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Apple/iPhone/iOS criticism and debate thread


WiWavelength

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Since many of those who favor iOS devices dislike my criticism of Apple and its policies in "their" threads," I have started this thread.  As long as those members are not chicken about debate, discussion will remain here, not in other threads in this Apple section of The Forums.

 

So, I will begin with this postulate and question.  Apple greatly bolstered AT&T -- with an exclusive, multiyear iPhone contract.  What if that had never happened?  Or what if the iPhone had never existed?  How would that have affected the domestic wireless industry landscape, presently?

 

AJ

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My biggest criticism is no Signal check pro! :P When I was in High school the iPhone was out and I Still had a windows mobile Samsung blackjack, lacking on apps for a teenager for sure. But Apple did start a huge boom for data, and needing faster data. Until android caught up and in my opinion is leading the pact on LTE (excluding apples large band options for LTE)

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I give that credit to Wimax for lighting fire under the other carriers starting the 4G race.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

Would WiMAX even be around if Apple hadn't launched the iPhone? I almost think it would have been delayed another couple years too.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

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So in a sense, because iPhone destroyed att and sprints network with the overwhelming amount of data usage....it forced them to upgrade sooner and advance into newer technologies. It was bound to happen eventually, even if iPhone didn't exist.

 

This or multiple variants of the iPhone would've put more strain on the network even if iPhone didn't exist. Perhaps there would be a comparable "iphone" that would've gained similar popularity and resulted in the ridiculous pricing we have today.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 on Crapatalk

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My intent in this thread is mostly to be a Socratic moderator -- to ask questions that incite discussion.

 

But I feel as if my initial questions have not been fully answered.  If not for the iPhone, where would AT&T be now?  In the same place?  VZW is practically bulletproof, but what about Sprint and T-Mobile?

 

And what if the iPhone had embraced WiMAX years ago?  Why not?  IEEE standards are more open and inclusive than are 3GPP (or 3GPP2) standards.  Is Apple more in bed with consumers or wireless operators?

 

AJ

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My intent in this thread is mostly to be a Socratic moderator -- to ask questions that incite discussion.

 

But I feel as if my initial questions have not been fully answered. If not for the iPhone, where would AT&T be now? In the same place? VZW is practically bulletproof, but what about Sprint and T-Mobile?

 

And what if the iPhone had embraced WiMAX years ago? Why not? IEEE standards are more open and inclusive than are 3GPP (or 3GPP2) standards. Is Apple more in bed with consumers or wireless operators?

 

AJ

AT&T wouldn't be half the carrier they are now without 3 1/2 years of iPhone exclusivity. Verizon would have stayed number 1 all the way through, and we would be stuck with Windows Mobile and Blackberry.

 

T-Mobile would have been out the door and Sprint would be clinging for dear life if not already dead.

 

If Apple had embraced IEEE standards, WiMAX could have been king of "4G".

 

Frankly though, I don't think Apple is in bed with wireless operators, but more like they control them, that's why there wasn't a WiMAX equipped iPhone.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

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AT&T wouldn't be half the carrier they are now without 3 1/2 years of iPhone exclusivity. Verizon would have stayed number 1 all the way through, and we would be stuck with Windows Mobile and Blackberry.

 

T-Mobile would have been out the door and Sprint would be clinging for dear life if not already dead.

 

If Apple had embraced IEEE standards, WiMAX could have been king of "4G".

 

Frankly though, I don't think Apple is in bed with wireless operators, but more like they control them, that's why there wasn't a WiMAX equipped iPhone.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

So, iPhone saved att and sprint, by almost destroying both!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 on Crapatalk

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So, iPhone saved att and sprint, by almost destroying both!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 on Crapatalk

And T-Mobile too.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

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T-Mobile would have been out the door and Sprint would be clinging for dear life if not already dead.

 

 

The sidekick was the cool phone to have when the iPhone first came out (and before).  The iPhone was too expensive and all the cool kids had sidekicks on T-mobile.  This is at least how I remember the end of middle school/ start of high school.

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My intent in this thread is mostly to be a Socratic moderator -- to ask questions that incite discussion.

 

But I feel as if my initial questions have not been fully answered.  If not for the iPhone, where would AT&T be now?  In the same place?  VZW is practically bulletproof, but what about Sprint and T-Mobile?

 

And what if the iPhone had embraced WiMAX years ago?  Why not?  IEEE standards are more open and inclusive than are 3GPP (or 3GPP2) standards.  Is Apple more in bed with consumers or wireless operators?

 

AJ

Without the iphone(or iphone exclusivity), verizon would have been number one all by themselves for sure with att coming in at a respectable number 2 spot.  I think both sprint and tmobile would still be at 3 and 4 spot but both would probably have more subs being in closer proximity to att compared to how things are now.  As far as who is in bed with who, I would look at it more as the consumers and wireless operators are in bed with apple.  I say that because love them or hate them, they have more influence than any other oem in the mobile industry.

