Verizon iPhone

[YankeeFan]

Pogue's review:

It’s here. After almost four years of speculation, the iPhone will finally come to Verizon’s network on Feb. 10.

And to answer everyone’s question, the Verizon iPhone is nearly the same as AT&T’s iPhone 4 — but it doesn’t drop calls. For several million Americans, that makes it the holy grail.

I took the Verizon iPhone to five cities, including the two Bermuda Triangles of AT&T reception: San Francisco and New York. Holding AT&T and Verizon iPhones side by side in the passenger seat of a car, I dialed 777-FILM simultaneously, and then rode around until a call dropped. (Why that number? Because I wanted to call a landline, eliminating the other person’s cell reception from the equation. Also, Mr. Moviefone can carry the entire conversation by himself, so I could concentrate on the testing.)

In San Francisco, the AT&T phone dropped the call four times in 30 minutes of driving; the Verizon phone never did. The Verizon iPhone also held its line in several Manhattan intersections where the AT&T call died. At a Kennedy airport gate, the AT&T phone couldn’t even find a signal; the Verizon dialed with a smug yawn.

Most impressively, the Verizon iPhone effortlessly made calls in the Cellphone Signal Torture Chamber of Doom: my house.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/technology/personaltech/03pogue.html?hp

 

[Stitch]

Pogue's review:

It’s here. After almost four years of speculation, the iPhone will finally come to Verizon’s network on Feb. 10.

And to answer everyone’s question, the Verizon iPhone is nearly the same as AT&T’s iPhone 4 — but it doesn’t drop calls. For several million Americans, that makes it the holy grail.

I took the Verizon iPhone to five cities, including the two Bermuda Triangles of AT&T reception: San Francisco and New York. Holding AT&T and Verizon iPhones side by side in the passenger seat of a car, I dialed 777-FILM simultaneously, and then rode around until a call dropped. (Why that number? Because I wanted to call a landline, eliminating the other person’s cell reception from the equation. Also, Mr. Moviefone can carry the entire conversation by himself, so I could concentrate on the testing.)

In San Francisco, the AT&T phone dropped the call four times in 30 minutes of driving; the Verizon phone never did. The Verizon iPhone also held its line in several Manhattan intersections where the AT&T call died. At a Kennedy airport gate, the AT&T phone couldn’t even find a signal; the Verizon dialed with a smug yawn.

Most impressively, the Verizon iPhone effortlessly made calls in the Cellphone Signal Torture Chamber of Doom: my house.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/technology/personaltech/03pogue.html?hp

I'll be interested in a few years when LTE coverage gets to rural NE Pennsylvania. Hopefully the Verizon iPhone will have LTE by then.

 

[bigpern23]

I'm pissed they came out with this just two months after I got an AT&T iPhone. My fiancee and I wanted to switch to Verizon, which is cheaper and, by all accounts, gets better service in my area, but we wanted iPhones, so we stayed with AT&T and locked into 2-year contracts. FML.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'm pissed they came out with this just two months after I got an AT&T iPhone. My fiancee and I wanted to switch to Verizon, which is cheaper and, by all accounts, gets better service in my area, but we wanted iPhones, so we stayed with AT&T and locked into 2-year contracts. FML.

I think it costs $200 to switch.

The ONLY reason I didn't get a iPhone was because of having to go with ATT. But, I'm paying so little for my cellphone at this point, I don't see myself switching.

 

[mustangj17]

I'm pissed they came out with this just two months after I got an AT&T iPhone. My fiancee and I wanted to switch to Verizon, which is cheaper and, by all accounts, gets better service in my area, but we wanted iPhones, so we stayed with AT&T and locked into 2-year contracts. FML.

I'm amazed that Verizon is cheaper than anything anywhere.

Here's what I know about cell phones:

Verizon: Most expensive
ATT: Drops the most calls
Sprint: Cheapest/Best customer service

 

[bydesign77]

My wife awoke at 3 a.m. to order hers this morning. I'm not eligible for an upgrade until next year

 

[RedHotChiliPrepper]

I'm always amazed at the people who say they've had all kinds of problems with AT&T. I've been with them since 2001 and have gone through the AT&T to Cingular to AT&T transformations and I've never had a problem with the service or customer service. And now that the town I live in and the town I work in both have 3G coverage, the service is even better.

