Verizon Wireless is activating iPhones faster than AT&T

By on Apr 21, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Business April 21, 2011

In the company’s earnings report on Thursday, Verizon Wireless revealed that it activated 2.2 million iPhone 4 units in the first quarter of 2011. While AT&T reported earlier this week that it activated 3.6 million iPhones in the March quarter — 64% more than Verizon Wireless — the story doesn’t end there. AT&T’s loss of iPhone exclusivity might not have had the immediate dramatic impact some analysts predicted, but Verizon did manage to achieve a milestone right out of the gate: the nation’s top carrier activated iPhones at a much faster pace in the first quarter of 2011 than rival AT&T. While AT&T activated plenty more units, those activations were spread over the full 13 weeks of the March quarter. Verizon Wireless released the iPhone 4 just seven weeks ago on February 10th. As such, AT&T activated iPhones at a rate of 277,000 per week while Verizon Wireless was activating an average of roughly 314,000 units each week. The device was brand new for Verizon, of course, and pent up demand for the iPhone lead to the strongest pre-orders in the carrier’s history. AT&T also included the $49 iPhone 3GS activations in its total, however, so the numbers were bolstered on both sides.

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  • http://reviewerps.blogspot.com/ Stynkfysh

    And I think AT&T’s included iPhone 3GS’s. Don’t forget those. Apple reported that those were selling very well and they can only be selling at AT&T.

    • Gunther

      Please read beyond the first sentence before commenting. Thanks.

      • http://reviewerps.blogspot.com/ Stynkfysh

        I read the whole thing Gunther, thanks for being an ass. I may have typed too short of a message however. In the Apple’s financial reporting yesterday, as far as I heard, they did not differentiate between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4′s and counted them together. So the somewhat similar sales figures of iPhones between the two carries may actually be misleading as AT&T also sold iPhone 3GS which may be included in those figures.

      • Kung Fu Kenny

        I hope your breath doesn’t stink as bad as your brain does.

        It CLEARLY STATES iPhone 4 activations. Not 3G, 3GS, but only iPhone 4.

        Maybe you should read it over 3x before you think your so cool in a race to ‘be the first to post….’

      • http://reviewerps.blogspot.com/ Stynkfysh

        I know what BGR’s says. I am saying that the reporting MAY have
        been intentionality misleading and that BGR is a victim of some inaccurate
        math. All parties involved (Apple, ATT, Verizon) have been cryptic
        regarding how many iPhones have been sold by which carrier. By extracting
        certain statements you can come to the conclusions that BGR is posing -
        EXCEPT that if they are coming from the same math as everywhere else on the
        net they are excluding the fact that AT&T sold 3GS’s as well which have been
        a fairly hot seller for them – and which are included in this iPhone 4 math.
        Got coffee breath right now, thank you.

  • sirpaul

    …..

    Getting so sick of all this iCrap. This week the first week when I actually skipped over almost everything Apple related. At least if info was actual news, not 5 articles on white iPhone, and another 20 on what month it will come out on…

    • sirpaul

      Random retard: omg if you don’t liek it than dont come hear no1 making you read it omg!!

  • Fuckandroid

    Cue the fagdroids bitching about another apple article

  • Tim242

    So Zach, name an Android phone that they have ever done a preorder for. Hint: There’s only one. You gave in to hype. You fail.

    • keymaker

      And still no one lines up for them LMAO…….

      • Tim242

        There is no need to. Only dumb iusers do that.

      • keymaker

        LMAO………. You Mad? LMAO……….

      • Tim242

        Nope. I’m on the winning Android team…the #1 OS in the world. iOS all the
        way at #4. U mad?

      • keymaker

        OEMs are becoming more greedy everyday and they will drive Android to the Ground. The only Android Device i was ever interested on was the nexus but then Samsuck turned it to shit. Enjoy being on top while it last.

      • lames

        see thats what makes you people hilarious…winning team? its a fuckin phone dude, ur not making any shots, field goals, touchdowns…
        also do u have any stock in google, do they send you annual christmas cards or visit you on ur bday? this company could give two shits about you..your winning nothing but a phone bill.

    • Anonymous

      1.2 GHz dual-core CPU, 4.5″ 720p (329ppi) screen, Netflix 720p streaming over 4G, 1080p HDMI-out, Gingerbread/Ice Cream…I think there’s gonna be a pre-order for this one…

  • Goofansucks

    Oh any minute all the goofan scum bags will start posting again.

  • http://twitter.com/WhyCantMyPhone Neal Elward

    I wouldn’t call the 3GS $49. You are a moron if you buy one of those now. 1/4 the upfront cost of an iPhone 4 looks smart at first, but then you have to consider that the price difference is actually extremely slim over the life of the contract (200+24*n) – (50+24*n). I suppose this goes to show that both carriers continue to attract people with “more dollars than sense.”

  • Anonymous

    With the thunderbolt outselling the iPhone, that must mean over a million Thunderbolts sold so far. Amazing for HTC.

    • Anonymous

      Not quite. Thunderbolts were outselling iPhones at Verizon retail stores (or a sample of them any way). Verizon retail stores are likely the main distribution point for Thunderbolts, but Apple retail stores and online store are likely the main distribution point for iPhones.

      There’s really no way to make an accurate comparison unless Verizon or HTC actually disclose the Thunderbolt sales numbers. I’m not saying who sold more one way or another, but just clarifying that there is no conclusive answer right now about overall sales.

      • Anonymous

        Actually, 275,000 T-Bolts were sold in just 2 weeks time, clearly outpacing iPhone 4 sales.

      • Anonymous

        I think your math is a bit off. 2.2M iPhones in 7 weeks works out to a little over 314K per week. 275K Thunderbolts works out to 137.5K per week.

