I’ve spent the past month with a loaner Verizon iPhone 4, and it’s been great: call quality is a bit clearer, fewer calls have been dropped, and the Personal Hotpsot feature has been a life saver. But I’m not planning on switching from AT&T any time soon.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Obviously I’d get penalized with early termination fees on my phone and my wife’s phone if we switched today. And I’d have to go through the hassle of getting new iPhones designed to work on Verizon’s network, and the burden of new two-year contracts. But those are actually pretty minor reasons, in the larger scheme of things. There are other practical considerations for why I’m not interested in switching to a Verizon iPhone yet.
The Verizon version of the iPhone 4 is functionally identical to its AT&T counterpart, now even more so following iOS 4.3’s release, since AT&T iPhone 4s now have a Personal Hotspot function that enables them to act as Wi-Fi base stations.
The only real difference between the two phones is the carrier, and the technology used to transmit and receive voice and data communication. Verizon relies on CDMA technology, while AT&T uses GSM.
Walking and chewing gum at the same time
The big difference comes when you need to access data over your cell connection. GSM phones like AT&T’s can communicate simultaneously with voice and data – so when you’re on a call, you can still pull up a Web page or access Google Maps. You can’t do that on your Verizon iPhone 4.
This becomes especially apparently if you’re using your Verizon iPhone 4 as a personal hotspot, which I found myself doing frequently while I had the device. Make or receive a call and your Internet connection is paused. Your Mac or Wi-Fi only iPad will time out, as if someone’s disconnected your home router from its Internet connection. As soon as the call ends, you can get back online.
This problem isn’t apparent on the AT&T iPhone 4. And it’s one of several show stoppers that’s keeping me from switching.
World travel
CDMA’s relative absence in Europe is another problem. I don’t travel frequently to Europe, but I have had cause to make and receive calls on GSM networks in non US-countries since I switched to the iPhone, and it’s not a problem (I do routinely shut off my phone’s data connection when I’m travelling internationally, of course).
I’d hate to think I’d have to go through the hassle of picking up a throwaway cell phone just to make and receive calls the next time I’m there.
And with all of my contact and calendar information on my iPhone, that would mean having to jockey two phones everywhere I go. I’ve done that. It gets tiresome quickly.
The next generation, and the next, and the one after that too
LTE is another reason I’m reluctant to get a Verizon iPhone today.
LTE – short for Long Term Evolution – is Verizon’s next-generation networking protocol. Verizon’s “4G” service is already available in about three dozen urban markets throughout the US, and the company is committed to expanding LTE throughout its already spectacular nationwide network until it’s ubiquitous. But that’s going to take until some time in 2013.
In cell phone life cycle terms, that’s three generations away.
And today, Apple’s iPhone 4 for Verizon uses the older CDMA technology, not LTE. Apple COO Tim Cook told press at the Verizon iPhone 4 rollout in New York City earlier this year that the LTE chips Apple looked at just weren’t up to snuff.
Most of us expect Apple to release a new iPhone this year, just as they have every year since the iPhone was introduced. And there’s no reason to think they won’t do the same in 2012 and 2013 as well.
I’m certain that Apple will have an LTE iPhone for Verizon. At some point. But not today.
Given that Verizon’s staking its bet on LTE, why should I jump now? Shouldn’t I wait and see how AT&T stacks up at that point?
Of course, if I was a Verizon customer today, stuck with a lousy phone, I wouldn’t hesitate to get an iPhone. But for me as an AT&T customer, I’m just not convinced that I need to switch yet. I’d be trading the devil I know for the devil I don’t know.
Irony
Of course, sticking with AT&T means having to put up with problems of a different sort.
I live in a fringe service area for AT&T. There’s no question that my calls drop more frequently on my AT&T iPhone 4, and that people can hear me better on the Verizon iPhone 4 I’ve been using.
For example, last night I upgraded my AT&T iPhone 4 to iOS 4.3. I picked up the phone and dialed 611 to speak with an AT&T customer service agent about switching from my (grandfathered) unlimited data plan to the tethered 4GB plan, so I could use the Personal Hotspot feature.
The customer service agent asked me several times to repeat myself, and finally gave up and called me back on my land line so we could continue the discussion.
The problems with the call quality reminded me of some of the issues I’ve been having with AT&T, and gave me enough pause that I didn’t ditch my data plan after all.
On second thought, how much is that early termination fee?
Just wanted to mention that you *can* access voice and data at the same time with the Verizon iPhone 4, if you are connected to a Wi-Fi access point. Certainly not as convenient as being able to do both over the cell network, but it can be done.
Right, John, because you’re accessing data over Wi-Fi. I fully understand what you’re saying, but it’s separate from the communication capabilities of Verizon’s network compared to AT&T’s, which is what I’m discussing.
> Obviously I’d get penalized with early termination fees on my phone
That’s AT&T’s fault, NOT Verizon’s.
> I’d have to go through the hassle of getting new iPhones
Hassle? Going to the store and buying one?
