For over 7 minutes, The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart reacts to the debut of the Verizon iPhone and decries the past “three or four years” of being stuck on AT&T Mobility: “Those of us in the ‘iPhone community’ have sacrificed one thing for the ability to carry around every photograph we’ve ever taken, or song we’ve ever listened to, or home video, or compass. We have sacrificed the ability to make phone calls. For YEARS, for YEARS!!! For years struggling with the world’s most popular ‘almost phone.’ Well, our long national nightmare may soon be over…”
Considering The Daily Show’s demos, better P.R. for Apple and Verizon (and worse for AT&T) is difficult to imagine:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Verizon iPhone Announcement | ||||
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[Video provided byThe Daily Show. If you cannot see it on your device, please contact Comedy Central here.]
MacDailyNews Take: “Our long national nightmare may soon be over” is so apropos that we used it in our Takes relating to the prospects of the Verizon iPhone back in August 2010 and again just last week.
The unjust tarring and feathering of Apple’s iPhone due to AT&T Mobility’s creaky network in major media-centric metro areas is finally going to end (unless Verizon’s network too becomes overloaded, in which case they’ll incorrectly blame iPhone again). Why do we say “incorrectly?” Because when we have even halfway decent AT&T coverage in less densely populated areas, our iPhones actually work perfectly well as phones, so it’s obviously AT&T network congestion that’s the root of years worth of problems and complaints. If you can’t get some extra capacity approved in neon-flashing problem areas within a 3-4 year timeframe, you’re doing something wrong.
Oh, by the way, Verizon Wireless this morning announced the activation of sixteen new cell sites in the New York Metro Region.
Have at it, AT&T astroturfers, but you’d have better luck astroturfing the entire surface of the moon than in mitigating this so richly deserved P.R. nightmare.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Brawndo Drinker” and “Andrew W.” for the heads up.]
I like my data/calls to work concurrently. AT&T has been really good and improved with new cell towers within my area.
RicMac:
Make that 95/5 rule. In most cases that is exactly how it works. The very silent majority only voices their opinion when they are annoyed and irked enough by the very vocal minority. Same as with matte/glossy debate, or lack of firewire on new MB, etc.
My own opinion is that the numbers in the case of AT&T (and iPhone) are about the same: 95/5, but I have no actual data to back that up. Over the next year or so, we’ll be able to judge, based on the churn (number of defections from AT&T to VZ) if those numbers were as I thought they were.
@Rob:
“I’d like some one to discuss topic without becoming irrationally lopsided.”
You’ve never been here before, have you?
@ Jubei
So where is ‘your’ area?
I agree with Arnold.
Nobody could have handled it any better.
And with the iPhone on 2 carriers now, it will be better for all iPhone users.
And who the hell watches libewitz anyway?
I have to second Predrag’s assertion (guess that makes me an astroturfer) I have used both AT&T and Verizon extensively and my wife’s current (company) phone is on Verizon. Both networks have gaps ( I range NY-VA mostly) in coverage but I find AT&T is more reliable (voice and data) and noticeably faster on data.
But don’t let me dissuade you folks… go ahead make that jump to Verizon. Without question, the AT&T network is overburdened and could use the break. I’m sure that grass really is greener.
Maybe the MDN guys are somewhere AT&T cellphone performance is bad and Verizon is known to be better. Hopefully that’s why they are so excited. Seems to be that the CDMA iPhone is a step backwards – I have no interest. I know that for the rare occasions I’ve left the USA our iPhones have worked overseas, seems CDMA iPhones will not. Hopefully iPhone “5” or “4G” will work for both carriers.
I thought Facetime was only available via wifi. . . . So this video call on AT&T 3G was a total fraud!
And I haven’t heard anyone defend AT&T over their difficulties in procuring transmitters in their service-poor areas. One might say that the Verizon signals aren’t deficient in those same areas. Then one might have to argue that Verizon hasn’t had to service the flood of iPhones and their overwhelming service demands for those same areas. And even, soon, even when they are serving iPhones in those same areas, they will be giving “one or the other” service.
Verizon sucks. But inadvertently they are helping out AT&T by siphoning off a certain amount of data hogs. After a while on a level playing field we’ll see which company has the better approval rating
Does anyone remember a time when you didn’t have a phone glued to your hand, head, or hip? I think it’s pretty amazing that the service we have is so good, regardless of the network carrier. The fact that I can check my email sitting on the toilet in a concrete and steel building far from any window is pretty remarkable. Let’s try and be realistic and reasonable. For all the amazing we have, a dropped call now and again is not the end of the world. If you want perfect phone service, stick with a hard line. Stop whining like spoiled children – clean your plate, thank the chef, and help do the dishes – there are folks that have it much worse than a dropped call now and again.
My AT&T service has been pretty darn good for the past 15 years (even when it was Cingular). I’ve driven and flown around the country and internationally, and never had much to complain about. Sorry to hear your lives have been ruined – go find a big open area and start a protest.
two words – Verizon sucks
@MDN
Believe me, I was meaning it as high praise. You humble people!
