Apple hits back at Verizon in new iPhone ads (video)
Now look, we're not saying we know for sure that Apple thinks Verizon's latest round of merciless attack ads on its device and US carrier are worth responding to, but these latest iPhone spots would certainly suggest it. A new campaign launching tonight focuses on the iPhone's ability to carry voice and data simultaneously on AT&T's network, and each of the two new TV spots ends with the line "Can your phone and your network do that?" From where we're sitting, it looks like between this new round and AT&T's Luke Wilson-manned comparison spots, both the phonemaker and carrier are fully stepping into the ring. Way to get their attention, guys. See the full clips after the break.


















well....that came off as douchey
Isn't that the entire Apple marketing approach?
Are you trying to say that the new Verizon commercials aren't the least bit douchey? Good job.
And the iDon't stuff are not? They're just ads. Just enjoy them.
Yep. But this time, their douchery didn't come off as clever. In fact, it made them seem like a couple of dumbasses for a fight that they didn't need to be in the first place.
I have never seen an iPhone with 5 signal bars (didn't even know i had that many). I bet the videos were taken 1 feet away a cellphone tower.
The ads are cocky yeah, but more than once I have had the need to use my iPhone to check and email and lookup a note while on a call. Once you've done it you can't live without it trust me.
Just noticed the last name Cao. did you know that means F*ck in Chinese?. Apple certainly has a way of embedding hidden messages into their ads.
at least the verizon ads were targeting the phone and the carrier asking "Can your phone and your network do that?" is a little bit more personal and as i said more douchey.
I think what Comment System was trying to say is that whole "Can your phone and your network do that?" came off as douchey to him. After all it's his opinion.
Btw, how is screaming, "that one verizon ad was douchey too!" eliminate the fact that 2 wrongs don't make a right?
My palm pre does that fine :)
No your palm pre doesn't
Douchey but necessary I think.
I do believe his palm pre does do that, but only if a wifi connection is available.
I think the millions of people living in large cities with AT&T and iPhone would more likely enjoy a signal in the first place yet alone doing both voice and data at the same time. You can't tell your friend where to get sushi if your call drops now can you?
Wow that's pretty cool!
But, in reality, it would take a little more time to do those tasks. You'd have to take your phone off your ear, unless you have a Bluetooth or you're on speakerphone. So, your caller is sitting there waiting for you.
Then, unless you have previously searched for the restaurant, movie or map... you're gonna have to search for them, clicking or typing to find them.... all while the caller is waiting.
I like the iPhone commercials, they show you all the cool stuff you can do with the iPhone. But, it's never as fast and slick as the commercial portrays it to be...
I don't know what dialect you speak but Cao is a fairly common surname that doesn't sound remotely like any curse word in at least 4 major dialects.
BTW... it's gonna take you more than 7 seconds to order flowers for your wife... so you'd better wait until you're off the phone anyway. Unless you want your wife sitting in silence while you're tap tap tapping your way through a website... especially if you've dropped back to EDGE.
"They're just ads. Enjoy them"
I don't dispute that people should calm down, but since when are ads for enjoyment? It's not like advertisements are [company]'s gift to the consumer for entertainment. They're just clever (or not so much) methods of taking your money. Viewing an advertisement should never elicit anything from a consumer but skepticism, as far as I'm concerned.
I was just going to mention that to you, damn, beat me to it.
Yea Verizon could really do themselves a favor and have their next droid commercial showing continuous data streams in a car on a highway, with obvious road signs visible so you can see where they are, and still see 3G speeds.
Same commercial, meet iPhone, and that special E pops right up.
"I'm Bill Kurtis, and I've just switched back to Edge, on the Nation's Fastest 3G network."
you mean like every other g-d phone has been doing for ages? oh, great... so the iPhone can do (at least) that!
@CommentSystem douchey as it may seems the heat is still on! lol
This bout is getting uglier every minute. With apple joining the royal-bout, One should realize that the 2 companies (AT&T apple) are already feeling the need to unite for Verizon is eating them piece by piece.
AT&T needs help!: http://bit.ly/att-is-calling-their-big-daddy-apple-for-help
@CommentSystem Also seems too 'thrown-together' to me. Doesn't have the nice flow that the normal ads have had. Wonder how much AT&T had to do with the new ads... or did Apple do a mediocre rush job of their own choosing?
The sad thing is Verizon will jump at the first opportunity to have the iPhone on their network, and Apple will jump for the first opportunity to be on Verizon. Why? Because this fight only matters until they can share the cash of the consumer.
I really wish they would stop playing these ads, I get most of my Doodle Jump in when I'm talking to people.
"No I'm totally payin- SWEET! New highscore!"
Ugh, I hate this, its as thought they're completely unaware that the iphone can't multitask with anything else.
