Reality can suck sometimes. As bad as the truth can be however it is usually almost always best to come to terms with certain aspects of reality. As far as this piece is concerned it's iPhone's reality.
We always spend lots of time trying to dig through the rumors when a new iPhone or version of iOS is released and pinpoint the newest features. What we spend comparatively less time on is coming clean on what features we know the iPhone will never get..
Fierce Wireless reports that according to AT&T Operations CEO John Stankey, the company will launch commercial LTE service by mid-2011. AT&T is apparently working with its LTE vendors to get the network ready for launch and is even already testing it in Baltimore and Dallas.
For those of you who don't know, LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and it is basically what you'd call 4G. Just like you would guess, it offers much faster download and upload speeds than the current 3G capability we have on our iPhone...
I find it interesting how the rumor mill operates. Last month every report out there had Verizon pegged as the next carrier to offer the iPhone which I still believe to be the frontrunner as well. Lately however the influx of rumors have centered around T-Mobile's aspirations for offering the Apple handheld.
Apple Hot News cites Engadget as saying that an executive vice president of Canada's Quebecor claims that Apple is in the process of building a compatible iPhone for T-Mobile's 3G network...
You just knew that when antenna problems showed up for the iPhone 4, there would be refurbished devices for sale soon. Heck, I went through 2 spare models and am on my 3rd iPhone 4.
9 to 5 Mac reports that AT&T is now selling the refurbished devices for $150 for 16GB or $250 for the 32GB. For those under a rock that's $50 cheaper than normal..
It was a Thursday morning like any other. I woke up at 7:45am to "Kanye West - Addiction" blaring from my Sony alarm clock/ipod dock. I grabbed my iPhone off that dock and hobbled to the bathroom and launched a pre made playlist to listen to as I got ready for work.
For those of you who frequent the blog this is a great example of where my beef with the iPhone's speaker quality comes into play. But that's neither here nor there. I updated myself on the day's technology news using RSS Reader and bouncing around from site to site, once again on my iPhone.
Apple's event today wasn't filled with too many surprises. The iPod Touch was beefed up in features that included many of the predicted and leaked abilities that were floating around. Mimicking nearly all of the features of the iPhone 4 makes me wonder now more than ever if the Touch is specifically designed for those who don't want an iPhone.
Adding FaceTime and Retina Display to the Touch gives it both of the best features from the iPhone 4. The speedy A4 chip will make the two devices close to equal in processing time, something that the iPhone previously ousted the Touch in considerably. So what's the difference?
We reported earlier in the month about AT&T downplaying and avoiding questions about the effects it will suffer if and when their iPhone exclusivity runs out. The tune is staying the same from the telephone provider but now they are citing tablets such as the iPad as their future lifeline.
Without getting specific about the rumors of a Verizon iPhone, Glen Lurie (AT&T emerging devices president) says that the company plans to keep "plugging along" at the same rate of success they are now. Yeah, right...
As iDB covers the possibility of a Verizon iPhone, most everyone thinks having a choice of carriers would be good for the consumers. However it's that very exclusivity that makes the awesome device more affordable than other smartphones in its class, says 9 to 5 Mac. They have a point.
AT&T's position as sole carrier in the U.S. doesn't come without a hefty price. By being lone wolf they have to fork over subsidies that make the iPhone cost just $200-$300. In fact the mobile provider pays out more in subsidies for the iPhone than any other phone they offer. Don't feel too bad for them because in reality it has been AT&T's personal cash cow.
This is odd. Like nearly every phone available, when the iPhone 4 was released you had the option of purchasing the device without any commitment to upgrade your AT&T contract. 9 to 5 Mac shows us a section from Apple's FAQ's that has them saying you the device requires a 2-year wireless contract. Take a look at what it says.
Originally the contract free iPhone 4's were sold for $599-$699 without the AT&T subsidy. Apparently AT&T is saying that nothing on their end has changed, which has left some (including myself) wondering if this is because of the recent jailbreaking allowance granted by the U.S. Senate.
