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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > Where's the non-AT&T iPhone?

Where's the non-AT&T iPhone?
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The Godfather
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Jan 30, 2010, 01:51 PM
 
The exclusivity agreement was set to expire this June, however all tech news are silent about this, as if they forgot what SJ said on January 2007. They keep acting as if it was an undefined, nebulous day in 2010.
AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity ends in 2010 - SlashGear
Do you guys think that Apple has made another deal with AT&T to extend the exclusivity agreement, in exchange for the ultra-generous 3G plans for the iPad?
     
CharlesS
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Jan 30, 2010, 02:45 PM
 
Those 3G plans aren't "ultra-generous", they're just cheaper because they're contract-free. AT&T can afford that when they don't have to pay a subsidy for the device. T-Mobile's contract-free plans have $30 for unlimited text+data as well. It's not unusual to see low prices like this when there's no contract or subsidy, and hopefully this method of selling wireless service will catch on (we already seem to have 2 out of 4 carriers doing it now).

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Jan 30, 2010, 03:26 PM
 
Overseas.
     
macintologist
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Jan 30, 2010, 04:36 PM
 
Apple isn't going to make a CDMA iPhone that only works in the United States. Even though AT&T iPhones are locked, you can still unlock them and use it on any GSM carrier around the world. That means Apple only has to make one iPhone.

If I were Apple I would tell Verizon they can have the iPhone if they switch to GSM. That's it.
     
ThinkInsane
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Jan 30, 2010, 05:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by macintologist View Post
If I were Apple I would tell Verizon they can have the iPhone if they switch to GSM. That's it.
Yes, it makes far more sense for the largest mobile phone company in the U.S. to switch over to a different network than for Apple to create a product line with a CDMA radio.
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turtle777
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Jan 30, 2010, 06:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by ThinkInsane View Post
Yes, it makes far more sense for the largest mobile phone company in the U.S. to switch over to a different network than for Apple to create a product line with a CDMA radio.
Snarkiness aside, Verizon and Sprint are in a corner with their CDMA networks.

GSM is the world standard. As far as mobile phone innovations and choice is concerned, they are definitely getting the short end of the stick.

Sprint is basically dead. If their WiMAx bet doesn't pan out, they are done.
Once Verizon is the only major CDMA player, their chances of survival (if they stick exclusively with CDMA) is low.
Just think of the cost of the network equipment: with GSM, you have multiple suppliers and economies of scale, which brings the prices down. With CDMA, the big network suppliers will be able to dictate much higher prices, since there is really no big market and competition.

-t
     
Cold Warrior
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Jan 30, 2010, 06:28 PM
 
Verizon is making a play to LTE, which is the same 4G standard all serious GSM providers are planning their 4G around, so that's their way out. But it is years ahead until we see any good LTE coverage in the US and internationally.
     
ThinkInsane
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Jan 30, 2010, 07:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Snarkiness aside, Verizon and Sprint are in a corner with their CDMA networks.

GSM is the world standard. As far as mobile phone innovations and choice is concerned, they are definitely getting the short end of the stick.

Sprint is basically dead. If their WiMAx bet doesn't pan out, they are done.
Once Verizon is the only major CDMA player, their chances of survival (if they stick exclusively with CDMA) is low.
Just think of the cost of the network equipment: with GSM, you have multiple suppliers and economies of scale, which brings the prices down. With CDMA, the big network suppliers will be able to dictate much higher prices, since there is really no big market and competition.

