extremely ironic seeing as how I have an AT&T femtocell.
However, from my experience with other AT&T phones and other AT&T customers, I've been seeing that, more often than not, it's really just this damn phone that drops calls, regardless of network conditions. Coverage is another story, but I find that their coverage in the greater Cleveland area is fine. Out in the boondocks is another story, but overall their service is okay.
I'll laugh my ass off, though, if the iPhone comes to Verizon and it drops calls constantly. If it doesn't, I'll be pissed that, for some reason, every other phone manufacturer can handle weaker coverage but Apple can't.
...Though I guess that would make sense. What else would you expect from a mobile phone that's not manufactured or designed by a company that, quite frankly, isn't known for producing quality mobile phones for decades.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
For all intents and purposes, the Yankee Group *IS* Laura Didio.
Ms. Didio is famous for declaring how strong SCOX(Q)'s cases against IBM and Novell were... until they lost.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
Wait... Apple has been raising the bar!? How did you (or anyone) come to that conclusion? In every area I've ever cared to look into regarding phones, they're outmatched. Let's see: Screen? Nope. Camera? Nope. CPU/Ram? Nope. Music? On par. Bluetooth? Fuck no.
About the only thing I'd credit Apple for was making touchscreens "cool" and making phone manufacturers care about apps and otherwise extending the capabilities of your phone without raping your bill. Personally, I hate using a touchscreen as the primary input, but I do enjoy the fact that I can now write my own software on my Android-based phone (thanks to Apple plowing the way). However, that was years ago. What they've done since then is jolly jack shit. There's no revolution. Hell, each new iPhone just adds crap that other phones have been doing for ages -- and they still aren't there yet.
If anyone is playing catch-up these days, it's Apple. However, when you have the type of fans they do, why bother innovating when you can leave that to your competitors who are trying so damned hard to kill you?
A lot of people are more capable than they give themselves credit for
No, in fact the exact opposite is true.
I was on the old Cingular network when I first went into business. My first smartphone was a Treo 650. It sucked. Switched to a Treo 700p on Verizon a couple of years later when it came out. Network was a little better, phone sucked worse. Far worse.
After debating it with myself for a while, I bought the first iPhone when it came out in 2007. I still wasn't impressed by the AT&T network, but the phone worked so well I didn't care. When 3G came to pass I was unimpressed enough that if Verizon had an equivalent phone then that could have done simultaneous voice and data I might have switched.
Starting in late 2008, the AT&T network in my area's gotten a lot better. Good enough that I'm not tempted to switch anymore. I upgraded to the iPhone 4 last month, and antenna problems or not it improves reception even more for me - drop spots I had with older AT&T phones (going back to my Treo 650) are not a problem anymore. 3G speeds are excellent. When my VZ contract expires for the data card I have with them next month I will cancel it and just use tethering on my iPhone to save more money.
Basically, I pay less than I used to, have a better phone, and next to no network issues anywhere I go regularly. On the rare occasion I've had to call customer service they've been helpful and easy to reach. More than once they've called me back to follow up and make sure I'm happy. Bottom line for me - I'm happy with AT&T, and I see no reason to change. And I'm a happy iPhone user as well. As long as they don't screw it up, I'll stick with AT&T.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
No surprise there...Android has been adopted by T-Mobile and Verizon (and Sprint) as an iPhone slayer...AT&T has imposed its firmware restrictions on its Android phones to limit options and because of the way the spectrum is cut up in the US, none of T-Mobile's 3G devices work on AT&T's network and vice-versa...so it's not like they're are a bunch of G1s and MyTouches running on AT&Ts network...those people would be with T-Mobile...so basically, if you're asking AT&T customers about Android, odds are, they're not happy with it and didn't look at phone first and carrier second...
Sounds like you have a serious case of reality distortion To the fanboys: I'm not trolling, it's called a joke.
Everybody's service sucks. I hear Verizon customers bitch all day long then someone mentions iPhone and all off a sudden they love Verizon and AT&T is the devil. I have had many carriers and they all suck. I tolerate AT&T's suck because the iPhone is better than any other phone I have tried.
Buried in the penultimate paragraph is the somewhat alarming note that "77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone."
What exactly does that mean? I will be one of the 20% who buys another Android phone - but that is simply because I own a G1 which is getting long in the tooth. On the other hand, let's say I owned the HTC Droid Incredible, then I doubt I would be getting a new Android phone - I'd simply keep accepting the OTA Android upgrades. Most top of the line Android phones cause no reason to upgrade the hardware - while the iPhone line is a little different in that respect.
There are a ton of other factors that can come into play, not the least of which being how the question itself was worded.
StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
"We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash."
And what he likely meant was "We also know first hand that Flash is the number one cause of application crashes on the Mac."
Of course you just assumed that Macs come to a grinding halt when the flash apps crash, because hey, that's what he said, isn't it? How about pointing to a reproducible instance of a flash app taking down the OS?
