A new survey is out attempting to measure the satisfaction of iPhone 4 users with the two U.S. carriers now offering the Apple handset. If you bypass the statistical dead-heat on the level of overall satisfaction, twice as many iPhone 4 owners report dropped calls on AT&T as compared to Verizon Wireless.
An average of 4.8 percent of people surveyed by ChangeWave said they had dropped iPhone 4 calls on AT&T, versus an average of 1.8 percent of Verizon customers surveyed. The percentages closely align with a survey of general cell phone customers which found 4.6 percent of AT&T subscribers and 1.4 percent of Verizon customers reported dropped calls.
For prospective iPhone 4 owners considering which carrier to pick, researchers found nearly half – 46 percent – leaning toward Verizon. By comparison, 27 percent said they would likely pick AT&T – the same percentage who said they were unsure which carrier they would use.
However, it may be too soon to declare a winner in the contest for iPhone users. Researchers noted Verizon has been selling the iPhone 4 only since February. “Verizon is still in the very early stages of its iPhone 4 offering to consumers,” the research firm announced Tuesday. “It remains to be seen how well the Verizon network performs as the number of Verizon iPhone 4 owners ramps up and inevitably puts more pressure on their system.”
The wait-and-see attitude appears to be the intelligent response to such early numbers appearing to give Verizon an edge. Owners of the iPhone are known to place great demands on data throughput – even for smartphones. For years, AT&T has taken a public drubbing over its reliability under the strain of the iPhone. As more people turn to Verizon, we will see how the perception holds about overall satisfaction and whether dropped calls is the key factor for iPhone users.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
10 responses to “Survey: Can You Hear Me Now? More Say with Verizon iPhone 4, Than AT&T”
I commented on the other post related to this, but I’ll say it again: I’ve experiened far too many dropped calls on my Droid X. In fact, I have more trouble than I ever had on AT&T.
Plus, add in the freezes and crashes and daily battery pulls and it’s no contest. Back to iOS for me this fall.
I’ve owned a lot of cell phones, and the only ones that have the best antennas, rarely drop calls, and can connect in marginal 1-bar locations, are all made by Nokia. Best are basic phones like Nokia 1100 and 6010. N-series are also very good. The iPhone is not so good–3G or 4. I have an iPhone “iPod Touch” that Apple refuses to unlock. With ATT, it drops calls. I’d like to use it with my T-Mobile service, and in Europe. Apple won’t unlock the phone, even though the contract is done.
Since I can NEVER “own” my iPhone, I will NEVER get another one, EVER. How cynical can Apple be, selling locked glass phones to their fanboys? Must be laughing all the way to the bank.
“Since I can NEVER “own” my iPhone, I will NEVER get another one, EVER.”
Some Canadian carriers have begun unlocking them… as do several European. I think some regulatory compromise in the US is in order… because da’amn!
This is a rubbish headline! Any survey based research is only accurate to within 8-10%. 80 vs. 82% (or 16-18%) is basically a dead even draw. There is absolutely no way you can infer “superiority” from these numbers
Most carriers outside the US will unlock any phone they sell. In many countries it’s the law that phones either have to be unlocked or must be unlocked when the customer requests. Let’s see. I can drive or fly to Canada to maybe find an Apple store or provider to unlock my phone–or not, since it was purchased in the US and Apple has the unlock codes, unlike other mfgs whose codes are generated when needed.
Worst thing about it is now a few other providers in the US are locking their phones permanently too. I only buy my phones unlocked. Never locked. Apple doesn’t sell unlocked iPhones. I buy Nokia, HTC, Samsung…and I used to work for Apple.