        And the number I now saw posted actually say 260K in 2 weeks.

      • Anonymous

        275,000×4 = 1.1Milion

        CDMA iPhone 4 = 2.2Milion ..

  • http://reviewerps.blogspot.com/ Stynkfysh

    And I think AT&T’s figures included iPhone 3GS’s. Don’t forget those. Apple reported that those were selling very well and they can only be selling at AT&T.

    • Ronald Miller

      How many times are you going to post the same non sense?

      • http://reviewerps.blogspot.com/ Stynkfysh

        Second time was an accident. Thanks.

  • keymaker

    Can Goofan please explain how is this happening when almost no one stood in line for the iphone? Could it be something (MAGICAL)

    • Anonymous

      Pre Order …

  • Peter Goesinya

    But the most significant question surrounding this is… who cares?

  • Nunyabiz

    LAME. iPhone has been on AT&T much longer, so of course they don’t have as many sales as Verizon. Verizon has their entire customer base to sell too.

  • android/apple

    Do you people ever wonder with these reports from these firms that are saying the thunderbolt is outselling the iphone are just saying this because they are trying to attract attention. Don’t you think if this was true Verizon and HTC would of said something by now. And these firms based there numbers by calling on stores!!???
    Just food for thought!

  • Giorgio

    I’ve had both AT&T (previously until 4/14/11) and Verizon’s iPhone 4 (current). I actually liked AT&T’s better overall to be honest. Until Verizon gets an LTE iPhone, their data speeds are embarrassing compared to AT&T.

    The only things I like better about Verizon’s are: the call quality is better on VZW, also I used to drop calls while I had full coverage on AT&T (not too frequently, but it had happened multiple times).

    However to myself, considering I don’t use the actual “PHONE” tremendously – and also that both carriers’ voice networks are practically identical where I live – I’d go back to the AT&T iPhone 4 if I had the choice, based on data speeds and simultaneous voice and data.

    • Joel

      I agree. But end of the day it depends on your location. I live in an area where I get 1-2.3 MBPS on my Verizon iPhone, AT&T’s iPhone is 0.50-1.2 MBPS here.. Verizon is the clear winner in my market area

    • Joel

      I agree. But end of the day it depends on your location. I live in an area where I get 1-2.3 MBPS on my Verizon iPhone, AT&T’s iPhone is 0.50-1.2 MBPS here.. Verizon is the clear winner in my market area

  • http://www.techno-update.com techno-update

    Dosent surprise me Verizon rocks!

  • rednick261

    As an AT&T guy who dislikes what Apple has done to our brand, I still feel the need to come to the company’s defense. AT&T has been activating iPhones since 2007, and the iPhone 4 since summer, 2010. Most AT&T customers who have a serious desire to have an iPhone already have an iPhone. Verizon customers haven’t had the option before. So, when Verizon launched iPhone in February, an influx of non-iPhone-wielding Verizon customers jumped on the opportunity to get one in larger numbers than AT&T customers who have had access to (and purchased in convincing numbers) the device since last summer. That’s like comparing apples and toner ink. There is almost nothing relative about the two figures. In fact, the fact that AT&T is still activating a relatively large number of iPhones is pretty telling.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Alexander-Thacker/597252629 John Alexander Thacker

      That’s true and a good point– but at the same time, you have to acknowledge that AT&T’s touted “number of iPhones activated” was large, but the number of net customer adds was very small, only around 30,000. That means that most of those iPhone activations were going to AT&T customers that didn’t already have an iPhone, or, if you’re correct about most AT&T customer who wanted one having one, went to people who had a previous model iPhone who were upgrading. And some of it is new AT&T customers who were balanced out by people jumping ship to Verizon.

      Verizon had 900,000 net adds in Q1, FIFTEEN TIMES as many as AT&T’s 30,000.

      Moving existing customers to the iPhone is good for AT&T, and it can even be more profitable to have fewer higher ARPU customers than to concentrate on just having the most subscribers. But still, people shouldn’t confuse “iPhone activations” with “new customers.”

  • Anonymous

    It’s true what Stynkfysh is saying. It’s funny the people telling other people that they don’t know how to read, actually don’t know how to read themselves

    Read this again and slowly:
    Verizon sold 2.2 mil iphone 4′s
    Att sold 3.6 mil iphones

    See the difference, att sold IPHONES, which means that includes the 4 and 3GS. Get the picture?

  • heyhey

    this is the beginning of the end for crapdroid!!! do we need to know which smartphone those people had before their contract was up ?

  • Esculpin2003

    I’m a vzw customer Verizon suck at&t suck they are to fucking over price you for everything T-Mobile was an options but now is going to be par of at&mother fucker T Fu@$$&%$#k

    • 1T2dirtnap

      HAAAA?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Alexander-Thacker/597252629 John Alexander Thacker

    “AT&T’s loss of iPhone exclusivity might not have had the immediate dramatic impact some analysts predicted,”

    Actually, it did, if you look at the numbers like a real analyst, and don’t just read AT&T’s press release. AT&T activated a lot of iPhones– but those were mostly existing AT&T customers, previous iPhone users or not. AT&T had very low net adds in Q1; Verizon had 15 times the net adds of AT&T in the quarter, double of a year before, where the extra was essentially the iPhone number.

    Now, it’s good for AT&T when non-iPhone users move to higher ARPU iPhones, and it’s good for AT&T when iPhone users move up to the latest model. But it’s clear if you look at the number that AT&T’s subscriber base didn’t grow on net in Q1, and that was almost entirely because of people who both love iPhones and prefer Verizon jumping ship.

  • Travis “CityBoy” Sinclair

    Wow imagine that, something new is outselling another company’s device that has had it for almost 7 months….you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to deduce that…

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