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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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8

iPhones Plod Along on Crowded Network

Heavy-using customers frustrated in busy areas

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(Newser) – The iPhone has a slick package and a supercool image--but when it comes to speed, the gadget can be a clunker, the New York Times reports. Customers are fed up with the long waits that stem from heavy traffic on the AT&T network, currently the only one available to iPhone users. They use the internet to download, watch, and listen as much as 10 times more than typical smartphone owners.

“It’s so slow, it feels like I’m on a dial-up modem,” says one user. It’s a particular problem in areas where lots of people are weighing down the network. But the trouble won’t belong only to AT&T for long—as other networks start embracing higher-tech phones, they’ll face the same concerns.

A customer walks out of an AT&T store in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, July 22, 2009.
A customer walks out of an AT&T store in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, July 22, 2009.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
In this June 19, 2009 file photo, a shop worker holds the new Apple iPhone 3GS in Barcelona, Spain.
In this June 19, 2009 file photo, a shop worker holds the new Apple iPhone 3GS in Barcelona, Spain.   (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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odowd80
Sep 3, 09 11:17 AM CDT
The private sector at its best. Reply
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+1
AClotfelter
Sep 3, 09 11:18 AM CDT
"Customers are fed up with the long waits that stem from heavy traffic on the AT&T network" But are they fed up enough to stop being a bunch of trend whores? I guess we'll see... Reply
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barthy
Sep 3, 09 12:34 PM CDT
trend whores. hahahahaha, nice.
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0
Realist
Sep 3, 09 11:52 AM CDT
The downside of exclusivity. The phone itself is pretty sweet, but it's pointless if your carrier can't cope with capacity. Makes it an expensive PDA... Reply
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+6
kyleleitch
Sep 3, 09 2:20 PM CDT
It's kind of like that Verison commercial with the guy and the dead Blackberry: "Paperweight mode!" Reply
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