In article <45a4fb1f$0$69039$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> 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.

T-Mobile uses GSM and has probably the best world coverage. Would have
been a much better choice than Cingular, and I'd have jumped on an
iPhone as soon as they became available if it came with T-Mobile service
(I have had Sprint since they started up and no actual complaints about
them).

> 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.

That's pretty much what what people said about the iPod. Too bad that
was such a market failure. You'd think Apple would learn from their
mistakes. :-)