The other shoe finally dropped today: Verizon announced that it will be offering the iPhone for within the next month or so. There are a couple of almost immediate consequences from this announcement, is that no one can talk again about when Verizon will be offering the iPhone. The other is that people for the first time since the iPhone was released actually have a choice of carrier if they want to buy an iPhone. Now, it’s not a completely open choice because many people are locked into a contract with either Verizon or another carrier, but ultimately there is a choice.
For people who live in the areas where AT&T’s network is often referred to as a “steaming heap of fail” the choice may be easy. If you are in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco or Boston you may be excitedly preparing to flee to the Verizon network in hopes of being able to use the iPhone However, for someone like me who lives in an area in(Oklahoma City) that has generally good AT&T service there is no compelling reason to switch to Verizon. If Verizon was offering an LTE-equipped iPhone the switch might be a bit more tempting. But the iPhone offered by Verizon is essentially the same device as the iPhone on AT&T, with a slower data connection and without the ability to use the data connection while I’m talking on the phone.
Though the “hot spot” capability of the new Verizon iPhone is certainly a nifty feature it is not enough to convince me to pay a contract termination fee, a fee to purchase a new iPhone and probably spend money to buy new accessories.
I will continue to enjoy the iPhone 4 on AT&T and hopefully benefit from some long awaited competition between the carriers over an excellent piece of hardware and software.
Are you considering making a switch to Verizon for the iPhone or are you satisfied with AT&T?
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