> and the burden of new two-year contracts
Both Verizon and AT&T have that standard stuff.
How are any of those items “burdens”????
I think these are all well-reasoned points. And I do remember all the evil things Verizon has perpetrated on their customers in past years. AT&T is not much better, but the kinds of things Verizon has done, and the premium they charge for their service is more than enough to keep me with AT&T until I can compare the different 4G services.
Carriers are one thing, but phones are another. Doesn’t matter what carrier I have, the important thing is there isn’t a phone out there that can hold a candle to the iPhone.
A phone has to be a PHONE first…..forget all the fancy stuff like data and voice at the same time. If I’m dropping calls, I’m OUT…just like when I ditched (then) Cingular for Verizon.
I personally don’t have this requirement. For me the data features outweigh the need for the perfect voice quality. Having said that, I haven’t had any particular problems with AT&T so far. That might be my location in the northeast near Boston though.
For me having faster data is the most important feature.
Use ecycle for your old AT&T iphones to cover the ETF. Switch to Verizon Wireless and don’t look back!
voice and data at the same time is so overrated ive yet to see someone who bought a phone based on that. me personally ive never used it. oh and world travel, id rather pay 30 to rent an international phone for a month then to pay 2 dollars a minute just to use my iphone for the one time i go to europe. again another overrated feature.
besides, if the att iphone barely makes calls in america imagine how bad it will be in europe lol
“if the att iphone barely makes calls in america imagine how bad it will be in europe lol”
Actually, it works pretty well, I’ve found. The problems with the GSM iPhone 4 in the US are AT&T’s, not Apple’s.
“That might be my location in the northeast near Boston though.”
I also live in Massachusetts (southeast of Boston, however).
Great story but you contradict yourself in the end so you leave me wondering, AT&T or verizon.
More than anything, I think this story illustrates the conundrum buyers in the US are faced with: Deal with a company with lousy coverage but good service, or deal with a company that has great coverage but is in the midst of a major transition to new technology.
Neither solution is optimal. I’m sticking with AT&T but I’m not very happy about it.
Is AT&T a problem everywhere near your location or just specifically where you live? I can find dead spots for AT&T and Sprint (and possible other providers too) in Lincoln and Concord MA because tower coverage is spotty there. The residents of those towns block any new towers. But locations nearby those dead spots like in Maynard and Acton are fine.
I think this is different from reports in NYC and SF where coverage is bad for a whole city. Or in rural areas that simply don’t get coverage at all.
And I’m in Haverhill. I just can’t stand dropped calls.
I’m on the Cape, James, and it’s spotty coverage. Dead zones, places with minimal coverage, etc. Much worse on AT&T than Verizon, but still not perfect with Verizon either.
It’s not Verizon’s fault (except for their activation fees), but it’s a financial burden to Peter compared to staying with AT&T (i.e., doing nothing, which costs $0 additional).
I use data and voice all the time it’s a must have for me.
To build on Peter’s comment about reception it is most definately an AT&T problem as outside of the United States I have not heard of these problems. Infact here in Australia I can say without a lie I have literally NEVER dropped a call on an iPhone.
As for international travel I like having my own phone with all my contacts in it as opposed to a rental.
I enjoyed your “human” take on the issue. Since I purchased my first cell phone on Airtouch (later, Verizon) in 1998 or 1999, I have had about 6 years with Verizon, 2.4 years with Sprint, and now 1.6 years on AT&T with the iPhone. Location is key. Thankfully, here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, coverage on all three networks is pretty good. When you get out of town, the CDMA carriers are far better than AT&T. AT&T is starting to add more towers out in the smaller cities and towns, so I’m often pleasantly surprised to see new 3G coverage on my iPhone (Mankato, I’m looking at you).
Before being on AT&T, I didn’t have the option of simultaneous voice and data. I could not imagine at the time how useful that feature is. I am often on a call in the car, using the Bluetooth audio connection to my car while checking the Google Map, or email. (Don’t worry — someone else is driving when I’m really heads-down). I would really miss that feature now were I to lose it. Thankfully AT&T is just fine here, and with my employer discount, cheaper than Verizon too.
JohnnyO
Yep I can vouch for that.
The other issue that the author glosses over is that the AT&T iPhones don’t do you any good overseas either, because AT&T pretends that it can’t unlock them (call and ask; my contract ended years ago and still they claim they can’t unlock the phone). So unless you’re going to double the cost of your vacation by paying AT&T’s offensive roaming rates, you’re going to be carrying a different phone anyway. You can buy a whole GSM phone and SIM in Europe for $30.
“I use data and voice all the time it’s a must have for me. ”
For what? This doesn’t mean anything without examples.
Email while talking to people, Google Maps while talking to my hipster friends who want to go to this ‘cool’ new bar, twitter while talking to my accountant, using my iPhone as a WiFi hot spot and still being able to make calls, on the phone to friends mocking android users while taking photos of cats and uploading them to twitter…the list goes on. Also it is the whole not having to compromise thing I don’t have to have my data session interrupted during a call it all just works nicely.
