The Verizon iPhone has arrived! That means we’re all abandoning AT&T, right?
Not so fast… As Gizmodo and the Houston Chronicle point out a few reasons it could make sense to hold out a bit longer. Their primary argument is based on an assumption that Apple will maintain its annual summer release cycle and new 3G-only Verizon iPhone 4 customers will be locked into a contract, unable to upgrade to the latest and greatest.
However, as I tweeted yesterday, the only new feature I need is coverage. Unfortunately, in the office where I spend a large percent of my waking hours, Verizon is the third worst provider. Yet there’s a pretty significant gap between AT&T’s non-existant coverage and Verizon’s spotty reception. It’s doable. And outside of the office, I would expect far fewer dropped calls.
I informally polled 11 coworkers with AT&T iPhones, and I’m actually the only one considering a switch to Verizon. Masochists! I assume many are stuck due to the new, large $325 early termination fee. And others have family plans that would be difficult to disassemble. Whereas, my wife and I have separate accounts and my 3GS ETF is down to a mere $85 at this point. (Calculate your AT&T iPhone ETF here.)
My defection from AT&T is certain, but where I go next is still up in the air. Ironically, AT&T could have trapped me months ago, like so many others, with their new ETF. But for reasons no human at AT&T or Apple can divine, Skynet has never offered me upgrade pricing on the iPhone 4. (I suspect it’s related to a small discount on voice service I receive through AT&T Premier.) Verizon, too, has left the door open. As I can’t actually purchase their iPhone 4 until February 10th. Well, HP happens to be holding “an exciting webOS announcement” February 9th. Conventional wisdom suggests a new tablet entrant. But webOS 3.0 on a modernized smartphone hardware could tempt me. Especially if it’s on Sprint, given flawless coverage in the office and their favorable pricing.