Verizon: iPhone is outdated, pushing LTE Android phones

[Bateluer]

http://money.cnn.com//2012/05/03/te...aign=Feed:+rss/money_topstories+(Top+Stories)

Went in to buy an iPhone 4s... but walked out with a Razr," is the headline of one typical post.

"Do sales reps hate the iphone?!" another asks.

I decided to find out for myself. I had 10 conversations with Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) sales representatives in New York stores, on the phone, and in online chat sessions, asking about my options for a new smartphone.

Okay, did the sales rep force you to buy a Razr? You do have a choice.

When I said up front that I wanted an iPhone, none tried to talk me out of it. But when I followed up by asking if it was the best smartphone, they all said no.

I initially told half the representatives that I wanted "a new smartphone," and half that I was interested in an iPhone.

When I said up front that I wanted an iPhone, none tried to talk me out of it. But when I followed up by asking if it was the best smartphone, they all said no.

"If that's what you want, absolutely we'll order it," one rep said over the phone. "But my recommendation is 4G. I'd want the fastest, best technology that's not going to be outdated when I buy it."

"The Droid Razr Maxx is the faster of the two," another rep said in an online chat after I asked whether he thought the iPhone was my best bet.

Is Verizon asking its sales force to focus on iPhone alternatives? A company spokesman declined to give a direct answer.

"Our sales force's mission is to ensure customers are familiar with our product line and to match the customer with the right device to best meet their needs," Verizon Wireless spokesman Tom Pica said in a written statement. "At the end of the day, our goal is that every customer is delighted with the device that they have chosen."

Uh oh. Verizon's going to take flak for this, despite being quite correct that their LTE phones boast 10x+ faster network speeds. Its a pretty easy sell to put an iPhone and LTE phone next to each other and run the speed test.

 

[Eug]

One of the reasons I have zero interest in the iPhone 4S is because it does not have LTE.

 

[Super56K]

Better margins surely for any of their Android offerings (and they get to put their custom apps on it, control updates, etc).

 

[Dunkman04]

Why wouldn't they push LTE devices after the money they've put into the infrastructure?

 

[Bateluer]

Why wouldn't they push LTE devices after the money they've put into the infrastructure?

Exactly. LTE phones show off their pride and joy, their extensive LTE network. The iPhone does not.

 

[smartpatrol]

I wouldn't be surprised to see iPhone lose a little marketshare 2nd and 3rd quarter in the USA because of lack of LTE. But I expect iPhone to utterly dominate the fourth quarter if iPhone 5 launches in October with LTE.

AT&T and Verizon are in LTE mania mode right now. Of course they are going to push devices that take advantage of their new 4G network.

 

[Red Storm]

Not to mention Verizon's 3G is awfully slow compared to AT&T or T-Mobile's, so on Verizon it definitely makes sense to avoid phones that don't have LTE.

 

[Mopetar]

Don't really see it as an iOS/Android thing so much as an LTE/non-LTE thing. As other posters pointed out, they probably want to get people on their LTE network.

Also, the piece was written by the same guy who wrote this one about iPhone sales being disappointing even though the iPhone was still over half of all phones sold in the quarter at both Verizon and AT&T.

Honestly, I think he's just trolling for page hits with his articles.

 

[zerocool84]

I wouldn't be surprised to see iPhone lose a little marketshare 2nd and 3rd quarter in the USA because of lack of LTE. But I expect iPhone to utterly dominate the fourth quarter if iPhone 5 launches in October with LTE.

AT&T and Verizon are in LTE mania mode right now. Of course they are going to push devices that take advantage of their new 4G network.

That's how it always is with the iPhone, huge sales surge when it's fresh but drops off months after. Current sales figures have shown that it's the same trend.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Or many Verizon employees actually like the phones? You know, just sayin.

 

[Bateluer]

Or many Verizon employees actually like the phones? You know, just sayin.

Sales reps at all VZW/ATT/Sprint/TMO stores always seem to be sporting the latest and greatest devices as their 'personal' phones.

 

[Oyeve]

Not to mention Verizon's 3G is awfully slow compared to AT&T or T-Mobile's, so on Verizon it definitely makes sense to avoid phones that don't have LTE.

