The Verizon iPhone: Death to AT&T?

Written by Tyler Hakes. Published: Tuesday, February 22, 2011.

Remember when it was all so simple? The iPhone was exclusively on AT&T and Verizon was all about Android. Well, those days are long gone, but what does it mean for all parties involved?

Just earlier this month, Apple released the iPhone 4 on the Verizon network, ultimately leaving AT&T’s exclusivity in the past. The Verizon iPhone is almost identical to the AT&T version; differences include swapping in the CDMA radio for Verizon use and Mobile Hotspot capabilities.

As you can imagine, the announcement was big news across the entire mobile world. The iPhone is single-handedly the highest selling single model phone in the nation. Other manufacturers and operating system developers have come close, although they use a much larger number of devices to keep up. Now that the super phone is on the two largest carriers in the United States, let’s take a look at what this means for everyone else.

AT&T has had a lot to brag about since the original iPhone was released. Despite rumblings of bad call quality, people were still flooding in to pick up the iPhone at the only place that it was available. Will AT&T’s user base decrease as people shift over to the typically more reliable Verizon network? I think so, but it won’t be to the point where AT&T crashes and dies a fiery death. AT&T’s iPhone crowd is humongous, and people have stuck around for four iterations of the device and haven’t jumped ship yet, so it can’t be that bad.

In fact, people switching over to Verizon may even result in better call quality on AT&T’s network as a result of less airwave traffic. Blue is here to stay, but will have to keep their competitive drive in order to stay in the market. And if we know anything, it’s that competition is beneficial to the consumer. With 4G wireless connections and tablets starting to flood the market, there’s plenty of room for money elsewhere.

The iPhone to AT&T is what Android has been to Verizon. Without Google, the Open Handset Alliance, and their army of phones, Verizon would have had a tough time keeping up with their primary competition. Now that the most popular phone on the market is in the same house as the big family of Android phones, will civil unrest ensue? Without a doubt. Lots of people — especially the general masses — picked up an Android phone because they already had their wireless services handled by Verizon, but Verizon didn’t have an iPhone for sale. Sure, people are more familiar with Android now more than ever, but Apple still has much stronger brand recognition. Ask a general consumer if they would want a Droid Pro, Droid X, Fascinate, Incredible, Vortex, Citrus, Continuum, Droid 2 Global, Droid R2D2, Devour, Ally, or an iPhone, and guess which one they would pick? Despite the fact that 11 of those are Android handsets currently available on Verizon, the iPhone will still stand out more to the general public.

Given, there are still a couple variables that may alter the resulting effect of the iPhone’s release on Verizon. For example, it is still unclear if Verizon will be getting new versions of the phone at the same time that AT&T does. On that note, potential VeriPhone (Verizon + iPhone, see how clever that is?) owners should be aware that Apple releases a new iPhone every summer, and this year is unlikely to be any different. So be prepared for potential upset if a new fancy model comes out just months after you pick an iPhone 4 up — assuming Verizon gets equal dibs on the new models.

There is currently one phone that rules them all and it is now available on the nation’s two largest carriers. Will you be an AT&T subscriber that switches to Verizon, an Android fan that ditches open source roots for the iPhone or will you stand by your decision and watch the storm from the outside?

Category: This Week In Geek

More This Week In Geek
Comments
Get The Latest