Wireless: Stay On ATT Or Switch To Verizon?

[JavaBrewer]

I had Verizon for 3 years through work and rarely had a dropped call. After switching jobs and needing new service I went with ATT through recommendation from good friend who works in the biz. IMO Verizon has a substantially better (more coverage and faster speed) network than ATT in SoCal. We live in a hilly area and our ATT calls are dropped on the order of 25%+ of the time. We have bars at home (if not it would be a deal breaker) but no 3G.

Sold my iPhone 3GS today! Moving UP to a Samsung Captivate and I've been wanting to play around with Android apps development.

[jyl]

No question VZ has better coverage today. If VZ gets the iPhone and millions of pissed-off former ATT iPhone users, in addition to lots of new Android smartphone users (who consume more MB's than average iPhone user), does their network remain better? Not sure.

I had no choice afer breaking my iPhone 3G, need a smartphone for work and one key application we use is only on iOS so far, no Android version. So I had to re-up w/ ATT. I'm willing to pay an early termination fee in a year if it comes to that.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by jyl

No question VZ has better coverage today. If VZ gets the iPhone and millions of pissed-off former ATT iPhone users, in addition to lots of new Android smartphone users (who consume more MB's than average iPhone user), does their network remain better? Not sure.

I had no choice afer breaking my iPhone 3G, need a smartphone for work and one key application we use is only on iOS so far, no Android version. So I had to re-up w/ ATT. I'm willing to pay an early termination fee in a year if it comes to that.

Yeah, but you can't move an AT&T phone to Verizon. OTOH, Apple will make out as a bunch of people switch to Verizon.

[island911]

Of course Verizon has its' down-side too. It's always slow to get new hardware (phones) and as the years have gone by their customer service has gotten worse and worse. ...At one time they had plenty of stores. Now, it's 'take a number' and wait for mediocre service.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by jyl

As for myself, I went down to Apple this AM and picked up an iPhone 4. I turned it on, held it in the "death grip", and my testicles fell off. What's with that?

Come on, you know that is an exaggeration. As an iPhone user you gave up your testicles long ago

I held an iPhone4 again on Sunday while killing time waiting for a movie. I just don't like the form factor as much as my 3G. I actually have a new iPod touch coming to work for a project, and I'm interested to see how that works using wifi to do comms. That is a slick form factor and it has the new hirez screen.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Capt. Crunch

ATT service in Los Angeles is lame. 99% of my friends jumped on the Iphone and switched to ATT when the phone came out on the market. They love the phone but the service is terrible. keep in mind this is in Metro Los Angeles.

I have Verizon service with the unlimited package and a Droid telephone. Excellent service 4 years and counting..

I have a bunch of friends who are Apple devotee's... they finally gave up on their iPhones because the coverage in Los Angeles was/is so bad.

Wife is on Verison, good coverage except at my house (San Pedro) however they are expensive (her and step daughter are $150 month with no internet) when their contract is up they will all switch to my T-mobile.

[mikester]

I'm really unhappy with AT&T as a carrier - I live in Los Angeles as well and the coverage really does suck.

I really like the Apple product - it is a nice smart device but I can get an iTouch or iPad and get what I want from that. From that perspective the 'Phone' part is kind of secondary. It is nice having it all in one device but my Razr was pretty decent (I really miss my starTac!) device and I could go back to it. I had Verizon for work up until recently and rarely had a dropped call - It was just a crappy blackberry phone which I hated.

I'm going to start looking at other smart phones I think. The iPhone 4 is an interesting device but I actually dislike the square edges - I like the 3G(S) form factor (which I have) a lot.

I've been really wanting to upgrade myself so I can hand my 3GS down to my wife.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by island911

Of course Verizon has its' down-side too. It's always slow to get new hardware (phones) and as the years have gone by their customer service has gotten worse and worse. ...At one time they had plenty of stores. Now, it's 'take a number' and wait for mediocre service.

That's exactly why I left VZ. The phones were boring/crappy and the customer service pissed me off very badly. In 2004 or 2005, I bought two of the latest Blackberries from VZ, FedEX never delivered them to my house, VZ said it was my problem and that I owed them $500 X 2. A month of fighting, finally I got FedEX to admit that they had left the phones at my door, they claimed to have my standing authorization to leave packages at my front door (and faxed me some form written by some FedEX employee that purported to confirm this, my signature was nowhere to be found), but they also admitted that they had left the phones at my side door, so FedEX paid for the phones. I was so pissed at VZ that I went month-to-month and left them when the iPhone arrived. I'm not entirely sure I want to get back with VZ.

[island911]

Well, John, I will say they are doing a better job (albeit still wanting) when it comes to getting the better handsets. However, even though they are growing their customer base, they seem to be shrinking their human customer interface options. (fewer stores, fewer good people)

Also, I used to get a 25% good customer discount on peripheral stuff (headsets, screen protectors, spare batteries ...) making their inflated store prices more reasonable. Now, even tho I spend hundreds each month on the plan, they also want to gouge me on the price of that stuff.

[Steve Viegas]

Today I am a Verizon customer. Tomorrow my AT&T phones arrive. I am concerned about the coverage in the bay area. I may be a Verizon customer again in a few days, but it is hard to argue with AT&T being a little more than 1/2 the price monthly.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by mikester

(I really miss my starTac!)

[Halm]

Excellent article from last winter on AT&T Wireless AT&T’s IPhone Deal Swamps Network Sparking Consumer Rebellion - BusinessWeek

No dog in the fight, but go with the carrier that has the overall best coverage in the areas you live and travel.

[Icemaster]

Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown | Magazine

[nineball]

many, many years ago i switched from alltel to cingular. in fact i switched within a month of cingular starting up. they always provided me with excellent custer service and the coverage, in it's day, was good. i was leaery when they were bought by att but as i was on a contract i didn't have a choice. att treated me well, and they were one of the first in this area to use sim cards. that meant i could buy any phone i wanted on ebay, pop in my card and be on my way. loved it, and it kept me with them.

i really don't have any network problems in the cleveland area, however when i have to drive 30-60 mins out into the farmlands naturally i have some problems. i was never able to get reception inside my home and they recently were giving away the 3g micro cells for free which solved that problem. not only was it free it enabled me to cancel my $60/month home phone for an added savings. combine that with my new iphone4 (love it), old school rate ($29.99 a month, 1000 anytime mins) and 4000+ rollover mins and i can't ever see myself leaving att.

[jyl]

I've been thinking about getting rid of the landline too. My colleague has Vonage and likes it.