Apple's launch of the iPhone in 2007 revolutionized the mobile internet segment. AT&T claims that their network has seen a 7000% increase in wireless broadband usage since then. However, while the device was nothing less than revolutionary, the exclusive deal with AT&T meant that criticism regarding the poor network has continued to this day.
As is obvious, Apple wouldn't want the Tablet's popularity to be affected the same way. Yesterday, we wrote about the possibility of the Tablet coming with both Verizon and AT&T. According to sources Fox News has now spoken to from the two companies, a non-exclusive Tablet deal is indeed very likely.
Apparently, Apple will be offering two versions of the Tablet; one running on CDMA network and the other on GSM. But as the sources claim, Apple's agreements with the carriers itself is yet to be finalized. This is significant because in the absence of an agreement, Apple might not be in a position to reveal the price of the device when it is unveiled next week.
That being said, the Tablet launch could be a major litmus test for both these carriers. Despite Verizon's attacks on the AT&T network and the latter's rebuttal, it has so far been an apples-to-oranges comparison. Not only did the networks differ in their fundamental network technology, but also the sale numbers of Droid and iPhone were vastly different. With the launch of the Tablet, that could change as the data usage from a media device like the Tablet would be far higher than that consumed by smartphones and could be the perfect setting to see which of the two networks performs better.
Verizon spokesman Jeff Nelson who recently confirmed that his company was contemplating tiered pricing structure for upcoming Tablet devices from the different manufacturers also said the company was not worried about higher data usage from such devices. Comparing his company's network to AT&T's, Nelson said
"Our 3G network covers 287 million Americans. We didn't build a network and then cross our fingers that devices would work on it. When we built our network we built it with these devices in mind. AT&T didn't, and that's the difference."
Evidently, the battle between the two companies has already begun. Which of the two carriers will you personally go with? Tell us in the comments.
[via Fox News]
at&t obviously. verizon's 3G really is painfully slower. it's more the name "3G" put on it than the actual speed that should come with the name, like on at&t. if you're not in a 3g area, sucks for you and it really isn't too slow on edge, but when you are in 3g it is so much faster than verizon 3g.
Speed has never been been my biggest complaint with at&t, it has been the fact that in the past six months I haven't been able to stay on a call for longer than 10 minutes without it dropping (Also other general flakiness). The latency for data is also quite ridiculous, it averages 600-700ms for me. This has been happening to several of my friends recently as well and persisted on my phone even after a restore, so I know it is not just my phone. I would actually be happy to have the max speed cut in half if it meant it was more stable. I can't imagine what this extra load is going to do to them, hopefully they will also be announcing a CDMA iphone so I can switch.
Nelson's quote suggests that , "because version builds their network off the phone, and Verizon rejected the iPhone the first time (before it was popular), Verizon therefore would be "crossing their fingers" like AT&T because it wasn't built for it" (AT&T has more expiernece and 3 generations under their belt with the iPhone while Verizon has none, meaning that the iPhone tecnically was built for AT&T)!
iPhone is a global worldwide product designed as a global product, not for a particular US operator. The iPhone works pretty well all over the world on other operators 3G and Edge networks. US is just one, not that big, market for the iPhone, the poor performances in the US are due to the ATT 3G network and the ATT vs Verizon battle is a local US problem.
One not that big market? Google is your friend, try it before you post stupid statements like that…"North America remains a key market for Apple’s handheld products, you’ll find 58 percent of iPhone and iPod touch users there". 58% of the total market is anything but "not that big".
First, do not mix iPhone and iPod Touch, 3G network issues is a problem for the iPhone not for the Touch. Most market analysts consider that the main reasons for the unexpected success of the Touch are the ATT exclusivity and the ATT network problems.
Second, your data (outdated now, end 2009 US dropped to only 50%) comes from AdMob that is mostly used by US users much less in EU and even less in Asia. AdMob people themselves warn "Remember AdMob data is based on the usage of mobile sites and apps, which is very different than if you were to look at estimates of device sales"