I'd rather have a slightly slower network than phones that are so feature locked that you can't hardly do anything on them in the first place.
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Four Reasons Why iPhone Owners Hate AT&T
- Thread starter HardOCP News
- Start date
I'd rather have a slightly slower network than phones that are so feature locked that you can't hardly do anything on them in the first place.
As some have already said, the upgrade costs $300, $400, and $500 prices since you're not buying a subsidized version of the phone, but instead the whole thing, which people shouldnt complain as they're in the middle of a contract and should be happy they're getting at least some discount.
And as for the MMS, some people are already confirming it does indeed work right now, its just that AT&T isnt fully releasing it yet since they put opt-outs on all the accounts who tried to use MMS with the beta software.
I would try it out for myself since i am a dev and got the GM seed, but upgrading early isnt worth it for me if i lose my jailbreak and winterboard.
And as for the MMS, some people are already confirming it does indeed work right now, its just that AT&T isnt fully releasing it yet since they put opt-outs on all the accounts who tried to use MMS with the beta software.
I would try it out for myself since i am a dev and got the GM seed, but upgrading early isnt worth it for me if i lose my jailbreak and winterboard.
I don't see how this is caused by apple. The network speed (or lack thereof) is clearly an AT&T issue, since other carriers will be capable of the faster speeds on day one.
The MMS/Tethering is an AT&T policy (though I believe most U.S. carriers don't include tethering with their POP data options).
The Skype/Slingbox is almost certainly AT&T (why would Apple care?)
And finally, the price you pay for an early upgrade is typical of all carriers. In fact, if you're with Spring and you upgrade after one year, you'll only get a $75.00 discount.
The prices on the iPhones aren't cheap, but they're not all that different from buying an un-subsidized Pre or any other new smart phone.
Personally, I'd be ok if they killed subsidies. Then we could buy a phone, sell it for a decent price and get a new one. As it stands, you're often competing with a subsidized price and if you don't upgrade after 2 years, you're still paying additional funds to subsidize the phone you didn't buy.
I'd rather have a slightly slower network than phones that are so feature locked that you can't hardly do anything on them in the first place.
yeah it sucks that you have to choose either a nice phone and a crappy plan or a crappy/feature locked phone and a good plan. I wish phone exclusives would just die in a fire to be honest; then providers would have to compete based on their actual SERVICE.
You could always buy an unlocked European phone....on the CDMA side, I believe that Verizon and Sprint now activate CDMA phones from any carrier...but you have to pay full price. AFAIK, that's how it works in most countries other than the U.S. (you pay full price, but monthly fees are supposedly lower).
People who got the 1st iPhone got screwed after 2 months: 200$ slash and now this.
Ok I'm venting a bit here, but it's because there some people that I know who think like that, they just can't live with a device once a newer one is released. Good for the economy I guess!
Ok I'm venting a bit here, but it's because there some people that I know who think like that, they just can't live with a device once a newer one is released. Good for the economy I guess!
IMO, I don't know what the uproar is about. People who bought the 1gen Iphone are just coming out of contract and this is perfect for them. Most people KNOW that when you're in a 2yr contract, you don't the 'new customer' pricing till you're either A) at the end of your contract, or B) within 6 months of your contract and complain.
Personally, my contract isn't up till Nov 2010, however, I suspect Apple will release another Iphone next year and I'll jump on that, so it'll be worth the upgrade bypassing 1 generation from 3G.
Personally, my contract isn't up till Nov 2010, however, I suspect Apple will release another Iphone next year and I'll jump on that, so it'll be worth the upgrade bypassing 1 generation from 3G.
And one of the biggest scams in the mobile/cellular industry. As a matter of a fact, there is a growing legislative irritation in DC about what AT&T is doing with respect to the gouging it pushes on it's customers with respect to texting, unlimited or otherwise.
People who got the 1st iPhone got screwed after 2 months: 200$ slash and now this.
Ok I'm venting a bit here, but it's because there some people that I know who think like that, they just can't live with a device once a newer one is released. Good for the economy I guess!
It is pretty silly considering that most of the features in the new iPhone are from the new OS and not the hardware. I mean, yeah, a compass and built-in video editing would be cool to have, but its not a make or break thing for most people who are complaining that they really need the new hardware...
