Verizon takes another swing at AT&T, puts iPhone on the Island of Misfit Toys
By Nilay Patel 
posted Nov 8th 2009 1:57PM
posted Nov 8th 2009 1:57PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Probably not using a real iPhone so Apple doesn't sue them.
Do you remember the original Instinct commercials used a real iphone and demonstrated its 3g against atts edge?
We all know that AT&T service is now on a plummet but we also need to settle the facts first and see the side of AT&T
Updates: ATT had recently released a statement why they are suing Verizon. May the "there's a misinterpretaion for that that” image help you to understand better why AT&T is having a boiling-point over the matter.
detailed sources: http://bit.ly/ATT-VS-VERIZON-Theres-a-misinterpretation-for-that
Hint: The conflict is about not including AT&T’s Zedge on the picture :D
Flame-on!
Wow. This is embarrassing. I'm no apple fanboy, but Verizon has to stop wasting money on these anti-iphone ads. They don't work. Just look at Sprint... Nobody ever got anywhere by pointing out the shortcomings of others.
Ya, that's why those 'Where's the Beef' ads never worked out...
This isn't even an anti iPhone ad. The other toys ask why he is here and says a couple of positive things about iPhone. Never a genative. The iPhone in the ad spits out a sparse 3G coverage map in reply. That is a shot against AT&T. The coverage map has absolutely NOTHING to do with the iPhone.
but remember Chris, iPhone is all about the total integrated experience.
The commercial and concept is actually GENIUS.
Verizon is clearly exposing the failings of ATT's 3G coverage....and the advantage of Verizon over ATT as a network.
The commercial sets up Verizon well, Now AND for the Future -
- Now, for those who want the best smart phones, Android, and great 3G coverage.
- The Future, for when/if the iPhone becomes available on Verizon.
The concept is absolutely hilarious.
And matt, welcome to advertising.
like the "I'm a mac, I'm a PC" ad for example. :)
Wouldn't be funny if everyone gets the iPhone except Verizon because of these comercials?
Watch the commercial. They don't insult the iPhone (or whatever it is), they insulted the network - the other toys groaned when the AT&T map appeared. Great commercial.
It's funny how the comprehention skills of some readers are lower than my 12 year old sons. This was not a shot against iPhone. The entire thing was against the 3G coverage. The iPhone was just a recognizable prop for a humorous delivery of the sparse 3G map.
I just asked my son what the commercial was about, because they are doing this wiu reading comprehention on school. He said it was about the map because he frowned after the bubble appeared and everyone else reacted.
@ Chris Cox, learn how to spell. Its "comprehension" not "comprehention". The fact that you have a son, totally surprises me. I thought the comment was written by a 14 yr old. Otherwise, I have no problem with your comment. But jeez....you must be from Nebraska or something with that kind of spelling at your age.
Its also funny because you are poking fun at other people's comprehension skills, and yet you don't have the comprehension skills to know when you're spelling a word wrong, since you incorrectly spelled "comprehension" twice in your comment. Makes you look like a big idiot, I'm glad you're not my dad.
And yet he still understood the commercial. So what does that say about people who think it's a shot at the iPhone.
@Definitely Not
Wow. You are poking fun of a misspelled word, yet you somehow think comprehension and spelling skills are somehow synonymous? I think that before you knock someone for spelling, you should look up the difference between comprehension and spelling skill, and realize that people can have excellent comprehension, yet crappy spelling. You ... apparently, are one with crappy comprehension and good spelling ability. :)
I think Verizon is hitting AT&T's soft spot with spotty 3G service... On top of that they delivered a really funny advertisement, and it was not that negative at all. Those who hate Verizon automatically would look at it as an iPhone degrading ad. I would have an iPhone, but I hate AT&T's service, which really is bad. So I'll settle with Verizon, it's quality service I pay for, but i'm really getting quality.
I think this is more for Apple to realize who the 3G queen is.
OMFG!!! OWNage!!! Ahahahahaa
ONly speaks the Truth, sorry Haters!
i love these! haha
This would be funnier if Verizon's '3G' service wasn't just more beating of a dead horse
I'll take HSDPA over EVDO any day.
I'll take EVDO that I can actually get and use over HSDPA that I can theoretically get... if I stand in the right spot in the right city (and when it is not too busy).
i can kinda see how this is a total attack on the iPhone but I still don't see why Apple would want to work with Verizon. Verizon likes to lock down their phones and run their native software, and Apple likes to be in total control. Verizon has let phones run their own software such as the Droid and Windows Mobile Phones and Blackberries, but didn't they say they were going to make it mandatory to have Verizon's app store on their phones? I can't see Apple let Verizon take away from the App Store
My Storm doesnt have Verizon's app store on it, just appworld from RIM.
