Robert X. Cringely writes:
The Verizon and AT&T dustup is turning out to be far more entertaining than any tired old Microsoft vs. Apple campaign. After a series of scorching “there’s a map for that” TV ads by Verizon mocking its competitor’s spotty 3G coverage, AT&T ran to a federal judge crying “Daddy daddy daddy, that mean old man is making fun of me.”
Is Verizon pushing the envelope of truthiness just a bit? Sure — the iPhone is not a pink-spotted elephant or a jack-in-the-box named Charlie. But so does AT&T’s “we’ve got the fastest 3G network” claim, which obscures its gaps in coverage. As they say, all is fair in love, war, and advertising.
Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld article AT&T: Ignore Verizon’s Ads and Fix Your Own Woes
The Verizon and AT&T dustup
As the U.S. market leader in wireless data service, we typically don’t respond to competitors’ advertising. However, some recent ads from Verizon are so blatantly false and misleading, that we want to set the record straight about AT&T’s wireless data coverage.
AT&T ‘Sets Record Straight’ in Latest Ad Against Verizon
There’s no solution, and no excuses. Every user and subscriber to phone services are free to discover their own problems with that chosen system. I just wonder what ever happened to Bill Gate’s big deal “pacific rim” project to launch satellites surrounding the globe so that it rains MSN down on every square foot of the earth. It was big press at one time — but you never heard anything since. That would have put an end to the squablles once and for all. Yet at the same time, I somehow suspect that Microsoft wouldn’t be playing fair or honest either. Just a suspicion.
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Editor / Publisher: InfoManager
pcworld.com article — Beyond suing archrival Verizon Wireless in federal court, AT&T has now added more fuel to its fight to defend its nationwide wireless network against a negative ad blitz by sending out a letter to customers to “set the record straight.”
AT&T suing archrival Verizon Wireless in federal court – AT&T is taking Verizon to court alleging the phone giant is misrepresenting how large its phone network is in its ads.
Apple, AT&T’s partner in iPhone, has garnered its share of grievances too. Get a load of Cringely’s take on Steve Jobs’ empire in “It’s Apple’s world, we just click in it”
Lies, Damned Lies, and Coverage Maps AT&T has another beef with Verizon’s marketing department and an ad that equates AT&T and the iPhone as a misfit toy.
