When two marketers go to war, viewers win. Reminds me of the Budweiser vs Miller showdown.

Reminds me of the Directv commercials LOL... love it!

"oh look, an iPhone! and some toys! that reminds me: I want an iPhone."

According to rumors I've heard, Verizon's going to be eating a LOT of crow come 3Q, 2010. That's assuming their rickety 3G network can handle the iPhone, that is.

Look closely... it's not a real iPhone, it's a Chinese knock-off. Verizon might be desperate but they're not stupid. They really really want to carry the iPhone themselves. Aside from the "Droid Does" stuff they've been very careful to attack AT&T and not Apple.

I think this is rather immature. People want the iPhone, not necessarily AT&T. So, they are stuck with AT&T coverage if they want to deal with the iPhone through legal means. Sure, maybe Verizon does have a larger 3G network, but if there was some way to bring an iPhone to Verizon, then I'm sure people would change to Verizon. But alas, they use this so inconvenient CDMA.

- an impartial iPhone user

Meh. Every cell carrier has coverage holes...its just a matter of finding one that works where you are.

@Silversmok3: Verizon's coverage map is a load of crap anyway. You have 3G coverage in Vermont? No you don't.

@pearl: you do know that you can get the iPhone and not use it on ATT, right?

I have T-Mobile's myPhone3G (No Contract) and I'm using it on AT&T instead (Waiting out the last 2 months of my AT&T contract)

IMHO, I think Verizon missed a crucial point. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" totally rules as do all the characters in it so it's a natural fit for the iPhone.

@Trai_Dep: I highly doubt that Apple at this point will release a CDMA iPhone, though they have been taking quite a bit of flack for the ATT problem.

Verizon has great commercials. TV and phone.

Heh. Remember the original "Can you hear me now?" ads?

Nobody wants a Charlie-in-a-Box! Or lousy 3G coverage, either.

I think it's fair game. A lot of people buy the iPhone for the fun games and fancy screen anyways, and probably don't care about the 3G coverage issue.

@microcars:

I'll take one too... once they leave AT&T. :)

@JerryMouse: That's really only an option if you get T-Mobile coverage where you need it. That's not an option for us right now.

That add is a winner... As are there is a Map for that ads. They have good luck for the most part with their ads. I wonder what company they use?

@Shadowfire: Vermont has a longstanding moratorium on construction of new cell towers. They don't restrict the carriers from recapitalizing the equipment they have on the towers built before the moratorium went into effect.

I bought the I-phone because I'm an incomplete quad (C8) and I needed a phone that would work for someone who has issues holding and being able to use a phone. My phone is completely voice activated and if I need to push the numbers or letters on the touch screen I can. I love my I-phone even if I'm with Rogers/AT&T.

Oh and I used to have a phone by FIDO that Verizon's uses and I hated it. Coverage sucked and it was very difficult for me to dial or text. I would never think of going back to either FIDO or Verizon (If I move to the states) ever again.

@Paladin_11: I was definitely noticing that, too. But, calling the iPhone a misfit toy, whether directly or through alluding to it, probably won't endear Apple to Verizon too much. But you're definitely right; Verizon would probably kill to have the iPhone on their network and, right now, it seems kind of like a Sour Grapes mentality they're throwing out there.

Plus, no publicity is bad publicity? Like microcars said above, it'll just remind people that they'd like an iPhone for Christmas. Unless they're part of the anti-iPhone cause. Because, you know, being pro- or anti-iPhone is totally a life-defining decision.

@jparadise: You make it seem much more trivial than it is. Why should people buy any phone on Verizon, including the Droid, if good features like a crisp screen and the availability of entertaining apps are not important?

So, does the Isle of Misfit toys get 3G coverage? Looks to me like California and the Northeast corridor are perfectly good for it. Is there something the government isn't telling me about New Jersey? Is it actually a place where the flawed, misfit people are forced to live together?

Also, this makes the iPhone cute and charming, like a teddy bear with one eye. Meanwhile, the Droid is scary and futuristic.

@JonBoy470: I'm aware of that. But Vermont still has almost no 3G coverage. I believe there is a patch of it in Burlington, but the rest of the state has none.

Don't get me wrong, I wish my iPhone could get 3G here, but I'm not voolish enough to believe that I'm getting screwed by AT&T on this.

All I really take away from that commercial is that Verizon doesn't have the iPhone, but they do have some phones that are like totes more awesome, but they're not going to tell me about them other than that the phones they sell aren't the iPhone oh and PS: iPhone!

@CompyPaq:

Reports today are that they're going to do a joint UMTS/CDMA phone, so they can essentially have one handset globally.

@RobThy: Even as an avid iPhone/Mac/Apple lover, I can recognize funny ads when I see them, even if they're at the expense of something near and dear to me. And yeah, these are clever ads. The advertising agency did a good job and, while I don't think they'd every sway me to go with Verizon, they're still fun to watch. Captialism at its finest.

