New iPhone ads stick it to Verizon
Apple underscores one of the strengths of AT&T's cellular network
Image: Apple Inc.
Scheduled to air on primetime TV Monday night are a pair of Apple (AAPL) iPhone advertisements that highlight one of the few things AT&T's (T) network can do that Verizon's (VZ) can't: surf the Web in the middle of a phone conversation.
(AT&T's GSM network allows simultaneous voice and data connections; Verizon's CDMA network does not.)
The spots — posted below the fold — follow a series of high-profile Verizon ads attacking both AT&T and, by association, the iPhone, for the shortcomings of the carrier's 3G network.
Apple's response — showing users a feature that they may not have been aware of — is considerably more subtle than AT&T's, which accused Verizon of false advertising and sought relief from its ad campaign in the courts, so far without success.
The ads are scheduled to run during House, Dancing With the Stars, How I Met Your Mother, One Tree Hill, Big Bang Theory, CSI: Miami, The Daily Show, and the late-night talk shows (Conan, Kimmel, Fallon, Craig Ferguson).
Below the fold: the new ads.
See also:
[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]
its simple, if you want the features of the iphone and the great network of verizon, get a droid as your phone, and an ipod touch. the touch is exactly the same without the phone service and mic. its the best of both worlds, and solves most of the issues. now lets all act our ages, and stop flaming one another of something so silly as phone service
really, you guys think it has to be setup on wifi, go get a droid and try it, the moto droid can do data and voice at the same time, no wifi needed. get with it
ex ped: And you'll give them their money back, Squirrel, if it doesn't work?
I have a verizon blackberry and a Iphone from At&T. And I can tell you that when I drove from LA to Miami, my Verizon phone said no service more times than the At&t. The both drop calls the same amount. In the end is just what your personal preference is, as soon as my verizon contract is over I'm cancelling, my reason being the customer service.. Verizon sucks (at least in my experience)
at&t can air as many commercials as they wish – these ads are based on what they say they can deliver not on what they actually deliver. As an at&t wireless consumer I can say first hand just how horrible the service is. At least 10 dropped calls a day, the GPS does not work and the service is spotty.
Heck – standing in the middle of Manhattan (right smack in the middle of times square) and I get two bars. That's right in the middle of the world's largest city and at&t still drops calls. The service is garbage – pure garbage. Switching to Verizon first chance I get.
These new AT&T ads do nothing to reduce the effectiveness of the Verizon "We have a map for that" ads.
Sadly for AT&T, their customers do not look at their wireless experience as a marathon.
The truth is, today the AT&T network is inferior to the Verizon network if the point of comparison is solely 3G coverage area.
The reality though is, both carriers plan to deploy 4G networks using the same technology (LTE) in 2010 and 2011. Currently, Verizon operates a 3G CDMA network which will be incompatible with their 4G network. AT&T's 4G network will be backwards compatible with their 3G network.
It's extremely likely these maps will be reversed in a couple of years.
If you have true knowlegde of the Wireless Industry. You will know that At&t beat VZW in net adds(3rd Quater), however most of the net adds were from the Prepaid side which produces far less revenue. Keep in mind Apple is the winner At&t pays heavily on the subsidy side which is why thier Wireless PNL (profit and lost) report will never compare to VZW. So all in all Apple is also getting revenue for every data plan with an I-phone that At&t sells. Who do you think Apple came to first with that horrible deal and was turned down. At&t needs Apple to survie and they hold the key. VZW on the other hand will still be the industry leader today and tomorrow.
It seem this is truing to the same as PC vs Mac debate, and no wonder it is Apple they always try defend their weakness with lies and attacks on the others, and by portraying themselves as the best out there, typical Apple they just do not get it they will be always small guys with the little market share because of their close and tight control on every thing they make and sell, you almost do not own what you buy from them. it worth to say The AT&T GSM system is the best wireless system out there and the proof for that most of the world use it, the problem is AT&T themselves.
