iPhone Coming to Verizon on June 26?

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my local Verizon Wireless store. In the course of conversation, the subject of the iPhone inevitably came up. Rather than the standard “I don’t know” response, the gentleman helping me gave a somewhat cryptic but clear response: “Someone, somewhere, is making an announcement on June 26.” Playing along (albeit a bit taken aback by his forthrightness), I mused that the person making this announcement might be wearing a turtleneck and tight jeans while standing on a starkly-black stage. The Verizon employee nodded affirmatively.

While I understand that rumors appear and disappear regularly on this subject, never before has an employee of Verizon Wireless provided such direct responses when I’ve brought up the iPhone’s availability on the carrier’s network. Some may respond with skepticism founded on doubts that store employees not at a managerial level would have such knowledge, but if the announcement does come on June 26, I can only suspect that Verizon’s preparations for the melee that will ensue include informing its entire staff of its plan for handling the throngs that will turn out for the device. The staff alone needed to process all of those individuals looking to transfer their service from AT&T will likely require a carefully coordinated effort on Verizon’s part.

Come the end of June, I can only hope that this rumor is confirmed as my upgrade eligibility date follows soon thereafter.

Condescending Mobile Phone Carrier Nicknames

There are certain things I’m quite outspoken about, and my preference for Verizon Wireless over every one of its competitors is one such example. My disdain for Verizon’s competitors largely stems from living in New England, where Verizon dominates.

Over the years, I’ve come up with condescending nicknames for two of its three nationwide competitors, but T-Mobile has always been one carrier that escaped my venom.

AT&T became AT&WeSuck, while Sprint, following its merger with Nextel, became SprintSuckTel.

Have you devised a creative name that both derides T-Mobile’s inferior service while clearly identifying the carrier?

I ask because I’m working on a future post regarding the four nationwide carriers. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment below.

Rather Than Improve Its Network, AT&T Sues Verizon Over Ads

In response to Verizon’s recent advertisements highlighting the deficiencies in AT&T’s 3G data network, AT&T this week sued its competitor. The carrier’s suit claims both that the map displayed in Verizon’s ad is misleading and that the commercials are causing the carrier to lose “incalculable market share…” and “invaluable goodwill….” AT&T argues that the substantial white areas shown on Verizon’s map are misleading because many of those areas are covered by its 2G EDGE network. Supporting AT&T’s claim is its online Coverage Viewer, but its suit entirely misses the point of Verizon’s advertisements.

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Why Wireless 4G Will Change the Mobile Landscape

For some time now, the nation’s two largest mobile phone carriers have competed almost exclusively with each other, marginalizing their smaller competitors. Verizon Wireless (VZW) has touted the reliability and extensiveness of its wireless network, while AT&T has focused on its network coverage and the superiority of its wireless technology. Now, as mobile phone operators prepare to deploy the next generation of wireless technology, the competitive pressures these companies face are changing dramatically.

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There’s A Map For That. Or Is There?

Verizon Wireless (VZW) recently began an ad campaign aimed squarely at both AT&T and its flagship device, the iPhone. By now, Apple’s “There’s an app for that” commercials are well known for showcasing one of the myriad applications available for the iPhone. VZW’s new ad campaign uses a minor tweak to the familiar wording to wheedle AT&T over its poor 3G coverage. In its “There’s a map for that” commercials, VZW declares, “If you want to know why your 3G coverage works so well on Verizon Wireless, there’s a map for that,” and proceeds to show red- and blue-tinged maps of the United States. As one would expect, the proportion of red covering the continental US far exceeds that of blue, by five times as the advertisements report. The campaign made me chuckle for two reasons when I initially came across it, first because of how easily Verizon Wireless could turn a successful Apple advertisement against the iPhone maker and its wireless partner, and again after I discovered that AT&T doesn’t even produce a map of its 3G coverage area.

Continue reading There’s A Map For That. Or Is There?