Then you’re doing it wrong. AT&T can, have and will unlock an iPhone for overseas use. You need to give a 10 day lead time or so and they will send you a SIM for use overseas. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people I know who have done this. Perhaps be more stern when talking to them, or point out their own overseas policy. They have the means, make them give it to you.
Sounds similar to my history. Sprint for me was only year for work use and I’d rather put a bullet in my head than use their network again. (really, pull off of I35 or I80 and no signal? Really?!) I will have to say though that I am dropping far fewer calls on AT&T than I did on Verizon, and the customer service from AT&T has been excellent, especially in store staff. I have some scars from battling Verizon customer service reps.
All in all I’m quite happy with AT&T, especially the speed of data on their 3G network. WAY faster than the VZW MyFi I trashed after my contract was up. I just wish their 3G network was more expansive. They’re getting there, but it’s slow.
This isn’t an analysis of AT&T’s unlocking policies, so I’m not “glossing over” anything. This is a comparison of AT&T service to Verizon service, specifically for the iPhone 4. I merely mention using the AT&T GSM iPhone overseas as a plus, since it works – unlike the Verizon iPhone.
Your last statement is a tad overblown. The ATT iphone makes calls in the US just fine, depending on your service area. There are perhaps a half dozen metro areas and other half dozen mountain etc areas with poor service. but that has nada to do with the iphone. It’s just that ATT is shite in those places
Actually that is not a lie. ATT can’t unlock your iphone. Because that feature is part of iOS and that is under Apple’s domain. So it would be Apple that would unlock it.
However legally they are bound by a contract not to. A clause that is legit under US law because current law allows carrier exclusive phones and doesn’t require a carrier etc to unlock the phone at any point in or after the contract.
On the flip however, the current DMCA exemptions allow an individual to unlock and/or jailbreak his or her own phone for personal use so long as said person doesn’t divulge for free or profit the means by which they performed the function to other folks. The manufacturer etc isn’t required to uphold the warranty or such if you do it, but you legally can if you are willing to face that possibly penalty. And lucky there are some folks that don’t care about the restriction to not tell and have posted the details and needed software tools to go nuts on pretty much every smart phone. Heck they had the jailbreak if not also the unlock for 4.3 posted before it was actually released
“LTE – short for Long Term Evolution – is Verizon’s next-generation networking protocol. ”
To clarify, it is a networking protocol adopted by Verizon. It is not Verizon’s next-gen protocol.
ok, maybe its a tad overblown for most of america. but where i live and work in brooklyn, ny, it sucks and half the calls either drop, or dont go through.
true.
> I use data and voice all the time it’s a must have for me
How many minutes per day are you on the phone?
Can’t you surf the web curing the *OTHER* 1440 minutes each day?
That’s not enough time for surfing?
100% of Verizon customers… and many other users, in the USA and all over the world, are entirely ok WITHOUT “I have to talk and search the web, always at the same time” games.
> are perhaps a half dozen metro areas and other half dozen mountain etc areas with poor service
Huh? Only 12 areas where AT&T is awful????
Did you know that 75% of the USA has *NO* 3G coverage with AT&T? None at all.
Look at the AT&T Map: http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/12304_mapforthat.jpg
GSM is a better technology, ATT’s network is unfourtunately not better. It’s obvious that is what he meant, without simultaneous voice and data NOT using wifi verizon’s Iphone 4 is handicapped… and a lesser product.
Great post Peter. Probably the most clearly defined analysis of the Pro’s and Con’s between the AT&T and Verizon iPhones!
I was an 1st adopter of the iPhone (1st G aka “vintage”) and have owned every model with AT&T up to the 3Gs. I love the phone, I use it more then my laptop …. it’s truly my mobile office. But the AT&T network in LA sucks, I mean REALLY sucks. I was averaging sometimes a dozen dropped calls a day.
I switched to the Verizon iPhone 4 a couple of months ago and the service has been amazing. Not ONE dropped call yet. But the lack of conference calling, call/data and texting features has been disappointing.
And YES, I did say lack of texting features. You failed to note in your post that the Verizon CDMA service does not record the date/time that a text is sent. When you turn Verizon iPhone 4 back on or off from airplane mode all texts come in with that very moments date/time. Rather on AT&T, undelivered texts retain the original date/time from when the sender sent then to you.
I’m torn, I LOVE the Verizon coverage in LA, but the calling/data/text features are inferior to AT&T …… my only hope for now is to wait out for a LTE version and see if those issues are resolved. If not, then when AT&T’s network improves, then I will definitely be going back!
Posted on my iPhone
You dont get it, its not ‘surfing’. It’s not that we want to online date or watch videos of cats on youtube while we’re talking to friends.
You’re in the cab, on the phone discussing with your friend where you’re going to meet in 20 minutes, and you need google maps to tell the cabby where to go. This scenario happens several times a day here in NYC.