I wonder what percentage of android users even know they are using an Android phone? Verizon on the other hand did a great job with the Droid name, to the point I have to describe to my friends that other networks also have "Droids". Google needs to start doing better maybe something fun like working with manufacturers to ship some android green earbuds with every phone and do some Apple spoof commercials with silhouettes of the users dancing.
Well.
I have an Android phone - an HTC Legend, running Android 2.1
So - what's it like?
Coverage issues aside (I am on Vodaphone in Australia and cannot get any reception at the desk where I work, it's infuriating. I actually have my number forward to another phone just for that problem), it's ok.
Not fabulous, just ok. As a phone it is average - I previously had a Sony Ericsson K660i which I loved, it was surprisingly capable (I could get GMail and sync my contacts, but not calendar unfortunately) and the battery lasted ages. Great little thing. Keypad starting to wear out after 2 years of light use.
The HTC/Android software feels mostly average. Not brilliant. It feels a bit - well - clunky. I find myself with iPhone envy.
Battery consumption - pretty high - if I actually use the phone, I need to recharge every 1-2 days.
WiFi - reception is not great. In my front room I can use a laptop on wireless, but not the HTC.
The main phone apps could be so much better. When I look someone up, I may want to phone them, or I may want to message them. This takes far, far too many clicks.
The games are great - and I love the app store with a lot of useful things. Bit hard to find actual good ones, but such is life.
Am I satisfied - yes. Am I overjoyed - no. Am I looking forward to 2.2 - yes. Would I buy another Android - maybe. Hopefully it will improve a lot!
"Cats like plain crisps"
I herby revoke your geek license.
So why does linux have several desktop environments, some spartan and some very configurable ? Do some of those groups need their geek licenses revoked too ? Better not tell the people who prefer Fluxbox over KDE.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
Thank you! I'm so sick of reading reviews of the iPhone, and OF COURSE there is only one country in the world....the world population is 300 Million, not 6-7 BILLION you know!
We get it, people all around the world think "AT&T" and think "Vista". Just like Microsoft's product, sure, there are people saying "its not as bad as you think, please, come back!"....but we dont buy it (in both senses of the phrase).
I mean....when you have a superb cellphone running on a network with "telegraph" in its name....then you just KNOW theres going to be issues!
Perhaps AT&T should rebrand as Cingular again? The ol' Mohave Experiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Experiment
---
It actually said that 20% would buy Android again. It didn't say anything about "would not buy".
You could be right that 80% would not buy Android again, but 80% sounds really high to me, so I'm going to guess you're wrong. I'm also guessing that Android buyers tend to be more "mercenary" buyers (compared to Apple enthusiasts), which would cause them to answer "not sure".
But we really need to know the survey question, and I wasn't finding it online.
Good answer, good answer!
Seriously, who are these mongs rating 2-9? What information do they think this conveys? You either like a service, or you don't. 10. 1. There is no 5.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
I sent a query to the Yankee Group shortly after seeing that CNN article. The results are unbelievable: There have been various prior studies that found quite different numbers.
Even if you ignored prior studies, it is a basic human tendency to justify what you've purchased, making excuses for one's decision even against overwhelming evidence. Even if Android phones were shocking their users, I would still expect at least 2/3rds of users to claim that they love it.
And of course Android has been getting pretty damn decent. The majority of phones are running 2.1 now, and while 6 months ago you were a second class citizen with an Android phone, nowadays most major apps are doing parallel releases given the growth of the Android ecosystem. If Android made it through the ugly months, with mediocre hardware, quirky OS', and no software support, I find it hard to believe it would do so poorly now.
So my query to Yankee was whether that sentence in the CNN article was correct, and also what their methodology is. They didn't respond. Does *anyone* know what their methodology was?
I can say right now that the 20% thing, if quoted accurately, guarantees that their survey is completely tainted and is utterly worthless. Maybe they posted a voluntary survey at mac.com or something.
But nonetheless, every Mac/Apple/iPhone site and fanatic is posting the results to assure themselves that they're richer, prettier, more intelligent, etc.
You go to get your car washed. You spot some attractive, scantily clad young ladies (or men, depending on your preference) offering car washes on the side of the road. You pull in and they wash your car. They charge you more than you would pay at a regular car wash, and they do a terrible job, but you were given a complimentary soft drink and a view of them for 15 minutes as they gyrated all around your car. How would you rate your car washing experience?
Oh, was that my outside voice?
Speaking of chips on shoulders, getting a little over zealous with your response eh? Seriously man, anger management. Comcast does the same thing, requires a social security number before you even sign a contract. No, I don't want to give some random outsourced worker my number and I don't want a needless credit check on my record. Sure, I understand why it benefits a company to do it but it's just a creepy practice that I'm sure turns off a large percentage of potential customers. I'm wary about giving it out when I sign the contract let alone when I'm chatting with some random rep. No thanks!
...is getting worked up over a cell phone. It's not a religion, people. Folks buy things, and then they enjoy them. I'm happy that people are happy with their purchases. They worked at their job. They made money. The spent it on something they wanted. Nobody was killed or injured. Done.