Have you heard of the Droid? Nothing Verizon at all whatsoever (except visual vmail). FREE turn by turn Google Navigation and NOT VZ navigator. Not even ATT allows free turn by turn. The "OMG verizon locks everything down" point quit being valid a few years ago. Welcome to 2009, find a new point to criticize
@Thomas
Actually, Droid DOES have Verizon customization. It has the Verizon logo. I can't see Verizon allowing a phone without ANY customization ... and this includes a brand on the phones they subsidize. Apple, being very critical about their image, will not allow any branding of any kind. My AT&T iPhone 3Gs has NOTHING on it letting you know it was sold on AT&T.
I think that just because exclusivity is over and Verizon COULD sell it ... they wont. All because Apple won't allow the Verizon logo on it, and VZW is too stubborn to let the device go without their mark. And I don't blame Apple. If I had a product I was proud of, image was important, and there are enough customers I can turn down your business without it effecting me ... I would drop you like a rock.
Wrong. Verizon crippled phones as recently as last month, with the Storm 2. Also, VZW has, by far, the worst customer service ever. Anyone who uses Verizon instantly loses my respect as a human being.
Anyone who judges people based off of their cell-phone carrier instantly loses my respect as a human being.
Oh, and I use Verizon. Ooooh! Now some random guy on the internet doesn't respect mez ONOZZZZZ
Sigh...the days of Verizon crippling smartphones is definitely over, and even dumbphones are gaining more capability. I do understand why they did it, even though I definitely don't agree with their reasoning. Nevertheless, they have now unlocked GPS that was previously compatible only with VZ Navigator, allow their phones to be customized just as much as any other carrier's and allow you to install any applications you want from whatever application store you'd like, not just their own. Even if that was the case, you would still be able to install the one provided by RIM, Microsoft, Google et al. Plus, I believe all future Verizon smartphones will have WiFi. What's wrong with the Storm 2 anyway (in terms of crippling)?
If you want to pick on a "crippled" phone, look no further than your beloved iPhone. We all know how it doesn't have a replaceable battery, how it can't be unlocked (at least in the US), how it's locked into the app store, lack of MMS on the first-gen, broken Exchange encryption on the 3G, et al. Even when some of these issues can be addressed with jailbreaking, Apple is out to get all of you constantly trying to close the holes and sometimes bricking phones in the process.
My Verizon Samsung Omnia was not able to run Google Maps w/ GPS or tether out of the box without paying for an extra tethering package. Thanks to a software update, my GPS now works wonderfully and in turn, the update was reverse-engineered by users who have now brought us custom software builds with the latest beta versions of WinMo 6.5. Plus, I've got the Microsoft Internet Sharing application and the Windows Marketplace. Microsoft, Samsung, nor Verizon have attempted in any way to block these actions, and the only Verizon branding is the small logo above the screen, which I could change if I really wanted to.
Now how's that for solid, substantial evidence?
ps - I've had to call VZW customer service only a couple of times and every instance was a pleasant experience. I'm not saying that their CS is God's greatest gift to the world, nor am I saying that they are the best provider.
well, I am glad to be on Rogers. I get the most,best,fastest and all around great 3G coverage on my iPhone.
Rogers 3G is MUCH better than SubPar ATT
its a law blow at the traditional "iphone is a toy" line of reasoning. If it was anything else, like JUST about the 3G, they wouldnt have used an obvious iphone-like device. More mud slinging by VZW just jealous they dont have one device that can sell the numbers the iphone has, so they have to attack it.
Basically debunks any rumor VZW will be getting the iphone. Apple likely wont want to work with VZW after these kinds of shots at its device.
low*
wrong. again.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/11/06/report_apple_to_launch_verizon_iphone_in_q3_2010.html
Apple releasing CDMA iPhone in 2010. They're not insulting the iPhone, just the network behind it
It's pretty much going to happen. I talked with my government VZW rep and it's most likely going to be their first LTE phone. He put it this way. "If I kicked you in the shins and then handed you a million dollars, you'd probably forget about me kicking you"
I would like to see a verizon ad that shows off the Eris.
No. The commercial is a Christmas one, and the land of toys only fits the season. I saw absolutely no insults against iPhone as a device. And there was even a few positive mentions in there. Lots of people love the iPhone because of all the apps ... me included. And that commercial enforces the fact iPhone has a lot of apps, which is what Apple is using as a selling point in their commercials. Why would they bash iPhone by putting it in the land of toys, then clearly enforce a huge selling point made in the Apple commercials? I think you are reading too much into it.
