“In a series of new ads airing tonight, Apple Inc. tries to come to carrier partner AT&T’s rescue,” Jim Goldman reports for CNBC.
“For weeks, Verizon and Sprint have been having their way with AT&T and Apple’s iPhone. One of the year’s best commercials has to be the Verizon ad featuring the iPhone as the newest resident of The Land of Misfit Toys.”
Direct link via YouTube here.
Goldman writes, “The issue, and it certainly resonates, is that while AT&T might have a very nice 3G network, its coverage is rather limited when it compares to that offered by Verizon. The two even got into a legal spat because of Verizon’s very clever “There’s a ‘Map’ for That” campaign, comparing head to head the two carriers’ 3G coverage nationwide,” Goldman writes.
Direct link via YouTube here.
Goldman writes, “AT&T’s answer with actor Luke Wilson is a poor one.”
Direct link via YouTube here.
Goldman writes, “Apple has been the collateral victim in all this. As it has since signing that exclusive arrangement with AT&T, with the carrier constantly trying to play catch-up to iPhone’s technical capabilities.”
“So Apple is fighting back on its own, launching a series of commercials that begin tonight, highlighting the one thing key thing that iPhone on AT&T can do that competitors, including those Android phones from Google, and other handsets running on Verizon and Sprint can’t: Simultaneous voice and data communication. In other words, surf the web, get and receive email, text message all while you’re talking on the phone without having to leave your voice conversation to do it,” Goldman reports. “It’s such a simple message, but such a compelling one. It’s a capability that I take for granted, but rely on so much.”
Read the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Verizon’s wiseassery is going to backfire. The general public was unaware that Verizon’s network was incapable of allowing simultaneous voice and data communication; now, with Apple in the equation, everyone and their mother will soon know.
UPDATE: 5:45pm ET: See Apple’s two new ads here: Apple’s new Verizon-swatting iPhone ads (with video and schedule)
Ouch. Verizon really can’t do this? Can’t do a phone call and use 3G at the same time.
That’s gonna hurt.
Ahh it’s like watching in-laws fight so much, you have the redneck family that is Verizon in which they are everywhere but can’t do much with somewhat good looking kids,
And then snooty AT&T;bunch limited but has the means todo what ever and the beautiful children.. Ahh gotta love the holidays when everyone gets to share what they got and don’t have.
and t-mobil is just a dirty whore that is well recognized.
Who cares. Apple, open up the iphone to other carriers please it’s time…
first of all, you can on a CDMA network send SMS messages while in a voice call. In fact, SMS messages send almost instantly when you are in a voice call because a connection to the tower has already been established. MMS messages on the other hand require use of the DATA network, and cannot be sent while in a voice session. next time someone wants to play down verizon, at least get your facts right. dumbasses
Wow!
Networks are are competing for mindshare on the basis of their network quality and availability rather than avail phones or silly add-on services.
This is as it should be. I guess “exclusive agreements” don’t really stifle competition, do they?
Let the dumb-pipe wars (finall)y begin!
It’s NOT call and data that are the killer counterargument, AT&T;and Apple. Most people don’t think they’ll use that (though they will). Te killer argument is calling and GPS DIRECTIONS at the same time. THAT has resonance as a convincing argument. Hated my original EDGE iPhone when I had to do only one or the other.
Directions may be data, but when you say data, few people will automatically think GPS. Most will think email or text and most people don’t think they’d ever really want to do that.
That is most people don’t think they will want to do calling and emailing or texting at the same time.
Fsck me, the iPhone can’t possibly be coming to Verizon after this.
The dream is dead.
Agreed, I was using my iPhone on T-Slowble for a while, and it was a major pain in the ass not being able to take advantage of the UMTS radio inside the iPhone 3G. I have sence then switched to AT&T;, and with the added 850mhz coverage in my area I couldnt be happier.
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TEXTING IS NOT DATA USAGE! ANY CARRIER CAN SEND SMS WHILE IN A VOICE CALL! JESUS F-ING CHRIST!
In the U.S.A. does somewhat now mean ‘not very’ instead of ‘rather’?
Casting calls for the next set of ads:
“Hello I’m an iPhone.”
“And I’m a Verizon…”
AT&T;3g is kind of slow because they have a lot of REAL DATA PHONES, I mean, iPhones. Verizon only have “little phones” with little crappy plastic keyboards that makes them very difficult to be use on the internet.
If you put the network traffic of AT&T;’s iPhones on verizon network, I bet you it crash. Just and AT&T;network crash with the first 3G iPhone
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@andintroducing: I completely agree with your argument. Hopefully someone at Apple is thinking along these lines too.