As someone here said a few weeks ago so concisely: "Apple: Freedom from choice". One phone, one interface, few or no options. If that's what you want, great, but personally I'm glad Android along.
While the rest of the audience enjoys their dumb comedy, you're shouting "Stop laughing! Can't you all see the plot is nonsensical?!". There is a problem, but it isn't with the rest of the audience.
What you are describing sounds a lot like that "Think different" stuff, yet you say it as if it's a bad thing.
Since when did nonconformity become a positive thing only if it's used to sell Apple products?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I dont know about him, but my reason is because those *cheap* phones are exactly as they are described. Cheap.... I dont care to have a shell on my iphone, and I sure as heck dont want to waste time modding it. What I want from a phone is allot of functionality, but functionality that is quick and intuitive to pickup. Meaning, I will spend all day screwing around and configuring linux (debian/gentoo/centOS) servers, but the last thing I want is this functionality on my phone.
I have a hard time believing Android users are suddenly discontent with Android phones.
I own an iphone and don't hate att. There coverage is often lacking and inconsistent but I'd rather deal with that then Verizon's desire to lock down parts of my phone like the ability to blue tooth files and other petty usage issues.
As long as you can afford it then go with Verizon. The reason I switched from Verizon Wireless to AT&T was due to the premium price, annoying customer service, phantom unexplained charges and the increasing number of minutes forced on me as a consumer over the years that I only used once my son had a phone. Now I get largely the same service for less money. As others have explained, the coverage in the DC and Baltimore areas is just fine, thanks. Now I get more than one bar worth of signal at my own house.
If I could get what I have now for about $30 less a month from Verizon Wireless I would not have switched. As it is my wife and I are happy and the phones work great. They are not iPhones (which I would consider a waste) but they are 3G multiple network phones which is likely why we do not have to worry so much about dropped calls here.
bob@Osprey:~>
in the AT&T terms of services it says if we write anything bad or negative about AT&T they have the right to cancel our services and ban us from ever using them again. What is there not to love?
I mean AT&T even has a Death Star Logo, and a real live Death Star out there somewhere, so the Empire er ah sorry AT&T will send in their Stormtroopers er ah employees and contractors to remove our services if we do say, type, or post anything negative or bad about them. Now I don't want a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader any more than the rest of us do, and hope his son Luke Skywalker comes back to turn him away from The Dark Side and back to being a Jedi again. But until that happens we all love AT&T, or else.
Not like AT&T is a monopoly any more, nor that Apple prevents others from using other cell phone companies and thus create a virtual monopoly for iPhone cell and G3/G4 services. But anyway I cannot afford an iPhone but use AT&T DSL. I mean it is no AOL or even Juno or NetZero, but hey it works. Not like I really needed the bandwidth anyway and the lost Internet connections and resetting the DSL modem and router several times a day gave me enough exercise to lose 15 pounds in a month. So I call it my AT&T DSL Diet and Exercise plan as I lose my appetite from all the worrying that my Internet connection is going to last or get cut off. That is why I love it, Big brother er ah AT&T that is, who monitor everything I type. Besides the downtime from not being on the Internet as much made me saner.
I live in Queens and work in the Village. I don't have dropped calls OR data trouble. On the other hand, I've been an AT&T mobile customer since the '90s and have a fairly large bill (multiple lines, lots of features).
Is it possible that there is some sort of tiered access to towers, with me getting priority?
I always hear Slashdotters talking about piss-poor AT&T service in NYC, yet I never seem to experience it. Maybe I'm just lucky and my home and workplaces are right underneath towers or something. I have no idea, but it's beginning to dawn on me that I'm having different experiences from many NYC AT&T customers.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
I don't know if this was from the Yankee group both times or not, but about 9 months after each iPhone purchase, AT&T has sent me an e-mail survey asking in some detail my opinions of the phone, apps, network, customer service, etc.
And yes, I've always given high marks. Perfect more or less for the iPhone, it's been a revelation after years with Palm. Only slightly less than perfect for the AT&T marks. I've always been very happy with AT&T's service and coverage. That's more than I can say for Verizon.
Yes, the last time I was with them for wireless was in the mid '90s, but that was a nightmare. And I still have to rely on Verizon for the wires coming into my home, and I HATE (H A T E) them for that. They can't get anything right, none of their CS people know anything, billing mistakes on odd months, service interruptions, and etc. etc.
No way I want that bureaucracy anywhere near my primary mode of communication (mobile phone). I'll stick to AT&T, thanks, who has always had fast, accurate, and knowledgeable customer service people when I've needed them, and which has on several occasions offered me early upgrades in-store simply for asking if I could have an early upgrade.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
Too many options. I'm a fairly hard core geek but sometimes you just don't want to be bothered with all the options. They just make things confusing.
Sorry, you just lost your geek cred. Go astroturf on the Apple forums, please
Here's a novel concept for you - sometimes people just like to perform a task at hand without having to endlessly tweak the tools they want to use. Now if you'd please go back to the Gentoo forums, that'd be great.