This was a blow to 3G coverage, nothing more. Land of toys is a seasonal prop for a humorous delivery.
I've been in adv for 30 years. I think its a great ad. Entertaining, toys moan like tis common knowledge that ATTs 3g coverage is competitively poor and then they are using their new phones as look a likes to the iphone. However maybe the general acquisition public does not know any better. 100,000 apps now and nice ones make a huge diference in the products use.
But then again this is why I think the coverage comparison is a informative one to know and is a fair blow. What good are data hungry apps that you can't use in 90% of the land of the US or get consistent access in NY and SF? I live in NYC, it is the ony reason I will not buy an iphone and switch to ATT from VZ
The coverage comparison is not actually an "informative one" as you say. If you go read about the lawsuit between AT&T and VZW it's explained that the map they use for AT&T is just the 3G map and doesn't show that the spots not covered by 3G are actually covered by the vast 2G network that AT&T has. According to the same article, the map that VZW uses shows their network which is ONLY 3G. So in contrast to the AT&T map, the blank spots on the VZW map is a lack of any coverage at all. That's the point of the lawsuit. The company I work for uses Verizon and AT&T, and when someone who has a verizon phone can't get service at in their home, they are switched to an AT&T phone which works great. They use verizon because of the discount they get from VZW, but when users can't actually get service where they live they go to an AT&T phone.
living, of course you aren't paying attention to the commercials. ATT is being stupid as Verizon is not saying anything about service area. Their first commercial was about streaming videos, sorry, "watching videos at 3G speed" and "spotty 3G coverage". This second one only throws up 3g coverage area. Verizon has not said anything about getting calls in some areas. Though your point about ATT's 2G coverage is also wrong. Go to each website and look at the coverage maps. Verizon still has ATT beat, not by much but they have more coverage.
Living the map is clearly marked 3g, not voice. No one ever mentions voice except for the suit and you, therefore its a leap of the unsaid.
I don't think the people in no 3g Podunk, Iowa with iphones that are using their phone for calls are saying Verizon and ATT does not know that we have coverage otherwise it would show up in their maps. But I bet they do know everyone of their connectivity iphone apps are painfully slow on 2g.
In another note, I think in NY and SF AT&T is ripe for a class action law suit. People that have had their iphones for over a year are experiencing significant changes to their service quality boarding unacceptable. When they made a judgment call on the quality for the next two years to be under a contract that was the representative service level to go by and buy.
Anyone interested in joining such a suit?
I thought the ad was creative. I own an iPhone and the coverage in my area is great so the ad doesn't speak to me. But for consumers who are on the fence, it may be a deterrent. And I think that is the point of the ad.
Now, they should have the Droid/Terminators/Transformers lay an assault - wiping out misfit toys left and right. And then for good measure bring in those Droid Stealth bombers to tactically nuke the island after the onslaught. End the commercial, "Droid Does".
AT&T is slipping because Apple is going to offer the Worldwide iPhone to all customers so they ad may get old but the maps remain the same. This is not a iPhone bash but a carrier bash. Nice touch with the KIRF model.
Where I live, ATT 3G coverage is excellent if not better than Verizon so this ad is meaningless to me. But in my former state, ATT 3G is awful, especially in my county which remains all Edge while Verizon is 3G. If I was still living there, I would never get an iPhone......but now, I do have an iPhone, love it, and it is far superior than anything Verizon offers including the new Droid.
really? how long did you use the Droid for? 30 seconds? how long have you had the I-phone for? i'm sure walking by a phon and reading reviews online qualify you to decide the Droid can't touch the I-phone
lol att 3g network has always sucked about time vzw actually proved it to the public. I mean who the F$@k pays $30 dollars for iphone data or any smartphone when you live in a city that either A. Doesn't have 3g coverage or B. their 3g coverage sucks so bad you only have access to 3g for about 20 percent of the time before switching back and forth between Edge and 3g.
iPhone brings ATT to shame in NYC
comparing nearly 2Mbps HSUPA (in some areas, other areas get HSDPA) with T-Mobile, even Sprint, ATT doesn't look good after all.
What's truly sad is when consumers who actually live in one of AT&T's strong 3G areas -- like the entire northeast -- buy into these commercials and choose Verizon instead, regardless of what the actual service comparison in their area might look like. But that's the power of advertising, I guess.