Ooh! It’s like election time again! Only this time we get to replace the word “politician” with “company” in the sentence, “Hmm, which shitty politician, who doesn’t have my best interest in mind, should I vote for?”
Rewarding Verizon, who are the biggest scumbuckets in wireless, seems hypocritical to me.
KenC,
“Rewarding Verizon, who are the biggest scumbuckets in wireless, seems hypocritical to me.”
I second this opinion. Consider that Verizon rejected the iPhone, then blasted Apple, At&t and the iPhone with their ads.
I would have offered the iPhone to all U.S. carriers but not just to Verizon.
Lame.
Don’t rush to judgement. For those that do want simultaneous voice and data transmission (e.g. deciding on a movie with a friend whilst on the web as to what is showing) AT&T is the only choice.
I enjoyed the piece from Stewart. I can imagine the frustration. I laughed at the issue and my seriousness as a Mac enthusiast. It helps to laugh at ourselves. It is healthy, It shows we don’t take things too seriously. I imagine there will be problems on Verizon as well. I am feeling pretty good about not having a current contract and waiting for something I like that works well. I carry the touch which works very well with Wifi. I just switched from Hughesnet satellite to Virgin Mobile MiFi and am happy with the move. I pay half the cost of the satellite system. It is amazing that the technology keeps getting smaller.
I’ll lean towards a service provider with a reasonably priced unlimited data plan. The term “data hogs” really needs to go. Unlimited data plans with fair pricing allows us to realize the full potential of our phones.
My DSL service costs about $20 per month. It has unlimited data and is quite speedy. That should be the goal of these wireless providers. A fair price for unlimited data.
Ldm
If only the video weren’t in flash!
Amen. Some flash videos, but not all, won’t play on my early 2007 iMac. I wish I knew what makes some play and others refuse to load. The Daily Show’s are in the “some won’t play” category.
I used to be able to watch them on Hulu, but then they disappeared from the Hulu site. I looked for this on YouTube, but didn’t see it. I don’t have a problem with YouTube videos.
Jon “Stewart” Leibowitz sucks donkey d*ck! Complete AHOLE. Who cares what he has to say. The guy spews lies and lies only.
AT&T has worked well for me around the US. Nothing wrong with having another carrier offer Apple products.
I’ve had an iPhone from day 1, and the Cingular/AT&T service has improved over the years. But I expected that will all the cash brought in to AT&T directly from iPhone subscribers, they would have put far more money into beefing up their infrastructure. It seems they just pocketed most of that windfall.
Let’s hope enough people go to Verizon to spur AT&T into finally updating it’s network to meet the needs of their customers rather than their greedy shareholders.
I live in Reno. NV which due to the Sierra NV Mountains is one of the toughest for any provider due to the terrain. I understand that many products are tested here because of the mountains, etc. I have had AT&T since 1990 and I can honestly say I’ve never had a problem in all those years. sure there have been dropped calls but they have lessened over the years due to do many more towers. I’ve had an iPhone since their debut and I am impressed and happy with both the product and the service.
I have had AT&T iphone from early days and I have suffered dropped calls to a point that I have had no choice but to subscribe to Skype pay a monthly fee so make phone calls from wifi locations. I have had so many calls to AT&T service centers, mistakes I have had to call to fix, and always I have been on the wrong until I proved them wrong.
I recently got FIOS from verizon, and their service people have been very very customer focused. Those who enjoy AT&T service simply have never experience great customer experience.
This is the truth, I do not work for AT&T, Verizon, or Apple. My only loyalty is with giving people more choice. I am convinced Steve Job will ensure T-Mobile and Sprint will be able to carry iPhone. Droid has had the field to itself so those who simply go with upfront cost have been fooled into getting the Droid 2 for 1 offers. I won’t even mention Blackberry and Windows Phone7 which belong to pre-2006 era.
Those AT&T employees on this forum – continue to shut but you do know that your signal is not getting through.
There are probably 10 of you, in 10 different cities, who all together don’t equal the population of NYC and the surrounding metropolitan area. We don’t care that you have great reception, great speed, and all that where you live. Millions of people here have HORRIBLE AT&T service. Get a voicemail icon, click it and see the spinning wheel for 10 minutes until it connects – maybe. Drive on a major highway, look at the phone and see NO SIGNAL. You have an entirely different cellphone experience.
As for customer service, how many times do you really need to phone customer service? If you tell me that AT&T customer service is better, then you must be having problems because you are contacting them.
I’ve had both Verizon and AT&T service here. Verizon is more reliable here. AT&T is fine, pretty good, works many places outside the city, but Verizon works in more areas and is more reliable here.
I personally don’t know anyone who travels outside of the country, so while GSM might be important to some, it is not an issue for me, and don’t act like everyone needs a world phone to live or their phone or network is useless.
Why do you think everyone is excited here about an iphone on Verizon?
No rollover minutes, no talking and data at the same time, possibly slower data (AT&T’s posted performance speed vs real actual performance speed is an issue), and yet we’d all switch the minute it’s available.
THAT’S HOW BAD IT HAS BECOME HERE.
Get this stupid clown off the air already???