@Henry… you are a product of the media brainwashing. Everyone knows Verizon bought their wireless subs via acquisitions. Apple and AT&T stomped the crap out of Verizon in wireless sub additions last quarter. In fact, AT&T has been adding more subs than Verizon for several quarters now.
It's clear Verizon is struggling against AT&T and the iPhone. If I was a betting man, Verizon is nervous after seeing the iPhone and wireless sub numbers last quarter and are doing whatever they can to slow the mack truck that's about to slam into them.
In Verizon's case, the light at the end of the tunnel is a train.
We can safely say that Apple will not be releasing the iPhone on Verizon's network anytime soon. It's obvious that Verizon is in desperation mode from the latest wireless sub figures. AT&T and Apple stomped the crap out of Verizon in wireless sub additions. And yes, it's easy to point out that it was because of the iPhone but remember all you AT&T haters… Verizon was given the iPhone deal first and turned it down. They are clearly beating themselves up over it.
Good Luck Verizon!
Well, as the phones keep getting smarter, eventually the big companies will have to keep up with the market demands, and if this implies using GSM newtowrks, than so be it.
If I remember a philosophy class i had taken 3 yrs ago, ads can be very misleading. Verizon's coverage map ad is of the 3g network. AT&T's reenactment or "defense" ad, says nothing about "3g", only about the AT&T "network". Please correct me if I am wrong. I find this war between the two corp.s entertaining. Especially after seeing an AT&T ad disclosing " Does your phone do that or your network".
i am an iphone user, and i work for a wireless tecnology company. I have to say that the Iphone has the worst modem i ve ever seen. the phones drop the calls continuosly, and if i have the mail active, the phone is not able to make call at all. i must switch off the mail and try to make again the call.
Also, often the signal of the phone get lost and lay in Out of Service for hours, until i switch off / switch on again the phone.
the worst is the browser, it doesnt support any flash at all.
i also tried to upload some videos and pictures on my iphone and notice that most of the supported format are not supported on the iphone.
I cant wait to switch to the HTC HD2
This bout is getting uglier every minute. With apple joining the royal-bout, One should realize that the 2 companies (AT&T apple) are already feeling the need to unite for Verizon is eating them piece by piece.
Anyway, the ads of Apple today is a bit better compare to the nauseating commercial of Luke Wilson.
At&t is the worlds worst network. They still have the greatest phone. Iphone for Verizon Network please. I would pay $500.00 for a network that works.
I just read the 25 most recent comments on this thread to see what people would be saying. And I have to say that it's pretty pathetic when people try to verbally bitch slap someone else when comparing electronic equipment. Comparing ATT to Verizon and the Droid to the iPhone is really childish, especially given the rhetoric I see! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY! There HAS to be more important issues to argue about out there.
So, while waiting for my wife to look at girly stuff me and my boy enter Verizon. I decided to try the "DROID"…after 3 minutes… :/ Go back to the universe you came from little UFO! That's the problem…apple create a product that in a few minutes you are up and running actually using the device not trying to learn the device.
thanks,
IPHONE USER
I live 2.5 hours from Seattle in the boonies and I have 3G. Not sure why people think it does not work, my company sends me all over the country and usually to remote areas in the heartland and I have not had trouble using my iphone.
I think that iPhone and AT&T are by far the top phone and service provider. My wife and I both own an iPhone 3GS and find our everyday tasks such as, making a grocery list, looking up a movie show time, getting directions, more simpler and easier with our iPhones. And the AT&T coverage is by far the best. Thats just my opinion.
Is it me or do you still have to say "hold on" which is effectively a pause in conversation just to look up the information? It's not that great a feature especially if your calls get dropped 50% of the time.
Wait, so you can surf and call at the same time? That's cool but I thought the problem was with too many DROPPED calls on the poor network?
Are the calls less likely to drop if you are suring while talking? If not how is that any better?
Plus if you are not hitting a 3G area how fast is that surfing going to be?
Seems silly
Very cool feature.
