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Just as every new day is met with a rising sun, every Apple event elicits rumors of an iPhone carried by Verizon. Some believe that a Verizon-compatible iPhone already exists and is merely waiting for a deal to be finalized.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg suggested that Verizon would debut its iPhone offering in January of 2011. AT&T has been the exclusive iPhone carrier it the US since its introduction in 2007. January is another six months away. What would be keeping this deal from going through?

John Gruber of Daring Fireball believes it's not the hardware. You'll remember when Steve Jobs revealed that "...Mac OS X has been leading a secret, double life," and he announced the move to Intel chips. John believes that a Verizon-compatible iPhone has been quietly existing at Apple, receiving the same refinements and improvements as its brother on AT&T.

The Loop's Jim Dalrymple agrees with John, adding that ongoing negotiations are the current stalling point. "It's reasonable to assume," Jim writes, "that the two companies are in negotiations and the Bloomberg article is just another negotiating tactic, but I don't think a deal has been signed."

Of course, they're both right. It wouldn't make any sense for Apple to finalize a deal with Verizon and then run around like a bunch of headless chickens to get a piece of hardware out the door. Speaking of that deal, Apple is in a great position. The iPhone continues to sell phenomenally well, and since the beginning fans have expressed an interest in the iPhone on Verizon.

Steve Jobs is notorious for hard-line negotiations. It's reasonable to assume that's where the Verizon deal is currently mired.

[Another possibility is that the Verizon iPhone in the underground labs is an LTE/CDMA hybrid device, and Verizon would use it as the flagship 4G phone for the network in the same way that Sprint is currently promoting the EVO 4G Android phone. –Ed.]

If you didn't see the thorough reports from AnandTech and Richard Gaywood on the behavior of the iPhone 4 in low-signal areas, one of the conclusions they came to is that 'bars are bogus.'

The behavior of the signal indicators on the phone is wildly shifted toward the optimistic, with over half the available signal range displayed as a cheery five bars. This contributes to the death grip problem: users who are giving up some antenna sensitivity when they grab the phone may not realize that their signal was iffy to begin with.

Guess what: Apple agrees with them, at least in part. The company posted a letter/press release today (unsigned, rather than the attributed-to-Steve past Thoughts on Music and Thoughts on Flash; they could have called this one Thoughts on Bars, but that would have been a little cruel) that admits "We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising." The letter continues: "Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong."

Totally wrong? Golly.

Apple says it will be releasing a software update to recalibrate the signal display so that users will be aware of the low signal that they didn't think they had, and as a result the problem of not being able to make calls when they hold the phone 'the wrong way' will be less evident. I guess.

We're all for clarity in signal displays, but what's not clear is how a more sophisticated formula for computing the "more bars in more places" will help users who have bought bumpers, or returned phones, because their iPhone 4s could not make calls in places their 3GS phones did. As Apple notes, there are plenty of users who are not having problems, and in fact get better reception and fewer dropped calls than they did with previous generations; all that does not invalidate the issues that are causing grief for Death Grip Nation.

In their review, Anandtech acknowledged that the iPhone 4's antenna capabilities and performance in low-signal areas are much improved over the earlier generation, with the ability to hold calls in conditions where the 3GS would have dropped them. Still, their conclusion is sound and straightforward: "At the end of the day, Apple should add an insulative coating to the stainless steel band, or subsidize bumper cases. It's that simple."

Note: Whether you are having reception issues or not, please be respectful and constructive in your comments.

This just in from the Whopping & Unexpected Surprises Department: in response to the iPhone 4's apparent reception problems, a pair of Maryland residents filed suit in Maryland federal court on Wednesday. They claim that Apple and AT&T knowingly sold phones with a defective antenna design.

The suit focuses on dropped calls and poor data performance, of course. Specifically it says that "Plaintiffs have experienced numerous dropped calls, and as a result, Plaintiffs are left with a device that cannot be used for the normal purpose and in the normal manner in which such devices are intended to be used." The suit also mentions that the couple cannot return their phones (they bought four) without incurring large penalties.

Their backing evidence includes their own experience, of course, but also a list of related stories published on sites like Gizmodo and Boy Genius Report. We don't yet know if "stuff we saw on the web" will hold up in court.

It feels like this lawsuit was inevitable, as many are unhappy after paying for something that they feel cannot reliably perform its main function. We'll follow this story and let you know how it goes. You can read the full legal filing at All Things D.

While AT&T's service has been notoriously bad even before the iPhone launch, iPhone users in New York City have suffered some of the worst of it, with one Apple Genius reportedly saying that 30% dropped call rate was average. (I think he misspelled "atrocious.")

The good news is that AT&T has rolled out a network upgrade in the NYC, according to the company's press release this week. The big question was: Will it actually help?

Early anecdotal reports are that yes, it has made a big difference. I've seen various snippets around the web of people posting that things seem to be better. I guess only time will tell for sure.