@Trai_Dep: Verizon would love to have the IPhone on it's network. This is not a dig on the iphone but instead on the ATT network. You can bet that Apple is trying to figure out the best way to get out of it's ATT exclusivity contract and get their phone on other networks.

Is the Droid's $350 early termination fee somewhere on that island?

Hey, anyone remember when people just used phones to make calls? It was probably around the same time that movie came out...

@pearl: As an actual AT&T customer I love these ads - because I hope it encourages the company to fix their network.

Whats really awful is their coverage map is actually worse than what they protray. I live in an area that is solid blue for 3G, but I'm lucky if I even get cell service at all (frequently get zero bars). I'll probably switch to the droid once is comes out assuming Verizon doesn't castrate it.

@SkuldChan: the droid IS out. It came out yesterday.

And mine is not castrated as best I can determine.

@facted: Reports I have read said both Sprint and Verizon turned down the offer to have Iphones originally because of the cost that Apple wanted..

@SkuldChan: Yeah all my friends switched over to Iphone because they are sheep.. love the phone but hate the service, they either drop calls or never get text on time here in KC..

@xenth: But viewers lose when companies like Verizon and (especially) AT&T have anti-competitive exclusivity agreements for certain devices. Therefore, if I want an iPhone, I have no choice but to use AT&T, which has HORRID data service in the town that I live in. A lot of the time I don't even get the 70kbps advertised by AT&T for its EDGE service (and this is in the middle of town!); I suspect this is due to overloading of the network. On the other hand, both Verizon and Sprint offer 3G service in my area; I'm not sure about T-Mobile's EDGE service but wouldn't be surprised if it's superior to AT&T's.

@Thaddeus:

ROFL! I remember phones before they had buttons. I had to keep my finger in the little dialing holes just so I could keep track on who I was calling. I was so happy when I got a "princess phone" back in 1978.

@kcvaliant:
The storie I read said that Verizon turned down Apple because Apple wanted way too much control & Verizon is all about control itself.

These ads are smart because they don't attack the iPhone (which people like) but rather AT&T (which pretty much everyone hates). A wise move, especially considering that Verizon will be want to carry the iPhone when it's no longer an AT&T exclusive.

@Verucalise(countingcalories): Yeah but Verizon is raping my childhood memories here, LOL.

The biggest problem with Verizon is their damned support staff. I worked with cell phones at work for about 2 years, and their billing was crap, their service staff was crap, and dealing with them was like dealing with IBM 30 years ago. We had a bunch of people order personal cells from Verizon when they used to come to work and sell out of our cafeteria. Everyone of those phones is now listed as a company phone, so if any of those people want to upgrade their service, I need to fill out a COA form for them. Verizon's billing is so ancient that they can't do a mass change to correct their own fuck up, which they readily admit.

By comparison, AT&T is flexible, and support can be easily reached at any time, and they get things corrected when you do.

@yentaleh:

Rotary dial... ah yes, slo-mo dialing. Until 1987 we lived in a rural town that had no touch-tone capability. I don't miss those days.

@RobThy: Verizon uses the McCann Erickson agency. These are the dudes who were responsible for a LOT of classic ad stuff (Coke's "Sing" and Rice-a-Roni's jingle).

And grouch all you want, iPhonies, but you are the ones giving Verizon buzz just by discussing it.

But what do I know? I'm only paying $15/mo for Net10 service...

I was at Sun Devil Stadium awash in AT&T advertisements and barely had an Edge signal on my iphone. Awesome

@Silversmok3: As someone who lives in the sticks I have to add a hearty "I agree."

@nobodyman: I thought pretty much everyone hates cell providers and their ridiculous contracts and fees in general, not just AT&T?

@NeverLetMeDown: Except that they already have one that 'works globally' - most of the planet uses GSM, not CDMA or LTE.

@CFinWV: Well, yes, but there seems to be an extra helping of hate for AT&T.

I watched my partner becoming more and more annoyed at the lousy coverage, dropped calls and billing issues, that he started keeping track of every. single. issue. and sending AT&T a bill for his time every month, lolz.

But seriously, when you have to spend 3-4 hours on the phone every month just to get spurious charges removed, the hatred, it burns.

@pot_roast: GSM is already getting retired in several countries (just like analog, will take 8-10 years to completely disappear). LTE is an evolution of GSM.

@yentaleh: Fido belongs to Rogers. AND uses Rogers network. You just probably got a crappy(bad luck, not necessary cheap) phone with Fido.

@JerryMouse: Well yeah, but you gotta unlock the iPhone to use it on another network, which is a breach of contract, right?. I'm not sure though because I'm not in the States right now. In Germany, T-Mobile sells the 3G 8gb iPhone with a prepaid option and the option to unlock after a year. Not the greatest but I'll take what I can get.