No wonder the hospitals have begun putting iPhone support into their RFI's and RFP's.
I saw these add last night. Clever, and it is a cool feature. However, if I need to check an email while on the phone, chance favors I am already at a wi-fi hotspot, or in front of a computer, or both. Why do I need data while on the phone? I shop online, use peapod for groceries, and if I get a call when I am not at home I am either driving, on a date with my wife, or out with my kid. Any of these events, I can check the email later, my priorities put my family first. That may just be me.
To those Verizon users who think they can simultaneously surf talk at the same time – it's only because you're on a WiFi network.
Go outside where there's no WiFi and you'll discover you suddenly can't. Not to mention if you happen to surfing on Verizons 3G network, you're incoming calls will kick automatically to voice mail and you won't even know it.
ex ped: Thanks, Joe, for clarifying that.
I was talking to contractor on iPhone about changing specs on a job. He gave me part numbers for a web search while I pulled up the catalogue. Simultaneous conversation/browsing, talking while searching made this fast and easy. Big time-saver.
Am I missing something here? I have a droid (& Verizon, obviously), just placed a call and surfed the web at the same time. Didn't seem to have any problem with it. This isn't an iPhone v. Droid thing, it's a Verizon v. AT&T thing. My main thing with my phone is coverage – without it who cares. AT&T doesn't cut it in that department.
If you want to over pay in spades for features you will rarely if ever use, the iPhone is perfect for you.
If you like to piss away money like a celebrity in need of attention, use the iPhone features with reckless abandon.
Verizon really is about the network. I had AT&T four years ago. I switched to Verizon and would never go back. What good is a Mr Gadget iPhone if the network sucks.
i love how apple commercials are short and to the point without having to mention the names of any other company .
they know who they are(verizon), if it wasn't true, users wouldnt be anal about it.
iPhone rocks[:
100000 areas good enough for ya!!!
Who buys anything else other than an iphone? why waste your money on knockoffs…Get the Real Thing..Don't punish yourself with imitators…
If Verizon and ATT want to be at each others throats, good! That is called competition AKA a free market. It should have NOTHING to do with an IPhone vs something else. The mess we are in in the US where the network vendors are bound at the hip with the endpoint equipment vendors is ridiculous! I thought the FCC/FTC/Congress/Somebody was trying to address this?? The Bill of Rights alone makes us the greatest place on earth to live (IMHO) but lets not pretend we are "free market" with all the anticompetitive things like this in play!
Soo tired if apple this, apple that. Steve Jobs parted the waters and up though it came the the iphone. Honestly folks, its a phone. It works on the second most expensive network in the country or are they tied for first. Wow I can play songs on my iphone, I can play my tunes on any phone. It has 50000 apps. If you check around really there are about 100 great apps that really count, and then 100 ways to pass wind, count calories etc. Pre, Droid, iphone, all good phones, all work quite well, sprint roams off verison, verison in places roams off sprint and ATT supples 3g in major metros's only, so metrosexuals, don't move to the burbs, won't be able to talk and find the directions to your supermarket cause you will have to use a gps to find yoru way in your car since mass transit is few and far between. Mr. Jobs has finally taken Mr. Gates title as the king of hype. FYI the guy who invented the iphone now in charge of palm and put together the pre…. sorry mr. Jobs. Oh yeah, can we stop reporting on the non existant tablet computer that apple does not even have a prototype on yet.
I'm enjoying this advertising go-round between AT&T, Verizon and Apple. It's good to know competition remains strong and each enterprise is choosing to highlight the best of its product or service in battling for market share and mindshare.
As to the features highlighted in the new iPhone ads they are cool from a user's point of view. The ability to multi-task (search the Web, find info, etc. while on a call) saves time and the need for follow-up calls or text messages. I'm running five iPhones in my household now, and while it's ironic the least used feature on all five iPhones is the phone, the ability to multi-task on the devices is a real logistical plus when corralling or organizing household members, extended family and friends scattered around the vast Los Angeles megalopolis.