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2001
- Messages
- 15,814
AT&T is evil, iphone is a great device, on a crippled network...
really i wish there was a cellular provider that wasnt a total piece of crap... i refuse to ever go back to AT&T due to previous issues and i dont want a non GSM provider, so im stuck with T-Mobile, which has been ok...
really i wish there was a cellular provider that wasnt a total piece of crap... i refuse to ever go back to AT&T due to previous issues and i dont want a non GSM provider, so im stuck with T-Mobile, which has been ok...
The iPhone has a few character flaws, but I agree that it really does quite a bit well.
I'll stick with my Omnia. More features than you can shake a stick at, and the price was only $100 with my regular contract renewal. And VZ really has the best reception around here, especially 3G. AT&T sucks like you wouldn't believe. 3G in and out, in and out ... oh no, wind changed directions, it's gone again .... bleh.
Srry for dbl. post. Meant to say also, that I would consider T-Mobile, but almost zero coverage in Wyoming where some of my family members live, and I frequently travel to visit. Verizon is good there, as well.
ATT isn't the only one who does this. Verizon is brutal. They don't offer half of the roll over that ATT and Sprint offer and charge you just like ATT would.....just without the roll over to soften the blow. With rollover I don't think I've ever gone over the some 4,000 minutes I get every month on a $60 bill.
In terms of coverage, the companies that have the most cellular coverage are Verizon followed by ATT, then Sprint. So I'm not so sure in terms of coverage what people are talking about. I would take ATT over T-Mobile any day of the week. If you travel, while both ATT and Verizon will charge you out the butt. The other two don't have overseas contracts anywhere near as strong as the other two. You most likely would be buying another plan in order to have service ( you would probably have to anyway to save yourself money, but trust me there's nothing like stepping off the plane and having service when you are in the middle of nowhere).
In terms of broadband technology HSPA (ATT and T-Mobile) offers far more bandwidth than EVDO (Verizon - Sprint). However, I find EVDO's signal quality to be a little bit better. Although it's kind of hard to tell because of Verizon's penetration.
In the cellular world you very much get what you pay for.
"Tethering is not on the list either until later this year, because the carrier is reportedly working on some sort of data plan mash-up between data and tethering for around $60 to $70 per month."
Heh.. on my E71 I pay $10/month for 5gb data in an AT&T family plan, with tethering out of the box.
Heh.. on my E71 I pay $10/month for 5gb data in an AT&T family plan, with tethering out of the box.
AmongTheChosenX
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2007
- Messages
- 7,157
Not gunna lie. most of the phones verizon offers, excluding some of the few decent smartphones they have, are just crap. They endure absolutely nothing before crapping out. They get bad service, just a PITA.
however, the few smartphones they DO have, are AMAZING phones. My dad has a 755p, its not too shabby. My sister has a 700wx, pretty nice. I have a Motorola Q, nowhere near high end, but it gets the job done. My other sister loves her Centro to death.
So not every verizon phone is bad.
Now when will verizon get the Palm pre?
I don't know why people is complaining about this. If they've made an agreement and it hasn't even run out, it's no surprise it will then cost more to upgrade. The new iphone isn't even that much of an upgrade. I would be enjoying mine until something really better hits the market.
Yeah, I love how my phone from five years ago would let me edit video that I recorded and then post it right to the web!
Oh wait, it couldn't
And tethering has been around on jailbroken iPhones within weeks from when it launched, the problem is that no carriers would officially allow it until now (and AT&T still doesn't...).
Horrible horrible carrier. The fact that they have the only 3G network that the rest of the world uses is just an extra kick in the nuts. Why does T-Mobile have to be on a different standard?
KaiserWarrior
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2008
- Messages
- 204
^^^^^^^
I can't think of any other industry aside from telecom (Phone and Television) that could even dream of the draconian policies that telecom uses. Sell you several hundred dollars worth of (severely overpriced) equipment and then lock you into a single service provider that charges you whatever they please in order to make it work, and then fines you if you cancel their service?
Suckers. Does a burger joint charge you money to walk out the door? Or to walk in the door, for that matter?
