Verizon Finally Lands iPhone (Announcement Tuesday)

[brooklynite]

Source: WSJ

The largest U.S. wireless carrier will make the long-awaited announcement at an event Tuesday in New York City, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

The move will for the first time let U.S. consumers choose the network that carries their iPhone and perhaps give them additional pricing options that could affect their monthly bills.

It will also upend the balance of power in the industry, ending Verizon rival AT&T Inc.'s exclusive hold on the device and leaving smaller players like Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA facing two well-capitalized competitors offering the world's most popular smartphone.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704739504576068170230339348.html

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Competition...aah!

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I hope this goes for the iPad too.

I live in one of the many regions of the country where ATT G3 is not just poor, but nonexistent, & Verizon 3G is very available. Out here, an iPad is limited to 2G, which is about like dialup speed. Assuming you can get the signal at all.

[smiley_glad_hands]

6. Verizon already sells Ipads bundled with their mifis.

On edit: Buy the nook color, when it is updated at the end of the month to android 2.2 it will surpass the ipad in functionality and cost $350 less.

And also, verizon's 3g is about 3x slower than att's (if you can get an att signal :) )

[Ter]

14. I'm waiting for the Motorola Honeycomb

Blows away the iPad.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20025427-1.html

[smiley_glad_hands]

15. I agree and so am I. eom

[Tesha]

28. And how does it compare about the new iPad being announced...

...in a couple of weeks? The Nook isn't very competitive today
and will probably not hold a candle to the next iPad (allegedly
containing front- and rear-facing cameras, the ultra-high
pixel density "retina" display, and more...)

Tesha

[superduperfarleft]

12. I'd wait if I were you.

I've been looking at some of the Android-based tablets coming out of CES, and the first part of 2011 is going to be great. The ipad is no longer going to be the only game in town for a decent tablet.

[diane in sf]

2. What's with all the 11s?

[IcyPeas]

5. well at 11:11 it'll be 11:11 1/11/11

it's binary day

[Kingofalldems]

3. I totally don't get all this new technology--wish I did tho

[Occulus]

27. You should go into a store and ask them if you can play with one for a few minutes

Most of the touchscreen phones are pretty easy to use, and they're so much more than "just a phone" these days. Most stores will allow you to test several different models, because they really are an investment if you decide to get one.

The price aside, the only way you can hope to understand them is to use them, and the store reps will be more than happy to introduce you to all their models and explain things to you, even if you tell them you're not sure if you want to get one right then.

And, if you want to see what all the fuss is about but don't want a phone, you can try out an iPod Touch or one of the new tablet computers. They're intended to be pocket computers, and they're really easy to use. I got a Touch as a .mp3 player for work, but I use it for a lot more than that.

Don't let yourself miss out just because you think you "won't get it". Believe me, they're not nearly as hard to understand as you might think!

[mia]

4. I wish it had been Metro PCS. n/t

[smiley_glad_hands]

7. Yawn.

The iphone has been overtaken by a little green robot in the US. Though it is still the most profitable (for apple).

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. 
[link:www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html|Click
here] to review the message board rules.

[smiley_glad_hands]

9. Your kidding right? lol eom

[DemoTex]

10. RSVP y'all!

RSVP to: [e-mail]

"This invitation is not transferable and should not be posted or shared."



"RULE THE AIR" - WTF?

[superduperfarleft]

11. I'm curious how big a deal this is really going to turn out to be.

Current Verizon smartphone users have all been using Android phones for a while now*, because that's all they've offered in the past, and I'd bet most of them are fairly happy with it (I know I am). Do we really see scores of Android users hopping over to the Iphone all of a sudden? I guess you might see tons of new Verizon customers as people dump AT&T, but I doubt many current Verizon subscribers will switch.

I'm just guessing, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

edit: * except for Blackberry

[smiley_glad_hands]

16. Dont forget ATT just increased their early termination fee to $350.

I bet it turns out to be not that big of deal. Like you, ive been using android and so do most people i know on verizon. I have one friend who says he's been holding out for the iphone on verizon, when i told him it didnt support flash, he had a change of heart.

[CRF450]

17. Android user here...

As much as I like my Droid, I would have an iPhone over it hands down! I won't say it's an inferior product, but the Apple iOS 4.2 OS is very user friendly, extremely stable, and extremely smooth running, more so than Android phones with matching specs to the iPhone 4. The Android's biggest advantage is you can do pretty much anything with it and not have to worry about restrictions set in place, oh and Google Navigation! I think one area where it needs to catch up to with the iPhone is when used as an mp3 player. Music playback quality from the Droid is garbage compared to my iPod Touch, and the iPhone have the same sound quality. Sorry if I sound like I'm nit picking but I am a bit of an audiophile :p

[superduperfarleft]

19. I'll definitely give the iphone props for usability.

Part of the problem you have with Android being so open and fragmented is that you can literally have people with the exact same OS with completely different user experiences, mainly due to the various manufacturers sticking their crap all over the original OS and the differences in hardware. And, you said you have a Droid, forget about the music player, the camera takes it to a whole new level of absolute suckitude.

