Verizon iPhone? Um no thanks, for a few big reasons.

So the iPhone is on verizon.
Big deal.

I am a current AT&T subscriber, and use an iPhone.
Yes, i drop calls.
Yes the data is terrible and I get terrible service.

But AT&T has always given me credits. The last one was for $105.95 towards that bad service, and they do have great customer service. I have never ever been on hold more than 2 minutes to talk to a human being.

But put the Verizon iPhone into perspective, from a Geeks point of view.

1. The Verizon iPhone will NOT allow you to simultaneously talk and use your data connection for anything.
--Yes you read that right. For all of its advertising as the "Most advanced" wireless network, you cannot be on a call and use your data service.
On the flip side, this means that (at least on AT&T if using NON 3G this is how it works) one cannot use any data and expect calls to come in.

If it works the same on Verizon as it does on AT&T when your AT&T iPhone is not on 3G service, you will stream video and audio (or load a webpage or download a pdf), and all your calls will go to voicemail.
Never mind the fact you wont be able to check email or a webpage when online.

2. No one knows how VZW's network will react to these phones.
--Just how no one knew how the iPhone 3g would effect the AT&T network, who is to say that there will be a great network that can handle the glut of data that the iPhone will bring to verizon.

Lets be frank. Most other smartphones SUCK at delivering content. The iPhone works, and is amazing for this. The webbrowser is great, the youtube app is fast, and it has more apps than any other device that access the network.
Android users are not using the same network traffic as iPhone users, verizon will see how this works, but it will take a few months to a year.

3. There will be another iPhone launched this June or July...
--There always is. Your shiny new iPhone 4 on verizon will look pretty dated next to iPhone 5... and your 2 year contract with $350 early terminiation fee to get a "new(er)" iPhone will just make you mad.

--

So food for thought I guess.
Thoughts?

 

I'm always amazed at the shitty mobile phone services offered in the west. Not only are prices way over the top but you also get shafted on services. In Japan there's real unlimited data usage, real unlimited free calls (to the same network) and real free unlimited messages. There's also no crap about not being able to use the phone or receive calls while downloading or surfing the web. The only problem I have being a Softbank user is that in some parts of Kita Kyushu where I go there's no signal. Hopefully they'll fix that in the future.

I bet there's someone in Korea having a right good laugh at Japanese standards right now since over there it's years ahead of anywhere else in the world.

Yakumo

 

Then again, Americans have it well in many ways. Population density, for one which I believe leads to the cell phone issues. With that much ground to cover, it's difficult to provide decent service to everyone.

What surprises me is the mish mash of standards here. CDMA. Grps... Bleh.

 

Honestly I've never had that much of a problem with reception on AT&T - maybe it's just where I live, but I kind of doubt that that's it. Although, I've only just started using data so maybe I haven't seen the worst of it. So far no problems, though.

 

They're generally cheaper in the US than here...actual usage. Mine & my wifes runs about 25,000 yen combined here. Our bills were never that high in the states. Didn't surf on it back that much then.

Which costs money though.... close to 5,000 yen on the iPhone plan.

Texting is a joke here if you want to do it cross-network. Japan still thinks mobile phone email is the end-all-be-all form of communiation.

I have pretty decent coverage as a Softbank user. Sucks at my office in the valley in Northern California. So many tech dorks... dropped calls all the time.

I don't know about now but this is why us landline internet has fallen behind Asia so far, traditionally. Providers get a lot of bang for the buck here. You can lay a 1km cable in Tokyo and supply hundreds of households. In an average US city that's like 50. :/

 

On Sprint 4g, I can get voice and data at the same time. Truly unlimited data. Texting unlimited. Unlimited cell calls to ANY cell network, so minutes are just used for landlines. For me on 4g and my parents both on 3g, we pay around 150$. Can't say thats a bad deal.

 

As long as we are comparing cell phone japan vs USA...

Recently the unlimited carriers have started to become more relevant here in the states.
One of them called Criket wireless actually offers an Android 2.1 phone made by some small asian company.
It isnt as nice as a samsung galaxy but thats not the point, as you can get this handset for the low price of $149 on sale and then pay 4,554.88 yen ($55 dollars) per month for UNLIMITED txt to any carrier (and international now), 3g, talk, data.

