The Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 has plenty in its favor, especially compared with its AT&T sibling. But it may be quickly replaced by a newer, cooler version more quickly than is customary even for the die-young life expectancy of most smart phones.
That's our bottom line on the new device, which launches on February 10. Here's a detailed scorecard of the good, bad, and unknown about Verizon's newest phone.
Pluses:
It's on a fine carrier. Where AT&T was the lowest-rated carrier by readers in our latest annual survey of cell-phone service, Verizon remains among the most satisfying (among the major providers that offer contract service).
It adds new capabilities, at least for an iPhone. The AT&T iPhone can't be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot to provide other devices with a data connection can be used as a wireless hotspot for only one device (via Bluetooth) but the Verizon version can serve up to 5 devices (via Wi-Fi). [corrected 1/18/10—Ed.]
Drawbacks:
It's middle-aged. The Verizon iPhone 4 is essentially a retooling of the AT&T version, made to work on the Verizon's CDMA network technology rather than the GSM technology used by AT&T. With Apple likely to ship a new iPhone generation in June or July, as it always has for the iPhone, this is a transitional phone to tide Verizon through until the summer.
The smart phone market has changed in ways that make the iPhone 4 show its age. It works on third-generation data network at a time when carriers—Verizon among them—have launched faster 4G networks and phones that work on them. And the iPhone 4 has a 3.5-inch screen in an era where the number of smart phones with 4-inch-plus screens has swelled.
It suffers CDMA's shortcomings. Because it uses this network technology, the Verizon iPhone 4 will lacks a few tricks that GSM phones, including the AT&T, can do. You can't simultaneously access the Web and place a voice call on a CDMA phone. And where you can use GSM phones with relative ease in much of the world, the same isn't true of CDMA phones, which won't automatically roam onto wireless networks abroad
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Question marks:
The pricing for iPhone 4 plans. The Verizon phone will cost the same to buy as the AT&T version, but the cost of service for the device was not announced. We expect, however, that Verizon will use the phone's launch to make its promised switch from unlimited data plans to the tiered or metered plans now used by AT&T.
That may not necessarily mean higher costs for data than with an unlimited plan; the AT&T metered plans actually lowered bills for many users, according to our analysis.
The new phone's reception performance. There's reason to expect that the retooling of the iPhone 4 for CDMA has remedied the signal-loss problems we experienced under some conditions with the AT&T version of the phone. But the phone's antenna remains external, like that of the AT&T iPhone 4, and we plan to test the Verizon version for signal loss to confirm that there are indeed no such issues with it.
Whether Verizon's network will be up to an onslaught of iPhones. Verizon says it's ready for the data demands of the iPhone. And the company is starting from a strong position, according to the satisfaction data from our latest survey of readers about their cell phone experiences. In almost every city we surveyed, Verizon received top scores for satisfaction with data service, while AT&T received the lowest.
But a few factors may affect Verizon's ability to deal with the additional impact a boatload of iPhone users may have on its network. For one thing, some iPhone owners are data hogs, with consumption that's significantly above owners of many other smart phones. If a lot of folks jump ship from AT&T, in addition to the new iPhone users who've held off from buying one till now, that could impact Verizon's service. We'll be especially curious to note any change among our readers in Verizon's data performance, when we compile next year's cell-phone satisfaction survey.
Bottom line:
You may want snap up this new offering if you've been waiting breathlessly for the iPhone to come to Verizon and don't much care about 4G speed, a bigger screen, or other features found on current cutting-edge phones. Or if you're prepared to pay an early termination fee to trade in the Verizon iPhone 4 for its successor when it appears.
The less iPhone-addicted consumer, on the other hand, may want to hold off for a newer version of the iPhone before even considering whether to buy one.
—Paul Reynolds and Mike Gikas
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