Will you be getting the Verizon iPhone?

[MYmacROX]

I am going to get an iphone and was waiting on Verizon. I was wondering if AT&T would do things Verizon wouldn't... I wanted to make sure I understand the voice/data thing. Does this mean you can talk and text or surf the internet at the same time? I'm with Verizon and I can talk and text at the same time. I'm currently using a EnV3 to do this. Looking on Verizon's page when asked if it would work on their 4G LTE network it stated it would use the 3G. I believe AT&T's will up-grade to the 4G. At least I think I'm right on this.

AT&T - yes you can talk and surf the internet
VZW - no you can't talk and surf the internet

AT&T - no the iPhone 4 is not 4G compatible and cannot be upgraded through a software update. It will require an entirely new phone to be released with a different antenna.
VZW - SAME ANSWER

 

[chas_m]

I recently decided to do an informal survey of my family and friends around the US, of which I had literally hundreds of people participate. Not scientific, but interesting.

Without boring you all with the details, here's a quick summary: AT&T sucks ***IF*** you live in NYC, SF or parts of Chicago (and I'm sure some other "dead spots" around the country). OTOH, if you *don't* live in those places, AT&T is perfectly fine and people are generally very happy with the service.

Verizon, likewise, **SUCKS** if you are in one of THEIR dead spots (basically west of the Mississippi except for the actual West Coastline), and they generally got lousy marks for customer service in my poll, but the service itself is perfectly fine barring the CDMA limitation of no simultaneous talk/data.

Sprint -- who will almost certainly get the iPhone later this year -- got lousy marks for customer service, high marks for good prices/plans and utility phones (less so for smartphones). If you're a blue-collar worker out in the field a lot with a company-supplied phone, you LOVE Sprint and don't know what the fuss about iPhones is all about.

LTE generally is a non-issue to anyone outside of NYC and other mega-cities. It will not really be on the mainstream "radar" until later this year or next, when a) it's everywhere and b) it's cheaper!.

Conveniently, this will be about the time that the iPhone 5 or 6 (as the case may be) rolls out, and right about the time that everyone who bought an iPhone 4's contract is up for renewal.

Something to think about regarding LTE: it's not of any importance EXCEPT for people who move a LOT of cellular data around, and pay dearly for doing so. So if you're not one of those people, you're not really going be affected by that "revolution" too much except to the extent that more capacity on the network = fewer problems with calls and texting.

And hopefully prices will (eventually) drop for data. That was the #1 hope among my poll respondents.

 

[Wolvrin704]

I am happy enough with AT&T that I'll keep it at least the remainder of my contract. My wife on the other hand is still with Verizon and is eligible for upgrade in June so she is getting their iPhone. Once she gets hers I'll compare and see which company's service I like better. After all I'll have another year after that before my contract is up.

 

[zyepod]

You can talk and text, just not talk and do anything that requires data. Text flows on the cell network not the data network. No Web surfing, Google Maps, On-line gaming or e-mail unless you are on a WiFi network while talking. My old Palm VZW phone could do talk/text simultaneously even.

Both AT&T and VZW are upgrading to 4G/LTE and both will have their networks more or less nationwide by the summer of 2012 which is when the iPhone 5, 4G/LTE capable phone will likely appear.

Thanks for the info baggss... and MYmacROX... I'm trying to think if I would ever be talking to someone while e-mailing or surfing and can't but I've also have never had a smart phone...

Another question if I may... My son says he hops on WIFi's anytime he can so he's not using his data usage. That being said should I run a WiFi at the house since I'm prepping to purchase an iphone? Or will the iphone utilize my current 802.11 wireless network?

 

[baggss]

That being said should I run a WiFi at the house since I'm prepping to purchase an iphone? Or will the iphone utilize my current 802.11 wireless network?

It should work fine on your current N network. I have all 5 iPhones in my house set up to auto connect to my home network when in range and it just transfers seamlessly. You'll have to add the iPone to any security you have enabled (MAC Addressing for example) but I have WPA2 running and my iPhone works just fine with it.

Oh, 2 of those 5 iPhones are retired iPhone 3Gs that work more or less as iPod touches now. No 3G service, just WiFi.

 

[MYmacROX]

That being said should I run a WiFi at the house since I'm prepping to purchase an iphone? Or will the iphone utilize my current 802.11 wireless network?

As baggss mentioned, the iPhone will work on your home network. A wireless router/home network is "wi-fi".

 

[zyepod]

As baggss mentioned, the iPhone will work on your home network. A wireless router/home network is "wi-fi".

Oh... Thanks... Somewhere along the ling they... someone...??? started calling it wi-fi and I thought it was totally different than wireless... Thanks again.

 

[MYmacROX]

From the dictionary that comes with my Mac...

Wi-Fi |ˈwīˈfī|
abbreviation
Wireless Fidelity, a group of technical standards enabling the transmission of data over wireless networks.

 

[zyepod]

From the dictionary that comes with my Mac...

Wi-Fi |ˈwīˈfī|
abbreviation
Wireless Fidelity, a group of technical standards enabling the transmission of data over wireless networks.

Wow I had forgotten I had the dictionary. Maybe I should put that thing in my doc so I won't forget it... Thanks for all the help guys...

One last question... Do you think a mac router like the Airport Extreme will be better than say a Netgear. The reason I'm asking is having two other PC's in the house they can't come close to the reception my mac has on my and other wi-fi networks... I've had several laptops here as well still can't touch the macbooks that have visited...

