Two New Apple iPhone Commercials Take Aim at Verizon
It seems as if Apple has taken some offense to the latest Verizon ad attacks that have targeted the iPhone as well as the AT&T network. BusinessWeek (via Engadget Mobile) points out that Apple has fired back with two commercials of their own and really rubbing in the fact that on the Verizon network you can not be on a phone call while checking your email, browsing the web, etc…
So if you were not a fan of the latest AT&T commercials what are you thoughts on these released by Apple?
Yes, we know if you are reading this on your iPhone you will not be able to view the videos, we feel your pain but as soon as there is a YouTube link we will update the post.
Commercial number 2 after the break!
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Rene Ritchie, Editor
Chad Garrett, Writer
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@icebike: I disagree completely. Why? The Droid has not even made much headway and infact the original Storm blew away the Droid’s sales numbers.
As for Motorola.. you are talking about the same company that just got dominated by Samsung and LG and hasn’t had a decent phone since the Droid?
If Apple has ANYTHING to be worried about its the HTC HD2 since that device’s sales have EXPLODED in Europe.
I don’t see Apple worried.. I see Apple more of taking a shot at a carrier that was inferring their device is junk and that they are nothing without Verizon.
“It could be advertised, as many other phones are, with some narration on what it can do, or how it solves everyday problems, without even being shown up close.”
that would probably be better than the current spate of droid ads, but television advertising is about being as direct as possible and once you lose the visual component the message becomes muddier.
i think droid needs to take a significantly different approach to television than the iphone, but you’re right that the verizon ads are much better quality than the droid ads.
i’m reading a lot of comments here claiming that everyone is jealous of the iphone. i own an iphone and after playing with the droid, i think it is much, much better suited to my needs. it has a much better screen, better web search interface and much, much more capable messaging interface.
motorola doesn’t have to sell these features individually via demos, but they do need to create the image of droid as the best device out there for people who aren’t really impressed much by music and games. people who are more focused on communication, navigation, organization and searching.
I find the italicized anecdote at the bottom hilarious. iPhone can’t view Vimeo, but my Droid can lol.
“The Droid has not even made much headway and infact the original Storm blew away the Droid’s sales numbers.”
droid is just getting started. i live in seattle and i’m seeing droids in the coffee shops, i’m seeing developers buy them to program apps. i’m seeing my friends get excited about buying them, and sharing app suggestions with each other.
basically everything that happened when the iphone started to get rolling, but never quite happened for the storm or pre.
apple isn’t worried because of sales, they are worried because they are wise enough to see a very good product being pushed by a huge provider and upsetting their narrative of total superiority.
they’ve never aired a defensive ad before, because they’ve never had to. this time things are different.
youtube.com/watch?v=3DuBOKD0xaU
youtube.com/watch?v=efBYxweIngs
Above are the links you needed enjoy
@Anony? What? Lets say I am out on the town with friends and am trying to coordinate with other friends on the phone with where to go. Where is the nearest sushi place? I am NOT going to go all about the town trying to find a wifi access point. I don’t want to take 2 minutes of my time trying to connect to some random wireless. I want to open up maps, do a search, and actively look stuff up. NOW.
Lets say I am out and about and a business unit wants me to log into the server to look at something. If I was on Verizon, I would have to tell them i’ll call them back because I can’t do it while they are on the phone. With AT&T I can keep talking and use the Wyse PocketCloud app to log in using RDP or VMware view to do work on the go. I am NOT going to tell them … oh wait. Please hold while I look for a freaking WIFI ACCESS POINT.
@Macboy15: yes, I do have a 3GS. What bothers me is that, instead of AT&T saying “hey. we’re expanding our 3G coverage”, they come with this “talk and surf” crap!
@striatic: Dude… do you work for VzW…. because between the two of us i am the only one that can raise my hand to that question…
VzW is doing EVERYTHING to push that phone and it isn’t working. To say that thing has the capabilities of being a hit like the iPhone is grossly inaccurate. More people come into VzW shops to play with it and leave then they do buy. That phone is doing okay but nothing outstanding and the real reason its selling decently is the sales reps will offer that phone for practically anything… Many stores have had risen return rates due to the Droid.
Also the ad says nothing about the Droid but completely attacks CDMA networks and CDMA phones.
The only phone that is a threat to the iPhone is the HTC HD2 and anyone that argues otherwise is just fanboying for the Droid and Verizon.
