June 18, 2009
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if you have an iphone, what do you think of AT&T coverage? do you always have bars? are your calls ever dropped? do you get voicemails and texts as soon as they are sent? “can you hear me now?”
i am a verizon dude, and am VERY reluctant to switch out since, in my experience, VZ has been pretty reliable as a call carrier. and to me, if the coverage isn’t solid, there’s just no point at all. i used to have Sprint and AT&T and both carriers had spotty coverage, but then again that was like eons years ago and who knows what they might have improved on since then. actually, as a company, i feel like Sprint is just crap and i have little faith in the prospect of them improving, but AT&T on the other hand might have come up with the resources and the motivation to improve themselves.
this is all an issue now because of the stupid stupid shiny pretty iPhone. all of a sudden i need an internet ready smartphone with a giant screen. it’s like my soul needs fixing or something. i need access to information. i need to see it in big colors on a big screen. i need it all in a package that i can easily fit in my jeans pocket.
i’m really not hot on the idea of a touchsceen keypad, though. i like to feel the nipple-like protrusions of buttons on a keypad. (you’re welcome.) there’s something to be said for the confidence and comfort a little tactile feedback can offer. i hardly talk on the phone so the whole verizon in-network thing (calls between verizon customers don’t count against minutes) isn’t really an issue, but something as small as a qwerty keypad is.
the iphone has all these cool applications that come along with it, but people say the WebOS system that Palm runs on is much easier to develop for and should invite a flood of apps once the Palm Pre has been out for a short while. the iphone is up to its third generation now. the Palm Pre, if/when it debuts on VZ will be first generation, and buying the first generation is a big no-no for me. the pride of owning the newest toy is worthless if it’s all buggy and rudimentary.
should i just suck it up and switch to the iphone for two years until the Palm Pre matures or some other iphone killer appears for Verizon? the palm pre maturation might take a long while, maybe two years?, and the prospect of a phone with the potential to compete against the iphone on verizon’s network is slim considering verizon’s history of having the crappiest, most dull phones on the planet. i’d consider the switch if AT&T’s coverage is ok. so, again, if you have an iphone, how is the coverage?
(BBerry Storm is not an option after several friends had major problems and complaints with theirs.)
Comments (13)
hubby and i both have the itouch due to a similar predicament. we thrive on them and are counting the days until we are free of verizon and can get iphones.
i went from years with tmobile to AT&T for the iPhone and i think ATT sucks. when it comes to coverage perhaps ATT has it covered but drop calls? OMG, i never in my entire life have had so many dropped calls as soon as i switched to ATT. mind you i’m not on the phone 24/7. i also do not speak on the phone that much. it’s really frustrating. but other than that, iPhone is great.
I used to be hardcore Verizon too.
I’ve dropped more calls in the 6 months with AT&T than I have in an entire 2 year contract period with Verizon.
however – it’s not like the calls are constantly getting dropped everywhere I go. it’s an inconvenience, but the features and the versatility of the iPhone, MORE than make up for it. I know how douchey iPhone users have come to sound, but I have to say that it’s only b/c it’s one of those rare products that live up to the hype.
my recommendation is that you take the plunge now. from my understanding around the rumor mill, Verizon will be picking up the iPhone within the next 2 years – perfect for when your current contract with AT&T ends and you can upgrade to the next generation AND switch back to Verizon.
if you dont really use the phone to talk, then dropped calls wouldn’t be that much of an issue? i’d say get it. i have the touch and I LOVEEEE it. i would change to an iphone in an instant – the only thing holding me back is the damn keypad and my attachment to blackberry messenger. i dont have any issues with ATT and like you i was team Verizon, but really ATT isn’t so bad.
But then again, there are rumors that verizon is going to get the iphone. dont know if thats true yet.
you’re in NYC? it’s fine.
i’m having the exact same dilemma as u. i’m hardcore verizon all the way so i’m reluctant to change to at&t… but the awesome-ness of the iphone is testing my loyaty to verizon!
i think i’m gonna hold out though bc supposedly, apple will introduce an iphone-ish coolness to verizon next year.
also, the touch screen is a bit annoying. i used dorothy’s iphone to text a one-liner which took me about a solid 3 mins to complete. AND fyi, i have abnormally small fingers.
if u do end up becoming a traitor and switching, let me know how u like it.
get the bberry tour like me!
@YJK76 -
great enough that you would not switch to another carrier and ditch your iphone?
@souxie -
“if you dont really use the phone to talk, then dropped calls wouldn’t be that much of an issue?” – that’s something that occurred to me last night. but still. even if i’m barely on the phone, there’s nothing more frustrating than something that doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. i heard about the verizon iphone rumor. one person told me that it would have very limited functionality, nothing close to the current iphone. not sure what that means though.
@surly_girl -
nope. not near NYC.
@CinL -
read my comment to souxie about the verizon iphone. if i switch, i’m not saying one peep to you about it. we have to switch together.
yup, in fact i get a chance to upgrade my iphone to the new one this october if i signed up for another 2 years and i just might do that. i agree with maximman that though drop calls are annoying the iphone does make up for it with its features. get it.
i am in the exact same boat as you!!! i am ready for an upgrade in August. However, tony broke his phone, so he took my voyager and i just took a crappy old phone my mom had and am using that until a new phone comes out for verizon (so far, it seems like it will be the palm pre). however, i don’t want the first gen. either! it is getting harder and harder to not jump to at&t for the iphone… please let me know what you decide to do..
It all depends on the phone and how much of a geek you are. I had a winmo phone from Verizon for the last three years and when it decided to be a bitch, it’d drop calls all day long. When I started being a nerd and flashing it with custom roms, my phone did worked well and did some crazy cool shit. At the end of the day though, my soul needed some more fixing too so last week I took the plunge, switched to Sprint, and got the pre. So far, I love it. I don’t have a desk/office job, so I email almost exclusively from my phone, and take/make calls from my mobile phone like most people do from a desk phone and so far I’ve been happy.
In six months, Verizon will probably have the pre. While Verizon’s network is good, imo, they’re the fucking devil. The pre I bought from sprint has the gps unlocked and comes with turn by turn directions for free. You can bet your ass Verizon will lock it out and want to rape you somewhere to the tune of $5 a month for it.
If you like Verizon that much, I’d wait six months and see how the pre looks on verizon. Then again in six months, the iphone will be six months closer to a new revision… As a platform, Palm is being full open source about the pre and I don’t think it’s going to be long before I can find a custom rom with some crazy shit on it to run on my pre. I like the idea of that.
Oh and for me, a physical keyboard is an absolute requirement. You try typing spectrophotometer on an on screen keyboard.
do the switch. i had at&t in your area and it was perfectly fine. i don’t get many dropped calls and the iphone is awesome. i have a blackberry and mira has the iphone and service is fine. at&t used to suck a looooong time ago. now it’s fine.
just make the switch. you won’t regret it. plus, i can get you a 23% discount off service for you.