Though**
Its not about multitasking its a sparring match between them about what the iphone can do, so verizons network is better, thats all fine and dandy for you "motorola Startac" users, if you want a fine piece of equipment in your pocket it has to be an iphone not a droid.... jailbraking is as simple and safe as installing any other app, once done there is not a single smartphone out there that can even come close.
And i do like very much the android OS.
I've tried to wrap my head around this and I just don't get it. I see the desire/need for some apps to have this ability. I see how you would want to text with Pandora still playing but I don't need my ebay app open while I'm texting. Maybe Apple sees this as the next thing to do with the 4th gen. A new chip and battery to allow multiple apps to run without killing performance.
you need service to use the phone toward its full potential i think.
I disagree. Plenty come close, some go further. The simple fact that Apple heralded copy and paste as a feature shows that. The iPhone is an amazing phone, I convinced my wife to get one, but the lack of multitasking or apps being able to run in the background is ridiculous. I have a G1, and while it isn't the world's greatest phone, in my opinion is comes close to the iPhone. The Droid goes further. Android in general has the promise of going further.
I'll give you a very easy example of multitasking.
"Say you're on a road trip. You want to stream internet radio, or maybe music from your massive home collection. But you want your GPS software running. Can YOUR phone do that?"
I do this ALL THE TIME on my phone. Streaming with the Last.fm client and running GPS.
The reverse is true.
When other networks POINT and SHOUT "LOOK NO MULTI-TASKING ON IPHONE" they are unaware that it can multi-task in very useful ways.
Here is a real example that I had just last Saturday.
I'm with my wife buying groceries. My job is to add stuff up as we go, so I have my calculator going.
So that I'm not bored, I have Opera browser going, reading the news.
I come across this story about a controversy between Ireland's and, I think Italy's soccer team. I want to see the video everyone is talking about, so I open my Youtube app, and look at the video.
Oh yeah, I keep Twitter running so I don't have 99 tweets to have to load if it was otherwise closed.
All while keeping Opera, and my calculator running.
I still don't see at all how that is really multitasking. You are still able to attend to only a single task at a time. What is your calculator doing while you're looking at Opera, for example?
I think you'd find that if you tried your exact scenario on an iPhone, the ultimate experience would be essentially identical.
Multitasking on a computer device refers to multiple programs running at once, not multitasking by the person using the device. In Lay's case, sure, the calculator isnt doing anything in the background, and he can only focus on one app at a time, but that fact that he can use his calculator WHILE data is being downloaded by his browser, youtube app, and twitter client is what's important.
My iPhone can multitask...just jailbreak, honestly it's not that bad.
...just to go out on a limb...whatever happened to AT&Ts plan to allow the iPhone to tether?
...this whole carrier/phone war is starting to really piss me off, instead of these companies wasting money to bash each other on commercials, why not take the extra cash and put it towards software/hardware development/improvements. I'm looking at you AT&T
@hang
I understand what multitasking is from a technical point of view, but if it ends up bringing no tangible benefit to the user then no, it's not important. My point was that LAY's usage pattern is typical of those that people in the "but the iPhone can't multitask" camp use to illustrate their point. MY point is that in the scenario described by LAY, the iPhone would produce the exact same outcome as far as the user is aware.
here's an example - i keep forgetting that I can't go to the mail app while listening to pandora radio (well of course I could, but I wanna keep listening to tears for fears). hence the usefulness of native multitasking.
Uh, it's not closed, losing the running totals I'm keeping. Kinda important.
Multitasking means my apps dont close when I switch to another.
not everyone wants to jailbreak their piece of equipment.
The iphone calculator always keeps whatever totals where last calculated in the app and resumes when re-opened.
I guess the iPhone ain't going to Verizon any time soon.
No, it still will. But then you won't NEED to talk and use data simultaneously. Because Apple said so. It's a feature.
I doubt Steve would forget about how Verizon showed him the door a number of years ago when he visited them, first.
He should be applauded for not giving in.
He should be applauded for not giving in?
Verizon should be applauded for not giving in to apples unreasonable demands on the first iPhone.
Why do you think the first gen iPhone was only available in a few markets? Wireless providers wouldn't sign apple's contract initially.
Look at Verizon and what it's doing with Android now.
I'm pretty sure they regret not taking the iPhone.
With Google's CEO leaving Apple and the whole GV/Gmaps debacle and Google going to VZW and HTC hitting up some Android....
Game on buddy!
Should be a good 2 months of saber rattling. Who wins: consumers....
Apple were frying Intel's bunny men a decade ago.
Now Macintosh computers come packing Core2Duos, i7s and Xeons.
That is a far more heinous act than this commercial.
Never say never.
I'd be willing to bet by this time next year, they are on Verizon...