iphone

[godsshoeshine]

youre scaring george orwell

[vansmack]

Users thoughts?

I know they didn't do themselves any favors with the MMS and slingplayer/video blocking, but too big for their britches?

Is the iPhone hurting at&t's Brand?

[godsshoeshine]

ive had at&t for 3 years now and i think its better than it used to be. i dont see a difference between them and verizon apart from the metro and out in the country. which comes in to play like 2 times a year for me

but if youre choosing a carrier based on a phone, you arent going to blame the phone for any issues...

would you agree you should pick the carrier first and phone second?

having said that i think i'm finally going to pull the trigger next week

[sweetcell]

While a recent survey by the consulting firm CFI Group found that iPhone users are the most loyal smartphone users with 90 percent saying they'd recommend the device to a friend, half of all iPhone owners surveyed said they would like to jump ship to another provider if given the chance.

And for the first time, AT&T has scored worse than all four major U.S. wireless operators in terms of overall customer satisfaction for smartphones.

i'm unconvinced that they'll be any happier on another network.  they'd complain about the same things on verizon, sprint, etc.  no network has complete coverage, no drop outs, and is fast enough for iphone users.

the device sets up users to be whiney (above and beyond the sense of entitlement that apple fan boys have).  the iphone was built up and is still hyped as the "god phone".  users are going to tell others (like pollsters) that they love the device because who doesn't love the god phone?  however, it's not a perfect device but you can't complain about the god phone itself, so you lay the blame for all that it bad with the network.  

[vansmack]

would you agree you should pick the carrier first and phone second?

Of course.  That's always been my first recommendation.

I think at&t's big problem is they weren't prepared for the popularity and have struggled with expansion in cities where bureaucracy  and other difficulties have been problematic for their growth (I'm speaking specifically about NY and SF, but I'm sure there are more).  If you want a bad wrap, have problems in the largest media market (NY) or the tech mecca (SF) - neither of which are easy to navigate in the first place.  Their reputation and service in those places is nothing short of awful.  At&t is constanlty asking me to get my students involved in their lobby efforts to get the SF Gov folks to allow them to expand, but it's not the easiest thing in the world to do here.  Cue venerable to spout off on ess eff....   

[vansmack]

the device sets up users to be whiney (above and beyond the sense of entitlement that apple fan boys have).  the iphone was built up and is still hyped as the "god phone".  users are going to tell others (like pollsters) that they love the device because who doesn't love the god phone?  however, it's not a perfect device but you can't complain about the god phone itself, so you lay the blame for all that it bad with the network.  

It doesn't help when the iPhone changes their stance on certain technologies (MMS comes to mind quickly, but I'm sure there are others) and then blames at&t publicly for why it can't happen in the US but happens internationally.  Apple basically has at&t by the balls.

[Venerable Bede]

Cue venerable to spout off on ess eff....   

hey. . .it's 76 degrees, sunny and i just had a tasty carnitas burrito from the burrito truck down the street from my work. . . .who am i to complain about ess eff right now. . . .

[Venerable Bede]

verizon backs android

[chaz]

Anyone have any idea on the number of apps available on the Windows Mobile Marketplace at this point?  A cursory look around online didn't yield much in terms of numbers/titles.

[vansmack]

Anyone have any idea on the number of apps available on the Windows Mobile Marketplace at this point?  A cursory look around online didn't yield much in terms of numbers/titles.

34.  Sorry that was last night.  There are now 246 apps in the store.

But it's not really a fair representation because there is some backlash in the community about including apps for Windows Mobile in the Marketplace.  There are hundreds of thousands of apps for Windows Mobile out there, they're just not in the marketplace.

The concept of the Windows Mobile Marketplace has me very worried (and yes I am set to blame Apple for the business model).  For years the Compact.net framework used to make apps for Windows Mobile has flourished with plenty of developers in the community making apps.  It's totally open, very simple and the installation progress was never closed.  Now with the marketplace, that may limit how these apps are installed, worked on collaboratively among developers and of course are going to raise costs, which is a shame.  Places like ppcgeeks and xda-developers were doing just fine building apps and the developers were making decent money through donations (of which I am a frequent contributor) because it was simply a hobby. 

Now it will be a business and like all things hobby turned business will suck.

[chaz]

One think I like about the iphone are the many free apps that I actually use (mostly sports/news services and time wasters like FB and FML)- are there many freebies available for WinMo? 

[vansmack]

One think I like about the iphone are the many free apps that I actually use (mostly sports/news services and time wasters like FB and FML)- are there many freebies available for WinMo? 

They used to be almost all free.  Only business apps and extensive games (like EA Sports Madden) had costs with MinMo -  this .99 cents thing is new to WinMo.

As of now, it looks like half of the apps in the Marketplace are free.  But the best apps can still be found over at xda-developers (ie, outside the Marketplace app) and they're all free.

[vansmack]

One think I like about the iphone are the many free apps that I actually use (mostly sports/news services and time wasters like FB and FML)- are there many freebies available for WinMo? 

Just a cursory glance:

Facebook app is free
AP News Service app is free
I don't believe there is an FML App for WinMo, but I'm not a fan so it could exist (there's defintiely not one in the app store).

Sport specific apps are too many to go through but I can look for specific ones if you're interested.

[chaz]

Thanks Smackie...that new HD whatever it is from HTC looks sweet.  And the new handset on Verizon looks nice too.

When my ATT contract runs out I'll probably jump to Verizon and whatever HTC's latest and greatest WM phone it.

[Justin Tonation]

AT&T Allows iPhone To Make Internet Calls On Cell Network

AT&T said Tuesday it would open its 3G wireless network to Internet voice applications on the iPhone, including Skype. The move comes as the nation's second largest wireless operator has been pushing back against proposed net neutrality rules at the Federal Communications Commission.

There's more....