Steadfast Verizon users --- Come on over to iPhone, the water is warm

[winterspan]

After two years of waiting for the elusive "Verizon iPhone", I finally decided to take the leap over to AT&T and the iPhone 3GS and test the waters. And the verdict is: I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT SOONER!

I live in suburban/rural Idaho, so like many of you, I was most worried about losing Verizon's excellent coverage, and jumping into the unknown of AT&T --- particularly with so many people reporting problems with AT&T or poor coverage. Well, at least in my case, coverage wasn't an issue at all! In fact, I've had excellent 3G coverage in my city, and the 2G coverage is strong out in the middle of nowhere. In fact I can talk right through a few Verizon "deadzones" that used to interrupt important calls. I'm not sure if they just put up a couple brand new towers or what because I'm certain AT&T's coverage was nowhere near as good just a few years ago (even on 2G).

Also something to note is that AT&T's coverage map is not always updated or accurate, and you can find significantly better 3G coverage in real-life testing in many areas.

Overall, To all the anxious Verizon users wanting an iPhone but worried about AT&T, I say come on over! At least for my situation/geographical area, It was a far better experience than I expected. And now I am very happy with the iPhone 3GS, and wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[Tallest Skil]

No AT&T coverage whatsoever in my area equals not getting a plan, thank you. I live in Indiana, for crying out loud.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

It varies. I have enjoyed my AT&T service much more then I ever did on my Verizon, but it definitely does vary. As to the idea of the Verizon iPhone...I'd say we see a Powerbook G5 first.

 

[kbright1892]

No AT&T coverage whatsoever in my area equals not getting a plan, thank you. I live in Indiana, for crying out loud.

Once the ATT-Centennial merger is finalized and the networks are combined, your coverage should be great in Indiana, especially in rural areas in northern Indiana.

http://www.fcc.gov/transaction/att-centennial.html

 

[wilderness1957]

No AT&T coverage whatsoever in my area equals not getting a plan, thank you. I live in Indiana, for crying out loud.

If you don't have AT&T I assume you are using T-Mobile which is basically a hacked iPhone not on 3g which means you are not using the iPhone to its "potential" why the hostility towards the OP?

 

[Eric8199]

It all depends on where you are. I was on Alltel (no becoming Verizon) in northern Michigan, and I sacrificed a lot switching over. I do have better coverage in some places with AT&T in the West Branch/Ogemaw County Area, but also have no service in places that I had several bars with Alltel. Plus, on AT&T I have no 3G up here, with no upgraded network expected. At my parents' house in Gladwin, I have zero bars where I had five with Alltel.

Am I happy I switched? Yes, because I no longer have to carry around an iPod Touch and a phone, and I have Internet — albeit pretty slow — everywhere I have a signal. I work for a newspaper, so it's extremely helpful to be able to get my e-mail everywhere. I do wish on occasion that I would have gone the blackberry route, but I wanted the touch screen and the app store and all the Apple goodies. So I made the sacrifice.

Anyway, it all depends on your area. I love AT&T, have had no problems at all. But if someday the iPhone came to Verizon and the signal was better here for me, and I had 3G, I'd switch in an instant, no matter the cost. As long as they didn't cripple the device. hahaha.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Once the ATT-Centennial merger is finalized and the networks are combined, your coverage should be great in Indiana, especially in rural areas in northern Indiana.

http://www.fcc.gov/transaction/att-centennial.html

Yeah? And I'm not being forced to pay $30 for data and $40 for voice for a single phone, either. I'll keep my iPhone with no service and continue to use my Verizon piece of crap before I do that.

 

[wilderness1957]

Yeah? And I'm not being forced to pay $30 for data and $40 for voice for a single phone, either. I'll keep my iPhone with no service and continue to use my Verizon piece of crap before I do that.

I don't think anyone is being "forced" to pay those prices. I think that is the price for wanting an iPhone

 

[Acorn]

I agree with the original poster. I had verizon with a blackberry for 2 years. I didnt want to follow the herd sort a speak. This was a mistake and blackberry was a mistake. My experience with the iphone is so much better. I should have switched sooner.

 

[bmb012]

It's pretty funny since I had Alltell with exellent service in Louisiana, and only once found service lacking compared to other phones since switching to AT&T for the original iPhone, though I think it had something to do with EDGE coverage.

Never understood why everyone complained about AT&T until my honeymoon, in California, pretty terible 3G service over there.

 

[winterspan]

Yeah? And I'm not being forced to pay $30 for data and $40 for voice for a single phone, either. I'll keep my iPhone with no service and continue to use my Verizon piece of crap before I do that.

You have to pay for a data plan on any AT&T or Verizon smartphone anyways, and having access to email and the web on the go is easily worth the monthly cost for many of us.

 

[maflynn]

After two years of waiting for the elusive "Verizon iPhone", I finally decided to take the leap over to AT&T and the iPhone 3GS and test the waters. And the verdict is: I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT SOONER!

Yes you should have, given the fact that the iPhone is GSM and that AT&T has an exclusive on the iPhone for several years.

I'm very happy with AT&T. I've had both verizon and AT&T and in both cases service and support as been pretty good. Signal strength and quality of calls is nearly identical here in Boston. The signal strength goes down on both networks in the same areas, and one carrier has no real edge, at least in my city.

The iPhone is awesome and while its incurring higher levels of competition, I don't there there's another phone that comes close to integrating the functionality, extensibility and ease of use of the iPhone. There's still plenty of room for improvement, like the battery but overall the iPhone has it all together

 

[hushmartin]

I too was on Verizon and finally switched to the iPhone almost a month ago. I _love_ my iPhone and am so glad I switched. The call quality is only a tiny bit less than Verizon; it is really negligible, not at all like some of the horror stories I have heard. I have 3g everywhere I have been so far and the internet is really fast, way faster than i would expect from a phone typically. I LOVE my iPhone!!