JD Power: Verizon most reliable carrier with AT&T far behind

By Ed Sutherland on Aug 23, 2012

Once again, Verizon Wireless is ranked the top U.S. carrier in fewest complaints of dropped calls, transmission problems and slow text messages. This is the 14th time the carrier has led J.D. Power’s U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study. AT&T and other major carriers landed further down in the cellular reliability survey.

While Verizon Wireless led in the busy Northeast corridor, it also trumped competition in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest and Westerns sections of the country. U.S. Cellular was picked as the best carrier in the North Central U.S. for the 12th time. AT&T’s reliability was consistently ranked the lowest, except in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest areas, where it was second to Verizon… Read More

 

Verizon vacation blackout suggests iPhone 5 may be available September 21

By Ed Sutherland on Aug 21, 2012

It’s not often that vacation schedules mean much to anyone other than the person getting some days off. But Verizon’s vacation schedule has iPhone fans predicting Apple’s newest handset will appear Sept. 21. Today’s report mirrors one earlier this month that AT&T is also expecting something big in late September.

Citing a “trusted Verizon employee,” TechCrunch writes the carrier has forbidden worker vacations between Friday, Sept. 21 and September 30. The next iPhone “will almost certainly be available in stores” on the first day of that vacation blackout, the blog claims. Earlier this month, we reported on another claim that AT&T (which also offers the iPhone) was preparing for a “huge announcement” during the third or fourth week of  September… Read More

 

iPad mini and iTV in full production, analyst claims

By Christian Zibreg on Aug 17, 2012

Hot on the heels of a pair of reports by usually credible The Wall Street Journal asserting Apple’s been working on a set-top box with cloud DVR and premium cable TV content, an analyst wrote in a note to clients today that a rumored iPad mini and an Apple-branded television set are both in full production now.

Based on supply checks, the note calls for 25 million iPad mini units for the September quarter and an additional 30 million units for the December quarter, which would peg iPad mini shipments for the calendar 2012 at a cool 55 million units…. Read More

 

Verizon’s LTE network will soon cover 2/3 of US population

By Cody Lee on Aug 15, 2012

Verizon just announced that it’s going to flip the LTE switch on in 34 new markets tomorrow, and will also be expanding its 4G coverage in another 38.

We’ll get to the new markets in a moment, but perhaps more interesting is the milestone. After tomorrow’s rollout, Verizon’s LTE network will be in more than 370 markets, blanketing close to two-thirds of the the country’s population… Read More

 

Verizon and AT&T join Sprint in iPhone discounting

By Cody Lee on Aug 13, 2012

Earlier this month, we reported that Sprint was starting to knock $50 off of its iPhone 4 and 4S models. Then a week later, Apple started matching the discounted prices at its retail stores.

Now it looks like other carriers want in on the action. Over the weekend, discounted AT&T and Verizon iPhones started popping up in Best Buy and Target stores around the country… Read More

 

Major US carriers, Google form mobile payments alliance, Apple not on board

By Christian Zibreg on Aug 13, 2012

In another sign that the industry has high expectations for mobile payments, four major carriers in the United States along with Google and a bunch of other players have struck a mobile payments alliance called Mobile Payments Committee.

The initial members include carriers AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile USA, but also Google, Isis, VeriFone and PayPal, in addition to financial institutions Wells Fargo and Capital One plus credit card giants American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.

Apple is conspicuously absent from the list, as is mobile payment startup Square, which last week announced an interesting partnership with Starbucks. The iPhone maker, of course, is believed to be putting NFC circuitry inside the next iPhone and just recently acquired NFC and smart sensors maker AuthenTec for $356 million… Read More

 

Verizon’s secret 20GB shared data plan

By Cody Lee on Aug 8, 2012

For the two largest wireless carriers in the US, unlimited plans are out. Verizon introduced its new shared data plans back in June of this year, and AT&T has quickly followed suit.

The removal of unlimited plans have left some power mobile users looking for alternative solutions. After all, Verizon’s shared data plans only go up to 10GB per month. Or do they? Read More

 

AT&T to start rolling out new iPad-based POS systems in stores

By Cody Lee on Aug 3, 2012

For the past decade, Apple has been setting the bar for retail chains. Its well-placed, well-designed stores have been the envy of all other outlets, with their iOS device-toting salesmen and shopper-friendly layouts.

Several retailers are starting to catch on, though, and have begun remodeling their stores in Apple’s image. And it looks like AT&T is next. It seems the carrier is going to start replacing its POS computers with iPads… Read More

 

FCC tells Verizon to stop blocking tethering apps

By Cody Lee on Jul 31, 2012

This is pretty interesting. Verizon has just reached a settlement with the FCC in their ongoing dispute regarding tethering apps. The carrier will pay out $1.25 million to the US Treasury, and will stop blocking the use of third-party tethering apps.

Unfortunately, the decision only applies to Verizon customers for the time being, as it comes as a stipulation in the carrier’s deal to purchase 700 MHz of wireless spectrum from Cox and other cable companies. FCC press release is after the break… Read More

 

Verizon rep just reminded me why I’ll never use Verizon

By Sebastien Page on Jul 30, 2012

A couple of years ago, my wife fiancée Tina had a terrible experience dealing with a Verizon rep over the phone. The whole conversation happened on speakerphone and I could hear every part of it. I specifically remember the rep insinuating Tina was a liar and that she didn’t know what she was talking about. That was the end of her with Verizon. We canceled her plan that day and got her on AT&T.

