With “there is a map for that”, Verizon declared war to AT&T. There’s always been a competition, of course, however this time we’re seeing a whole new level of engagement. Verizon now presents itself as the good network that fights the big vilain AT&T and his ally, the tyranic Apple iPhone.
For that purpose they launched a $100 million advertising campaign that focuses on two things, first of all the Droid would be more “capable” than the iPhone, secondly Verizon’s network coverage would be exponentially superior than AT&T’s. Unfortunately for Verizon, the latter argument may be lost on iPhone users.
People just don’t care! Of course if you could choose between having your iPhone run on either Verizon’s or AT&T’s network, the majority of Americans would choose Verizon based on the increased reception and coverage. Traditionally this point is how carrier’s appealed to the masses. ”If you build (the best network), they will come”. In this new age of customers demanding more from their phones than a reliable talking device, the same principle doesn’t seem to hold. People are now starting to pick the network principally according to the phone they want. No, I am not only talking about the Apple fanboys and fangirls, it is happening across the board. Pre lovers switch to Sprint, Droid demanders will come to Verizon, and iPhone users will stick with AT&T despite any frustrations they may experience, including MMS being months behind the 3.0 launch and tethering still not available on their network!
Your Smart Phone is becoming a defining part of who you are, it’s just as important, if not more important than what you’re wearing. The iPhone’s network sucks? Well, most iPhone users would argue that doesn’t matter. Again, I am not talking about the fanboys and fangirls, I am talking about the typical iPhone user.
This whole debate makes me think of the people complaining about the battery life when the iPhone first launched. Indeed, having a phone that only (barely) holds one day seemed disturbing, but would you rather have a traditional phone that lasts a week or an amazing phone that you need to charge everyday?
When it comes to the Droid/iPhone fight it’s pretty much the same idea. Would you rather have the iPhone on a (perceived) worse AT&T network or the Droid on Verizon? Well, in my opinion people won’t compromise on the device. Indeed, the network is something secondary, the device you’re holding in your hands is what is really essential.
Why am I saying it’s a compromise? The Droid is of course a great phone, but compared to a Nokia.
This is no chauvinism, it’s a fact that the satisfaction rates of people using an iPhone are much higher than for the rest of the industry. And the Droid just doesn’t bring you this magic user experience, furthermore it lacks Multitouch, doesn’t have enough apps and this even tho the SDK has been there for quite a while.
Anyway, who is Verizon aiming in their campaign ? AT&T users? Why ? If the network is that bad they probably already know about it. So if they didn’t switch yet it’s probably because they like the phone they have. Imagine how much they must love their device to accept such a bad network, so telling them the iPhone sucks is just gonna annoy them more than anything.
All the campaign does is reassuring Verizon’s customers that however they are missing on what is widely acclaimed as the best device on the market, they do have better coverage.
I totally agree with you. I think verizon is wasting a lot of money and it’s probably not worth the investment… I have an iphone and I used ATT. Does ATT network sucks?, hell yeah ir does. Would I want to give up my iphone for anything else including a better network?… NEVER!
Sounds to me like Verizon touched a nerve.
Consider those who picked AT&T for the iPhone, but need a working *phone* — they just might be willing to switch.
I’ve got a couple folks in my circle of friends and coworker who went for an iPod touch with a Blackberry, they weren’t ready to give up their iPhone apps, but had enough of the network.
Not to mention it depends on where you live and use your phone. In my area I have no issues with the AT&T network.
What a childish diatribe. I’ve been visiting this site regularly because of what it purports to be: an app review blog. While I’ve always found the writing to be lacking in general, I was able to look past it as your overall information was great. I’ve been made aware of some awesome games and useful productivity apps for my iPod Touch here over the last year.
However, your recent juvenile rants about Verizon and its Droid have soured me completely. There is no reason for this site to waste its time addressing topics that don’t make any difference to its subject matter: apps. Not only that, but your blind loyalty to the iPhone in general exposes a serious lack of any kind of objectivity – how am I then supposed to have any faith you have the ability to remain at all objective in your app reviews?
Since it appears professionalism has left this site, so too will I.
I’m torn, I too am a little tired of this debate, but I think it’s definitely one that is worthy of talking about, so I don’t know where we are supposed to go. I have a question for you (and any other person reading this), would it be useful, helpful, or interesting if we were to get our hands on a droid and do a side by side app comparison of some of the dual platform apps available?
