Everything verizon
The annual Millward Brown BrandZ survey was released recently, with Apple holding fast to its number one spot. Apple's brand worth for 2012 actually grew 19% since last year to $183 billion, followed by IBM with $116 billion brand worth, and Google which dropped a down a rank.
Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo mentioned at the J.P. Morgan Technology, Media, and Telecom conference recently that anyone migrating from 3G to 4G devices won't be able to grandfather in their old unlimited plan and will have to instead take a data share plan scheduled to launch this summer.
Just in case we needed any more convincing that people love their iPhones, the American Customer Satisfaction Index has found through recent surveys that Apple's smartphones are leaving customers the happiest. The iPhone scored 83 on their system, compared to to Nokia, LG and HTC who are all tied at 75.
A fresh study by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners sows that Walmart sells 11% of all iPads in the U.S. By comparison, Best Buy sells 24%, Apple sells 26%, Amazon sells 8%, and AT&T and Verizon sell 1% each.
Carriers have a love/hate relationship with the iPhone. They hate Apple's control (because they want that control for themselves) but love the money and customer-retention having the iPhone on their network brings them. Sprint's willingness to pay damn near all the money in their pockets, and delve into whatever passes for a corporate second mortgage, proves that that point.
AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint sell Android because they want to. They sell iPhone because they have to.
Verizon has reported it's first quarter, 2012 income and it includes the sale of 3.2 million iPhones, and $3.91 billion in net revenue. Their wireless business, which includes the iPhone and iPad, was up 7.7% in services, 8.9% in retail year-over-year. They added almost 3/4 of a million net new retail customers, almost half a million of which were postpaid. That makes their total reach now 93 million, of which 88 million are postpaid.
If you've got a blown or distorted loud speaker or the bottom mic isn't working in your Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4, you may need to DIY replace the speaker assembly. Luckily, this is one of the easier repairs to perform on your own. It's also a lot cheaper than paying for a replacement if you're out of warranty.
Verizon has just announced that they're expanding their LTE network to a bunch of new areas across the U.S. In New York, the Buffalo-Niagara area has 28 new LTE towers, while Cattaraugus-Alleghany counties are getting their first taste of 4G on Thursday.
For the first time in... forever, iPhone 4S commercials are hitting the air with celebrities.... talking to Siri. The Avengers' Samuel L. Jackson is in one spot that finishes with Verizon branding and The New Girl's Zooey Deschanel is in another with the Sprint logo at the end.
Verizon is increasing the fee they charge customers who upgrade to a new, subsidized iPhone -- or other mobile device -- as part of a 2-year contract renewal. The new fee will be $30 and takes effect on April 22.
