I don't think this piece is very well-argued. For one thing, I've been trying out a new android phone (my iPhone is on the back burner but I doubt I will be making a permanent switch) and the signal quality does seem to be a little better with the Android phone.
Many of the points rely on comparisons to other countries, but analytical people will recognize that problems can be caused by interactions in systems that otherwise work fine on their own too. For example, I had an old wireless router that worked fine with my Windows computers, but not with my Macbook Pro. But my Macbook Pro worked fine with other b/g access points. Without better information, how could we possibly tell which one is at fault? But Gruber (fanboy that he is) is drawing the conclusion that AT&T must be at fault.
As for the "Apple would have fixed it" assertion, or the question of why the number of complaints have gone up as iPhone users have, Gruber's blindness to his own biases is truly startling. You could as easily argue that AT&T has had three years to fix their network, so it must be Apple's fault because if the blame lay at AT&T's door it would have been fixed by now. And _of course_ the number of complaints will rise as iPhone users rise if the problem is some interaction between the iPhone specifically and AT&T's network: there are more iPhone users in existence to complain!
All in all this is very, very poorly done. I have no idea who's at fault but I do know that I won't be going to Gruber for anything more than entertainment if I'm reading about this whole fiasco.
Many of the points rely on comparisons to other countries, but analytical people will recognize that problems can be caused by interactions in systems that otherwise work fine on their own too. For example, I had an old wireless router that worked fine with my Windows computers, but not with my Macbook Pro. But my Macbook Pro worked fine with other b/g access points. Without better information, how could we possibly tell which one is at fault? But Gruber (fanboy that he is) is drawing the conclusion that AT&T must be at fault.
As for the "Apple would have fixed it" assertion, or the question of why the number of complaints have gone up as iPhone users have, Gruber's blindness to his own biases is truly startling. You could as easily argue that AT&T has had three years to fix their network, so it must be Apple's fault because if the blame lay at AT&T's door it would have been fixed by now. And _of course_ the number of complaints will rise as iPhone users rise if the problem is some interaction between the iPhone specifically and AT&T's network: there are more iPhone users in existence to complain!
All in all this is very, very poorly done. I have no idea who's at fault but I do know that I won't be going to Gruber for anything more than entertainment if I'm reading about this whole fiasco.