Where else can they go?
There's no context at all for that statement; and of course we don't know what questions were really asked to arrive at that conclusion. It could be as simple as Android users being happy with the capabilities of their platform so not feeling the *need* to upgrade to the latest. Or it could be that Apple does much better at marketing each new generation of its phones, making people feel they must have the new features. .
On the other hand, having 27% of your customer base unhappy with your chosen exclusive carrier is probably nothing to brag about. Too, this number is suspiciously close to the 23% of iPhone users who won't buy another iPhone -- perhaps because of carrier lock-in?
Anecdotal and irrelevant perhaps, but I had AT&T dial up years ago and it was shit. Their rolling over and allowing scrutiny of the data that passes through their network by the NSA etc. Not good. I wouldn't touch them.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Well lets start with the original iPhone.
They had other smart phones before but not quite like the iPhone... The way apple raises the bar is that they make technology that changes the way that you use it.
1. Screen... I am not sure why don't think Apple hasn't risen the bar. As of right now the iPhone 4 has the highest resolution in terms of DPI with any other phone. Some will come out soon... But as of right now Apple is the lead on this.
2. Camera... In terms of technical specs yes the iPhone is not the best camera.... However before the iPhone phone camera were really limited to taking a picture and texting it to your friend. Apple made it much easier to take these pictures and put them on your PC like a digital camera. Getting a link to connect your phone to a PC was an often unnecessary expense. Its 5 MegaPixel camera seems to be on par with the other phones out there now. Sure you got some 8+ Mega Pixels, out there too. But the iPhone actually made its original cheesy camera actually useful.
3. CPU/RAM... What good is CPU and RAM if you don't use it.
4. Music... For the past decade there were attempts to kill the iPod... The only thing that could kill the iPod is the iPhone.
5. Bluetooth... Yea you got me there... However most of the time I just use blue tooth for hand free caller on my phone.
In terms of Apple raising the bar it really isn't so much about technical advancements and any particular unit. What Apple does is make a phone that does particular things and markets it in a way people want to do such things with their phone.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
So you hate basic phones because they cost too little, and you want a lot of functionality but without too much functionality? err... right.
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
Huh. That's rather contradictory, considering that all the Android owners I know (myself included) absolutely love our phones, while the one person I've met with an iPhone was alright with the hardware, but hated the AT&T service. For the record, the only things I have beef with when it comes to the iPhone is AT&T for the "unlimited" data service, the app market for its draconian policies, and the overall closed nature of the phone.
Sent from my CR-48
In a report sure to raise eyebrows, CNN Money reports that despite a very vocal group of detractors, the vast majority of iPhone users love AT&T
.
Thus proving once again that the opinions of Slashdotters have little in common with the opinions of the majority.
I love posts like this. You bought an Apple for the *right* reasons, everyone else bought an Apple because they are brand-fucking Mactards...priceless.
You, my friend, are what we (in the business) call a dick. Because of this, in all likelihood, your wife likes her computer more than she likes you. Chew on that for awhile.
I got grandfathered in on AT&T for unlimited 3G networking, and my phone will set up a wireless hotspot to allow tethering devices over wireless. My phone supports SD cards, lets me install my own applications, and lets me copy files via a file system to its SD card (over a standard USB cable which also allows me to charge my phone).
But of course, I have an Android, which isn't setting the bar higher than Apple. Right.
When the iPhone 4 came out, it did not have a single feature not already present in the Nexus One that shipped first in January, and was available for AT&T in March. Its only edge on the Nexus One was a forward facing camera for video conferencing and a higher resolution screen. It has a slower processor (we can only guess, as Apple won't admit to its processor speed), crippled multitasking, slower browser (than Android 2.2), no desktop, no widget support, etc.
And I'd buy another Android (mine's a Nexus One) in a heart beat. I don't understand the idea that only 20 percent of Android owners would buy another Android phone.
If they are so confident about the strength of their network... Let's have actual competition between networks and say a big "fuck you" to exclusive devices. Ban subsidies and 2-year contracts. Mandate GSM for Sprint and Verizon. Get the phone manufacturers to produce phones that operate on all frequencies.
Of course, they don't really mean that they're confident in the network strength. The carriers do not compete on the basis of network strength in the United States. That is the way they want it.
Yes, and because they suggested the switch to macs and get to take-over the 'support' role, they will look superior to you, and get all the credit.
They will bow down to the Mac evangelizer's "technical prowess" and believe them if there is ever a technical argument and you are in disagreement.
Your opinion on technical matters will get dismissed "the guy who wants us to use PCs + Androids instead of our iPhones + Macs and must therefore be a fossil who does not know all that much about computers really".
Your geek ego, if you have one, should be crushed by something like that, in the long run...
Supposedly can't be real for 2 years or so; with exclusivity deal, et al.
Anyway, even when it comes to Verizon, it will surely be for their LTE network. Nobody can really say how good / how quickly this one will get.