-t
That wasn't meant to be snarky, so I apologize to macintologist. I would dispute the idea that Verizon's chances of survival are low if they stay with CDMA. I think their chances of survival would be low if they told 89 million customers they needed to buy new handsets. I would say as Apple users, we should be well aware that the company using minority tech can not only survive, but thrive. By that line of thinking, Apple should have dropped the Mac and went into the PC business. The fact that CMDA is only about 15% of the market worldwide doesn't mean there isn't a whole lot of profit to be made off of that 15%. I think that once this stupid exclusive deal with AT&T is up, it would be bad business on Apple's part not to take advantage of the sizable CDMA markets in the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

I've had my iPhone for less than a month now, and if they released an iPhone version for Verizon tomorrow, I'd take the hit on the early termination fee from AT&T and be right back there. In fact, if I hadn't dropped my phone in the sink while doing the dishes, I had every intention of waiting until summer to see what happened before I gave serious consideration to switching (or stuck with a dumbphone and bought an iPad). And I know quite a few verizon customers that are doing exactly that. Their contracts are up, and they are waiting to see if they will be able to stay on the network they know to be reliable verus they one they hear so many complaints about. There's a reason that I stuck with Verizon since 1994 (I believe it was NYNEX back then) and never seriously considered leaving until the iphone was released exclusively on AT&T.
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slugslugslug
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Jan 30, 2010, 07:35 PM
 
Yeah, I’m not sure why everyone started saying the AT&T exclusivity was going to end this year. At the iPhone intro, the conventional wisdom was that it was a 5-year contract. I mean, obviously, neither company has said a word in public about when it expires, but I hadn’t heard anything to say that the “ending this year” sources were much more reliable than the “5-year contract” ones. And like Cold Warrior was saying, the plan is for all 4 carriers to move to LTE eventually. So it would make way more sense for Apple to try and drop exclusivity then, when they don’t have to deal with drastically different hardware for different carriers. As I remember, at least a few telcos will start rolling out LTE-based 4G this year, but it won’t be the prevailing standard in the U.S. until late next year at the earliest.
     
turtle777
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Jan 30, 2010, 08:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by ThinkInsane View Post
That wasn't meant to be snarky.
I assumed it was snarky because it's the safer bet

Many times when I took statements seriously in the Lounge, it bit me in the ass, because I failed to detect the sarcasm. So I switched to assume that sarcasm is the modus operandi here

-t
     
ThinkInsane
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Jan 30, 2010, 09:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
I assumed it was snarky because it's the safer bet

Many times when I took statements seriously in the Lounge, it bit me in the ass, because I failed to detect the sarcasm. So I switched to assume that sarcasm is the modus operandi here

-t
Generally speaking, I'm pretty sarcastic and kind of a dick, so the odds really were in your favor
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downinflames68
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Jan 30, 2010, 09:40 PM
 
I have no idea, but AT&T ****ed up my bill AGAIN, and double charged me for last month. I paid them on time, last month, and called about the double charge. They told me to only pay the one month bill. I did. Now they suspended my account, and I am supposed to have an interview tomorrow with a designer, who can no longer get a hold of me. The best part is AT&T's customer service is totally ABSENT from Friday at 5pm, until Monday at 8am. That's right. The ENTIRE WEEKEND, there is ZERO customer service. For a mobile phone.

I want to switch, but I hate verizon. What other options do I have?
     
CharlesS
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Jan 30, 2010, 09:50 PM
 
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No contract, so you can easily switch with no ETF if they piss you off. However, due to this, they will try much harder not to piss you off. T-Mobile's customer service is, I believe, the best in the US.

And they're GSM, so you can likely just unlock your current AT&T phone and bring it over.

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macintologist
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Jan 31, 2010, 02:07 AM
 
Originally Posted by downinflames68 View Post
I have no idea, but AT&T ****ed up my bill AGAIN, and double charged me for last month. I paid them on time, last month, and called about the double charge. They told me to only pay the one month bill. I did. Now they suspended my account, and I am supposed to have an interview tomorrow with a designer, who can no longer get a hold of me. The best part is AT&T's customer service is totally ABSENT from Friday at 5pm, until Monday at 8am. That's right. The ENTIRE WEEKEND, there is ZERO customer service. For a mobile phone.

I want to switch, but I hate verizon. What other options do I have?
Do you have some weird accomodation that AT&T has to fill? I ask because whenever I read "horror stories" about companies it's usually because the customer had some weird request they made that the company couldn't fill. ie. "I ordered a raw food diet meal on the flight but they gave me PRECOOKED PEAS.. IM NEVER FLYING UNITED EVER AGAIN!!"

