After the first iPhone came out in 2007, it’s been a constant debate deciding whether or not to buy one and join the iPhone fan club. The only problem being, I was a Verizon customer. My family and I had been on the family plan for as long as I could remember, which meant I couldn’t jump ship any time soon. And since I was only a freshman in college at the time, I didn’t think it was necessary to have the hottest smart phone out there.
As time passed, I started to realize the importance of a smart phone (such as an iPhone, Blackberry or Android) more and more. Suddenly, I found the need to check my email hourly and Google things on the fly. But when I flipped open my phone; I couldn’t do any of that. My phone, originally pegged the hottest LG, was now completely obsolete. Instead of having email and GPS capability, I only had text messages and a weak camera lens.
I must say, I did my best to work with the phone options Verizon gave me. With every upgrade, I moved one step closer to the holy grail of the iPhone – first with the LG enV, then the LG Voyager and now the LG Vortex.
Then the day came that every Verizon customer was waiting for. On January 11, after plenty of waiting and speculation, the Verizon iPhone was announced, marking the end of AT&T’s exclusive contract to carry the Apple smart phone. Just like John Oliver, who reacted to the announcement shouting, “Thank you! Oh thank God! Thank you!” – I too, found myself shouting with glee!
Now however, I find myself in a bit of a predicament. With the Verizon iPhone now officially available, I find myself asking - Do I really need it? After all, Verizon has continued to reinvent their smart phones and give customers a variety of phones that do everything the iPhone does. It’s not as if their smart phone models resemble something like Zack Morris’ bigger than a brick phone. Not only that, but I can’t overlook the reviews from Consumer Reports – which may keep me from iPhone nirvana:
Regardless of these major differences and limitations between the Verizon and AT&T iPhone, I’m still intrigued. I’ve waited patiently for this for last three plus years and because of that, I have to give it a thorough analysis.
I know in the end, my decision to purchase the iPhone won’t matter, as it’s believed that Verizon could expect anything from nine to twelve million iPhone users to join its network. But it’s still something to think about.
So, to buy or not to buy? To switch or not to switch – that is the question.
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