Diaries of a Nokia Fan Boy

Ok, so I’ve been a little lacking in the posting department lately, but I’m going to blame my job and life situation on that one…

For the update: AT&T is now comparing their speed with Verizon’s based on downloads, and is calling Verizon a sluggish, headless wanna-be. Not sure what to make of that, would be interesting to see real comparisons: same/similar devices, same time of day at thousands of locations, done by an impartial third party, and results including not only download rates but latency too. Maybe even show the average speeds across different classes of devices, not just super-fast smartphones.

-Nokia FanBoy

And finally!
AT&T is at last beginning to play the game, instead of crying about it (which failed miserably by the way). AT&T recently released a couple ads describing why they are better than the opposition without actually pointing at anyone! A little nicer than Verizon since I believe this kind of behavior to further advancement as opposed to breaking down into a schoolyard fight using lawyers as ammunition and shielding.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Engadget (read)

Well those of you in the South have probably been watching this a little more closely than myself, given that it doesn’t really affect me all that much. But none-the-less, this little battle is quite humorous.

A little while back Verizon started their ad campaign nicknamed “There’s a map for that”, obviously in order to counter AT&T’s iPhone “There’s an app for that” set of commercials. Combined with Verizon’s “DROID vs. iDon’t” commercials is putting quite a bit of pressure on AT&T, and finally AT&T couldn’t handle it anymore and threw a legal fit.

The idea behind the “There’s a map for that” commercials is to show just how spotty AT&T’s coverage really is. AT&T decided to sue Verizon, claiming that the map is giving an unfair representation of AT&T’s coverage because its not showing the extent of their EDGE network (on a 3G map!). The irony is that Verizon lifted the coverage map straight off of AT&T’s website.

Well the most humorous part is Verizon’s response to the lawsuit. I give you their introduction:

AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.

Hang on a second, I thought lawsuits and lawyers were supposed to be civil!?! This just looks like a the-gloves-are-off marketing *****slap! (Pardon my French)

Of course this tells me one thing: Verizon planned the whole thing all along. And their timing could not be better – the holidays are right around the corner, they’re releasing their flagship phone, and both sets of ads are targeted directly at their biggest competitor: AT&T! I mean it looks like they released their “iDon’t” commercials just to annoy AT&T, maybe even point and laugh a little, but knowing full well that without them, AT&T may not have sued! And the response to the lawsuit just screams marketing department.

Anyway, you guys decide for yourself what you think of the whole debacle but one thing’s for sure: this is going to be a fun one.

-Nokia FanBoy

Verizon’s response (pdf)
via: Engadget (read)