Leaving Apple out of the equation for a moment, what I find interesting about the advertising spat between Verizon and AT&T is both industrial giants are confronting a market implosion in their respective landline markets and desperately need to increase revenue from wireless services, especially new data customers.
There's a huge market for smartphones and a potential market much larger than the smartphone market penetration both companies currently possess. Spending exorbitantly to attack each other might not be the best approach to winning new smartphone customers and making new friends.
I use these features frequently. Its nice to be able to surf the web without hanging up, and saying, let me call you right back. Anyone who disagrees with that is probably still using a rotary phone!
AT&T 2G voice quality could have been better if they use only AMR 12.2 codec. Using half rate codec to accomodate more users jeopardizes the quality. CDMA on other hand has better voice quality. However with 3G features such as CS Voice over HSPA (High Def voice) will improve the voice quality and decrease noise and distortion. Even in Europe AMR 12.2 codec is widely used. Usage of half rate codec's need to be shunned by AT&T
This is just a frantic effort to spark interest in the iPhone before the holidays. Unfortunately it's too little too late. With all of the new devices Verizon offers it is really opening peoples eyes! Sure you can make a call and browse the web on the iPhone but only on their 3G network. You can do this on the Droid but you have to use Wi-Fi, I rarely do this so its not really worth it. Bottom line, Verizon pointed out what AT&T didnt want its customers to know, That their 3G network is small. Size matters when it comes to networks.
By the way, the Droid and the Eris are the ONLY 2 PHONES Verizon has that can do simultaneous voice and data. Whoever has VZ right now will have to change their equipment once VZ and the rest of the carriers roll out LTE. Since LTE is GSM based, all CDMA carriers like VZ and Sprint will have to change their entire network INCLUDING THEIR CUSTOMERS DEVICES. Hate to say it but your droids now will be paper weight come 2011. Hope u liked it while it lasted.
So for anyone who is whining about dropped calls, why are we again putting the making calls and 3g coverage in the same sentence when that is like comparing oranges and apples? You dont need 3g to get calls. 3g = data network calls = voice network two totally different things. This is what this whole lawsuit is about, misleading customers to think that no-3g coverage is no-voice coverage.
This bout is getting uglier every minute. With apple joining the royal-bout, One should realize that the 2 companies (AT&T apple) are already feeling the need to unite for Verizon is eating them piece by piece. This means money is slipping the pockets of these 2 adversaries of Verizon.
Anyway, the ads of Apple today is a bit better compare to the nauseating commercial of Luke Wilson.
or you could rock a USB CDMA modem from VZ like I do, get a yahoo voice out # for $3/month, and rock a CDMA VOIP laptop in your vehicle with call forwarding included free. Why are all of you peeps still using cell phones? They cause cancer.
Ironic since i'm using my iPhone on public transportation catching up on my reading but I can't watch your videos on mi iPhone.
Droid is not better and VZ claimed their network is the best and probably is because the data and voice are on two different pipes hence no jam.
With a cancellation fee of $350, well you guys can be my guests with VZ.
I think ATT&T is the worst customer service on the planet. I can't even believe they are still in business. They can't seem to get taxes right even after a class action suit. We have been trying for months to set up auto pay and they can't even manage that. There's not a future for them. I had ATT&T service for several years and every month, I had to examine my bill. They couldn't tell me what the charges were! It was astounding.
I can't wait to get an IPhone, I've been waiting to see when another carrier takes it on!
These ads are lame. Like someone else said how many people need to do this?
For all the people that say Droid isn't as good as the iphone please state specifically in what areas. From what I notice most of the mac fans say this and never give details on how the iphone is better. I noticed most of them haven't even tried the Droid!!!
How much money did Apple waste on this? Or I guess iPhone users are so used to doing only one thing at a time on their phone that this makes them happy…
I'm going back to my conference call and Bubble Army 2 on my Storm.
http://keetaro.blogspot.com/2009/11/apple-next-500-pounds-gorilla.html
Apple: Next Microsoft ?
