Rumors of a Verizon iPhone have been circulating for years. Even though none have materialized, the news ticker on our TV today showed that the mainstream media has picked up the topic…again. This new surge of rumors seems no more likely than previous batches. I suspect they are fueled only by wishful thinking, which I can’t completely relate to.
I may be in the minority, but I don’t want a Verizon iPhone.
You see, I cheered when Apple chose AT&T for the iPhone. I had been a Verizon customer and was happy to leave. Why? Let’s not forget some of these things:
- Verizon is the company that has removed Bluetooth features from phones. They disabled syncing and file transfer so they could limit photo transfers to over the air where they could charge for each one.
- Verizon also blocked GPS features so 3rd party software or Web apps couldn’t compete with their VZ Navigator and monthly fee. Although they were forced to enable GPS features through a class action lawsuit, the important aGPS data still remains locked for all but VZ Navigator.
- Verizon has blocked transferring ringtones to your phone unless you purchased them through Verizon.
- Verizon is the company famous for lousy customer service and quietly renewing your contract every time you make any little change to your service.
- Verizon’s CEO is known for making boneheaded and customer-unfriendly statements.
- Verizon advertised unlimited data plans with no disclaimer then canceled customer’s accounts without warning for using too much. They were eventually forced to add an asterisk and fine print to their advertising.
- Verizon has a habit of selling personal customer data.
- Verizon has charged customers usage minutes for browsing Verizon’s own Get it Now store.
Now I don’t know how many of these practices still stand today, but they were all in place when I got my iPhone. I always felt like I was fighting my service provider to do the things that seemed natural to do.
Apple changed the game with the iPhone by requiring these kinds of features to just work as part of the package. Photos, ringtones, Web surfing, GPS, music, movies, etc. all work and sync as you would expect. AT&T was willing to play by the new rules and that has spurred the innovation we have today.
Sure, AT&T has experienced growing pains with the influx of iPhone customers. Any network would.
Cell coverage really depends on where you happen to be. It sometimes flip flops between which carrier has the best signal in particular locations, but most of the time I notice all carriers having some of the same trouble spots.
We do have a few areas around here where Verizon coverage is marginally better. But my AT&T coverage is good too and has improved immensely over the last couple years even though I’m not in a major city. We have 3G all over the area and I know AT&T has added towers, replaced antennas, and tuned signal directions. I’ve also seen them change to lower frequencies in some areas to better penetrate through trees and buildings.
The bottom line is that my iPhone has changed the way I do things for the better and the Apple / AT&T partnership has contributed to that experience. My shiny new iPhone 4 is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. It requires renewing my contract for a couple more years and I’m happy to do so.
Hi Doug….fun, & educational, reading all this. I saw something like the pineapple too….locally grown stuff – was from Mexico. Oh well. Read your post about not liking Verizon which was interesting as you know that’s what we have at our place of employment. Someone got David an iPhone4, which he’s still working on figuring out all it will do for him – good to read things from you as they are always interesting.
Greet the family from us – miss your homegrown ingredients salsa at work.
I have had 3 networks over the past 6 years. Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. AT&T is my favorite.
Network: Verizon was certainly the best. However, AT&T is not much far behind. The complaints have been exaggerated because ATT is the only one that offered the iPhone (which, until recently, was the only one that could offer the kind of services ATT was getting hammered about). TMobile, unfortunately, is just really bad.
Customer Service: Verizon sucks. Stay as far away from their customer service as possible. AT&T is fantastic, once you realize that the stores are terrible. Their over the phone customer service has been amazing. Their representatives have, under several occasions, removed fees, and charges, or moved me to a more suitable, but cheaper plan, without any prompting. However, TMobile edges ATT slightly, because their customer service is more consistently good across the spectrum (including stores).
Openness: My Verizon phones are a locked down mess. And being CDMA means you cant use your phone anywhere else. My unlocked iPhone, was usable all over the world, by simply inserting a prepaid local sim-card. Even better, when I have friends and family visit, I can get them a sim card as part of my family plan ($10/month and $15 for the card, which they invariable waive off), and use it with their existing phones. TMobile shares the same advantage, but is slightly better because they are far less hesitant to unlock your phone.
TMobile would be my favorite network, but unfortunately, their coverage is simply too poor. Since ATT is only slightly behind TMObile in customer service, and openness, and far ahead in network quality, I think they are easily the best among the 3.