One that hath name thou can not otter
It depends on the market, for sure. Here in the Washington DC area, AT&T is the combined 1900 MHz AT&T and 850 MHz Cingular. The service has provided superior voice coverage, moved to the higher-coverage 850 MHz band, with data in the 1900 MHz band. People tend to notice problems more on the voice network so it's top-notch here in DC.
On the other side of things, the New York City market is where AT&T coverage suffers. In the past, T-Mobile and Cingular created a network called "GSM Partners" which created a powerful, market-saturating 1900 MHz network for Cingular and T-Mobile, while the also-ran AT&T competed with a spotty, pathetic 1900 MHz network with hardly any 850 MHz coverage. When Cingular and AT&T merged, that network was required to be divested to sole owner T-Mobile. As a result, T-Mobile is solid coverage in New York City, but AT&T is a pathetic, spotty player.
It really depends on where you live. Los Angeles market has a similar situation. Here in DC, we love our AT&T network with solid 850 MHz voice and 1900 MHz data. It's too bad it's not so good in NYC and other markets.
Kriston
73% of iPhone owners scored their satisfaction with the carrier as an 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale.
Well, duh, of course the results of their unscientific survey look that way - this does not take into account all of the people in bad AT&T service areas who have already given up, sold their iPhoneies on eBay, and switched to another carrier - it was a survey of current iphone users. It also doesn't account for all of the iphone owners who were unable to respond because they couldn't connect, nor the fact that there are lots of morons who keep using crap because the don't know that there are better options, or simply can't admit that what they have isn't awesome.
It is simply factual that AT&T's network doesn't have a great enough capacity in many cities, and that their 3G footprint is not as big as Verizon's (not that I would ever promote Verizon).
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
I never understood the anti-AT&T hype that's been around since the iPhone came out. They've been my only cellphone provider since back when they were Cingular, it's been almost ten years now, and I've never had reception problems. The only time I get dropped calls is when I cross a road called "County Line" which is true to its name. But that was fairly easy to get used to, "I'm about to switch counties so the call will drop, let me call you back." I try not to talk on the phone too much while driving anyway, my car's a stick-shift so it's kind of awkward.
I always assumed that I didn't experience the problems of other users because Cingular was an early carrier in my area. But I've traveled quite a bit with it and it's always been dependable. I drop a bar or two in the Appalachians, but it still works. I always figured I was just lucky because here on Slashdot everyone's lambasted AT&T's service for the last couple years, but perhaps that's just a sign of how good Verizon's marketing has been.
"From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
I suppose location matters most in the survey. Did they do a geographic spread representative of the country or did they stick to urban centers? In the somewhat rural area in which I live, almost no one uses AT&T because they can barely get any reception. In fact, if I were to travel five miles north and stand downtown of the nearest town, I would get no AT&T reception at all. This while I get maximum Verizon signal do to the huge tower that's nearby.
But 80% ready to abandon the platform? That has to be nonsense. Apart from anything else, where are they gonna go?
At a guess, 80% are people who have been told by their geeky friends that android is better than iPhone, and subsequently bought one... Then gone "wait, no it isn't, I'm going back to iPhone next time".
That's two "glorious" Apple campaigns down the drain.
What's next?
iPads not being magical?
iPods not making you dance in a 3-color world?
Mac is actually a PC?
Is everything Steve ever told us actually a lie?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Where I live (Central NJ) we have some very good AT&T coverage, I think because we are also home to AT&T's headquarters.
I researched coverage before I bought my iPhone 2+ years ago, and 6 mos ago upgrading was a no-brained. Do I wish the bill was lower? Sure. Do I wish the network was faster? Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm dissatisfied with what they offer.
Ken
Keypad starting to wear out after 2 years of light use.
That is unfortunately a common Sony Ericsson syndrome. The keypad on my W580i was so fragile that dropping it from less than 10 cm would break a key or two.
"The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I, Herby, revoke your geek license.
Do ganja men have such powers? :o
"The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I really should know better than to read a thread on any topic that involves the phrase "survey says"*, but this is ridiculous for a site orientated towards maths and science in general. Surveys are an atrocious method of data collection even when conducted with extreme care by that most rare creature, the independent researcher.
* Or "Apple".
The N900 gives you the best of both worlds, it's basically a handheld ARM Linux PC and it gets a 4 Cudgels from Will It Bludgeon B-)
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
How are the three providers for iPhones over there?
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Your HTC software must be very different from mine. On mine, when I pull up someone's contact card it's a single tap to phone them, message them, or whatever.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
I want to know how Yankee formed their poll questions up.
I'll bet that the questions were set up as being vague, hard to understand, and clicking on either one would equal a positive uptick for at&t.
I also want to know the coverage of their polling. Was it already pre-ordained where they would be polling people by at&t, knowing damned well they would get high marks? Did they even bother with fringe areas, or even New York for that matter?
