karlkrandall@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:17:18 -0600, Tim McNamara
> <timmcn@bitstream.net> wrote:
>
>> In article <st%oh.42980$9S6.41842@newsfe15.phx>,
>> "Mij Adyaw" <mij@SpamBucket.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Apple may have made a serious mistake in not offering the phone on
>>> America's Most Reliable Network. It is interesting that they chose
>>> GSM rather than the technically superior CDMA.
>> Possibly. Or perhaps the Most Reliable Network made a mistake in not
>> partnering with Apple.
>>
>> But Cingular? The lowest-rated cell phone provider in America? That's
>> gonna stop me from getting one unless Cingular improves dramatically.
>
>
> First of all, its low rating is in Customer Service, not Network
> capability,

Not true. Well, yes, Sprint is usually worse, but Cingular's coverage is
consistently worse than Verizon's, in every region of the country.

Apple wanted a device that they could sell the most units worldwide, so
they went with GSM, which meant getting stuck with Cingular. Also,
Verizon is pushing it's own music service so didn't want to give up that
revenue stream to Apple.

The phone part of the device is almost an afterthought, especially given
the lack of 3G capability in the first model. They should sell a version
of it with no phone service, but with an ExpressCard slot so users can
insert a 3G card from whatever carrier they want.

The reaction to the iPhone by people they interviewed was almost always
the same. Very cool, too expensive, and they wouldn't buy one for $500
or $600. If the price comes down to $300-400, then Apple will have a winner.