Steerpike

After a year of using one, and having adopted it as a standard device in my company (purchasing approx. 30 of them), we are ready to break away and go back to Verizon. I thought I'd never see the day, hating Verizon with a passion for many reasons, but - the combination of the iPhone's voice capabilities, and ATT's overloaded network in key markets, is giving me more grief than I can cope with - I get complaints from users every single day.

This article presents a fairly interesting and fair viewpoint, I believe. Extract: "Roger Entner, senior vice president for telecommunications research at Nielsen, said the iPhone’s “air interface,” the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, had shortcomings that “affect both voice and data.” He said that in the eyes of the consumer, “the iPhone has the nimbus of infallibility, ergo, it’s AT&T’s fault.” AT&T does not publicly defend itself because it will not criticize Apple under any circumstances, he said."

I talk on the phone for about 3,000 minutes a month - all business - and I'd say 30% of calls simply drop. But that's not the worst of it; I will look at the phone and see 3 voicemails, yet the phone never rang ... incoming calls simply don't connect much of the time.

The iPhone is a delight to hold/use - the apps are fun and useful; 'everything' about the phone is great, except for one thing - the 'phone' part

The good news is - Verizon will happily pay all our early-termination fees to get us back ... just like ATT paid all our early termination fees to get us to move over...

Kaffy Mintcake

Thank you for posting this review Steerpike. I desperately need to replace my phone and still haven't decided what to do but this is helpful.

AmerLisa

Just ordered my iPhone yesterday....

Kaffy Mintcake

I can tell you that some of my co-workers are in love with theirs, all is not lost.

sambapink

I kinda agree with you.. love the phone but it's frustrating. Apart from the fact that texting is a nightmare, you can never hear the bloody thing ring I miss just about all calls! Love the App's.. This is the first 'internet' phone I have ever had - so I love that part of it. I haven't investigated any other phones - but other friends swear by their Blackberry's. Oh I love that I have my Itunes on it too -but maybe you can get that on the other phones too?

tonrob

I just got mine today. It's a work one so at least I don't have to shell out any wonga...

Got a cool Paul Frank case for it too!

Duncan Roberts

Everyone I know who has an iPhone has problems with calls and 3G coverage. One went into an apple store because of so many dropped calls and they said anything under a 60% drop call rate is acceptable but anything over 60% and they will see if there is an issue with the phone. Having Verizon and 1 dropped call in 18 months I would say that's pretty unacceptable.

nettlebed

Before anyone shifts all the blame onto Apple from AT&T, it's worth reading this blog post.

Money quote:

"So on the one hand we have the simple theory that AT&T’s network stinks, especially in large metro areas, and extra-especially in New York City and San Francisco.

On the other hand, we have the theory that AT&T’s network is just fine because two network consulting companies say so, even though a Consumer Reports customer survey says otherwise, and it is the iPhone that is flawed, but the flaws are for some reason worse on AT&T than other carriers around the world, and just happen to be worse still in some cities than others, and Apple has been unwilling and/or unable to address these flaws in three model years."

Not saying that Apple is blameless, but I know iPhone users in London and Paris, and they don't have the problems that people here have: Seattle is sucky too. I have learned the hard way that I should not ask auction houses to use my AT&T number to call me when I want to bid by telephone...

thinbrit

Thats odd. We only have 20 or so iPhones, but not a single problem, well nothing we didn't experience with the Blackberrys they replaced.

anotherlimey

Mmmm, I was going to say the AT&T network sucks. Even their employees will tell you the network is crap.

chartreuse

Oddly enough, I recently read an interview with the chap from Motorola who "invented" the cell phone and he said pretty much the same thing, about smart phones in general.

nettlebed

That's certainly the consensus where I work (with ca. 2000 iPhone users)

The problem we have is that if we unlock them for use on, say, T-Mo, which is pretty good up here in Seattle, then we are forbidden to use them to connect to our corporate network.

AmerLisa

lol Not my husband....nor his colleagues. However, if we're talking benefits.....

Steerpike

The iPhone is the only one that will synch with iTunes. You don't like texting on it? That's one of it's better features, I thought! Is that because you don't like the keyboard? I really love the overall behavior of the phone, and the way the apps work, and their exchange server integration is fabulous (mail, contacts, calendar) ... It's a wonderful device that just happens to be a lousy phone!

This 'convergence' thing is not all it is cracked up to be. Phones today are bigger than they were 10 years ago, due to the extras that are integrated into them. And battery life is abysmal - I have to charge my iPhone at least once a day, often more (and the battery is not replaceable ... ).

In fact ... I've just had an idea ... maybe I'll keep my iPhone to use as an excellent email/portable browser device, and get a small phone (real, voice-only things of yesteryear) from Verizon to talk with. Hmmmm ....

Leyther

I have always been with Verizon. I started off on the BB Curve 8330 and absolutely loved the phone, upgraded to the BB Storm I and the experience has been less than steller, and to be honest, since the upgrade I have wished that I had switched to an I-Phone-- However the one thing that kept me from going to AT&T, was in fact the AT&T network.

A lot of my friends own an I-Phone, however they always complain about dropped and missed calls with AT&T, certainly here in the mountain region where coverage can be spotty at times. With Verizon on the other-hand, never had a problem, it is the phone/hardware by RIM that is the issue as far as the Storm I is concerned.

If only Verizon had the I-Phone then I wouldn't have such a problem, however I will take excellent coverage over a sub-par piece of hardware any day, and I think after my two years are done, I will downgrade (upgrade), free of charge, back to the Curve-- or something a little more stable--- though that touch screen will be hard to give up