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I agree with Josh.  AT&T Mobile probably would have merged with another carrier.

 

To show how my brain works:  What would the marketing have looked like today if AT&T and Sprint had merged and Softbank then purchasing both?  A yellow glowing Death Star?  

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I agree with Josh.  AT&T Mobile probably would have merged with another carrier.

 

To show how my brain works:  What would the marketing have looked like today if AT&T and Sprint had merged and Softbank then purchasing both?  A yellow glowing Death Star?  

I'm not a market guy, but I doubt Softbank could have had enough money to purchase a AT&T and Sprint combined company.

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Frankly though, I don't think Apple is in bed with wireless operators, but more like they control them, that's why there wasn't a WiMAX equipped iPhone.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

 

Apple might not be in bed with carriers but they sure are cozy. The last thing they want is a free market in handsets so they are better off sticking close to carriers. Almost two thirds of their profit come from phones. They have a lot to lose. I remember reading the Q&A from an earnings call a few years ago and Cook was being asked about being able to compete in prepaid markets in parts of the world and he started saying how he thought the subsidy model was better for consumers and bragged about convincing some carriers to go that route. 

 

There was no Wimax iPhone because there was really only one carrier using it at the time and it seemed obvious it wasn't going to be the standard. 

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It wasn't obvious at the the time but apple always waits to see which way the tide is flowing before it adopts anything. Some say it allows them to fall behind the times but I say its smart business because that way they can "reinvent" something and make it work flawlessly, and thats why in my opinion that they are so profitable…

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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It wasn't obvious at the the time but apple always waits to see which way the tide is flowing before it adopts anything. Some say it allows them to fall behind the times but I say its smart business because that way they can "reinvent" something and make it work flawlessly, and thats why in my opinion that they are so profitable…

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree yes they wait till something selected (apply pay/NFC, AC wifi and others).

 

This is not what makes the profitable. They have sold people including myself about their products and environment.  With the buy in the consumer, they are able to charge their ridiculous amounts for a mac, macbook, iphone and other products.

 

Example: Cost of 16GB memory vs a 64GB in an iPhone 6. $10 in difference in cost yet they charge $100 price difference. Also, cost difference between 6 and 6+ is $12 yet they charge $100.  This is what makes them profitable. Do I mind it? Yeah but not enough to make me switch. 

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There were other casualties of Apple.

 

1) Telus in Canada: In order to launch the iPhone 3GS, they had to build out an HSPA network from the ground up and overlay their entire CDMA Network in a hurry. Talk about a massive undertaking. Plus it shows the kind of control that Apple has.

 

2) Bell Mobility in Canada: Same thing as Telus. Complete overlay of their existing network to cater to Apple and the iPhone 3GS launch.

 

Verizon waited idly by for Apple to finally launch a CDMA iPhone in January 2011, 1 1/2 years after Bell and Telus bowed down to the fruit.

 

3) Band 12 LTE: T-Mobile, USCC, and a few other smaller US carriers, making iPhone 6, 6 Plus & iPad Air 2 not fully compatible with the CCA/RRPP program.

 

Apple is in more control than most people think. Nexus 6 is fully CCA/RRPP compliant, as well as the was going to be Sprint variant of the Moto X 2014 edition.

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What I am curious about is what if sprint had the Iphone exclusively instead of ATT. Maybe NV wouldve kicked off earlier, Wimax may of never really kicked in, or maybe Wimax wouldve been the standard.

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What I am curious about is what if sprint had the Iphone exclusively instead of ATT. Maybe NV wouldve kicked off earlier, Wimax may of never really kicked in, or maybe Wimax wouldve been the standard.

It all depended on Apple to include WiMAX onto iPhone. But network improvements are guaranteed to have started a few years sooner. But at the time of iPhone in 2007, Sprint wasn't in a financial position for such a thing with the Nextel and Affiliate purchases. And technically, Sprint wasn't a true "nationwide" carrier until the affiliate purchases were completed. I think Sprint would have gone bankrupt from such an investment in 2007.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

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What I am curious about is what if sprint had the Iphone exclusively instead of ATT. Maybe NV wouldve kicked off earlier, Wimax may of never really kicked in, or maybe Wimax wouldve been the standard.

Wimax would have been standard if it was deployed in the 700band. I feel that because it was deployed in the 2500 band it didn't get the credit it deserved.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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It all depended on Apple to include WiMAX onto iPhone. But network improvements are guaranteed to have started a few years sooner. But at the time of iPhone in 2007, Sprint wasn't in a financial position for such a thing with the Nextel and Affiliate purchases. And technically, Sprint wasn't a true "nationwide" carrier until the affiliate purchases were completed. I think Sprint would have gone bankrupt from such an investment in 2007.

Sent from Josh's iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

So given your thinking of sprint going bankrupt, and the lack of nationwide coverage, it wouldve doomed both the Iphone, and Sprint
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