 

[TigerVols]

The apt. I'm sitting in at the moment in downtown Los Angeles gets zero bars on my wife's Verizon, but full bars on my AT&T iPhone. That said, my friends who work in Santa Monica (at, for instance, the Yahoo HQ there) get zero iPhone reception.

At any rate, I'm hanging on to my iPhone until Version 5 comes out this summer; among other advances, it will have the iPay app on it, which will revolutionize consumer transactions.

 

[YankeeFan]

I'm always amazed at the people who say they've had all kinds of problems with AT&T. I've been with them since 2001 and have gone through the AT&T to Cingular to AT&T transformations and I've never had a problem with the service or customer service. And now that the town I live in and the town I work in both have 3G coverage, the service is even better.

How big a city are you in?

As Pogue's review points out, places like New York & San Francisco had the most problems.

There are dead zones here in Chicago. China Town Square gets no ATT reception. None. And it's been that way for years. I don't understand how they could let something like that go on for so long.

And, I still drop way to many calls.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

I'm pissed they came out with this just two months after I got an AT&T iPhone. My fiancee and I wanted to switch to Verizon, which is cheaper and, by all accounts, gets better service in my area, but we wanted iPhones, so we stayed with AT&T and locked into 2-year contracts. FML.

My wife picked hers up in November. I was thinking of getting a iPhone 3G for $49, but the Verizon version supposedly has better coverage. I am month-to-month on T-Mobile and am still trying to decide.

 

[Stitch]

With Verizon, you have 3G pretty much nationwide. AT&T 3G service is spotty outside metro areas. Verizon is saying LTE will be nationwide in 2013, which is a big deal for those in rural areas.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

What do people pay a month for their Iphone plans

 

[Wendell Gee]

$30 voice plan (grandfathered in from years ago) + $15 data plan + $5 text plan + taxes - discount I get from my work having a deal with AT&T = less than $50 a month.

 

[Madhavok]

I switched from VZW to AT&T on January 4th. Since then I have had no dropped calls and no problems whatsoever with my iPhone. At first I was very reluctant and was considering switching back because I had the feeling of disowning a family member after being with VZW for almost eight years. But, I wanted a new phone and a discounted price. They wouldn't budge so I said screw it.

The only differences between the two are the obvious GSM vs CDMA along with things such as not being able to browse anything needing 3G/WiFi while talking to someone. Oh yeah, different antennae positions I believe.

My iPhone bill is cheaper than my blackberry bill from years ago.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

I'm always amazed at the people who say they've had all kinds of problems with AT&T. I've been with them since 2001 and have gone through the AT&T to Cingular to AT&T transformations and I've never had a problem with the service or customer service. And now that the town I live in and the town I work in both have 3G coverage, the service is even better.

This, except I wasn't a customer before the first name change. I've been with them since 2005 and have only had one issue which was completely my fault (I forgot to pay my bill on the date I had made a payment arrangement for, and they shut my phone off). And my phone rarely drops calls, unless I'm in the middle of nowhere.

 

[golfnut8924]

$30 voice plan (grandfathered in from years ago) + $15 data plan + $5 text plan + taxes - discount I get from my work having a deal with AT&T = less than $50 a month.

Wow. I have Verizon and I checked out the website today because I was pondering a possible iPhone. The cheapest plan I could come up with was something like $40 for talk, $30 for internet and $10 for texts (there's a $5 text option but I am a text ***** and would need the $10 one). After taxes and fees it would be flirting with triple digits.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

That's what's great about Sprint's $69.99 plan. Unlimited data, text and phone.

And I don't have problems with many (if any dropped calls).

 

[bigpern23]

What do people pay a month for their Iphone plans

I pay $135/month for two lines, with unlimited text and the cheaper data plan.

 

[BTExpress]

I pay $135/month for two lines, with unlimited text and the cheaper data plan.

Any regular bill that exceeds $100/month in my house better be for a car or house.

 

[mjp1542]

That's what's great about Sprint's $69.99 plan. Unlimited data, text and phone.

And I don't have problems with many (if any dropped calls).

Except now that $69.99 plan is basically $79.99 because you have to pay a $10 premium data fee for all smartphones. You're off the hook if you were a customer before January 30. I'm still considering switching. I have Verizon and to upgrade would still be much more than $79.99.