Since this generally concerns only people in the US, I will write it in English.
Today Verizon announced their version of iPhone, detailed informations can be found in the following links:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/01/11/cancel.att.contract/index.html
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/11/verizon-iphone-cant-handle-data-and-voice-simultaneously/
http://www.engadget.com/apple/verizon-iphone/
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/iphone.jsp
Below are the advantages of a Verizon iPhone, as well as the reasons why I’m not interested in it:
1. Verizon offers a “better” plan
This is actually related to your usage. My current plan from AT&T has 450 anytime minutes for $39.99, 2GB/month data for $25, and 200 sms/month for $5. With Verizon I can get a 200 anytime minute plan for $29.99, unlimited data for $29.99, and 250 sms for $5, which is around $5 less compared to my current plan.
The catch being I rarely use more than 1GB of data per month, the highest I’ve ever reached was 1.6GB, and that is because I shared my 3G data to my laptop, so unlimited is not that appealing. For SMS I never made it to 50 anyway, so 250 and 200 are the same to me. As for minutes, I don’t talk much so 200 and 450 is still the same for me. That being said, AT&T and Verizon have roughly the same plan to me, but a $5 per month is just too little for me to even consider switching.
2. Verizon has a better 3G coverage.
Well since I live in Westwood, AT&T does fine in this area. Also, we don’t know what kind of impact the new iPhones will bring to Verizon’s network. AT&T’s 3G usage raised 50 times (yeah, FIFTY) after it offered iPhone.
3. Verizon offers Internet tethering via Wifi (and possibly USB?)
For those of you who does not understand what is “Internet Tethering”, it means you share your cell phone’s Internet connection to your computer/tablet/iPod, etc.
On AT&T you are going to be charged an additional $20 per month for this feature, and the connection is shared over an USB cable or bluetooth. On Verizon this is offered at no additional cost, and you get to do it over Wifi.
However this is merely a software issue, as a Jailbreaker I’ve been using this tethering feature at no additional cost since day one. In fact, this is how I’m typing this note right now lol
Enough about advantages, let’s talk about the drawbacks:
1. Verizon’s iPhone is CDMA, and it’s 3G
Meaning? It does not support a GSM system, also it’s without a SIM card. So unlike my AT&T iPhone, I can’t put my Taiwanese SIM card in it and use freely in Taiwan, or even put in a T-mobile SIM card to use it on T-mobile.
(Well even if it’s 4G LTE it won’t support GSM either, so I’m actually referring to it being “CDMA only”)
You can find additional information here:http://tinyurl.com/y8g2vlk (Sorry, it’s in Chinese, I’m too lazy to write it in English)
Some might wanna argue that the iPhone from AT&T is SIM locked to AT&T, well again this is a software limitation, and is not an issue for Jailbreakers like me. With Verizon it’s a hardware issue, so it’s physically impossible to use other GSM carriers.
2. Verizon’s iPhone can’t do Voice/Data simultaneously
This is the deal breaker for me.
Though AT&T sometimes handles this feature poorly, i.e. people can’t call me when I’m surfing the web with my iPhone, it actually works most of the time. And one thing cool about the iPhone is the ability to Google things while on the phone with someone. For a heavy internet user like myself, if Voice/Data can’t get through at the same time, it is a serious issue.
(From the data I read, when you get a call while surfing the internet on Verizon, your data connection is terminated to let your call gets through)
3. Most of my friends are on AT&T
Yeah..well…this is just me lol
Overall, I think the Verizon iPhone will be appealing mostly to existing Verizon users, but we will see how this goes. I’m actually happy about this, since this will “hopefully” take off some of the 3G load on AT&T (please continue to offer Tethering for $20 per month!), also more competition is always good for the industry.