All this sums up to astroturfing, pure and simple.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
The argument against AT&T, for me, doesn't involve how good their coverage is; that is irrelevant. For me the argument goes back to the clipper chip (aka: wiretap chip). Not really into using a company that doesn't think much of customer privacy. Then there is the little issue of them cooperating with the NSA on illegal data acquisition and data mining on the internet. So, the idea of paying them to 'secure' my data is laughable.
I'm not the OP, but my iPhone was free on my contract.
Also, perhaps he liked the features of the phone and they outweighed the downsides (if there were any for him), just like any other consumer decision.
Mine is great (a 3G, now out of contract), but it's by no means perfect. The anti-Apple crowd on /. seem to think that anyone who has an iPhone thinks it is a perfect device with no flaws, but the reality is that it's an excellent phone that has some issues... just like every other phone.
My personal downsides on my iPhone 3G:
* can't remove the stock apps, can only banish them to an unused screen. I understand this for the phone, sms and camera etc and other core apps, but the useless stock market app and weather apps (there are better weather apps on the store) are also not removable or hideable. The new iOS 4 update allows you to group them into one folder at least, but I have not installed that update yet.
* ToDo items don't migrate to your calendar from iCal. No ability to set up new calendars on the phone, only use ones that you have set up on iCal first.
* would like the google maps app to have an option to cache map data within 5 or 10 miles of your current location for times you are about to leave a wifi hotspot or decent 3G area (probably a google api issue rather than phone issue).
* the ringer is too quiet, even on loudest setting
* would like the ability to quickly toggle a setting that keeps the wifi connection alive when the screen locks if I want it too, eg if I am using it at home to control XBMC.
I am looking at new phones - the iPhone 4 is among them, but so are Android phones. Right now though, I am leaning towards an iPhone 4.
hi antdude,
Vodafone NZ http://www.vodafone.co.nz/iphone/plans.jsp is the only "official carrier", but its not an exclusive deal, presumably the others could also carry the iPhone.
The plans are expensive if you ask me, look at how little "talk" we get compared to in the USA! No NZers really talk on a cellphone, for decades now we've all txted. Of course, the iPhones bought online or from a store are "unlocked", and you can pop the Vodafone SIM out, to go to another network. Simple!
Overall, Telecom has the best network I think, in terms of speed, definitely, I'm sticking with prepaid on Vodafone as soon as I get my new iPhone 4 (out the 30th here), but might change later.
---
I agree with you on the original iPhone. As much as I hate Apple, their marketing nonsense and their idiotic fanbase, the first iPhone did completely change the face of the cellphone market. Since then, though, they've simply been milking the brand name; which is something Apple does incredibly well.
To address your points on each:
1. Screen: Yes it's a high resolution, but it's not really innovative to cram more pixels using ancient LCD technology. Samsung's OLED displays are quite sexy and arguably nicer looking -- even if the resolution is 25% lower (roughly, too lazy to do the exact math). Then you've got those PixelQi displays which absolutely dominate everything else when viewed under sunlight or other high-intensity lighting. There are lots of ways they could have gone which would have made other manufacturers crap themselves, but instead they chose to play the numbers game. Nothing to see here.
2. Camera. Throwing a 5mp camera in a phone is hardly innovative. Hell, the SE K850 did that three years ago and it had a xenon flash to go with it. My two year old c905 had an 8mp camera with flash and the very user-friendly Cybershot UI -- both in software AND hardware. This is nothing more than an incremental upgrade to the 3.2mp that was on the 3G. Nothing to see here.
3. CPU/RAM: Come on now. If you don't have an argument for it, don't throw out some ambiguous statement like that. Let's be real: High-end smartphones have been using 1ghz Snapdragons for at least six months prior to the release of the iPhone 4. Moreover, these are mostly Android phones which have their own apps and real multitasking, so it will get used. Again, this is Apple simply catching up to everyone else.
4. Music: This comes down to UI preference, which is why I don't really count it for/against Apple. Damn near any smartphone will play music in a large variety of formats, it's just choosing your poison. Personally, I prefer the XMB style SE uses in their phones, but that's just me.
5. Bluetooth: I've been utilizing stereo bluetooth since damn near its inception. That the iPhone never supported the full BT spec until this iteration is nothing short of embarrassing.
And these are just hard specs comparisons which, with the exception of music, don't even take user preference into consideration. But really, when your latest-and-greatest high-end phone is being outclassed by two-year-old dumbphones in many regards, there's a problem. Unless, of course, you're Apple and your fans are willing to overlook everything just so they can get some seating on the bandwagon.
I recently read that it takes about 3 years due to the approval process to get a cell tower built in San Fran. That may have something to do with it.
Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
About the mojave thing... all that proved was if you have an OS set up on well tested hardware with only well tested software installed so that everything works flawlessly, people will rate it as good. Not exactly a big surprise there. Really they should have had people install "Mojave" on their home PCs and use it for about a month and then rate it. Their ratings would likely have been closer to what people gave for the Vista brand.
Similarly AT&T could get people to try their network under a different name in an area where there is good coverage and the network is fast. Guess what they'll find? Yeah, people like it.