I think what we will start seeing is a shift in how cellular service is going to be meeted out. I personally believe that some company will emerge as a global provider as nothing but a dumb pipe provider. The phones will use a quad band/GSM combination type scheme and you pay a low monthly fee and it's a total buffet style plan. No overages, no seperate costs for sms/mms, no extra for tethering, video, data, whatever. You just buy the phone from whoever you want for whatever feature set you like and you are on.
mastercheeze
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2004
- Messages
- 2,799
Yeah, that would be nice. I'm so tired of American carriers. Just let me buy the phone I want that will work on the carrier I want with the exact plan that I want. Enough subsidies, enough exclusives, enough bullshit text charges.
People who got the 1st iPhone got screwed after 2 months: 200$ slash and now this.
Ok I'm venting a bit here, but it's because there some people that I know who think like that, they just can't live with a device once a newer one is released. Good for the economy I guess!
They didn't get screwed. All of these phones have prices that tend to drop faster than a Turkey from a helicopter. If you bought a Touch Diamond when it came out you probably paid 250.00 (or more) with a new contract. Within months it was available for less than 1/2 that price. I've seen it from some carriers as a buy one get one free....so $99 for 2 phones.
If you're an early adopter, you will always pay a premium. This happens with virtually every Cell phone.
Those overpriced phones are generally sold at the providers cost and then discounted if you sign a contract. Phones may be overpriced, but provider doesn't generally make it's money back until roughly a year into your contract.
Then you're stuck paying $400-$700 for the best new phones. An unlocked Blackberry, Palm, iPhone, or Nokia smartphone is going to cost an additional $200-$400 if you buy one without a carrier subsidy. Being locked into a contract can suck but the alternative is to pay way more up front. I'll take the two year contract and have the hardware price absorbed by whatever the subscription is.
About the only thing I can agree with is that the option to buy an unlocked phone should be easier for consumers. Right now, Palm and Nokia are the only ones where it is really easy to do, and even with Palm you now have an exclusive carrier with the Pre.
Of course. But if service was priced at X and a subsidized phone added Y to standard rate, you might feel differently.
At the very least, if you're happy with your current phone after 2 years, your bill would drop, since you'd no longer be paying back the loan on your phone purchase.
My current bill is so low that I can't complain, but if your bill is $40.00 for phone service (no data/sms), the discount matters or more for a plan with Data, SMS et. al. then you have to assume that at least $20.00 a month is going towards subsidizing the the phone.
If you don't upgrade, you're getting fucked under the current system. If it was more like a loan (which it really is anyway), then when you've paid up, your price goes down.
mastercheeze
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2004
- Messages
- 2,799
I see your point, but I'm in the position where I don't even need a smartphone - it's just a neat gadget to have. Buying a nice well-equipped phone would last me 3 or 4 years. I also think pricing would be different if there was a very large market for unlocked phones.
GJSNeptune
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2004
- Messages
- 12,372
What would be a well-equipped dumbphone?
A smartphone hardly constitute as a "just a neat gadget to have".
It's the livelihood of many businessmen and women and IT personnel where being able to access anything anywhere is crucial.
Without my Blackberry, so many people would have to wait until I'm at home or at the office to assist with computer or server troubles. I'd rather not let my In box stack up too high, so to speak.
Same here, it is vital to my (non-IT) work, not only from a communications standpoint but also more and more from an application standpoint. Things like the FocalWare app for determining sun and moon path are a godsend. No more printing those when I'm at home, now its always with me.
RangerXML
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2006
- Messages
- 6,405
What are you, a Vampire worried about Werewolves?
Haha.
Cinematographer. When I am shooting outside I use the sun position to help schedule the work day for the best light.
I think he was more commenting on his specific situation, not bagging on smartphones in general.
Rockjay420
Gawd
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2005
- Messages
- 732
if you want to get out of a contract early, call ATT, and tell them you have recently moved and you no longer get very good signal reception. Make sure to ask for supervisors immediately, and dont let them push you around. After 20min, 175$ charge is waived.
TechieSooner
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2007
- Messages
- 7,601
Actually you can use the federal universal service charge to get out of it, too (only if it goes up though).
mastercheeze
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2004
- Messages
- 2,799