At&t has out-lashed with commercials emphasizing that they have the only network in which you can talk on the phone and surf the web at the same time.
T-mobile has out-lashed with commercials in which they claim to be the only 4G network in which you can use 4G and "facetime" at the same time.
Either way, I think both At&t and T-mobile are slightly worried about the iPhone's release to Verizon. Many loyal customers were lined up as early as 4:30 am for the release of the iPhone on February 11th in some cities such as Wilkes-Barre, PA awaiting to receive their iPhone that has been long awaited.
So for most Verizon customers, or previous at&t customers that have switched over to Verizon, what is the main reason for choosing Verizon vs. At&t? The service of course. My boyfriend and I get in many arguments over Verizon vs. At&t, which one is better, faster, has better service, and which one has better customer service. To resolve this, I did a little experiment where I paid close attention to the service in both of our phones (we both have the iPhone4) as we went to different places for the day, and here are my findings:
His apartment: My phone= 5 bars, His phone= 2 bars.
Smythe European car dealership: My phone= 5 bars, His phone= No Service
Basement floor of SCU library: My phone= 3 bars, His phone= No Service
Nordstroms Valley fair: My phone= 4 bars, His phone= 1 to 2 bars
Santana Row: My phone= 5 bars, His phone= 3 bars
After that he wouldn't let me look at his phone anymore because he was frustrated that I was right all along. His phone also kept loosing 3G service and switching to EDGE especially in place where he had very little service.
Overally, I think the competitors are realizing that the Verizon iPhone is a threat and they are doing what they can for damage control, while some news sources claim that there is little hype, I may agree that it is not as exciting as I expected, but people are still very excited for the release.
I do agree that Verizon has better service. Even though I have AT&T I have never had problems with my iPhone 4, so I'm not planning on jumping ship. BUT if I had the choice now, I would go with Verizon. Anyway, I also agree that AT&T and other carriers are scared about Verizon having an iPhone, they have great service and a very very popular phone. I've been keeping up with the ads as well and it is kind of fun to watch the subtle and not so subtle mud-slinging :]
ReplyDeleteI am curious which phone was which in your test. But either way it is interesting how much better one is than the other. You could also do tests like timing how long it takes to download files- it would be a little bit better test of service rather than the number of bars. But nevertheless, it is very interesting to look at these companies battle it out for who has the "best network."
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting blog post and I think it is cool that you did a real experiment to include in your blog. This issue raises some interesting points about about innovation, business and competition we talked about in class and I appreciated your real life application to the concepts!
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