Just saw the commercial, glad Apple fired back.
“Dude… do you work for VzW…. because between the two of us i am the only one that can raise my hand to that question…”
no. actually i rather dislike verizon and i think that not being able to browse while on the phone is a major liability.
i like the droid though. it is a terrific device, i’ve had three friends get one in the past week, and one of those people has a wife who really wants one too after seeing it in use and playing with it.
i can see people not wanting to buy it in the store, for the same reasons i don’t think its strengths translate to TeeVee ads. it takes more than a couple minutes to grok it, but when you do, it is impressive. it’s the kind of thing that will take word of mouth to spread. it’s the OS more than the device, although the droid does seem to be the first phone to really run android in a slick, responsive way.
That was a nice punch to the gut
Hey guys. I’m on sprint. And i have a Palm Pre. As much as i like AT&T, there is not a day that goes by where i dream of an iPhone for sprint. For me, sprint is the deal for personal reasons. My dad has AT&T with a 3GS i gave him as a father’s day present. I’ve always loved the iPhone and this ads are really funny. I am really open minded so i do research on all major carriers (sprint, tmobile, verizon, at&T) and i live in Puerto Rico, so verizon doesnt exists here (i really dont know why they took it off… some cheapo gsm carrier called claro replaced it… oh well) and am interested in all carriers for purposes. In MY opinion actually, i don’t really find android too exciting, now please dont come killing my *** off just because i said that, it’s just a matter of personality and liked. And since im on iphoneblog im gonna say this: the iPhone may have a LOT of things that just injure us, but the things it CAN do, it is second to none. That is why i admire Apple’s iPhone so much. It’s just so darn snappy and beautiful, that just gets me wondering why other phones that are supposed to have more powerful hardware cant run half like an iPhone. Now, i know iPhone doesnt “multitask” (excluding first parties) and that may be a major reason for the non laggy UI. But, i just wish that other companies would just see that example of engineering that apple has, and make their own way in devices. And then, smartphones will be better overall.
I have the storm 2 on verizon.. but I love apple, can’t we all just get past this stuff and just choose whatever device and network FITS YOU best. Just check the coverage area and get whatever company fits you! I am saying this after having both iPhone 3G on ATT and Storm 2 on Verizon currently
Boy, you iphone die-hards are unnecessarily ruthless. Look, businesses don’t fight back because their product is superior; they fight back when competition heats up. Apple is beginning to fight like the they do with the Mac ads. Unfortunately, they fight like little girls and Microsoft beats the crap out of Mac sales every year. Although some of you hardcore Fans don’t want to admit it, Verizon and Android phones are starting to cause Apple to worry.
This ad was aimed at Verizon, but I doubt Apple will try a similar ad aimed at Android devices. Thus far, there has been only one thing Apple has that Android doesn’t: iTunes. With Apple having DRM free music for the last year, moving to other devices isn’t as hard; and any Android on T-mobile can talk surf, email, and text all at the same time. But there are plenty of things that Google has that Apple doesn’t because it’s not Apple’s core business. Search, Email, office apps online, Voice, chat, Maps, Wave, books, and more. If these services weren’t important then Apple wouldn’t have integrated some of them into the iphone (for now).
And for anyone who is appalled that Android (or any other smartphone)users are posting here, look at the bottom of the page as the same owners of this website own some of the most visited smartphone pages. Get over yourself. And before you ask: iphone owner(2G), former At&t customer (now t-mobile), and former At&t sales manager.
I like that apple is getting into the fight they need to b. I. C. T. H. Slap verizon and then deliver the knockout punch in June to all those droidboys but fanboysbhave to admit apple has NEVER fired back like this to defend their iPhone so they are either getting nervous or just trying to jump on the hoopla wagon and score some publicity points. 7 months from now I’m sure apple won’t dissapoint all their fanboys/girls.
RON JEREMY SAYS Mivera S. Muygrande too. Haha
These ads are fantastic. Apple has the skill to give Verizon a well placed shotgun to the face with class. 1,000 skill points in awesome to Apple. The iPhone rocks, ATT is boss, and haters can spread their tears somewhere else.
I had Verizon for 4 years and switched to att, att is a 110% better. I tried several of Verizon’s phones, and the iPhone trumps them all. A good comparison is the ATT/Apple philosophy feels very opened source and the Verizon philosophy feels very restricted with a lot less freedom.
