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Verizon iPhone 4

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Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#121

Post by roc »

kenjackson wrote: post #67

Curious, how big do people think this will be? Will Apple double its US userbase or will it be an incremental bump? I tend to think incremental. The people in the US today who really want an iPhone have moved to ATT. The holdouts are those that: 1) Hate AT&T. 2) Are on a business plan who is tied to Verizon. 3) Those on a family plan, but aren't calling the shots. For most of the people in 1-3, they already have a Ve…

> "In any case, I think the sales on Verizon will be telling"

Somehow I get the feeling that they won't. Armchair observers opining on the internet have never felt the need to rely on data before. They've long since drawn their conclusions and simply shop for justification; freely inventing some if acceptable evidence doesn't present itself.

So no-one's mind is going to be changed, regardless.

If you were bullish and it tanks, then Apple's 'premium' segment is assumed to have already moved to ATT. If you were bearish and it takes off, then it's the usual "marketing" and "cult" arguments again. The very marks of 'tank' versus 'incremental' versus 'wild success' will be subjectively twisted all to high hell. It won't matter if Apple sells 6M or 12M.

Just watch the reactions when the inevitable avalanche of pre-orders and launch-day lines are reported. "macolyte" and "marketing circus" will get bandied about again, along with suggestions that once the early movement is cleared out then the real measuring of Apple's success on Verizon can begin...

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#122

Post by Anechoic »

code_duck wrote: post #93
dpcan wrote: post #89

In my opinion, this will either slash the current price of Android phones or slow down Android growth considerably. I just can't help but to think, if I were a non-geek consumer, and it was the same price to walk out of the store with an iPhone over a Droid - I know I'd choose iPhone. Does the Droid have a silver-bullet marketing point that I'm missing, or is it all over for Android?

If people wanted an iPhone, they could have just gone to AT&T and bought an iPhone. While this will probably reduce sales of Android phones through Verizon, I certainly don't think it means it is 'all over'. I agree prices may drop on Android phones, and manufacturers may have to step up their game a bit more especially in terms of software. With Android phones you have a choice of prices, different hardware configur…

If people wanted an iPhone, they could have just gone to AT&T and bought an iPhone.

My sister really wanted an iPhone but she absolutely did not want to switch from VZW (she travels a lot and voice calls are a priority), so she got a Droid. The Droid has been good enough, but she's been asking me about iPhone on Verizon ever since the rumors started; a couple of weeks ago when the rumors started to heat up, she told me she was going to switch. (the fact that her 13-month-old Droid is essentially considered "obsolete" in terms of being able to buy accessories locally helped her decision).

I know anecdotes aren't data but I doubt she's unique in this regard.

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#123

Post by EGreg »

pohl wrote: post #120
EGreg wrote: post #111

Now that the iPhone is on the Verizon network, the competition with Android will heat up. Until now, Apple had to field unnerving questions about the total # of Android units sold vs iPhone units sold. But there was always a very relevant factor holding it back: to get the iPhone in the US, you had to be on AT&T. Until now. Now that the iPhone is no longer married to AT&T and will be offered by Verizon as well, milli…

Now we can truly answer the question: do more people like the iPhone than Android phones? Really? Does that mean that Android is only available on 2 carriers in the US?

Okay, it's still not a fair fight, but at least the iPhone is now on the two BIGGEST carriers, which means that it's less handicapped than before :)

Something tells me that if the iPhone was neck-and-neck with the Android phones for a while, now it will outpace them. ONE COMPANY beating a combined set of companies based on brand and quality (rather than lock-in effects). Go Apple!

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#124

Post by stanleydrew »

mziulu wrote: post #71
mey wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incoming calls will interrupt data activity. (Will interrupt hotspot) ArsTechnica has an excellent live blog going of it. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/01/liveblog-of-veri...