Have any of you recently bought a contract free iPhone 4? Or is this Apple's passive aggressive nature coming out in hopes to kill off buyers who jailbreak/unlock an iPhone and resell it for higher profits?
Following suit with the rumor mill, AT&T drops hints that the carrier exclusivity with the iPhone will be no more. What doesn't match up with consumer opinion, is the companies confidence that it won't be an issue. Apparently they know something we don't, or they're doing their best to save face amongst shareholders. I anticipate it's not the former.
In a recent SEC filing, Wireless chief for AT&T Ralph de la Vega stated that around 80% of customers are locked into family or corporate plans. To switch the entire group, he says, would be a difficult task. Truthfully, he's correct. Your family plan is (almost always) renewed when just one line upgrades its phone.
The document makes a point of avoiding any mention of the iPhone directly, however previous quarters' said nothing about exclusivity. Many will say this could be evidence that Apple's contract is up, or nearing the end. Factually the last mention of the contract was Apple, confirming the agreement to last until 2012. Various rumors of an iPhone coming to Verizon and T-Mobile, have been enough spark to this fiery debate.
Whether or not AT&T will admit the potential catastrophe of losing the deal, they have lined their ducks in a row, to make sure those who are current, stay that way. They recently upped their Early Termination Fee, from $175, to $325. Yea, they (nearly) doubled it.
What is horrendous for AT&T, is ultimately awesome for Apple. Widening their market will only put the full court press on its competitors. I do understand what AT&T is doing, really. They are doing the only thing they can do, which is attempt to ease inevitable concern. We cant' expect them to come out and say, "Hey guys, we are so freaking screwed". But the fact that they are saying something says something, don't you think?
A recent survey by Yankee Group reports that 73% of iPhone owners are actually happy with AT&T. As a point of comparison, 69% of smartphone users are happy with their providers, which suggests AT&T has a higher satisfaction rate than its competitors.
These results might come as a surprise, especially if you read tech blogs who never miss an occasion to raise their voices against AT&T. Yankee Group explains why...
"Consumers transfer the high gloss of their Apple iPhone experience to AT&T," says Carl Howe, Yankee Group analyst and author of the study. "The iPhone creates a halo effect that rubs off."
In other words, iPhone customers' praise for their network may be a result of the famous "reality distortion field" that surrounds Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his company's products.
To AT&T, there is a perception problem:
"There's a gap between what people hear about us and what their experience is with us. We think that gap is beginning to close," says Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman. "It doesn't mean we're perfect; we still have work to do. But that's no surprise to us, because we have a great network."
Personally I've never had any problem with AT&T. You can say I'm one of those 73% of happy AT&T customers.
What about you?
[CNN]
Wired has an interesting article in the August issue about the relationship between Apple and AT&T. You won't find this article on the web yet but ZDNet summed up some of the highlights of the article.
It's very interesting to see what happens behind the scene. Here are a few pieces worth noting:
Early on when an AT&T representative suggested to one of Jobs’ deputies that the Apple CEO wear a suit to meet with the AT&T board, he was told “We’re Apple. We don’t wear suits. We don’t even own suits.”
One of the iPhone’s problems was that Apple had chosen to source the radio from Infineon, whose hardware was used widely in Europe but rarely in the US, where cell towers are placed farther apart and reception was therefore less forgiving. AT&T would say “Let’s resolve these issues together” and Apple would say “No, you resolve them. They’re not our problem. They’re your problem.”
One Apple source told Wired that Jobs has discussed dropping AT&T at least a half a dozen times.
On the two-year tethering impasse: Apple wanted it included in the data plan, AT&T wanted to charge extra.
Apple also heavily considered switching to Verizon numerous times. [...] It concluded that switching to Verizon would be too complicated and expensive because the chips were different sizes and would necessitate rebuilding the iPhone from scratch. Apple also wasn’t convinced that Verizon’s network would fare much better and let’s not forget the nasty lawsuit that voiding its exclusive pact with AT&T would invite.
According to the article Qualcomm began working with Apple on a chip that could allow the iPhone to work on both the AT&T and Verizon networks.
Interesting indeed. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There's probably much more going on...