Not bad.

A friend of mine is going to get his EVO 4g flashed to that network and see how he likes it.

 

What?? You need to change your plan mate. I pay just over 5000 yen a month which includes unlimited data, free calls to other Softbank users, free text to any mobile or PC (email to PC) and the actual cost of the phone. The only problem is that it's a 2 year contract so I can't upgrade to the iphone 4 without breaking the contract but I'm fine with that.

 

I use my iPhone on the O2 Pay and go service. I get unlimited texts and unlimited data for £10 a month. Calls are at a reasonable rate too. I never spend more than £20 a month.

I can use data and calls at the same time.

I'm always keeping an eye on iPhone news and christ the US market confuses me. The iPhone is available on pretty much every network here.

 

I don't even live in the States, and I have no interest in the Iphone...

but I FUCKING HATE Verizon. I worked Customer Service for a really shitty Phone company called IDT, and IDT fucking uses Verizon's Network. When something failed and we had to call the Verizon RCMC, the fuckers hung up on us all the time and always got us in trouble with customers AND with the slave driving call centre employers. Both Verizon and IDT suck a lot of ass. Also, for using underpaid mexican labour and not empowering them to help customers - and ALSO costing Americans their jobs.

FUCK Verizon in the ass with a pointy stick on fire.

 

:lol: I like that :lol:

 

Just wondering, I know that t-mobile uses a weird frequency for 3g so the iphone only work on 2g with their network..... Is the iphone compatible with all gsm frequencies around the globe though?

 

I pay 10 euros a month and use VOIP over unlocked Wifi networks all over for most of my calls. Aye!

 

I'm on a CDMA network and i get voice and 1xRTT fine, also voice and EVDO/3g at the same time fine. If verizon's iphone can't do both at the same time it's a limit of the phone and not the network.

CDMA phones (at least the 3 I have here) all have an option to turn on DDTM which will deny calls during data transfer.. please note on any phone i've seen this is off by default and allows calls to come through during data transfer.

imho all apple products are over rated and over priced, there will always be a similar product that can do more/similar for much less.

 

I travelled Europe Asia and Australia with my iPhone 3G swapping sim cards for each country. I never failed to connect to a 3G service provider unless I was somewhere like Cambodia or Laos, where I got EDGE at best.

 

Afaik yes it is. I had no issues using it while in Canada or the Philippines. It is a quad band phone.

The verizon version is only cdma so only an American phone.

 

Well, that's true for any phone (or any other item of technology, but phones develop more rapidly than some other things): even if you get the greatest possible phone available on release day, a year from then it'll be outdated thanks to new models coming out, so unless you wanna buy a new phone every year, you shouldn't think about your phone being "an old model" too much.

 

I have that... or something similar. Your data ceiling is always separate from your voice freebies & usage. I make calls to other phones though. In fact, I don't know which of my mates are on Softbank. I do remember now that I am actually paying the extra 1200 - 1300 a month for at least 2 phones and I think my USB internet is on there for 1000 yen a month (which I'm about to ditch as I'll just tether). So maybe 20,000 is a little more accurate. I'd say average use for most people in Japan is about 10,000 yen (+/- 2000?). My bill was way lower in the states... Obviously YMMV but I think traditionally the actual usage is a better deal there than here, unless you're one of those bastards that only receives calls and doesn't make them. Up until recently in the US, the data was inclusive of the total nut. Now it's not unlimited, but that's for another thread.

They're pretty cool about that here. If you want to upgrade your iPhone w/ time left on the contract, you wind up paying for the rest of it over the remaining time. If you upgrade a year early, it's about 1300 yen a month for 12 months. If you want an extra phone for international travel, it's a no-brainer.

 

Ah, I guess all the calls to non-SoftBank phones is what's ranking up that bill. Pretty much everyone I know uses SoftBank, even work. You'd be wise to ditch the USB Internet. I use MyWi as well. Works like a charm for going on line with the laptop while at work.

 

Um.... it's $350 for early termination on ATT. I have a smart phone and my early termination fee is $175 on Verizon..... so either the Verizon sales person screwed you or you're just reading this stuff off ATT or something.