Apple fails to mention that this only works when you’re on 3G.
I you are on EDGE (which is any time I walk in to a building here in Denver) this won’t work.
@Ken in Atlanta… you CAN talk and surf/run apps simultaneously over the GSM/Edge network. I did it all the time with my original iPhone and it worked like a charm.
Apple has a long memory. If Verizon had hopes of ever officially carrying the iPhone themselves they're doing a very good job of flushing them down the drain with their current ads. Although I will note that the never mention the iPhone by name, and the unit on the "Island of Misfit Toys" is a cheap knock-off.
Okay im a wireless tech for at&t and GSM and 3G ie.UMTS are 2 different technologies that work on th WCDMA network ie.Wide Band CDMA! so lets het them right shall we.Second were upgrading as we speak to ethernet which knocks out t-1s and runs on fiber optic lines which can increase bandwidth remotley with the touch of a button and yes you can be on a call and surf the web at the same time with UMTS not with GSM and definitly not with CDMA/verizon only way you can accomplish that is if your near a wifi spot so common people do a lil more research before you bash the nations #1 Carrier lol at&t is just better what can i say!
Android has officially taken over! we got a google maps update for everyone with turn by turn voice navigation! the iphone is struggling to keep up right now! Google rocks!!!
The layoffs are due to a decrease in sales as the unemployment rate rate is at 10.2 %. Makes sense to me. Besides this how companies can justify "cleaning house". Those low performers/slackers, etc. will be the highest risk and coming from a Fortune 500 company with 100K workers most likely you'll have an overwhelming supervisor/manager to employee ratio. So expect a about a quarter of the 10,000 layoffs will be management.
Who cares tomorrow Verizon will be laying off almost 10,000 employees with their last day of employment being Dec 25th. Verizon may have the bigger network but won't be anyone left to service it.
Ummm, I dont know why some people are saying you cant do this with a CDMA network. I can do this on my Palm Pre…hell I can run 10 different browsers while Im on a call if I wanted to.
For all that are jealous or have been jaded or haters or whinos of AT&T, don't worry before next year Apple will have an Iphone Verizon's network..
http://appleinsider.com/articles/09/11/06/report_apple_to_launch_verizon_iphone_in_q3_2010.html
I recently switched from Verizon to AT&T only to be able to get the iPhone. Big mistake! I had to reactivate my verizon blackberry. I love the iPhone as a gadget, but as a telephone that I actually talk on, its horrible. I dropped every other call, no one could hear me as I talk on the iPhone, and my calls took several minutes just to connect. The ability to surf the web on the iPhone is useless since the phone hardly works. My suggestion…get the ipod touch and a verizon cell.
@JVA
No, you can't surf the web while on speakerphone (no simultaneous voice/data) on Sprint and Verizons network. Now if your Blackberry is within range of a WiFi network to handle the data then I assume that works but that is not the Verizon/Sprint networks handling both the voice and data traffic.
No one is denegrating the iphone. It is a great product. At&t however is horrible for 3G coverage. So even if you are on the phone and the web and assuming your call doesn't get dropped you are most likely using EDGE. Verizon has better coverage; on top of which, people would rather be able to surf or talk on a fast network as opposed to doing both over EDGE.
But you can actually put the call on hold, using the hold feature. I do this all the time.
Or, you can leave the call active while you surf the web. Put it on speaker and talk while you surf!
@Steve in Cupertino
"Scheduled to air on primetime TV Monday night are a pair of Apple iPhone advertisements…"
Uh…hullo…Apple is the target.
"Read people!"
Good advice. Try following it.
Either way, AT&T's network still sucks.
JVA:
That's the staple of Apple campaign from the very beginning – they make it sound like they invent things that actually were around for quite a while. "Oh, look, there is an MP3 player! Oh, and here is a phone with the Internet access!" I think they next claim will be the invention of sliced bread, and its exclusivity for iPhone users only. Luckily for them there is abundant supply of gullible lemmings who keep buying into this…
I just checked my DROID. I was on a call while I checked my email, then got a movie listing, while checking my position on the google map. All this while never losing my phone call. so what doesn't the DROID do???