Could someone please explain how this hotspot feature usually works for smartphones? I'm having a discussion with a friend about this, but we're going nowhere since I don't own a smartphone and thus I'm not really sure what's the default here and how this iPhone does things differently. [edit] what I expect is this: if I'm connected to a wifi hotspot to browse the Internet and I receive a telephone call, I should not…

The hotspot feature turns the phone into a wireless router where the connection to the internet is provided through the phone's data connection. I don't think an incoming phone call would cause the wifi network to disassociate from any devices, but connected devices wouldn't be able to access the internet. This would be akin to disconnecting your modem from your home wireless router. Devices can still access the network but can't reach the internet.

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#125

Post by rdtsc »

RickRoll wrote: post #97

What is the reason Verizon has better coverage than AT&T? More cell units, better range of CDMA vs. GSM or something else?

They are hands down the most reliable cell voice provider with the greatest coverage. Their customer support is not great, their prices are too expensive but they are reliable.

I don't have a smart phone and use my cell only for voice so Verizon works great for me. Sometimes I travel in US and my wife's AT&T phone loses coverage while Verizon still has a strong signal. It is almost never the other way around.

Hardware-wise, I believe, Verizon own most towers as well. Often other carriers rent space on a VZ tower.

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#126

Post by orangecat »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #91
mziulu wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, this is ok, but how does this iPhone behave differently than the usual here? Do the other phones (when acting as hotspot) keep broadcasting the WiFi signal when receiving data over the cellular network?

This is basically what is called "tethering", using the 3G internet connection of the phone for other devices (such as your laptop), except that the "tether" is no a physical connection but just a wifi connection. In other words, you put your phone into this mode and you can connect to it through wifi and have wireless internet anywhere you have 3G coverage. AT&T does not offer the same service.

AT&T does not offer the same service.

Of course, it's worth noting that tethering isn't a "service" that carriers have to build or support. It's an inherent capability of a sufficiently advanced computing device that has access to two networks simultaneously. But in a textbook case of non-neutrality, AT&T (and others) prevent you from using that capability unless you pay them to remove the entirely artificial restriction.

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#128

Post by boucher »

kgermino wrote: post #112
metamatt wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People moved to AT&T to get the iPhone, but a lot of them think the experience is subpar, and will prefer not to renew their contracts as things stand. I expect there's a decent chunk of holdouts who'll have a good appetite for the VZW iPhone immediately, and there'll also be a steady stream of people switching from AT&T to Verizon as their contracts expire.

But kenjackson is looking at it from Apple's perspective. Sure a number of people may switch to Verizon from at&t but if they already had iPhone's Apple doesn't see any increase.

But, they'll still need to buy another iPhone. They're basically going to convince a bunch of their best customers to pay twice for the same product.

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#129

Post by kenjackson »

roc wrote: post #121
kenjackson wrote: post #67

Curious, how big do people think this will be? Will Apple double its US userbase or will it be an incremental bump? I tend to think incremental. The people in the US today who really want an iPhone have moved to ATT. The holdouts are those that: 1) Hate AT&T. 2) Are on a business plan who is tied to Verizon. 3) Those on a family plan, but aren't calling the shots. For most of the people in 1-3, they already have a Ve…

> "In any case, I think the sales on Verizon will be telling" Somehow I get the feeling that they won't. Armchair observers opining on the internet have never felt the need to rely on data before. They've long since drawn their conclusions and simply shop for justification; freely inventing some if acceptable evidence doesn't present itself. So no-one's mind is going to be changed, regardless. If you were bullish and…

So no-one's mind is going to be changed, regardless.

I think people's minds will be changed. Just the most outspoken, like Gruber or Siegler, dominate the conversation and their minds never change.

For example, I thought the iPad would be a modest success and a disappointing product (after seeing the launch). Now, it is obviously a huge success. But more importantly I think it fundamentally changed how we think about computing devices -- in a good way.

of course, I don't have a great pulpit to speak from, nor do I like to blather on about how wrong I was, but nevertheless minds do get changed... even if quietly.

Re: Verizon iPhone 4

#130

Post by tibbon »

Is there any real price difference between the AT&T and Verizon plans for the voice + date plans?

Is Verizon doing the silly 5GB data cap as well?

And does using the hotspot cost more (like teathering?)

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