What is Digg?220 Comments
- BrendanSheehan, on 04/16/2009, -2/+129Long answer: no. Short answer: n
- Winkleman, on 04/16/2009, -1/+73I think that AT&T is holding Apple back... I would buy an iPhone, but I have T-Mobile, so I can't.
- GetItBuilt, on 04/16/2009, -8/+80Apple would increase sells if it branched out beyond AT&T.
- dissolutionman, on 04/16/2009, -3/+43Very long answer: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
- Dalhectar, on 04/16/2009, -4/+43Well with Sprint hemorrhaging customers, Verizon being on a planned obsolete network (CDMA) with practically no international support, and T-Mobile's nonexistent 3G... Hate to say it but no wireless partner is really a good choice.
AT&T's probably the least bad option. - FredFredrickson, on 04/16/2009, -2/+30Who says AT&T needs Apple? They did fine for the decades before the iPhone. I know you guys love your iPhones, but come on now - stop acting like our entire civilization hinges on the future of the ***** thing.
- InitialDMP5, on 04/16/2009, -0/+20Except Verizon likes to force its customers to use its music store and its services. That would be horrible on top of the tied in iTunes functions that are already killing features on the iPhone.
Why can't I send a picture over bluetooth to a friend? or use any ringtone I want? Verizon isn't going to fix that, they will only make it worse with their already crippled bluetooth.
(an iPhone user) - MScrip, on 04/16/2009, -0/+17>> "Are there many phones that are cross service provider?"
Blackberries, Razrs, etc. There have been many phones sold on different carriers. It's in the phone manufacturers interest to be on as many carriers as possible.
Only recently have there been carrier "exclusive" phones. AT&T/iPhone is the most famous one... Sprint/Palm Pre is the latest... but others don't make sense: why would I join AT&T to get an LG Shine? - MScrip, on 04/16/2009, -2/+16>> "Verizon being on a planned obsolete network (CDMA) with practically no international support"
You know that Verizon will be the first US carrier with LTE 4G, don't you?
Everything current is already obsolete... carriers and manufacturers are already looking towards 4G. They will continue to sell "obsolete" phones up until 4G is here. - gametavern, on 04/16/2009, -2/+16I need Apple, I hate AT&T. Worst coverage in major cities out of the 3 other providers I've had. All that for $169/month?
- megaton, on 04/16/2009, -3/+17The word is, "sales."
- custangro, on 04/16/2009, -2/+15The only thing stopping me from getting in iPhone is AT&T....
If Apple would go "multi-vendor" OR go with another carrier I would get it in a hear beat!
-C - fluxion, on 04/16/2009, -1/+13wrong answer: yes
- inactive, on 04/16/2009, -1/+12It's much smaller than any of the other players and can't compete with the scale of an ATT or Verizon.
- chriswastaken, on 10/27/2009, -2/+13agnostic answer: maaaybe.
- inactive, on 04/16/2009, -3/+14Apparently you, or you wouldn't have come into the thread.
- superkendall, on 04/16/2009, -0/+10Unless Apple wants to go to a lot of expense to add CDMA support, the only other carrier they can realistically branch out to is T-Mobile - not that a lot of people would not like that as an option!
Between T-Mobile and AT&T, probably most people would be satisfied with coverage.
The really exciting thing though is that we might get to buy unlocked iPhone here like you can in Hong Kong, and then be able to use them overseas with different sims. So even if the carrier count only increases by one, it may be worth paying the extra amount for an unlocked phone. - stuffradio, on 04/16/2009, -2/+12Average answer:
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo - MScrip, on 04/16/2009, -1/+11Really? You don't wanna be able to browse the web ANYWHERE? You wanna be chained to a wifi hotspot?
I can't tell you how many times I've looked something up while riding in the car, or walking down the street. Or at a restaurant with NO wifi.
I dunno... having that much power in your hand, without the ability to use data everywhere, seems like a waste. - toshimonkey, on 04/17/2009, -1/+11pirate answer: yarrrrr
- TimeForGuinness, on 04/16/2009, -0/+9Verizon already turned Apple down. And do you really think Apple would let Verizon install all that cr@p on their phone? Likewise, would Verizon give in to iTunes?
No.
AT&T is most likely their best option unless building a CDMA phone and coming to some sort of miracle agreement with Verizon proves to be worth the time and money. Right now, it doesn't seem that way. Verizon would rather push their own touchscreens with Verizon software loaded on it. - MtheoryX, on 04/17/2009, -2/+11apathetic answer: meh.
- megaton, on 04/16/2009, -0/+9You do know they use GSM networks in Japan, right? Right? *****.
- hiriumi, on 04/16/2009, -2/+10I have an iPhone. I love iPhone, but I hate AT&T as carrier.
- mbraynard, on 04/16/2009, -0/+8Sprint is also CDMA, isn't it?
- ehaugan, on 04/16/2009, -1/+9My iPhone is on T-Mobile. Not that hard to do either....
- assortedg, on 04/16/2009, -0/+8Who cares if Verizon has 4G the way they lock up their phones?
Verizon without a doubt has the best network, but if you want to do anything on your phone other then talk or receive an email, Verizon is a horrible choice. Until we stop using them (I am a former Verizon customer), they will have no reason to stop crippling their phones' features. In addition, I'm quite dubious about the changes they promised to win the last spectrum auction. - damonic, on 04/16/2009, -0/+8Verizon turned Apple down. They were the first ones that Apple approached but Apple wanted more control than VZW would give up. Their loss. It would have had 3G on the first version and it would have kicked more ass.
