Verizon's Anti-iPhone Campaign

Sam Gustin says: For the last few weeks, tech reporters have been receiving a steady stream of dispatches from Verizon's PR department highlighting articles about the iPhone's service troubles.

The cell-phone giant clearly smells blood in the water, and has wasted no time pouncing on the PR hit that the iPhone has been taking.

Just last week, Apple was slapped with a class-action lawsuit over the iPhone's reception problems, which have been attributed to chip-maker Infineon.

"Apple and AT&T seem to be tossing a minor chipmaker, Infineon, under the bus," a Verizon spokesperson wrote in an email. "But Infineon didn't make the phone, market the phone, build the network, sell the phone, sell AT&T service. Customers don't pay their monthly bill to Infineon. This is about responsibility. Who do you write your monthly check to?"

Among the subject headings of the various missives:

"Another negative iPhone/AT&T story"
"iPhone down the drain"
"iPhone dropping calls like flies"
"iPhone Hating"

Now comes word that Verizon has been briefing its own employees with anti-iPhone talking points. Gizomodo has unearthed a confidential, internal document in which Verizon debunks what it calls "3G iPhone myths." Among them, "iPhone 3G is now twice as fast," and "the new iPhone 3G is half the price."

Memo to Verizon: Maybe you guys should be focused on improving your own products, like, say, making sure they aren't a public safety hazard.