AT&T and Lack of Android Phones Problem

not everyone wants a smartphone. But the 3 that are already announced and coming out soon are pretty good. The HTC Inspire is pretty much the EVO /Droid X and the Motorola Atrix is (on paper) one of the most high-end Android phones that will be available.

I don't see the problem, AT&T is getting awesome phones.

As stated above, the picture is bleak right this moment, but here are your upcoming options:

February 13 - HTC Inspire 4G (new HTC SenseUI, first direct sell screen over 4")

March 6 ("or earlier") - Motorola Atrix 4G (most powerful Android phone to date)

Quarter 2 - Samsung Infuse 4G (4.5" sAMOLED+ screen, oh my)

The near future looks bright.

{Please keep it courteous}

Why does AT&T need "an immediate response" in the form of an Android handset to the loss of iPhone exclusivity?  Are people suddenly going to stop buying AT&T iPhones?  While AT&T will inevitably lose some sales of iPhones to Verizon, they might not necessarily gain back an equivalent number of those sales by offering a bright & shiny new Android phone.  People buy cell phones for a variety of reasons - because they want a particular phone (esp. among iPhone customers), because of the carrier their friends and family use (and family plans), because of coverage in a particular area.  It's overly simplistic to say that an immediate Android launch is the cure for what you seem to think ails AT&T.

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@gdonaldson23 wrote:

AT&T,

 

 Something seriously needs to change with the selection of Android Phones available. Though I understand that 12 new Android phones are to be released this year in 2011, I cannot honestly believe that the boys upstairs did not have an immediate response to the loss of the monopoly over the iPhone. Verizon has dominated the market when it comes to Android, mainly because of its large selection and lowered prices of high end phones, like the Incredible. Unless the selection of Android phones changes quickly, and with legitimate phones released, many who have not left already will leave for a more satisfying experience with Verizon, Sprint and the like. Phones similar to the Incredible or phones from the Motorola Android line would much satisfy the need for Android Phones. Unless something changes, major losses are to be expected. 

 

A Worried Customer 

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@gdonaldson23 wrote:

AT&T,

 

 Something seriously needs to change with the selection of Android Phones available. Though I understand that 12 new Android phones are to be released this year in 2011, I cannot honestly believe that the boys upstairs did not have an immediate response to the loss of the monopoly over the iPhone. Verizon has dominated the market when it comes to Android, mainly because of its large selection and lowered prices of high end phones, like the Incredible. Unless the selection of Android phones changes quickly, and with legitimate phones released, many who have not left already will leave for a more satisfying experience with Verizon, Sprint and the like. Phones similar to the Incredible or phones from the Motorola Android line would much satisfy the need for Android Phones. Unless something changes, major losses are to be expected. 

 

A Worried Customer 

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Why are you "worried"? There's nothing much to worry about, here. AT&T already has a steady hold on their current Android/WP7 devices. I guess you could include that the Android 2.2 update was delayed, but that's about it. Not too big of a deal. As already stated above, there will be "4G" devices that look spectacular in the next few days (for the Inspire), and the next upcoming months for the Atrix and Infuse.

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@BrianfromNO wrote:

{Please keep it courteous}

 

Why does AT&T need "an immediate response" in the form of an Android handset to the loss of iPhone exclusivity?  Are people suddenly going to stop buying AT&T iPhones?  While AT&T will inevitably lose some sales of iPhones to Verizon, they might not necessarily gain back an equivalent number of those sales by offering a bright & shiny new Android phone.  People buy cell phones for a variety of reasons - because they want a particular phone (esp. among iPhone customers), because of the carrier their friends and family use (and family plans), because of coverage in a particular area.  It's overly simplistic to say that an immediate Android launch is the cure for what you seem to think ails AT&T.

 

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Not sure why you are implying that this is more specific to iPhone customers. Obviously there are users that want Android devices and it shouldn't come as a surprise that they want some top of the line devices. I don't see where that should be an issue and now that Steve Jobs has taken AT&Tout of his back pocket, AT&T should start to deliver.

Because it IS more specific to iPhone users.  Were there lines for the release of any Android handset that matched the fever pitch of the iPhone releases?  Yes, there are those who want Android devices, but even among the Android users on Verizon surveys suggest a sizable chunk of them will defect to the iPhone.  Do we really need to go down this path again?  Apple, if nothing else, markets their products exceptionally well, making them an object of desire unparalleled in the technology world.

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@sitnsidewayz wrote:

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@BrianfromNO wrote:

{Please keep it courteous}

 

Why does AT&T need "an immediate response" in the form of an Android handset to the loss of iPhone exclusivity?  Are people suddenly going to stop buying AT&T iPhones?  While AT&T will inevitably lose some sales of iPhones to Verizon, they might not necessarily gain back an equivalent number of those sales by offering a bright & shiny new Android phone.  People buy cell phones for a variety of reasons - because they want a particular phone (esp. among iPhone customers), because of the carrier their friends and family use (and family plans), because of coverage in a particular area.  It's overly simplistic to say that an immediate Android launch is the cure for what you seem to think ails AT&T.

 

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Not sure why you are implying that this is more specific to iPhone customers. Obviously there are users that want Android devices and it shouldn't come as a surprise that they want some top of the line devices. I don't see where that should be an issue and now that Steve Jobs has taken AT&Tout of his back pocket, AT&T should start to deliver.

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That is because there was only one iPhone and only one place to get it. With Android, it is on several dozen devices spread across several carriers. Well, the landscape is changing even more. People don't have to go with AT&T now if they want the iPhone. Verizon is already ahead of the game with Android and Verizon will have LTE ahead of AT&T. Android is rapidly growing and AT&T should want to be part of the game. You can't be competitive unless you are going to offer some top devices, which AT&T does have coming down the pipe. It's just good business sense, whether you agree or not, AT&T can hang it's hat on iPhone for only so long. Don't wait and play catch up later.

Still, I don't recall ANY of the Android phones, even the first one, generating the kind of buzz the iPhone did.  And Verizon HAS to be ahead of AT&T in deploying LTE; their CDMA technology is dead-end, even with VORA implemented.  If AT&T managed to implement a proper HSPA+ network before Verizon got LTE off the ground, people would see what the difference was between the two technologies.  So far AT&T has dropped the ball in setting up a proper 3G network, although we can only hope iPhone users siphoning off to Verizon will start to alleviate the network congestion issues.

AT&T already has a few pretty good Android devices out there, although I know the Streak is still waiting for an update.  And they're coming out with a few more really marquee devices.  The Android apologists/conspiracy theorists/whiners that replaced the Windows Mobile whiners just need to sit tight...and if they can't do that, there are other carriers out there.