I find verizons LTE to be extremely slow. My tmo sgs2 is a least 100% faster than my vzw razr. Im sure that where I live, NYC, LTE is saturated but hey, its where I live and tmos faux 4g smokes vzws lte.

 

[joshhedge]

Yet the 4s performs better than most android smartphones to date and they still call it outdated, silly sales reps. I'd hate to live in the states where these people force your purchases upon you.

 

[Deeko]

Having spent a decent amount of time as a phone salesman, I think people underestimate how much personal opinion goes into these recommendations, and how little "company line". So, you're asking phone geeks what they think the best phone is....demographically, I'd say that's one of Android's stronger sectors, so it doesn't surprise me to hear they recommend it.

 

[ew915]

Yeah LTE is great the only problem is that VZW is full of problems with connections dropping, and the network can't even do VoLTE oh well is just marketing bullcrap for teenagers.

 

[Eug]

Luckily I'm not on Verizon then. I just want an LTE iPhone for Fido in Canada. I don't want to give up battery life, but fortunately the smaller-process LTE chipsets are available in 2012.

Buying a high dollar 3G-only phone in 2012 seems like a waste, unless you're the type to upgrade every year. (I'm not.)

 

[Piano Man]

I have also heard that because of how many iphones VZ has sold, their 3G network is getting overloaded, and thus, they are pushing their LTE.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Yet the 4s performs better than most android smartphones to date and they still call it outdated, silly sales reps. I'd hate to live in the states where these people force your purchases upon you.

Except the iPhone 4S is in fact outdated in that it doesn't have LTE. That's not a comment on the rest of the phone, just the radio.

Also no one is forcing you to buy anything, it's your job to do a little research beforehand and if you don't, then you'll have to rely on a biased salesperson's advice.

 

[Geekbabe]

The sales reps did their job, they told a prospective customer the truth, the iPhone 4S is NOT the fastest smartphone Verizon sells.

 

[smartpatrol]

That's how it always is with the iPhone, huge sales surge when it's fresh but drops off months after. Current sales figures have shown that it's the same trend.

I think it'll be bigger than just the usual annual bump, though. For the last year or two, consumers have had to choose between a 4G phone and an iPhone. And of course the carriers are going to push the phones that take advantage of their 4G network.

That will no longer be the case when an LTE iPhone is released. I honestly think we could see Android lose some smartphone marketshare in late 2012/2013.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I think it'll be bigger than just the usual annual bump, though. For the last year or two, consumers have had to choose between a 4G phone and an iPhone. And of course the carriers are going to push the phones that take advantage of their 4G network.

That will no longer be the case when an LTE iPhone is released. I honestly think we could see Android lose some smartphone marketshare in late 2012/2013.

That's what everyone said when the iPhone came to Verizon. That the only reason anyone was buying Android phones was because they didn't want to be stuck with AT&T. Well, the iPhone has come to Verizon (and Sprint too) and Android is still going strong.

At this point both sides are entrenched. People who bought smartphones two years ago and are up for a contract renewal will have bought their current phones in 2010, after Android got big, so it'll be all about whether they want to stay with what they have or try something new.

 

[dagamer34]

It costs more for all wireless carriers to subsidize an iPhone than any other phone they sell.

 

[lupi]

"It's all about the 4S now," one AT&T rep said over the phone, unprovoked. "The iPhone is the most popular phone, you know what you're getting, and it's a status symbol you can't get anywhere else."

 

[bearxor]

That's what everyone said when the iPhone came to Verizon. That the only reason anyone was buying Android phones was because they didn't want to be stuck with AT&T. Well, the iPhone has come to Verizon (and Sprint too) and Android is still going strong.

At this point both sides are entrenched. People who bought smartphones two years ago and are up for a contract renewal will have bought their current phones in 2010, after Android got big, so it'll be all about whether they want to stay with what they have or try something new.

Doesnt the iPhone account for over half of smartphone activations in the last few quarters for both AT&T and VZW?

But I agree. At this point, it's entrenchment and it's going to take something spectacular on either side to pull a massive amount of customers and LTE isn't it.

But seriously, VZW also wants everyone on the 700mhz LTE band.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Is LTE available every where?