Some folks are talking as if Apple is just waking up to the competition…Steve Jobs has each of the competitor phones on his desk and he’s playing with them everyday. (Ok..he really should…I would.)
What Motorola needs…since we haven’t heard from THEM at all…is a few hundred trendy-hip stores sprinkled in urban areas. Then, they need to have parties for each opening, send out viral video of 20-30 somethings crowding the doors for a chance to play with Motorola toys…
If these companies made their products essential to the culture, there would be a whole different ball game here. Apple has spent millions over the years ensuring that we NEED Apple products to be “in the know” and ” in the now”.
Hilarious. Your network still needs a signal to “talk and surf” I’ve got a map for that
VZW is so much better than AT&T. Droid is cool, but still wish for certain apps that I had on my iPhone to show up in android. Still not enough to make me go back to AT&T.
In the UK the iPhone’s been on the o2 network and I’ve never really had any issues with it, but now that the contract is coming to an end, i think Orange are going to try to get in on the Apple love so it’ll be interesting to see how competitive they are against o2, i can smell some discounts around the corner!
I think the real insecurity/vulnerabilty is being shown by all the trolls that show up here, day in and day out, to bash the iPhone.
When will you guys understand its not about devices but the networks. Yes tha iPhone is shown in the ads but only beceuse its ATT flagship device and if you noticed not one single DROID is in VZWs ads. They’re attacking ATT not Apple. Its Motorola that’s attacking Apple and I say bravo that they have the cojones to do so.
I’m loving these 2 new commercials. I use the option all the time.
@Striatic
Have fun with your Lucas device while it is still good. Google’s own gPhone will come to AT&T next year bringing all other androids as second class phones.
fine print
ONLY AVAILABLE IN AREAS COVERED WITH 3G AND OUR 3G SERVICE ACTUALLY WORKS BECAUSE OUR NETWORK HAS MORE HOLES THAN SWISS CHEESE.
@icebike
apple doesn’t give a **** about the droid. Sorry to break it to you. The only company that apple really pays attention to is apple. The droid will not put a dent in apples profits.
@Yeshua Watson
Microsoft beats the **** out of mac sales? I didn’t realize Microsoft made computers. Interesting. As far as more computers being bought that run windows…..well I would hope so. How many companies make pc’s? How many make macs? Think please.
I learned early on in my professional career that it was easier to talk politics and religion than picks sides in any iPhone, BlackBerry, Pre (WebOS) or Android death match.
I will say this:
Blackberry is the real loser here, and I have no idea why they don’t use Android to take care of their weak Web UI and use their classic, branded features to full advantage.
iPhone, which I no longer use as my one phone to rule them all, truly is the only phone that can do it all when it comes to media. iTunes is something none of the others will every be able to trump. I have no idea, though, why Apple doesn’t come out with sliders, game-pimped keyboards, and other form factors, let alone more visible multi-tasking. Lots of us have gotten bored with the iPhone, and we don’t have to be. But make no mistake, it was Apple who came in as an outside and shook up mobile telephony by introducing a phone a solid ten years—or more—ahead of its time, if left up to the Motorolas and Nokias and RIMs of this world.
The Android OS sort of levels the playing field between the iPhone and other phones in terms of interfacing with the web. Apple’s not scared of the Droid or Motorola. It’s scared of Google. But Google isn’t beat Apple the way some of you are talking. Google is playing a different game and simply making sure that whatever phone you use to access the mobile web—including an iPhone—that they’ll be there.
So while I don’t think Android is going to win, Google will, and so will Apple, on their own terms. Even Palm’s WebOS may surprise by carving out a stronger niche than expected. But BlackBerry–my favorite hardware maker, to be sure–has definitely seen better days.
The fact that on the Verizon network you can not be on a phone call while checking your email, browsing the web, etc..They need to overcome it if its really a serious problem.Another thing might be longevity of battery
@Therealtruth – You are correct. I should have clarified that statement. It should have read “PCs running Microsoft’s software beats the c r a p (sensors made that worst last time) out of Mac sales each year.” My mistake.
First off the commercial that says you can’t browse while your on the phone is a bald face lie, there’s no limits to what you can do on the droid while on the phone. Any app, browser, mail.. so its pretty sad that their come back to the verizon commercials is complete lies
but do people really need to surf the web while they are talking to someone? that seems kinda disrespectful to someone you are talking to.