Lets be realistic for a minute. How many people need to do what they describe? That is, be on a call while looking at a site.
Network and coverage is extremely important to me, as is customer service. Tried using a friend’s 3Gs iphone the other day and it took ages for anything to load. I was in a 3G coverage zone and even had full service. Took out my Sprint touch pro 2 (win Mobile) out and the same page fired up in a second or two.
I love to be able to use the web AND talk at the same time. It is a great way to connect if you are into that sort of thing.
AT&T's GSM network allows simultaneous voice and data connections; Verizon's CDMA network does not!
Philip Elmer Dewitt, Please note this isn't true for the GSM network (GSM/Edge network). Simultaneous CS/PS radio bearer is a 3G Radio access feature.
AT&T network has the robust GSM>EDGE>3G>LTE technology. CDMA operator like Verizon had to go for 3GPP compliant networks due to lack of network evolution path for their CDMA network and has now started working on building the LTE network.
Even in AT&T's 2G network you can suspend ongoing data session and receive/make calls.
Great you can talk and surf at the same time – IF YOU CAN CONNECT OR NOT BE DROPPED from the extremely limited coverage/bandwidth areas of the ATT Network. Like having a race car without gas – iPhone rocks but the network is runnin' on empty!
This isn't an Apple thing, fanboys, I can do the same thing on my Nokia E63. As correctly pointed out, it's a GSM thing. Any GSM phone can technically do the same thing.
Wonder what ATT will do when Verizon leaps them straight into 4G networks …
All this nonsense can (and maybe will be) solved when the contract is up and Apple can put it's excellent phone on the best network. I need a phone that works, all the time. AT&T has done an admirable job trying but you don't race a Formula racer in a parking lot.
Verizon, don't squeeze that fruit too hard! The Droid is interesting but nowhere near the iPhone and for those uf us who gave up and went with network stability first we can still dream. We know the perfect recipe for 3G Apple Pie…
Actually, the call is not put on hold. You are still on the phone call while surfing the web, using an app, sending multimedia messages all at the same time. I use this all the time now and it was part of the reason I left Verizon. The other reasons were shitty phones and their faux quality.
As an earlier poster said this is a function of GSM. I can tell you it does work on T-Mobile and on Windows Mobile phones as well. I have a Touch Pro 2 and use this function all the time.
i hope everyone doesn't think this is a at&t feature…
i have a blackberry(sprint) personal and a blackberry (verizon) for work and this is common knowledge for anyone that uses a smartphone that you can surf the web or open an app while on speaker phone.
…worst marketing campaign ever
I'm glad you can talk and 'work' at the same time. However, this ad really isn't true either. Why? Because theres no coverage to actually make a call – lol! – Theres a reason people are switching and it doesn't have much to do with the phone per se, but the network it sits on.
in reply to Dan's comment below, NO you do NOT have to put the call on hold in order to do the things shown in the ad. You put it on speaker phone (unless you are on bluetooth or using headphones) then you press the home button, and you can send/reply to texts, run apps, check emails, etc, all while still talking on the phone. So Dan, they did highlight a smartphone that can launch the browser or receive email during the call. No hold required. 
No, Dan, you don't have to put the call on hold. The display just "hides" the details on the phone call so you can focus on the other task. The call remains active, and you can talk and listen to the other party while you're using the data services.
For bryan, this not a feature of AT&T per se; it's a feature of GSM 3G. The CDMA technology used by Verizon and Sprint does not support simultaneous voice and data.
But T-Mobile runs on GSM, so it would work fine on T-Mobile, too.
From personal experience, the call is not on hold. If you watch the ad you'll see the call is on speaker. Obviously you do not have an iphone.
The call isn't on hold. You just put the call on speaker and hold the phone away from your ear so you can see what you are doing. The whole time you can talk to other person while searching on your phone.