Regardless, it's the openness that does it for me (don't have it to send it to Apple for a new battery, SD card, ability to theme it and skin it or flash ROMS whenever you want). I just can't see, you know, "switching teams." ;) You should give some of the newer Android phones coming out a shot.

[CRF450]

20. I always thought the camera was ok... out in bright daylight :/

My iPod Touch (4th gen that has a camera) takes awesome 720p videos for such a small and thin device. Photo quality is no where near as good as the iPhone's, it's basically a video camera that can take still pics.

[On the Road]

21. It's About Having the Largest Market Share

Both Verizon and AT&T have about 93 million subscribers. It is common wisdom, supported by historical data, that companies with the largest market share have better prospects.

There are a lot of cell phone users who love the iPhone but hate having to use the AT&T network. All Verizon needs to do is to win a slightly larger share of new customers and migrations to become a clear market leader. In the wireless industry, that is a big deal.

[hankthecrank]

13. good news have waited a long time for this

[47of74]

18. I hope so

I'm on Verizon and I currently have a Storm. I'm counting down the days until I become upgrade eligible on June 1st.

I'm taking a wait and see with the iPhone, waiting until they actually come out and say that Verizon will have the iPhone. If they do it would be the nice thick frosting with flowers on the rich chocolate cake if Verizon lets their current customers in contract upgrade to the iPhone right away, but I am willing to suffer through 4 more months on my BlackBerry until I become upgrade eligible. But then if that is the case, guess where I will be at about noon on Tuesday, June 1st.

[Kablooie]

22. I'm switching from ATT if Verizon carries the iphone.

ATT has miserable coverage in Los Angeles.
I get no reception at my house and they have refused to do anything about it except sell me an internet connected antenna for a few hundred dollars extra.
When I drive across LA the signal is constantly dropping out all over the city.
Even in flat neighborhoods the signal is spotty.
We have a strong Verizon signal at our house and I have heard that people are happy with their coverage in LA.
I am with ATT because I develop apps for the iPhone but if I can do the same with Verizon, my family and I will be leaving.

[jmowreader]

23. How much does this have to do with AT&T selling Windows Phones?

You know Steve has to be a little pissed about that.

[CRF450]

24. If I buy one, can everything on my iPod Touch...

Be transferred to the iPhone by just using iTunes on my pc?

[brooklynite]

25. You betcha...

You can have the same apps on an IPhone, IPad and iPhone Touch. No need to buy extra licenses either

[CRF450]

26. It's official, the iPhone has finally come to Verizon

Not only announced this morning, but it's on Apple's home page http://www.apple.com/ and Verizon's home page too. http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/index.html

It will be released on Feb 10. 16gb models are $199, and 32gb models are $299. From what I've read, it's the same exact iPhone 4 as from AT&T, it does have wifi so you can connect your laptop or other device to surf the net with. It doesn't have 4g LTE support, they claim they would've had to build a whole new phone to do that. And the best part, none of that tiered data plan bullshit that AT&T did!! They'll still have the unlimited data plan available.

I believe AT&T is gonna eat it bad real soon.

[Tesha]

29. It's not exactly the same phone.

The radio technologies used by ATT's "GSM" network and
Verizon's "CDMA" networks are completely different so
there are differences in the internal circuitry of the phones.
(Technically, they use different "modem chipsets".)

*EVENTUALLY*, both ATT and Verizon will switch to the next
generation of GSM called "LTE: Long Term Evolution", colloquially
called "4G" for "Fourth Generation". At that point, a new 4G-
capable phone could work on both companies' networks.

Tesha

[CRF450]

30. Yeah, forgot to post about the GSM and CDMA cell networks,

That's pretty much the biggest difference between the two, while the functionality remains exactly the same. I notice that some people like to boast about AT&T's GSM network ability to make calls while downloading data at the same time. Honestly who does that?? Not very many people I'd imagine unless they're using a bluetooth headset. Well, that's one thing that AT&T will promote heavily when the VZN iPhone ads start rolling out, not to mention their faster network speeds.

[Tesha]

31. I've used the simultaneous voice-and-data feature.

You commonly use it when you're on the phone and:

o Need to access your e-mail regarding the conversation
you're having right now.

o Need to access your cloud-connected calendar

o Need to access Google Maps for directions or to
enquire of your caller for directions.

o Need to access traffic information

In other words, any time the Internet would help move forward
the phone conversation you're currently having.

I don't do it often, but when I've done it, it's been much more
pleasant than saying "I'll call you right back..." several times
during the call. I don't have a Bluetooth headset but I've done
it using my wired headset or the iPhone's speakerphone feature.

With regard to your other point, I'm sure that from the "Application
Processor" (the A4) outwards, the "ordinary" iPhone and the CDMA
iPhone are as identical as Apple could possibly manage; I wouldn't
be surprised if they're 100% identical with the only differences being
in the modem chipset and *MAYBE* the cellular radios.

Tesha