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Verizon Finally Unveils Apple iPhone
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.'"
Good: Free tethering. Bad: No simultaneous voice/data.
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.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Unlimited data is cool, but in the 6 months or so I've had my iPhone, I've never even come close to using the 2GB data limit. WiFi is so ubiquitous, even where I live out in the sticks.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
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.
I read the internet for the articles.
The most common(and probably most effective) backpedaling strategy is "Don't".
Just stop saying what you were saying before, scrub it from visible locations where possible, then begin emitting the new party line. Most people have sufficiently short memories, or high enough tolerance for absurd contradictions, that they won't bat an eye. The people who don't fit in this category will never be satisfied, so why bother worrying about them?
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.
Sure it does, I can look at google maps when on the phone, on an iPhone, on AT&T.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
All I heard over and over was "customers keep telling us they want it". What I didn't hear was "this is the best phone we have". No contradiction. Giving customers what they are asking for is hardly rocket science. Not like they are replacing other products with the iPhone.
claustrophobia-inducing
You are not supposed to try to live in the box it came in.
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.
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.
Which phone did you buy? My Galaxy S trumps my iPhone 3gs in every aspect (I never bothered to get an iPhone 4). I keep reading how sluggish Android is (note, not reality there... Android is an OS, iPhone is hardware) and have yet to see it on the Galaxy S, Incredible, and Blackflip.
Honestly, I think people are either making it up or buying really low end hardware and allowing every app they've installed to run in the background.
Saying Android is a family of phones is akin to saying Linux is a family of PCs.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
http://support.vzw.com/faqs/iphone/iphone_faq.html#item12
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.
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.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.