For many users, the Verizon iPhone is a big step-up from AT&T when it comes to quality service. Service on Verizon is simply more dependable: calls don’t drop as much, the person you’re speaking to seems clearer, etc. That’s 95% of what most people care about.
That’s not to say the Verizon iPhone’s a slam dunk for everyone, though. It has its drawbacks. Verizon’s CDMA network can’t handle the simultaneous juggling of data and voice. 3G speeds are inferior to AT&T’s. And, if you’re a business user, the Verizon iPhone has some serious limitations when it comes to conference calling: not only are you limited to conference calls with just two other people, but you can’t switch between conference calls either.
These aren’t problems with the hardware: just limitations with Verizon’s CDMA network, and ones that every Verizon user has to deal with. This isn’t likely to be an issue for more than a small percentile of customers, but if you’re one of them, and need your network to handle conferencing robustly, you might want to think twice before making the switch.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