And SMS folks: it’s ALL DATA. Please be correct in your usage as well before getting so irate. Now the fact that CDMA can only do either “call” type data (eg voice and SMS) or ‘internet’ data (eg web browsing, MMS, email), but not both at the same time is correct. But in this age of all digital networks, there is no preordained, fundamental difference between any of these data types, merely in how they are handled by differing networks.
@R2
Some dream
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Here’s the commercials:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/23/apple-hits-back-at-verizon-in-new-iphone-ads-video/
Simultaneous voice calls & data? Who cares if you can’t even make a call or get data coverage :S
Who cares? I mean, most of the time if I need to talk on the phone and use the web, I’ll just walk over to my PC. If I’m not at a PC, it usually means I’m driving or standing in the middle of a public place where I wouldn’t want to try to use the web or talk on a speaker phone.
If that’s someone’s make-or-break feature, they deserve the iPhone.
I’m using a Droid. It’s openness has led to many more practical applications that Apple would never approve of, and have made the Droid much more useful to me than the iPhone ever was.
(Oh, and I’m a former iPhone user who went back to Verizon when the Droid was launched)
…”you can on a CDMA network send SMS messages while in a voice call. In fact, (…) MMS messages on the other hand require use of the DATA network, and cannot be sent while in a voice session. next time someone wants to play down verizon, at least get your facts right. dumbasses”
Did you WATCH the ads? Not once did the commercial imply that SMS is only available on the iPhone? In the second one, the guy is looking up directions and is sending a MMS message. None of the things done in the commercial can be done on Verizon’s CDMA network. Should I say “dumbass” now (considering you got your fact wrong)?
Dan,
Well, I’m sure you have successfully convinced yourself that Droid does for you what iPhone doesn’t. That is important, otherwise, you’d be kicking yourself for the next two years (now that Verizon has jacked up those early termination fees).
I don’t think I’d ever want a phone that can’t get online while I’m on the phone. Whenever I’m in traffic (bus, subway, walking the streets), I have my headphones on. When I’m not walking, my phone is in my hands and I’m doing something with it. It would be really a colossal hassle to have to stop doing what I’m doing when a call comes in. Conversely, it would be even bigger hassle to have to hang up before I can look at my e-mails, or google something while talking to someone. This is one of the most fundamental, common usages of a smartphone for an urban person. And Droid can’t do any of them.
@pwntbywomba
It is not at all my intention to argue, belittle, or anything of the sort, and I will not be reading the thread again after I have responded to your interesting comment. You have shown yourself to be an extremely angry individual and one without personal peace, to invoke such BOLD-LETTER anger, hate, crudeness, and blasphemous charges against yourself with something so, in the grand scheme of things, frivolous as “texting vs data usage”. Rather than lay the blame on Jesus Christ for whatever it is, deep down, that causes you to be so angry, why not look away to him as your own personal Savior. He died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and rose from the dead three days later. Only he can give you peace. I know from personal experience, as I once was very much like you. Respectfully written.
Too bad they couldn’t work Hodgman in somehow.
I was with Verizon four four years PRIOR to getting the iPhone, so I have no problems sticking with Verizon for two years. Seriously, how many people do you know that go from carrier to carrier every year?
The iPhone was OK…but only if I Jailbroke it. Now I can monitor torrents at home, make my own ring tones, and develop my own personal Droid apps without having to worry about a hacker coming up with the new Jailbreak after the latest OS release. To me, thats much more important than dual calling/web surfing.
To each his own, I guess.
The irony is that the company I work for is about to give me an iPhone for my company phone…so I’m going to end up back with both phones anyways.
I don’t care about stupid ads. Apple and AT&T;need to do something very simple–provide usable coverage for this goddamned phone.
On Friday I needed to do a conference call with the court and four other attorneys. I arranged for it through AT&T;, who called my iPhone # rather than my land line. After my wonderful iPhone dropped the conference call THREE TIMES just while the operator was trying to get everyone on the line I got them to switch over to using my reliable Verizon line. I am not aware of a single call of 5 minutes or more that I have been able to make without Call Failed in weeks.
Call Failed when trying to dial numbers. Call Failed during calls. Phone messages showing up for calls I never got; that is, when I’m not getting Voicemail not Available.
I cannot wait for my AT&T;contract to end so I can go out to the Walnut Street bridge over to the University of Pennsylvania and toss my iPhone into the Schuylkill River.
Maybe I have a bad phone…who knows, because when I go to the AT&T;store and complain they just say, “everyone is having those problems.”