The iPhone Predicament

The iPhone Predicament

What seemed like the longest running internet tech rumor has finally come true.  Verizon has the iPhone.  The iPhone 4 to be specific.  And so begins a new battle between Verizon and AT&T.
So what are you supposed to do with this information?  In my opinion, nothing for now.

The timing of the early February 2011 Verizon iPhone release seems odd to me.  Most people who currently have an AT&T iPhone 4 are under contract and would incur large unnecessary charges to break contract as well as put out another $200-$300 for a new phone on a 2 year contract which is almost identical to their existing phone.  I say almost identical because there are minor cosmetic differences with button placement but there are some larger differences under the hood that may or may not matter to most people, like AT&T's ability to make calls while surfing the web or Verizon's out-of-the-box ability to use your iPhone as an internet hotspot for your other wireless devices.

Then there are those with older iPhone versions who are no longer under contract, ready for an upgrade and are feverishly loyal to the Apple brand who could theoretically make the switch with no exorbitant fees or costs.  Verizon should see a good amount of migration there I suppose.  But in February of 2011, there are just too many choices between quality smartphones with competent operating systems to expect every loyal fan to stick with Apple as the law, let alone a carrier.  I don't want to get into the iOS vs. Android vs. Windows Phone here but do some research and you'll find that they all have some of the same features and some features that set them apart from the competition and it's up to the consumer to decide what they want or need.
Do the AT&T network "issues" force a mass migration to Verizon out of spite, regardless of cost?  I say no, but that is very opinion based.  If you live in NY or SF, you probably already jumped ship, cost be damned.  I currently have an iPhone 3G on the AT&T network and in the Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs I haven't seen the call drop issues that people are up in arms about.  I can say that in the past year, I may have had 5 dropped calls, which is no more than I ever had while I was previously with Verizon.  I do see some lag in data during peak hours in Center City Philadelphia, but it's actually improved greatly over the past few months which shows me AT&T is trying to fix these issues and improve their image.  But I am not here to debate AT&T vs. Verizon service either.  The question here is simply do you buy an iPhone 4 from AT&T or Verizon or wait.  I say wait.

Historically, Apple releases the newest version of their iPhone sometime in the summer.  The rumor mill on the iPhone 5, or whatever it will be called, is heating up.  There are even rumors of two distinct sizes being offered with one being a larger 4"+ and the other a smaller "nano" like version.  Other rumors speculate that the larger iPhone 5 will have an even faster processor with larger storage than iPhone 4 while the nano version could have very little local storage and rely on "the cloud" to stream music, etc.   The benefit of a smaller version is a decrease to the cost so much so, that off contract you could have one for less than $200.  Pretty significant since an off contract iPhone 4 can cost well over $600.  This may work for some people, but I know I certainly am not in the market for a smaller screen.

Will it be "4G" or not?  No one knows.  Frankly, most people don't really know what "4G" even means.  In a nutshell, we know it's faster than 3G but the major carriers are spinning their advertisements and in my opinion are being very misleading.  I've read that true "4G" service is a ways off (2012 and later) and what carriers are pedaling now is 3G on steroids, for lack of a better understanding on my part.  And you'll likely pay even more per month for this faster service.  I do believe the next round of iPhones will have "4G" capability though simply so Apple can help Verizon and AT&T compete with the likes of Sprint and T-Mobile who are pushing their "4G" networks and devices pretty hard.

So based on all of this speculation I intend to wait to upgrade my iPhone 3G until we see what Apple brings us in June or July of this year.  I recommend you do the same if you can keep that hard earned money from burning a hole in your pocket for now.  I am looking forward to the choices I'll have as far as carrier and device.  The competition is intense and there should be some great incentives to go around as well.