AT&T has a habit of building monopolies, which has several times been wrentched from their greedy corporate fingers. Back in the days when long-distance service was the marketable product, the communications juggernaut was bitch-slapped several times, and forced to reorganize. Then cell phones became the dominant commodity, and AT&T eventually sold to Cingular, which later again became AT&T.
When AT&T holds a monopoly, they like to play hardball, which is what leads to the afforementioned cyclical bitch-slappings. In addition to a notorious reputation of dropped calls, AT&T began new billing practices that eliminated unlimited data bandwidth, and imposes additional charges for data tethering.
AT&T has once again held customers hostage. If you wanted the benefits of the iPhone, then you had to be on AT&T. This tyrannical reign is now over, as Verizon will begin offering iPhone 4 on February 10th (existing Verizon customers can preorder on February 3rd).
I Got No iPhone
Ain’t got no iPhone yet? This song’s got you covered
Many users have turned to jailbreaking their iPhone devices in response to the limitations imposed by Apple and AT&T. Hacking your device is as simple as visiting a website, such as http://jailbreak-my-iphone.com/. With an updated phone, you can get around many of the limitations imposed by the big corporate giants. It’s really not scary, and can be completed in a matter of minutes.
Verizon will begin offering the iPhone 4, and will offer features that forces AT&T to take notice. Is it better to have an iPhone on AT&T’s network, Verizon’s network, or just jailbreak the damn thing? Below are some of the new features you can expect with a Verizon-branded iPhone to help you decide.
On the next page we look at all the features that Verizon unlocks, and if it’s better to be on AT&T, Verizon, or just Jailbreak your phone.
Data tethering
Unless you use your iPhone as a dedicated YouTube and video-chat station, you’ll likely not run into AT&T’s 2GB data limit, but if you do a quick cost comparison, you’ll see that AT&T is practically raping customers for 2GB of monthly downloads when Verizon offers unlimited downloads for $5 more.
In addition to the scrupulous data misering, AT&T has imposed a tethering fee in case you want to use your device as a hot-spot, and that requires being tethered to a PC or laptop. Jailbroken phones can enjoy MyWi, which not only enables wired tethering, but can transform your device into a wireless mobile hotspot. This is invaluable for users who want to surf the web without the office IT department knowing (you know who you are). This has been a priceless feature whenever our home internet or power goes out, and it even allows your family to go online in the great outdoors.
Winner: Verizon (slight edge to Jailbreak)
Flash support
As of yet, there is no Flash support for the iPhone 4. This means that no Flash games, Flash videos, or even Flash widgets in the web browser. If you jailbreak your iPhone then you can have all of these features.
Video Chat
Jailbreaking your phone can allow you to do voice chat without having to use a WiFi hotspot. As mentioned in the Bandwidth point, Verizon’s theoretical bandwidth is lower than AT&T’s, but is still enough to do video chat. It is unclear at this point if Verizon will require WiFi in order to make a video call, as AT&T does. With a jailbroken phone you can easily get around this limitation.
Winner: Jailbreak (slight edge to AT&T)
Call reliability
Because the cell phone is on a completely different network, it requires a completely different antenna. Apple said it has fixed the antenna on iPhone 4 devices, but Verizon’s device has been updated even more, which they assure results in maximum signal. AT&T’s reception has been notorious for dropped calls, but this varies depending your location. Call reliability has been relatively stable for me in the Washington area, but I’ve run into many problems in Hawaii and the East Coast.
Bandwidth
The original iPhone 4’s 3G chip supports download speeds of 7.2 Mbps, but Verizon’s network cannot make use of this, and requires a EVDA Rev. A chip, which is limited to 3.1 Mbps. In practical use most users will probably not notice, unless you’re tethering via a PC (but more on that later)
Voice and Data
Verizon’s CDMA network has some problems when it comes to using voice and data at the same time. Honestly, being able to look up information while talking on the phone is one of the best features of any cell phone, and unfortunately you need to be on AT&T’s network to pull this off, even if you have a jailbroken iPhone.
This may be a catostrophic fail if you are using Google maps and a call comes in. Google maps will not be able to fetch new map data while you’re talking. You can purchase the TomTom app, which stores all of your maps locally, but that program costs $100.
Cost of Ownership
The cost for the hardware itself remains the same as it does for AT&T customers. A 16GB iPhone 4 will cost $200, and the 32GB version is priced at $300.
Verizon’s data plans will remain the same as they are today, including an unlimited option. For $30 users can get unlimited data on Verizon’s network. Compare that to AT&T’ $25-for-2GB tiers, and you can see who the winner is in this fight.
It seems like many of the pros and cons are fairly spread out. Who’s the real winner?
When you look at the pros and cons, it’s still not very clear who the winner will be. If you absolutely hate the call quality of AT&T in your area and are furious at the removal of unlimited bandwidth then you’ll be happy to jump ship over to Verizon.
If you go with Verizon then you’ll be losing web-surfing while talking, but you’ll have better call quality (depending on your area) and unlimited data plans. Technically you’ll have less bandwidth available, but in practical use you won’t notice.
If you choose to stick with AT&T then you’ll probably have a higher phone bill, as you have to pay for features that Verizon is practically giving away, like data tethering and 3G hotspot support.
Jailbreaking your iPhone can unlock the data sharing features of the iPhone. You won’t have to pay for the tethering feature, but you will be subject to AT&T’s 2GB-per-month limit. Jailbroken phones also benefit from other features that neither Verizon or AT&T can touch, like Flash support, homebrew applications like MyWi and console emulators.
In the end, the real winner is YOU. Companies only start charging fair prices when there is fair competition. Now that Verizon is offering unlimited bandwidth for the same amount of money as AT&T’s limited plan, AT&T may have to reconsider their former blunder in order to keep customers. Companies do not push innovation until someone else comes along and starts taking money out of their wallet. Although Apple’s iPhone has a lot going for it, there has always been a little bit held back. This healthy competition will likely unleash all of the features that consumers have wanted without any compromises.
If innovation remains stagnant, then that leaves room for someone else to come along and totally blindside everyone, making the iPhone “so 2010”. The iPhone is great, but it’s time we had something better.