This also seems like a good time to remind you about AT&T's free Mark The Spot app for noting when you have either a voice or data issue. We've noted that some users are getting updated with news of tower build-outs near their reported dead spots. Personally I wondered if this was leveraging towers AT&T planned to install anyway, but I spoke with a friend who works for AT&T and he said "I know it's hard to believe, but it really does matter."

What say you, NYC folks? Has the upgrade been noticeable for you?

[via Engadget]

There have been some impressive apps for finding nearby services released lately. AT&T didn't want to get left out, so they are offering Speak4it, a free app that lets your vocal cords do the walking.

Say something like "Chinese restaurant," and the app will mark relevant hits on a map, on a list, or produce an augmented reality view using your iPhone camera, pointing you in the right direction.

Speak4it does things that Siri, Google and others do, but the execution is great and it certainly beats typing. Speak4it also has a unique feature where you can draw a circle on the map and the app will show businesses just within that area. If you draw a line, it will find places along that route.

That iPhone on Verizon rumor just won't die -- Bloomberg is now reporting that we'll see an iPhone on Verizon's service in January of next year. "Two people familiar with the plans" say that AT&T exclusivity will finally end next year, and analysts say that if that happens, Apple will sell lots more iPhones, up to 3 million more per quarter to Verizon's 90 million or so customers.

Of course there's no comment by Apple or Verizon so far, and I'll point out that we've heard this rumor time and time and time again -- first back in January of this year, then for the new iPhone 4 announcement and WWDC, and now pushed off until next year. Basically, don't hold your breath. It wouldn't be bad to get away from the often complaint-worthy service at AT&T, but if Apple hasn't seen fit to end exclusivity so far (and don't forget that we're still seeing record iPhone sales), why would it do so next year?

I have been having problems making calls on my iPhone 4. Whether at home or on the road, my signal strength is simply awful. The only place that I seem to get five bars is the Apple Store itself.

I visited the Genius Bar there tonight after Mike urged me to report my signal issues. So, I did. I called 1-800-SOS-APPL, and I was repeatedly and strongly urged to purchase a Bumper. I declined, so the rep made me a Genius Bar appointment.

The Genius hooked my phone into a laptop for diagnostics and told me that my calls were fine. The diagnostics showed no lost calls whatsoever -- in spite of what I experienced last night when I was repeatedly dropped from Talkshoe (see the image that accompanies this post). I ended up hopping over to a landline for the TUAW talkcast.

Read on for the rest of the saga...

This has all happened before, and this will all happen again.

When Apple and AT&T made the iPhone 4 available for pre-order, the demand was spectacular. The complete supply sold out within 24 hours. Customers who didn't get in figured they'd buy one from AT&T on the 24th. Wrong.

AT&T had no stock available for walk-in customers. Instead, they announced that they'd sell iPhones to those without reservations today, June 29th. As you might imagine, the 2nd wave of customers have formed lines across the country.

MacRumors has posted some photos of early-morning arrivals in Georgia and New Jersey. If you're in line, send your photos and stories to us via @ask_tuaw on Twitter. We'll pull some for use on the blog. Have fun and good luck!

Since I brought home my 3G + Wi-Fi iPad a little over a week ago, I've been running in Airplane Mode with Wi-Fi enabled to avoid using cellular data. Otherwise I kept getting a prompt (shown here) asking me if I wanted to setup an account, which I didn't want to do.

Fortunately, there is another way. Go into the Settings application and tap on "Cellular Data." This brings up an on/off switch for Cellular Data and Data Roaming. Turn both "off" and you will not be prompted to sign up for a data plan when Wi-Fi is unavailable.

Airplane mode disables not only the cellular data, but also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the GPS. If you are only trying to avoid using cellular data, there's no need to use Airplane Mode.

If you have upgraded your iPhone to iOS 4 then you also have the ability to disable cellular data under Settings » General » Network » Cellular Data, which may come in handy if you have a metered account with AT&T.

I don't know exactly how useful this site is, but I'll let you check it out and decide for yourself. Worst Phone Ever is a site that purports to try and track all of the dropped calls being racked up on Apple's devices and AT&T's service. The idea is that you upload your dropped call log file, then they'll flip through it, and add it to the data they've already compiled.

As of this writing, the site has already parsed over 1.5 million calls, and claim that 5.52 percent of them were dropped, costing users over $154,448 (you can see more about how that's all calculated on their FAQ page).

Now, the paranoid in me has to warn you against actually sending them any logfiles -- while the FAQ claims that no "personal or uniquely identifying information" is in the files, they do say they're tying them to your email address, and I find it hard to believe that there aren't at least area codes in there for Apple's information. Their FAQ, again, admits that they're "going to do everything we can" with the data, and I can't really recommend you give them something from your computer under that agreement.

But if nothing else, the site might turn out to be a nice compendium of information on just how many calls AT&T is dropping. If these averages from earlier this year are any indication, it might be just as high as frustrated customers think it is.

When the iPad was first announced, Steve Jobs seemed very proud of the data plans his company had negotiated for the 3G model. The top-of-the-line plan featured unlimited data for for US$30 per month. A few weeks later, on June 2nd, that plan was replaced with 2GB of data for $25 per month.

