droid

iPhone 4 is All About Verizon, Not Apple

by Kathryn Ciano on February 8, 2011 · 1 comment

in Tech & Telecom

Design loyalists know it all begins and ends with Apple, the little tech company whose mission statement is “to change the world.” When it comes to phone users, design goes out the window: iPhone 4 converts are excited about Verizon, not Apple.

Verizon and Apple both launched Web sales of the iPhone 4 last week for existing Verizon customers, and are preparing for a Thursday store launch open to the general public. Sales during last week’s launch exceeded any previous Verizon launch, beating sales at the Droid launch by five times, according to JPMorgan Chase analyst Phil Cusick.

I wrote on launch day:

In this case it looks like folks switching phones are doing it for the service provider, not for the manufacturer. Despite its reputation for inflexible contract terms, Verizon enjoys the view from the top of the dependable-service-provider heap

Verizon seems preoccupied with their launch today. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tweeted today that “WH unclassified email went down shortly before 8 AM. Verizon is working to solve the problem.

It’s not just web service and White House service that’s become spotty; Verizon is so concerned about the crush of demand anticipated for iPhone 4 that the company asked employees to hold off buying the phone for themselves or their families, citing “tight supplies” and the need to “put customers first.”

The launch crashed both the Verizon website and Verizon’s service to the White House. Let’s hope this doesn’t herald a new era of dropped calls and spotty connections for Verizon customers.

Verizon sold out of the iPhone within two hours on its Web launch day. Better line up now to get your Verizon-powered iPhone Thursday morning!

Competition in Wireless Communication: Android Edition

by Elizabeth Jacobson on October 26, 2009

in Tech & Telecom

The New York Times reports that several cell phone manufacturers are turning to Google’s free operating system, Android, to run on their upcoming smartphone models. The switch to Android is likely to hit Microsoft and its clunky Windows Mobile platform the hardest, as companies that previously used Windows for their high-end PDA-phones seek to cut costs and offer consumers a more customizable product.

With Google joining the ranks of Nokia, Research-in-Motion, Apple, and Microsoft developing in mobile phone operating systems, the big four wireless carriers signing on to offer Android phones within the coming year, the deployment of 4G networks slated to take place in 2010, mounting consumer anticipation for Motorola’s soon-to-be-released Droid, and reported rumors that Apple is about to end its exclusive distribution deal with AT&T, it’s difficult to take seriously critics’ claims that a lack of competition and carrier-device exclusivity contracts are restricting consumer choice and keeping prices prohibitively high.