It seems the iPhone is finally coming to Verizon this February.
I used to have an iPhone when I was with AT&T and I liked it. It is a very user friendly and fun phone. The iPhone was my first smart phone and it definitely sold me on the concept of having a smart phone, much to my surprise. Before I got an iPhone I had no idea why I would want a smart phone. Not any more.
Now I have an Android phone and I am equally if not more happy with that. However I am not posting a comparison of the iPhone and Android phones today. Today I am looking at whether it is a good idea to buy a Verizon iPhone right now.
So the question is, should you buy an iPhone with Verizon in February? The answer is, it depends.
The first thing to look at is how much it will cost you to switch. Personally, when I switched from AT&T to Sprint I sold my iPhone. By selling my old phone I made enough to pay for the early termination fee and to pay for my new phone (an EVO.) I sold my old phone on eBay. If you have the patience to do so and really want to switch to Verizon this might be a way to recoup your costs.
Keep in mind that the older your iPhone the less you can get for it. I cannot guarantee you will do as well as I did, so it might not work out for you. Also keep in mind there can be some risks in selling on eBay. For my first sale I had a dishonest buyer who tried mightily to rip me off. Fortunately I kept good records and I just had to wait for PayPal to work out the situation. The resolution took about 6 weeks. My second sale worked out quite well. (I actually had the iPhone 3G and the 3Gs each for one year.)
Second, keep in mind that so far Apple has released a new iPhone every spring/summer. If you purchase a new iPhone with Verizon right now you might find yourself in a two year contract with out-of-date technology. Again, you could sell your older iPhone if you are so inclined and possibly recoup or at least minimize your cost if you have a good sale.
Third, if you already have a contract with Verizon take a look at what sort of opportunities Verizon is offering to switch to an iPhone and try to get as good a deal as possible. More details about plans and switching should come out soon, I imagine. Depending on the phone you already have you might be able to sell it and recoup some costs. Some phones are simply more sellable than others. Do a search on eBay for your phone and see what kind of money you might be able to get for it.
If money doesn’t matter, you really want an iPhone with Verizon and you want it now, have at it.
If you want to know the details, here is an excellent blog post spelling everything out. I notice that you cannot do simultaneous voice and data. That would annoy me. I like to be able to chat and surf the web at the same time.
As a side note, please be aware of the security issues inherent in most smart phones as they relate to discovery and other issues. An excellent article on that very issue was written in 2009 by a colleague of mine, Sharon Nelson. Find it on her blog. Such issues aren’t unique to the iPhone. Most smart phones have serious discovery and security issues. Something to talk about on another day.
Anyway, whatever you choose to do, enjoy your phone. Mine definitely made a big impact on my life.