Customers were not happy.

Today, a class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple and AT&T, claiming fraud and misrepresentation. Specifically, the plaintiffs in the nationwide suit alllege that both Apple and AT&T "deceptively promoted" that they could switch, month by month, between the unlimited plan and the 250MB plan. Now customers who opt for the unlimited plan cannot switch back to a limited plan.

The whole thing smells like the old bait-and-switch, enjoyed by plaid-wearing used car salesmen everywhere. Good luck to all involved.

[Via MacDailyNews]

We give AT&T a lot of crap for having lousy coverage*, being unable to comprehend where geeks gather** or just plain dropping the ball on big pre-order days, but I have to say that today I was very impressed by the customer service I received when I called to update my service contract. In fact, AT&T was proactive about sending me warnings on my bill. You see, I've been overpaying AT&T these past few months...

A year ago when I got the 3GS I thought I'd be clever and sign up for the absolute cheapest plan they had. "I'll just be judicious and save my rollover minutes!" said I, unaware that my gums tend to flap profusely when talking on the phone.

"I'll use 3rd-party texting and Skype minutes and it'll be no sweat," I thought to myself as I played with the newfangled compass on my phone. Sadly, this plan was dashed when I started the travel season. Between Macworld, SXSW and WWDC I wound up with hundreds of minutes and texts in overages. My bills were over $200 each month. The dude did not abide by this plan.

Today at the Apple Store the AT&T reps on duty claimed I couldn't change my rates, and hastily handed me a sheet that had something to do with my SIM card. So the Apple rep took me to activate my phone, and there I was able to upgrade my text and bring in my grandfathered unlimited data plan, but couldn't adjust the calling minutes.

On the way to my brother's house I called the AT&T customer service number (that's 611 on your iPhone) and within 15 minutes they not only upgraded me to unlimited going forward, but they adjusted my previous overages into a less painful range. Kudos to AT&T! They even allowed us to upgrade ahead of the normal schedule, which I greatly appreciate.

* Coverage is getting better. I noticed a marked improvement in San Francisco over just this past January.
** AT&T dropped the ball in 2009, but learned from that mistake and picked up the ball in 2010. As I said, things are improving.

Remember that guy who's supposedly been camped out for a week or so, in order to be first in line for an iPhone 4? Well, it's a damn good thing he's in front of an Apple Store and not AT&T.

If you were one of the unlucky ones who didn't get into the AT&T pre-ordering window, then hoping you could simply wait in line later this week to buy an iPhone 4 in person, you may have more waiting to do. AT&T has released an official announcement stating that in-store iPhone 4 purchases won't be happening until June 29th, a week from today.

It looks like those lines at Apple and Best Buy just got a little bit longer. Then again, if you're under a corporate account, the AT&T store is pretty much your only option, which means you'll have to wait a few days. Good luck with that.

[via Engadget]

Here's a mod for everyone crying into their Rice Krispies because the iPad isn't on Verizon. Someone at the Dish Network Store has taken apart a Verizon MiFi and crammed its brain into a 3G iPad (after removing the AT&T parts, of course). The result is a Verizon-powered iPad that's also a mobile hotspot called the "iPiFi."

The MiFi's innards are narrower than the iPad's AT&T parts, but also taller. Getting it in place meant removing a portion of the iPad's speaker assembly. The modder claims that the effect on sound quality was minimal, and we can only take his word on it.

Those of you with a MiFi know that it shuts itself off after 30 minutes of inactivity. How would or soldering superhero deal with that? Why, install a simple switch from Radio Shack and poke it through the slot meant for a SIM card, of course. Now the iPiFi's connectivity can be restarted with the flick of a fingernail.

Still, two problems remained. One was the MiFi's blinding green power indicator light, which was visible through the display. That was easily removed with needlenose pliers. Finally, the MiFi was connected to the iPad's internal antenna which provides plenty of reach.

That's all cool, but what has he lost? His warranties, for one. GPS is also out the window. But those are small prices to pay for such a cool mod. An iPad that provides Wi-Fi connectivity for itself and four other devices? Yes, please.

If you're thinking you can overcome AT&T's move to stop taking iPhone 4 pre-orders by power-walking over to Best Buy to get your pre-order on before anyone notices: not so fast.

Following AT&T's move, Best Buy pulled a big ol' "me too" today and, according to their iPhone 4 FAQ page, are no longer taking pre-orders of the new phone. The Best Buy website assures those who were already successful in placing an iPhone 4 pre-order with them that their orders will be honored. However, it's still possible latecomers won't get their phones until the early-July timeframe due to their processing them on a first-come-first-served basis.

As you might recall, Apple boasted pre-sales of about 600,000 units before AT&T had to stop accepting new pre-orders. That number was said to include those that Best Buy processed. I'm just wondering what percentage of that 600k was processed through Best Buy rather than AT&T and Apple stores.

I can't believe one is considered a "latecomer" a mere two days after this all started.

[via The Mac Observer]