An interesting article in PC Magazine. The contention is that with the iPhone and a mediocre system, AT&T had to build up their tower and backbone system. Without the iPhone, Verizon and the others had to push the manufacturers to develop a decent competitor to the iPhone. Apple has been continuing to push the iPhone to maintain it's advantage. Even if by some miracle, Apple could produce the total demand for smart phones, there would always be desire for other models.

In addition, knowing that the only advantage they have is with better coverage, Verizon has to invest heavy in improving their own towers and circuits.

I don't care why some magazine thinks I don't need an iPhone....all I care about is I can't have one because of bad business BS!!

iphone has been around for a while, ATT still cannot handle the data requirements. I think the argument is fundamentally flawed.

The data requirements have taken everyone by surprise. And many areas cannot be upgraded without months to years of hearings. While I have no love for what is now AT&T, my experience with Verizon leaves much to be desired. When I was on Altel, I was a happy camper. Now that Verizon took over, the number of dropped calls and feedback issues have gone up tremenously. It is very irritating to try and hold a conversation when your own voice is being retransmitted back to you with a 1 second lag.

My droid works fine on vzw, blackberries are great...there is no argument, verizon has a solid data network.

Originally Posted by gentlefury

My droid works fine on vzw, blackberries are great...there is no argument, verizon has a solid data network.

I agree with you 100%. My wife recently switched to vzw (and Droid) from AT&T and after a week she told me "It sure is great to actually use my smart phone as a phone these days". The data plan has been solid for her as well.

Originally Posted by DaveSt

Originally Posted by gentlefury

My droid works fine on vzw, blackberries are great...there is no argument, verizon has a solid data network.

I agree with you 100%. My wife recently switched to vzw (and Droid) from AT&T and after a week she told me "It sure is great to actually use my smart phone as a phone these days". The data plan has been solid for her as well.

Which is why I've never had an iPhone.....AT&T absolutely sucks....they were the worst company I ever dealt with, service was HORRIBLE, I had to go outside to make and receive calls...I had to leave my phone on the window sill for it to ring. And on the many occasions I had to deal with customer service they were abysmally rude and useless.

I have been with Verizon for 7 years now.....the service is perfect, I have never dropped a call and only lost my signal while up in Sequoia forest or other remote place that has no towers. Data is ALWAYS 3G and fast, and on the rare occasion I have called customer service they are always polite and actually resolve my issue instead of telling me I'm wrong and making me hang up on them in frustration.

So PLEASE Apple, bring iPhone to a real company!!

I tried using an iPhone 4 as my primary device last night and was suprised (I guess I shouldn't have been suprised) that basically 80% of my calls were dropped. I had to change back this morning to a Verizon Blackberry as my primary device. The other issue that Apple needs to address is that of making the path smoother for large organizations to implement IOS devices. They have a very cumbersome method of deploying device policies via iPhone Configuration Utility. The ota deployment method apparently is not well documented. The iPad is a very "cool" device, as is the iPhone, but in my opinion it is unfortuantely no where near where it needs to be as an enterprise device. the iPad/iPhone is a nicer device than the Blackberry, but doesn't have many of the features that business requires for mass deployments.

A phone is only as good as its network. Fortunately the 3G GSM networks here in Canada are, by and large, terrific. We can choose a network based on our needs and the iPhone will work on it. If it doesn't, you can change to a competing network and still have an iPhone if you want. (That's one reason why Apple sells unlocked iPhones here.)

My personal experience with AT&T has been mixed, so I understand your concerns, but this is absolutely an issue with the network, not the phone. In the rest of the world, where 3G GSM networks are ubiquitous in almost every country, the iPhone is a very solid phone worthy of serious consideration.

Hence why I use tmobile.. Data is fine on that via edge but I'm sure a data hungry ipad would hate the edge network.

Sure it may cost more or I'll have to settle for a used phone but the return is using a phone daily and great service and price plan with tmobile.

Like I've told folks in the past, there are three main things in life you need to be happy: a nice home, nice vehicle, great job. You spend most your life in these places. From that it rolls over to other items you use daily such as phone, tv, and hobby items.

Could you picture having a regular home phone, a crappy 15yr old beat up car and working at walmart living paycheck to paycheck?

We own ipads, a nice luxury item so I'm sure we all have a decent lifestyle. Now how this ties into the iPhone.. Again I use tmobile. Either I pay $99 for a new iPhone with crappy service for two years or pay $250 for a used iPhone and have a cheaper plan with a great service providing company. It's the price you pay to own and have nice items to enjoy