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Issues with Droid vs. Iphone, or rather, A T and T vs. Verizon

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  DoubleHelix 
#1 ·
So...talked with A T and T tech manager at local store. I have a 3GS iphone, but need to get a new phone very soon, as my GPS chip is damaged on my current iphone, and A T & T reception is close to intolerable here. He agreed that in my area I'd be better off with Verizon as far as local reception. He also said I'd probably be happy with Droid phones and Verizon, but to be aware of the following issues:

1) Verizon does not have near the coverage of A T& T.

2) While Verizon scores well on reception in some areas, they have only the CDMA network, whereas, A T&T has the 3G, 2G and another network to fall back on....meaning that if the CDMA network fails you, you're SOL.

3) While the Droid phones have lots to recommend them, with Verizon, the data rate will be only 40% of A T&T's, so get used to much slower data transfer speeds (I looked this up and the figures he gave are accurate; though not sure if they are as signficiant as he made them out to be.) The new Verizon iphone would still be subject to these drawbacks.

I would really appreciate feedback/opinions on this. I need to make a decision soon.
 
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#4 ·
Right now I'd agree with Gouthaman, but it depends on how far into the future you want to look. Verizon is already rolling out LTE but they've only just started so 'right now' it's probably not a major factor.
 
#5 ·
Go for Verizon. Their data is pretty dang fast. Yeah, it's definitely a switch from AT&T, but I never have bad reception, it's always great, and always reliable. Their phones are also very nice unlike T-Mobile, and they have a nice Droid line, although I prefer the iPhone 200% more. Since Verizon now has both the options of iPhone and Android as well, and they have better cell reception, I'd seriously consider going with them.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the feedback. I am definitely going with Verizon, but I'm going to wait for the Thunderbolt, which should be out by the end of February. It is a major upgrade on the Droid x, with front facing camera, LTE network, etc. I have decided against the Verizon iphone because it's not 4G and they made compromises to get it out. In app. four months the iphone 5 will be out so it would be silly to even think about getting the iphone 4 at this point....at least to me. The Verizon person I talked to also touted that the LTE phones will have fallback networks (3G, et al) to fall back on where LTE doesn't extend; that's a major stumbling block removed.
 
#7 ·
CDMA is a type of network and "3G" refers to speed. They're two different things. "4G" is a myth. It's over-used term that describes any network newer than 3G.

Cell phone technology changes constantly. Whatever you buy today will be out of date in 6 months. If you want to upgrade frequently, sign a 1 year contract instead of 2.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the info. I confess it gets confusing to me, so I appreciate the correction. What I was referring to was what I was told about having a "fallback" if service in a particular area falters or is non-existent. A T and T said that they have much more in that regard than Verizon.
 
#9 ·
Again, CDMA is the type of network that Verizon uses. 3G refers to speed. If an area does not have 3G coverage, then speed drops to a slower connection type. AT&T claims to have the fastest 3G network. Verizon claims to have the largest. There's no "2G" or "1G". Slower speed connections are referenced differently based on the different networks.

You're talking to sales people. Their job is to sell. The cellular markets are incredibly saturated, so the only way to grow market share is to slam the competitor.
 
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