- oboshoe, on 04/16/2009, -0/+8Adding a CDMA radio is not a big expense when you put it in perspective.
The big expense was the development of GUI and platform.
CDMA and GSM radios are practically commodity items now.
Personally, the only reason I don't use an IPhone is because its tied to AT&T. Put it on Verizon and I would buy it today. - meghalc, on 04/16/2009, -0/+8I use the Iphone 3g 8gb and I have t-mobile. All it takes is a simple unlock and cheap edge plan to experience the iphone features.
- EllimistX, on 04/16/2009, -0/+8Did you think it was funny that T-Mobile USA had very detailed instructions on how to add the Edge network address (that voicestream address) to the iPhone, considering they don't carry it? I bet loads of people are using iPhones on T-Mobile.
- siddster, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7thank you captain obvious.
- MScrip, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7>> "Verizon would rather push their own touchscreens with Verizon software loaded on it."
Verizon tried that with the Storm.. and it failed. Other Verizon phones haven't been as successful as the iPhone either.
Would it hurt their pride to admit they were wrong and accept Apple after all? Yes. But it would be a win-win for both Apple and Verizon. Apple would have 85,000,000 Verizon customers to offer their iPhone to. And Verizon would get to sell the best selling phone in the US.
It probably won't happen now... I doubt Apple would make a CDMA phone this late in the game. (LTE 4G is around the corner for Verizon.)
I predict a Verizon iPhone on LTE 4G around 2011. - Nrvana423, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7I can't imagine my iPhone with Verizon's red bar GUI. I had Verizon for 7 years, and as soon as they went to their proprietary GUI, I hated it. Verizon also disables a lot of features that come on phones from the manufacturer.
- rolf, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7It already expires next year? I thought it was a 5 year deal, not 3. Great news! I never got the iPhone because of the outrageous rates. Hope Apple goes solo.
- dawglse, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7I think he was being sarcastic.
- cthellis, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7Verizon lost at LEAST a million subscribers due to the iPhone. Even lowballing the subscription cost estimate for a 2-year contract, that's a rather mind-boggling amount. Do you think they want the ability to get many if not a majority of those subscribers back? You betcha!
They refused Apple's initial demands, but they've slacked on their overbearingness on other devices to begin with, and even general consumers can see that their objections were lame at this point anyway.
They would pick sell iPhones in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. - punkcat, on 04/17/2009, -0/+7yet twice now here you are.
- inactive, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7Need to what? Need to survive? Both companies can survive without one another. Apple, however, can make more money if they branch out to Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint.
- inactive, on 04/16/2009, -0/+7I have a LG Dare. Had the iphone been available for Verizon, I prolly would have one. I'm not going to downgrade service for the hardware though, sorry at&t.
- MScrip, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6>> "Put it on Verizon and I would buy it today."
A good amount of the ther 85,000,000 Verizon customers would too! - cthellis, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6Worldwide GSM usage: 2.5 billion+ subscribers
Worldwide CDMA usage: 460 million+ subscribers
USA is the only market where there is a dominant split. Everywhere else it is far less noticeable, and GSM coverage is far more prominent. - LimeParrot, on 04/17/2009, -1/+7ASCII answer:
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..............\.............\... - bds369, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6I have sprint and I would seriously look into an iPhone if it were an option to me.
- SteveMax, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6The point is that Qualcomm had a 4G upgrade plan for CDMA, called UMB. At this point, only three major operators still cling to CDMA: Verizon, Sprint and KDDI; Verizon is going for LTE (the GSM 4G upgrade), Sprint for WiMax, and KDDI is also teaming up with LTE. This left the "CDMA camp" empty for 4G; therefore, UMB was dropped. EV/DO is the last technology from the CDMA camp that will be adopted in any considerable scale. Current CDMA networks will have to rebuild their infrastructure over LTE or WiMax; they have no natural upgrade path left. Therefore, you may call their networks "obsolete", and that is not a technical (or market, as in "number of devices") definition.
- useraccess, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6Blackberry has phones for every platform and many other manufacturers provide the same model on different platforms. If BB can do it, so can Apple. I can't believe they had this extensive of an exclusive contract in the first place. They will definitely sell many more phones if they open up to other providers.
- Nosferotu, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6I can't even imagine the market share the iPhone will gobble up if it becomes widely available across several providers. Ohhhh man. It will truly become the iPod.
And it might inspire AT&T to offer better plans too, drive the prices down a bit! That'd be awesome - I'm currently locked in a 2 year AT&T contract, but I wouldn't complain if there was more competition to get those plan prices down. I have about 5300 minutes a month, and use about... uh... 60 of them. I'd cancel minutes all together and JUST have internet access if I could. - o3rat, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6If you were in Europe the iphone would be T-Mobile exclusive.
- bignerd, on 04/16/2009, -2/+8well ***** said!
- cthellis, on 04/16/2009, -0/+5As always, depends on your geographical area. That was my primary concern as well, but other than waiting a few months for solid 3G coverage to get to all my areas (where I'd usually be on WiFi anyway, but is appreciated), I've been just as happy with at&t's coverage.
...and considering what problems my friend has had at conventions we've attended, it seems at&t has stronger urban coverage as well.
Even happier by me, but your mileage may vary.
(Now plenty of corporate policy sticks in my craw, but it was that way with Verizon as well. It seems pretty inescapable from any of the major telecoms.) -
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