Good old Verizon

mrgan:

marco:

But Verizon knows what it wants, and it it definitely doesn’t want to be in the situation AT&T is in today with iPhone owners: reduced to a dumb pipe with very little device branding, no lock-in, no customer loyalty, little to no revenue share from phone-based content sales, and only negative press resulting from the relationship.

I agree with Marco’s assessment of what we can expect from Verizon. The above paragraph made me feel a little sorry for Verizon (and for AT&T) - it ain’t fun having the brand sucked out of you.

On the other hand, they never did anything good with it. Or rather, Verizon is known for good coverage, but hell if I can think of any Verizon “product” anyone gives half a crap about. They’re good at being a dumb pipe. They’re dumb at everything else.

Despite its superior network, I left Verizon years ago because of (1) crappy phones made infinitely worse by Verizon’s software lock-down and (2) nickel-and-dime service charges.

I remember buying a nicer Samsung in 2005 that (finally!) held MP3s only to discover Verizon had disabled the audio functionality and replaced most of the menus with options to buy apps and ringtones.  Apps like Tetris cost $3-$5 per month.  What a joke.

Source: marco

45 Notes/ Hide

  1. nirak reblogged this from ragdoll and added:
    The problem is, no company really has to care about customer service. Much like the phone company of old days, which...
  2. ragdoll reblogged this from marco and added:
    first paragraph,...is definitely bad...nickel-and-diming,...
  3. fenixdrakken reblogged this from marco and added:
    Goddamn it, Verizon. AT&T is in the situation AT&T is in because...network simply was...
  4. freitag reblogged this from mrgan
  5. rafer reblogged this from marco and added:
    Rafer sez: Or they thought,...aren’t desperate yet.
  6. straightouttastafford reblogged this from marco and added:
    Marco always seems...speak rationally...realistically....
  7. gilmoure reblogged this from marco and added:
    reason I recently switched...Verizon flip phone (could
  8. singulus reblogged this from marco and added:
    Our Thanks To : Marco Arment ♥
  9. robbiemitchell reblogged this from mrgan and added:
    Despite its superior network, I left Verizon years ago because of (1) crappy phones made infinitely worse by Verizon’s...
  10. aparticularpath reblogged this from marco
  11. mrgan reblogged this from marco and added:
    Marco’s assessment...Verizon. The above paragraph made me feel
  12. goobimama reblogged this from marco and added:
    To me, an Indian,...whole network carrier thing doesn’t make much sense.
  13. marco posted this