Then it wouldn’t be a biased opinion about droid/verizon vs iphone/att but an unbiased comparison of the two offerings. I think that might be a more helpful, insightful approach to helping our readers determine if they should consider the droid or if the iphone really is superior.
Please let me know what you guys think
I appreciate the thoughtful idea, but if the site’s focus is iPhone Apps, then I don’t see much reason for introducing anything Droid-related into the mix. There are plenty of Android App review sites in the blogosphere already. An occasional mention of iPhone vs. Droid news wouldn’t be a deal-breaker, but it’s pointless if all those posts are going to be are blind worship of the iPhone without even an attempt at recognizing any other points of view.
Looking back over the last month’s worth of postings on App Advice, I can now see that 90% of this site’s problem lies with the posts by Alexander. He is obviously tasked with covering ‘news’ for this site, but I would argue that nearly all of his posts are unnecessary. Perhaps some news stories such as those that deal with new iPhone functionality that directly influences apps would be appropriate, but Alexander’s current bent is an utter waste.
The sites current focus is iPhone Apps, cause up until recently that’s all that really existed. Who is to say that “AppAdvice” won’t transition into a review and information warehouse for all things “App” related, regardless of platform.
That being said, I agree this topic is probably overplayed, however I think that most of Alexander’s editorials and news posts are very informative, and overall good reads. The original posts about the iphone vs droid sparked some good debate in comments, and I don’t think you’re giving him fair credit.
Regardless I think the current comments are hint enough to him to get back to stuff you guys care about
I can’t stress enough how much we value our readers (and their opinions), so thanks for voicing them!
Hahaha I just noticed that Verizon has an ad running on our site for the droid, that’s awesome
I think as soon as Apples exclusivity with AT&T ends, iPhone users will want go to the best network. AT&T would want to keep us and perhaps give us a really good offer so we can stay, other networks, in response to AT&T, will counter with an even better plan… do you see where i am going with this, in the end the power will be held by the consumer and not the networks… FINALLY!
As for the commercial, It’s great that they are calling out AT&T on their coverage, but why the hate on the iPhone?
@Partialmuch, amen brother. This site has become a joke, I no longer trust anything posted here.
I have to agree with some of the posters here. This site is supposed to be a review site, not an advocacy site.
I’m sick of this stupid pro at&t alexander has been posting. Not only does he not live in the US and have to experience at&t’s horrendous network, but he posts mis-information and sounds like a 2 year old. It is in app advice’s best interest to stop these posts, it is hurting your credibility. Review sites are supposed to be neutral, not blogs full of fanboys. I’m seriously considering just deleting this site from my rss all together just because they can let such flamboyant fanboyism and outright lies be posted.
Thanks,
John Iburg
To simply put: Would you rather drive a Hyundai on the Autobahn or a Ferrari on i95! Yea, it was a nice try though Verizon ;^/…
Well if I95 is moving at 10mph due to incessant road works and lane closures then I’ll take the Hyundai as at least I’ll get where I need to go as that’s the point of having a car, isn’t it?
“Users just don’t care.” Bullshit. We just don’t have a choice. I love my iPhone and am considering a switch in order to get off AT&T.
About the site: please stick to app reviews. And please hire a copy editor. Please.
Ugh! This AT&T vs Verizon argument is pissing me off. As an iPhone/AT&T user myself, I can tell you that I have no problems with AT&T’s coverage. Their network problems exist in a few specific cities. Those users make up maybe 10 percent of AT&T’s user base. So, AT&T’s network is not totally crap. If a part of it is, so what? AT&T should fix it. The choice is always the same: if you are fed up with AT&T’s coverage, pay the early termination fee and go somewhere else! Otherwise, shut it!
AT&T is the weak link in the iPhone chain, it doesn’t matter how cool your smartphone is if the network behind it is lousy.
iPhone users stick with AT&T because they have no choice, I’m a typical iPhone user, I live in Silicon Valley and the AT&T 3G coverage sucks.
Verizon’s right on the money, AT&T’s 3G coverage is terrible they should have spent the vast profits they’ve been making from the iPhone on upgrading their network but were greedy so now they only have yourselves to blame.
Remember that with no 3G coverage you have EDGE (at best) which is equivalent to dial-up.
The iPhone is a good smartphone but it’s still a compromise, the battery life is terrible, how hard would it have been to make it 1mm thicker and have a bigger battery?
Droid is a serious competitor to the iPhone as it’s also a good smartphone and Verizon has much better 3G coverage than 3G.