There have been plenty of “wow” moments this week in the news.
- The rioting in Egypt and Obama taking the credit for Mubarak agreeing to step down.
- The harsh storms that are covering the nation with snow and the claim by Al Gore that the white stuff is caused by global warming.
- CNN’s Boy Toy Anderson Cooper getting attacked in Cairo.
But none is more important than the iPhone going on sale at Verizon.
For those iPhone addicts stuck with poor coverage and dropped calls due to the monopoly AT&T had on the device, the ability to switch to Verizon may seem like a blessing. I’ve seen some of my friends on Facebook proclaim to the world, “I ordered my iPhone at 3am!” and “Score!” The latter, may apply to an iPhone purchase, or something else going on at 3am.
I’ve been a victim of AT&T for a while now. I jumped ship from venerable Verizon when the iPhone first came out and was contemplating switching back, but have decided to hold off. Why? A couple things:
- Inability to surf the web and talk at the same time. While this may seem like such a trivial little thing, for those of us stuck on the phone for long periods of time, having the ability to switch the speaker phone on and browse is important.
- Initial reports of slow data speed. I’ve read several articles, including this one, that point out that the AT&T network is faster. While that’s hard for me to believe, I have to trust the experts.
- Device incompatibility. AT&T customers can’t just walk into the corner Verizon store, plop down their iPhone and say “switch me.” Since I just bought an iPhone 4 a few months ago, plopping down a couple hundred for the same device doesn’t make sense.
- IPhone 5 is coming. Rumor has it that the next generation iPhone 5 will be making its debut this summer and will be available for both AT&T and Verizon. Makes much more sense to me to wait for that.
So what about you? Are you one of the AT&T hostages anticipating your release date soon or are you going to wait a few months like myself?
While I wait, I’m going to heed Al Gore’s advice and stock up on ice melt and snow shovels. I don’t want to be caught unprepared here in Boca Raton, FL.