Anyway, I've had AT&T since I bought the iPhone in Aug 2007. I used automatic billing to my credit card. Haven't had a single problem. They automatically charge my card and everything is good. Sorry you had a problem but you are not the majority of smart consumers like me that don't have weird requests and just do the normal thing.
     
ThinkInsane
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Jan 31, 2010, 04:20 AM
 
How is asking for your bill to be correct and not charged double a weird request? Would you seriously be okay with that if it happened on your account?
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Cold Warrior
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Jan 31, 2010, 10:54 AM
 
I had something strange like that this billing cycle. I waited a month to port my numbers (two Verizon numbers onto two iPhones), so my first bill was for two iPhones under one account with two temp numbers. Then I ported the numbers, but one was in a different usage area, so at&t had to put them on two separate accounts. This cycle, one iPhone has no balance and the other has a double bill. Fairly odd, but I'm sure they'll sort it out when I call.
     
ghporter
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Jan 31, 2010, 12:43 PM
 
Rob, call 'em again and show them what happened. For a company that has lots of smart things on its resume, AT&T has some incredibly stupid computer systems. You were told by one billing person to pay a certain amount; tell the next person you talk to the whole story-especially the part about your NEEDING the service right away, and see what happens. Their billing people are usually pretty nice, and they know their stuff-but the system isn't always flexible enough to accommodate the fixes that the system itself necessitates.

They should reinstate your service today once you call them and a real human being looks at your account.

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CharlesS
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Jan 31, 2010, 02:17 PM
 
He can't. It's Sunday, and they're not open.

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downinflames68
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Jan 31, 2010, 02:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by ThinkInsane View Post
How is asking for your bill to be correct and not charged double a weird request? Would you seriously be okay with that if it happened on your account?
He wouldn't notice since he has automatic billing.
     
imitchellg5
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Jan 31, 2010, 03:20 PM
 
My parents used to have AT&T for about four years. I kid you not, there were only 3 months out of those 4 years when their bill was 100% correct. I've never had any huge issues with Verizon's billing, but they make mistakes too. Why is it so hard for cell companies to simply do what they are supposed to?
     
ThinkInsane
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Jan 31, 2010, 05:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by downinflames68 View Post
He wouldn't notice since he has automatic billing.
Which is exactly why I don't use it. I can take two minutes out of my busy month to look over my bill before I click submit.
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ghporter
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Jan 31, 2010, 06:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
He can't. It's Sunday, and they're not open.
AT&T billing covers the phones 24/7. It takes some work to drill through their menus, but it's there.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
CharlesS
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Jan 31, 2010, 08:10 PM
 
Not if you want to talk to a human.



You could call after-hours and talk to one of their Cylons, I guess, but they're really annoying as they always have some plan they're trying to sell you on.

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macintologist
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Jan 31, 2010, 08:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by downinflames68 View Post
He wouldn't notice since he has automatic billing.
I just look at my online banking and I see the normal AT&T charge come up every month. It's really easy. It's been great, I've had nothing but delight using my iPhone on AT&T's network.
     
ghporter
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Jan 31, 2010, 09:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
Not if you want to talk to a human.



You could call after-hours and talk to one of their Cylons, I guess, but they're really annoying as they always have some plan they're trying to sell you on.
I've never had any trouble, but as I was just reminded, my account counts as "corporate" because I have a group rate. That could make a big difference.

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Feb 1, 2010, 02:02 AM
 
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Arty50
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Feb 1, 2010, 08:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cold Warrior View Post
Verizon is making a play to LTE, which is the same 4G standard all serious GSM providers are planning their 4G around, so that's their way out. But it is years ahead until we see any good LTE coverage in the US and internationally.
Last I read, Verizon was gearing up for a substantial initial roll out. It won't be country wide, but several major markets are supposed to have solid LTE coverage when they flip the switch later this year.

AT&T LTE service won't hit until next year.
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