Oh and I had a similar experience with the MacBook Pro. When I tried it in the apple store it worked really well and I liked it. But after I bought the damn thing and used it for a few months, I didn't really like it anymore.
I agree a lot of the Android Phones are getting really good... However Apple has been the company that has been really raising the bar... Not Android. What Android does is raises their bar to Apples Level for Apple to raise it again.
That is non-sense. Apple does get credit for creating the consumer smart phone market, and they certainly set a high bar when they started out. That said, they have been struggling over the past year when it has been Android that has been blasting by in terms of technical prowess. I mean seriously... the iPhone didn't have freaking copy and paste up until a year ago. Copy and paste...
Beyond that, Apple finally implemented a gimped form of multi tasking with the iPhone 4 update so that it can do boring things that Android users have taken for granted, like listening to Pandora while browsing the web, are now possible. They just recently let you actually change your freaking background. iPhone users still can't have widgets on their desktop, live wall paper, or even change the freaking notification sounds to something other than stock Apple Corp approved ones.
If you like iPhones more then Androids, eh, more power to you. That said, don't sit around pretending that Apple has some great technical superiority when boring stuff that Android has been doing for well over year or longer finally gets added (or doesn't). Apple's iPhone 4 was a lunging grasp to get to the level of Android, and they are still behind in many things.
boxwood, I really dont think Microsoft were "rigging" the demo any more than is obvious, surely the computers were standard, not some custom built "supercomputers" with TERABYTES of RAM etc! :) I'm a longtime Mac user, and think that this "Mojave Experiment" is a dirty trick...but cmon, I doubt it was REALLY stacked against the consumer?
:)
I dont know where you live, but what I meant was, I live in New Zealand, the bottom of the world, and yet I know as well as anyone that AT&T SUCKS big time. They have just about the worst brand image I could think of....even worse than BP right now.
I get excited about new hardware reviews, Apple, Android...I was interested to hear about the HP Slate vapourware... And in nearly every review of the iPhone, AT&T is always mentioned, often as one of the one or two major drawbacks of the phone. I live at the other end of the world, and yet, its drummed into us in a way that would take BILLIONS in positive spin to alter, that AT&T is absolute shit, and should be abolished!
With your MBP, what happened? What was different in the store compared to when you got home? Did it start belching fire and smoke?
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Yep. And it gets better. The author of the report the CNN Money article is based on, Carl Howe, seems to have a conflict of interests that is not revealed unless you do some digging. A conflict to the point that I would consider his entire report suspect (at best.)
Mr Howe's blog had an entry that denied that the iPhone 4 had an antenna issue just two days before Apple finally came clean. From it I quote "I haven’t found anyone here at Yankee Group who has reproduced the death grip problem with our iPhone 4s." Considering how easy it is to reproduce the problem, they're either clueless, in denial, or trying to warp reality to cover up the problem.
Oh, and his own personal website has a "Made on a Mac" logo at the bottom. I think it's clear there is a certain degree of bias with this guy, and therefore, the Yankee Group as a whole.
iPhone owners pick themselves. They put up with the spotty AT&T network because
1) iPhones are pretty great. Maybe not *the* best, but there's no denying that they're very nice and while not hassle-free, it's simple to get a lot out of them. Those who want to do things Apple doesn't approve don't have a terribly hard time hacking the device.
2) iPhone users don't buy it primarily for the phone part. They use it mainly for the data part. AT&T does a much better job at keeping the data flowing than at keeping the calls from being dropped. Granted, that data service degrades more gracefully than voice, but you've got to admit that AT&T is, with the exception of a few very-hard-to-service markets, doing a decent job at delivering the data. I can't make calls at home, but when my wifi is out, i still can surf the web at reasonable speeds.
3) Yes, there is some illusion going on given the fact that most people can use their phones most of the time in range of WiFi and so crappy cellular service gets somewhat masked by the fact that it isn't as visible as often.
I recently bought an used 3G[S]. I hooked it up on the iPad data plan. No voice service, only data. Yes it takes a bit of special procedure to make this work and VOIP is not as good (Apple doesn't make it easy to answer VOIP calls and drop-outs are more common) as regular GSM, but it works and the price is right. Now that I've seen how nice it is to use these stupid things, I'm really getting a hankering for buying iPhone 4 and either paying the early termination fee or keeping the regular AT&T service. $80/mo. adds up fast, but part of me thinks it might be worth it. Yes, I hate some of the restrictions on the phone ($20 extra for tethering is asinine, as is blocking of certain apps including Google Voice) I thought about jailbreaking and unlocking to use the phone with T-Mobile. It's not worth it. Unlimited everything for $40/mo sounds nice but who wants slow data? (T-Mobile's 3G freq. aren't supported by iPhone hardware).
The fact is that Android just doesn't quite measure up (for me), yet. For some (perhaps most) people, it's fine. I admit that there's some big flaws in iOS that need fixing (notifications are badly done, backgrounding is a joke). But, overall the phone usually just works the way it should and the app store does serve to keep up the quality of apps. I can't agree with everything they've done, but there are many things they did right and no one else has yet matched them for what I want. To be honest, I wouldn't have bought an iPhone if I had to pay the full price for service, but using it every day for the past month has made me a believer (for now). If the battery life on the next gen EVO gets better, perhaps I'll try that.