Today, I went with Penny, my mother in law, to Verizon so she can upgrade her 2 year old dumbphone for a brand new and shiny iPhone 4S. I didn’t even try to talk Penny out of using Verizon because her whole family has been using them forever, she’s got a family plan covering 5 phones/users. Although I didn’t bother talking to her about considering switching to AT&T, I couldn’t help telling her that I think Verizon sucks. Big time… Read More

 

Verizon tops J.D. Power customer service report

By Cody Lee on Jul 26, 2012

If you’re looking to start up new cell phone service in the US, there are dozens of choices. If you want a big-named, nationwide carrier though, that cuts the field down to four options: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

You can narrow it down even further if you want an iPhone. Currently, only the top three carriers properly support Apple’s handset. And if you’re looking for the company with the best customer service, there’s only one… Read More

 

RadioShack offering up refurbished 16GB iPhone 4S for just $99

By Cody Lee on Jul 24, 2012

RadioShack is no stranger to offering up iPhone deals. It’s previous deal, which ended in June, knocked $50 off of both the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 across all major carriers.

Now it looks like the retail chain is back at it with a new sale on refurbished iPhone 4S models. Customers can pick up Apple’s latest handset for as low as $99.99… Read More

 

Verizon’s finance chief says the next iPhone could drop in the fourth quarter

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 19, 2012

Verizon’s finance chief Fran Shammo dropped a hint concerning the next iPhone’s availability during today’s earnings call. Discussing the company’s second-quarter results that saw Verizon activate 2.7 million iPhones for a 45 share of all smartphones sold on their network, Shammo hinted that the iPhone 5 (or whatever you prefer to call it) will arrive during the fourth quarter of this year.

The comment puts to rest rumors that the next iPhone could land in September. Conveniently enough, the latest iOS 6 beta 3 is set to expire on September 30. Conversely, Shammo’s comment is also in line with Apple’s annual refresh cycle. As the iPhone 4S launched on October 4, 2011, an updated model shouldn’t arrive before October of this year at the earliest… Read More

 

Verizon activates 2.7M iPhones, Q2 share drops to 45% of smartphones

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 19, 2012

Verizon Wireless today announced results for the June quarter. The company activated 2.7 million iPhones, representing 45 percent of the carrier’s total smartphone sales that hit 5.9 million units during the quarter. This is down from the 4 .3 million iPhones and a 55 percent share in the holiday quarter and a 50 percent share in the first quarter, when the company activated 3.2 million iPhones. For comparison, Verizon activated 2.4 million iPhones in the year-ago quarter. Blame the decline on iPhone seasonality and those pesky iPhone 5 rumors… Read More

 

Verizon lights up 4G LTE in 33 new markets

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 18, 2012

Boy, does Verizon Wireless know how to spoil AT&T’s unveiling of shared data plans from this morning. The Big Red carrier made a point by saying it now has more high-speed Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage in the U.S. than all of its rivals combined.

In addition, the company announced today it’s flipping the switch on 4G LTE in 33 new markets. Verizon’s LTE is now in a total of 337 markets and the carrier is on track to cover more than 400 markets by the year’s end. Plus, it is broadening the coverage in the existing 32 markets which already have its 4G LTE… Read More

 

How Steve Jobs really felt about carriers and why they’re still like Soviet ministries

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 5, 2012

Before wrapping up his career-defining iPhone presentation on January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs invited Stan Sigman, then the CEO of Cingular Wireless, to join him on stage and announce a partnership that would send shockwaves of fear throughout the wireless industry. For the first time in history, a telecom would work in concert with a phone vendor to make a revolutionary phone possible without messing the user experience with junkware.

Stigman even confessed publicly that he agreed to take on the iPhone without ever seeing it, “because of the confidence I have in Steve Jobs to deliver his vision”. Notwithstanding, a trained eye could tell the two men were worlds apart.

One was an archaic executive stuck in the old days and the other a forward-thinking unconventional manager with uncanny ability to figure out what consumers wanted before they even knew it.

Here’s a reminder of how Jobs really felt about carriers, the way they go about their business and how virtually nothing’s changed… Read More

 

Verizon launches Share Everything plans

By Cody Lee on Jun 28, 2012

As expected, Verizon launched its new Share Everything plans today. The plans feature unlimited voice minutes, unlimited text messaging, and various data allotments.

Current subscribers will be able to hold on to their legacy plans (for the time being). But new customers will be forced to choose from one of these new shared options… Read More

 

AT&T asked RIM to make an iPhone competitor back in 2010

By Cody Lee on Jun 28, 2012

There’s a new report out today that claims that back in 2010, AT&T went to BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, and asked them to create a touch-screen iPhone competitor.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. But perhaps the most important one is the fact that back in 2010, AT&T was still Apple’s exclusive iPhone partner here in the U.S… Read More

 

iPhone no longer Verizon’s bestselling smartphone

By Cody Lee on Jun 26, 2012

Since the iPhone launched on Verizon’s network last year, the handset has been the carrier’s most popular smartphone. Most quarters it’s even sold better than all Android devices combined.

But it looks like things are starting to shift at Big Red, as a new report suggests that the iPhone is no longer the wireless provider’s bestselling device. What is? Motorola’s Droid RAZR MAXX… Read More

 

Sprint iPhone sells better at carrier-agnostic retailers than Apple Stores

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 26, 2012

Apple’s iPhone sales in the United States have traditionally been strong at Apple Stores, likely due to the superior buying experience.

A new research has revealed a little known fact, that customers pick up a Sprint version of the device at carrier-agnostic retailers more often than at Apple’s retail outlets.

It’s got lots to do with high retention rates for rivals AT&T and Verizon resulting in little switching and Sprint just not having enough existing customers to walk through the door… Read More

 
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