 

[chas_m]

I have always found -- and this is completely separate of my love for Apple products generally -- that honest-to-gosh, Apple's Airport products tend to be THE BEST of their kind (and you pay for it too!).

When clients tell me they want utterly reliable, completely hassle-free continuous Wi-Fi, there's only one thing I tell them, whether they are Mac or PC: get Apple Airports as needed. Best thing this side of industrial hardware.

 

[RandomJoe]

Just my luck... I decided over the holidays I was going to finally get an iPhone. I'd been holding off, because a couple people said ATT was losing their exclusive deal. But everything I read online said that deal would last until 2012!

So Jan 1 I get an iPhone w/ ATT then not two weeks later...

Oh well... I've not had too much trouble with ATT - our work cell phones (basic cheapies, not smartphones) do pretty well - and a lot better recently, we were with Cingular originally and for a while after the merger things were getting pretty bad.

I do find I use data while on calls quite a bit, so I probably wouldn't have gone with VZW anyway, at least this time around. I'll see how things stand in two years...

Can't say much for customer support - seldom use it, but both companies are soundly despised by everyone I ask!

I have always found -- and this is completely separate of my love for Apple products generally -- that honest-to-gosh, Apple's Airport products tend to be THE BEST of their kind (and you pay for it too!).

I agree! I was worried at first, with the lack of external antennas, that range would be an issue but I find my Extreme gives me better signals throughout the house than my previous (Linksys and D-Link) units. My primary reason for selecting it was that Apple plainly stated it worked on both bands simultaneously, something I had trouble verifying with other brands. And it does work very nicely with all my wireless gear. I could wish for a web interface to configure it, rather than requiring a dedicated program, but I've forgiven them for that since it does work so well.

I also got an Express to use as a portable AP for work. I had long carried an AP in my truck so I could connect it to the equipment I work on then go sit somewhere comfy instead of in a hot/cold/dark/noisy/whatever mechanical room, but the Express is small enough to carry in my computer bag so always available. It gets a LOT more use than the other one did.

 

[rfe959]

I'm very happy with AT&T and my iPhone. Never had a problem what so ever.

 

[Sexy Patrol]

I have been with AirTouch/Verizon for more than 10 years. I have not had any problems with customer service or phone service.

Me neither. My family's been with Verizon since 1996 when it was AirTouch Cellular and not once have I had a complaint against their customer service or their wireless service. Really the only thing I had to gripe about was that I never cared for any of the phones they carried, but that's changing now.

I'm all set to pre-order on February 3rd.

 

[TmT]

So i had AT&T about 8 years ago and never really had a problem with it until i moved into an apartment where the service was non-existent...i ended up having to pay out of that contract and got one with sprint which i had for a couple years...their customer service was sub-par. I had verizon for a few years and never really had any issues with them but switched to sprint due to the price savings...my contract is set to expire soon and i would like to get myself and my wife into the iphone. Im just not sure if i should go through verizon or At&t...i keep reading how the verizon network is going to take a hit as soon as the iphone is available, and how the At&t network will get better. I am currently in AZ and i think At&t has gotten better around here however i am in the military and should be moving out of AZ later this year. Is there anyone out there that offer some advice...any issues with At&t? i hear that their customer service has gotten alot better in the last few years. Thanks!

 

[Aptmunich]

It's quite possible that Sprint will get the CDMA iPhone sometime this year as well… they made of point of calling it a "non-exclusive multi-year partnership", which would imply they have it to start with, but Apple could very well be talking to Sprint as well.

The only problem with sprint is their roadmap: they've decided to go with wimax as their 4G technology - everyone else is going to go with LTE. So if they got the current iPhone, they might be dropped again when Apple starts selling a LTE iPhone, which is one reason I could see it not happening.

 

[Sexy Patrol]

So i had AT&T about 8 years ago and never really had a problem with it until i moved into an apartment where the service was non-existent...i ended up having to pay out of that contract and got one with sprint which i had for a couple years...their customer service was sub-par. I had verizon for a few years and never really had any issues with them but switched to sprint due to the price savings...my contract is set to expire soon and i would like to get myself and my wife into the iphone. Im just not sure if i should go through verizon or At&t...i keep reading how the verizon network is going to take a hit as soon as the iphone is available, and how the At&t network will get better. I am currently in AZ and i think At&t has gotten better around here however i am in the military and should be moving out of AZ later this year. Is there anyone out there that offer some advice...any issues with At&t? i hear that their customer service has gotten alot better in the last few years. Thanks!

Just about everyone I know with AT&T (iPhone users or not) have had major complaints regarding both their reception and their customer service. The only substantial advantage that AT&T seems to have over Verizon as far as data usage goes, is that you can simultaneously use your data and voice packages, you can't do that on Verizon. For me, that's by no means a deal breaker.

I've yet to encounter (knock on wood) a dead zone with my Verizon service. Even up in the rural mountains at my family's cabin, I manage one bar which is pretty exceptional. I've been up and down California, parts of Southern Oregon, Nevada and Georgia. Never have had issues.

By contrast, I'm always hearing my friends on AT&T complain when their service goes out just here around town.

It's quite possible that Sprint will get the CDMA iPhone sometime this year as well… they made of point of calling it a "non-exclusive multi-year partnership", which would imply they have it to start with, but Apple could very well be talking to Sprint as well.

The only problem with sprint is their roadmap: they've decided to go with wimax as their 4G technology - everyone else is going to go with LTE. So if they got the current iPhone, they might be dropped again when Apple starts selling a LTE iPhone, which is one reason I could see it not happening.

Hm, I didn't know that about Sprint. That's interesting.