Here's a novel concept for you, sometimes people dont understand the products they are criticism.
Android will work out of the box for almost anyone, but there are options if you dont like the default profile. Features != complex and simple != easy. Removing features will not make the product any easier to use, adding features does not automatically make a product harder to use.
Now if you'd please go back under your bridge, that'd be great.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad elected in a landslide, with 100% of the population voting.
the phone, or going threw iTunes.
Sigh. So promising. :(
To wit, I'm a former iPhone 3G owner, and before that I had the original iPhone. Just got a Droid X. Absolutely love it for all its differences, they key being NON-INTRUSIVE NOTIFICATIONS.
Twitter, for example, has an icon on my status bar that reflects the number of tweets that have come in since the last time I opened it or cleared notifications.
Same for texts, e-mails, etc. And I don't get an annoying stupid pop-over with EVERY text or app notification. My screen doesn't "wake up" when I get texts. A nice subtle led gently flashes.
I've only not found one app with a similar brethren on the Android store, and I've found many sweet widgets and status notifications that do stuff the way I Want it done, not the way Apple does.
The iPhone stopped innovating at the 3GS. Front-facing camera is a non-issue with me. Everything else my Droid X has is superior to the iPhone, except for its orientation sensor and pixel density.
But I'll be damned if I can pick out a pixel on my screen (20/10 vision, thanks) or feel like I'm missing a 3D orientation sensor.
Indeed - I remember the news headlines about "People queue for Iphone 3G" a few years ago (I'm not sure why it was news headlines, but even here in the UK, the media are obsessed with Apple). I thought "I didn't need to queue, I already got 3G three years earlier on my dirt cheap feature phone".
Same with copy/paste, video recording; and now with multitasking and higher resolution on the Iphone 4.
These stats don't tell the whole the story. How many non-Iphone users (about 97% of the phone owning population) plan to get an Iphone? Compared with how many non-Android users planning to get one?
How does the survey factor in people who are undecided?
Of course it's possible that the author was relying on the myth that Iphone and Android are the only two phones(!), hence falsely concluding that 80% of Android users would by an Iphone. But of course, there are many other platforms (must be over 90% of users have neither), for which it would be interesting to read the stats. Did the survey even ask users of other phones?
This is a pet peeve of mine, messages that are trying to create an opinion for the reader, using phrases to force someone else's opinion into my own.
Buried in the penultimate paragraph is the somewhat alarming note that "77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone."
I want to know why the usage. "Somewhat alarming" could have been left out of the original poster and carried the same weight. What is alarming about it? Is it alarming for Apple because they do not have a higher rate? Or because Android has such a high rate? Or is it vice versa? What makes it alarming?
... however, two key places I either get no coverage at all (at my desk at work) or get a weak signal (at home). In practice this hasn't been a huge problem because I don't really use my iPhone that much for calls (I didn't use my previous non-iPhone for calls much either, mostly just the "should I pick up a pizza?" variety of calls). Also, at home it works fine as long as you're careful not to go into certain corners of the house. :) But I mostly use it for data. So at work I've got WiFi and at home I've got WiFi. At work I also have a phone and at home I have a phone, and anyone I would want calling me knows those numbers (as well as some I'd rather didn't, sadly). Outside of these locations coverage is generally good, which is not to say perfect. Overall it works well and is fast (not WiFi fast, but it's decently fast), especially with my iPhone 4 which, in spite of "Where have our subscribers gone?" publications like Consumer Reports, gets a signal in more places and gets a much more reliable signal in more places, then my previous iPhone. But, hey, facts such as that don't matter much when you're competing with blogs - the noisiest one gets the page hits.
--- What?
...most crack users say they love their dealers, and would be happy to buy another hit from them! :-O
Where will they go? There's iPhone of course... There's even WinMo 6.5. There's even Palm Pre. Blackberry? Or... N900? Okay, so the N900 one's more a joke.
But there's plenty of choices.
To me, there's no reason why 80% of customers not returning is unreasonable. There's plenty of options. There's plenty of reasons.
Some might not like Android. Some might think that smartphones cost them too much money. Some might have been turned off by the bloatware.
If you counted it on paper, I'm technically an iPhone to WinMo 6 convert on my main cell line. I do have an iPhone, and I'm planning on upgrading to another iPhone even as a secondary line. But despite that, my main phone is running WinMo.
One of my friends works for Google and has ditched both of the free Android phones she's been given for an iPhone. At least she sold the N1 instead of giving it away as if it wasn't worth anything.
Another guy I know just bought a Palm Pre. Yeah, after the Palm HP merger occurred. Not just announced but actually merged. I asked why and he was more confident in HP supporting the platform than Google. Plus, comparison between the Palm SDK and the Android SDK, the Palm SDK felt more polished.