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iPhone

Verizon and iPhone Revisited

RibbitMarco Arment: “I’ve been a Verizon Wireless customer since 2004: phones for the first 4 years, and data via tethering and EVDO modems for the entire time. I recently upgraded to a MiFi 2200 and renewed my data contract for another 2 years. I’ve traveled all over the east coast, mostly in New York, using Verizon voice and data services (data-only in the recent years), and I use their data service every day in Manhattan and the surrounding area.

It’s not that great. Among the problems I’ve had:”

Matt Drance: “Technical limitations notwithstanding, Verizon has a long history of forcing partners to remove or alter smartphone features, and add its own. Marco Arment talked about this just yesterday. The story appears to be improved in the Droid era, but it’s still a likely point of contention in any Apple-Verizon negotiations: iPhone either works the same on Verizon as it does everywhere else, or not at all.”

Even though I believe Verizon will offer the iPhone some day, their network and business practices do have warts, just like AT&T.

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Apple iPhone

Verizon and Apple

John Gruber: “Verizon wants the iPhone. It’s a popular and profitable phone; iPhone users pay high monthly service fees. AT&T’s current iPhone exclusivity is its biggest, maybe even only, advantage against Verizon. AT&T’s plans aren’t cheaper, and their service quality is infamously worse. If Verizon had the iPhone, surely many current AT&T customers would switch. And, some number of existing Verizon customers who would have switched to AT&T just to get the iPhone would instead stay with Verizon. Simply put, a Verizon iPhone would be terrible for AT&T. That’s reason enough for Verizon to want it.”

I think the iPhone would be gigantor on Verizon. Not only would some people switch, but existing Verizon customers would buy like crazy.

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iPhone Mobile

iPhone on Verizon?

CNN: “(CNET) — Rumors that the iPhone is coming to Verizon have been buzzing around the Web over the last day or so. So what should Verizon iPhone users expect when the device finally comes to the nation’s largest wireless network?” – There are three very interesting “takeaways” in that article for me.

  • AT&T 3G Network is faster.
  • Being able to talk and surf at the same time is a feature of the network, not the phone. AT&T is GSM based, Verizon is CDMA.
  • Verizon’s network may collapse just as AT&T’s did under the added weight of iPhone use.

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iPhone Mobile

iPhone + Flip Phone

After having lunch with my brother and sister-in-law this afternoon we decided to go to the Verizon store and look for a Palm Pixi, I haven’t seen one yet and wasn’t convinced the screen was as small as my brother claimed. So we head into the store and my brother guides me through the store, showing me his favorite phones, and why he likes them. Then we get some help and find they don’t have a Palm Pixi, but they have the Pre+, so the guy helping us gets one out of the back and let’s me check it out. It’s actually a really nice device, but, I digress…

The iPod Touch 3G

Something my brother said while he was talking to the salesman really got me thinking. He said “You know what would be perfect, an iPod Touch with 3G, and no phone.” When I heard that I thought to myself “That’s a screwy idea.” Wait, no wait, that’s NOT such a screwy idea. Think about this for a couple of minutes. What if you could have an iPhone/iPod Touch with 3G and no phone and have a cheap flip phone for all your voice communication, on the same phone number? That would be awesome. Why? Well here’s the thing. The iPhone sucks battery, and face it, most of the time you don’t use it for talking. It’s mostly about e-mail, texting, Twitter, and Facebook isn’t it? Yes, that’s what I thought. Here’s my brothers, and my, logic. One of the best cell phones I ever had was a cheap “free” Samsung flip phone. No bells and whistles, just a simple voice phone. The thing worked. The sound quality was great and the best thing about it? I had to charge it about once a week.

That’s just crazy talk

Yeah, well, maybe it is. I’ll give you that, but in my brain it makes sense, especially if I can have them both on the same number. Allow voice and text on the cheap phone and use the iPod Touch 3G for all your social adventures, and texting of course. The big advantage is battery life, and from my experience, a better pure phone. This may not be the case for most folks. It would seem that most people text way more that they actually talk, but for me it works.

Then again maybe Apple can just get to work on a battery that’ll last a week on a charge, even under heavy use.