It doesn't put the call on hold. They were on speakerphone so that you could hear both sides. I agree with Bryan, this is a feature I could not live without. Having come from Verizon, I can honestly say I like AT&T better.
>>>>>>>So the call has to be placed on hold for the iPhone to launch an app? How is that "simultaneous voice and data"? It's like Windows 3.1's "cooperative multitasking".
IMO, It would have been more effective for AT&T to highlight a WinMo or other smartphone that could launch the browser or receive email during a phone call, without having to put the call on hold, like the iPhone does.
Posted By Dan, Boston, MA: November 23, 2009 2:44 PM
@Dan:
Just to clear up the facts:
No, a call does not need to be placed on hold on the iPhone to launch another app; the call interface is minimized to the top of the screen, but you can continue to listen and talk while you run another app, and you and jump back to the full call interface at any time.
You don't have to put your call on hold on the iPhone. That's the point of the ads. You continue your call while you use the apps. In the videos, the call is put on the speakerphone so the app can be used. When the user is done with the app, the call is taken off the speaker. It's not a Hold button.
They are working hard to come up with this one. Is this the best "news" article they can come up with? Especially, given the HUGE amount Apple is paying CNNfn/Fortune for advertising. (Still waiting on the disclaimer saying this article is an advertisement paid for by APPLE.)
ex ped: If only we were getting paid by Apple! We could use the money. And your cynicism would be justified.
Dan (Boston, MA) the iPhone doesn't put the call on hold…it's active full time. Guess you need to switch to an iPhone to really see the benefit.
And for those "Apple gets cranky" people… this was an ATT response to Verizon, how did Apple become the target here?
Read people!
the iphone doesn't put the call on hold. You can continue talking and perform whatever other tasks you want to.
These is actually a very useful feature that I would have a hard time doing without. I didn't realize it was unique to at&t.
Hilarious. Apple can release dozens of snarky little "switch to a MAC" ads, but the minute some other company has ad an that bashes Apple, they can cranky. Don't dish it out if you can't take it! Oh, and stop brainwashing the world's simpletons into buying MACs.
Did you know? AT&T treats Voice and Sata the same way so data can overwhelm voice and is one reason for many **dropped** calls.
So the call has to be placed on hold for the iPhone to launch an app? How is that "simultaneous voice and data"? It's like Windows 3.1's "cooperative multitasking".
IMO, It would have been more effective for AT&T to highlight a WinMo or other smartphone that could launch the browser or receive email during a phone call, without having to put the call on hold, like the iPhone does.
I know that people are hard-wired for dualism, competition, ganging up on teams, making "us" and "them" and "winners" and "losers" and it makes us feel better, less threatened, safer…
And in my experience, the iPhone vs. Droid meme and the AT&T vs. Verizon meme and the Mac vs. Windows are the exact same memes… and probably the same as liberal vs. conservative, East vs. West… it's all the same stupidity. I hope more people will just get off the freaking ride and enjoy what we have more and stop comparing every little thing to every other little thing. It's exhausting to live and so tiresome to read…
I got an iPhone because I was sick of juggling a mobile phone, a PDA (loved my Treo) and an iPod. I like things that work. I like simplicity and I wanted a convergence device for years. Now I have it, and I am not only satisfied, but continue to be surprised and pleased by the iPhone. And AT&T is no more good or evil than any other major telecom company. All phones do some things well and other things not so well and all telecoms have pluses and minuses. Debating the specifics is possible without demagoguery or making enemies. Yes, we need to be discerning—it's our money—but can we grow up a little please?
I use a Mac (three, in fact) and I use an iPhone. They work really well for me in nearly every respect. When something better comes along, and my iPhone is ready to retire, I'll get something else.
I would not say I'm a "happy" AT&T customer, but I am satisfied enough. My service is as good as anything I had from past companies I contracted with (T-Mobile, Verizon). The differences are just not enough to take up arms.