[jpgagnon]

A lot of communities and cities have a limit on how many cell towers can be operating. Here in Maine, we have several "dead zones" because the towns won't allow a tower or have reached their limit on them. You can always recieve calls, but not always keep them in these zones. ATT has good coverage here, and I have not had an dropped calls with the iPhone. ATT is allowed towers in some communities that Verizon and others are not allowed. So they all have their "dead zones" We don't have 3G in Maine yet, so I will have to see how that goes.

[ravemac]

I switched to AT&T from Verizon because of the iPhone and it has been a love/hate relationship. I love the phone and hate the service. Call quality is not even close to Verizon's, though I have only lost calls while other people who are driving. They could do a lot better, IMO.

[daniel2828_MW]

Hey, now...AT&T boasts fewer dropped calls than any other network. Oh, wait...that's because you can't make or receive calls to begin with.

[Tom_Diola]

Before getting AT&T why didn't you all look on the coverage map to see if you'd get good coverage?

[AndrewRodney]

As much as I'm lusting for an iPhone, the AT&T issue is a deal breaker. I'm on Verizon, the coverage is fantastic. Even when I visit my buddy in Mendocino and everyone else can't get coverage, I can. What's the point of having a great phone that can't get service? I really wish Apple would open the iPhone up to other providers, there's no way I'm going to jump ship to AT&T. I know many iPhone users who say the same thing "the coverage sucks".

[nmpike]

The phone crashing, clearly Apple releasing an OS (not hardware) that was not ready. As a developer for the iPhone, I was flabbergasted that they targeted July 11th for a release... I knew it wouldn't be ready, but they forced it out like a constipated person desperate for some relief, despite the consequences.
But ATT... now that really upsets me. I'm FORCED into a 3G contract (paying more), and they dont have 3G (now admitted to by ATT) even though their website says they do in our market...
I pay 3G prices for Edge networks.... and since moving to the new iPhone.. I get all kinds of dropped calls all the time.
I only wish I could go back to 1.1.4.
Someone mentioned Alltel earlier... I am in New Mexico... I had Alltel, and they were the best. Worked every where, not a dropped call I can remember.... Alltel (at least here) surpasses verizon 10 fold...
I am giving Apple until the 2.1 update... if it doesnt get fixed, I am afraid I will eat a $175 termination fee and head back to Alltel, because right now my phone doesn't even work well as a phone.. the OS crashes, locks up, doesn't ring half the time (even though the screen shows it ringing, the OS sounds crash), etc.
I was willing to put up with ATT for a great phone... now I am putting up with ATT and have a phone that is far from great.... no reason to stay... 2.1 saves me, or I walk...
Mike

[ctdkite]

Plaged by lousy AT&T Service? How about shut out of an iPhone by no AT&T service at all?

This is what really gets me. There are huge swaths of areas in the U.S. that AT&T does not cover. Apple and AT&T apparently do not want our business. I an Apple guy all the way, but it really sucks that I can't use an iPhone.

[AndrewRodney]

I'm also in New Mexico, Verizon has worked very well for me here and on the road, better than last provider (Sprint).

[jeremyhanna]

I recently switched from Verizon to AT&T for the iPhone 3G. I do notice a difference in dropped calls in the same calling area, though Verizon wasn't perfect either.
One of the biggest reason for my switch though was a point you hit on in your article. I recall having a PowerBook G4 with built-in bluetooth and at the time I had a motorola cell phone with the bluetooth data profile. I could detect the phone but couldn't sync contacts to it. I asked at a Verizon store and they told me in an obviously manner, "We disabled the data profile because we couldn't charge for data synching."

Not only do I like Apple's hardware but I am tired of the Verizon - we own the network all hail us - mentality. I felt the only way to speak was with my dollars. This despite my family remaining on the Verizon network - free calls to them before.

One might say that Apple is quite draconian in some ways, and I would have to agree. However, it is better than Verizon. Also, Apple is a juggernaut of a different industry with the clout to call different shots on applications, etc.

I'm still unhappy about limited app functionality because Apple or AT&T don't like the certain functionality - come on Apple, you really need to lock music library access out of third party hands? Whatever...

I'm still amazed that the cartel^H^H^H music industry charges upwards of 99 cents for ringtones too... anyway... thank goodness for GarageBand + burn/rip iTunes Store purchases.

Anyway, I see the iPhone 3G with AT&T as the best alternative right now, like I see the Mac itself as the best alternative right now, despite quite annoying idiosyncracies.

[folklore]

It's stories like this that make me very hesitant to get an iPhone. My cell phone is first and foremost a PHONE - my wife and I don't have a landline phone. Our cell phones simply must work well as phones, bells and whistles be damned.

It seems that in my area (Cincinnati) AT&T's coverage is not as good as Sprint and Verizon. Whether that's because of GSM v. CDMA or because of differences in handsets or tower placement, I can't say. What I do know is that people with GSM phones (of any carrier) seem to experience more coverage problems than I do on Sprint.

[Allocentric]

You might live in a small town in Michigan, but if you have 3G available then you're at least very close to Metro Detroit or Grand Rapids. The other 85% of our state lacks 3G, and a decent chunk lacks good AT&T service. It might be good when you're home, but with so many Michiganders heading "Up North" all the time, they're quick to find out that GSM service is lacking in the Great Lakes State.

It used to be that you could draw a line across the Lower Peninsula (passing just north of Lansing), and anything north of that line lacked a national GSM carrier. AT&T just bought out CelluarONE back in January, which expanded their native coverage in Michigan significantly. They haven't had time to build out or upgrade the old, sparsely deployed CellularONE towers... though word is that a good chunk of that new acquisition will have 3G in late summer of 2009. Heck, even Verizon isn't a native carrier for a good portion of the state, but at least they had the ability to roam on Alltel's network (which virtually blankets the whole of Michigan, and is already with CDMA 3G coverage [EV-DO]). Since Verizon's acquisition of Alltel is expected to be complete by the start of next year, they will be the main force to contend with around here.

I'd like to have an iPhone myself, but I've settled on a nice compromise: a cell phone with great service, coverage, and 3G (a Treo with Alltel), and an iPod touch to play with the iPhone OS 2.0 and the App Store.

[sporobolus]

i don't have much sympathy for the "hardships" of the exurb lifestyle; they are becoming more popular with people of modest income because a disproportion of the costs (economic, social, environmental) of settlements in such areas are borne by others (me, for example) ... and now you want us to subsidize your mobile phone too?

[highlander]

For me, the frustrating part with ATT comes from the general attitude the company seems to support with it's advertising: More bars in more places. We live in the mountains just over a small hill from a major corridor to the nearby (15 miles) city from relatively dense population centers.
Our service with our previous company was slightly better, though nothing to brag about. However, in talking with ATT they act as if their signal is far superior - offering not assistance with purchasing signal extension technology (the previous company offered us this prior to our switching). The reality is that along a major commute corridor there is 22 miles as the crow flies between towers -- hardly sufficient for a mountain area.
ATT: it's time for some infrastructure upgrades if you want to hold onto your iPhone customers once we have choices.

[ravemac]

Your iPhone crashes?

Never seen it. So stating the Apple released an OS that was not ready is false. You may have issues but clearly it is not universally so.