Should I hold out for the IPhone?

You could just get an Android phone now.

The Verizon iPhone will happen, it’ll just be a little while, I think. It’s very, very up in the air, even if tech blogs galore are jumping on the January bandwagon.
The VeriPhone rumor has been going around for years, and while it’ll happen, it could be a year and the blogs and papers would still be telling us the Verizon iPhone would drop next month.

I am also waiting for a Verizon iPhone. My daughter is on Verizon and chose a droid to replace her broken phone. She loves it because she texts so much and likes the screen sliding up to reveal a keyboard.

Give Android a shot, and consider Sprint. They are much cheaper than Verizon, however their network is not as well developed. Keep in mind that they do offer free roaming where they don’t have service, and they roam off of Verizon. So, you are getting Verizon network for Sprint prices!

I was rather disappointed with iOS4 (the OS used by the iPhone) and the number of application crashes I suffered. I have been rather impressed with my Droid X with it’s larger screen, more stable OS, and the fact that I can expand the storage and swap batteries.

Now, @zenvelo brings up a good point. See, my friends who text a lot like the Swype™ onscreen keyboard and love phones that have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard whereas every iPhone owner I know that is bigger than the average 10-year-old has issues with the tiny onscreen keyboard of the smallscreen iPhone, and those of us who have hands big enough to hit both SHIFT keys on a desktop keyboard find the iPhone keyboard totally unusable. There are Androids with QWERTY keyboards, and those (like my Droid X) that have huge enough screens to make an onscreen keyboard usable.

So I am going to second @gtreyger and recommend trying out an Android. Just be sure it’s one that runs FroYo (version 2.2) as there are some nice things in it that are lacking in Eclair (v2.1) and earlier versions.

There have been Verizon iPhone rumors for a while now, but I would say there’s probably a greater than 50% chance we’ll see them (at least announced) in January. I’d be weary of Sprint, my sister added texts to her Sprint plan several years ago and they used that as an opportunity to tack on 2 extra years onto her contract without telling her at the time. I will never do business with them because of that.

I’ve been with AT&T for many years and have had really good service with them, and have been happy in general (until they changed how the iPhone data plans worked—which infuriated me). I’m also in Richmond, VA and I suspect that if I lived in a different area, I would have a much different story to tell about AT&T. I haven’t had the issues with my iPhone that @jerv has experienced as far as crashing is concerned, perhaps that was before bugfix updates, were you running it on an earlier generation iPhone?

If a physical keyboard is important to you, I would definitely go with a Droid phone. I’ve gotten used to the iPhone keyboard over the years. The trick is to trust it and to continue spelling the word even if it’s wrong and the autocorrect will fix it for you. It takes a while to train yourself and to get used to it. I’m not a big text message person though, and typing search terms, URL’s and short e-mails/texts are about as far as I go.

Another consideration is what computer you’re using at home. Is it a Mac, PC, Linux? If you’re running a Mac, you will definitely enjoy the tight integration of the iPhone with the OS. If you’re running Windows or Linux, I think that it diminishes some of the iPhone’s luster and would be more likely to consider a Droid. I think it would help if you shared with us the types of things you do with your existing phone (besides making calls), how you see yourself using an iPhone, whether or not you already have an iPod, and how you feel about carrying around 2 devices?

This comic seems relevant and made me chuckle.

I say try a Droid out anyways, and a newer one at that. I didn’t like them back in the days of 1.5 and 1.6, but the new version is much better and the hardware is more advanced. My buddy has an original Droid and is jealous of those with the Droid X or Droid 2. Just go into a Verizon store and mess around with one for a bit.

BTW, the Windows version of iTunes is total suck.

@gorillapaws I prefer the autocorrect in Swype. It learns quickly and is generally more accurate.

In 2007, when the iPhone originally came out, Apple and AT&T signed a contract that the iPhone would be exclusive to AT&T for 5 years. So even if they do announce that they are working on an iPhone for Verizon (which will take work since the carries work differently), I wouldn’t expect to see it before that contract ends in 2012. There has been talk about Apple being allowed to offer it sooner, but it seems AT&T keeps extending that date of when Apple will be allowed to offer it to other carries. Since the original deal was 5 years, I’d count on that being the timeline for now.

Also, as a side note, Apple and Verizon have a lot to work out in terms of the iPhone since Verizon has it’s own Marketplace and music features.

@Seaofclouds do you have a link? I’m pretty certain that the terms of the deal you’re referring to is a closely guarded secret.

@gorillapaws Here’s one. It discusses the original agreement which was found because of a lawsuit brought up in CA stating that the agreement gives AT&T a monopoly over the phone. This one discusses the fact that Apple may have been able to offer the phone sooner but that AT&T keeps getting extensions. Of course a lot of it is speculation based of what was found in that first link. The case mentioned in the first one was filed in 2007 and was then sealed in 2009, but it is still ongoing. Either way, they did confirm the 5 year agreement. So either the contract has changed and they will offer it sooner, or the contract still stands. I just wouldn’t count on it before 2012.

As for my side note about Verizon and Apple having to work out agreements because of Verizon’s own marketplace and music programs, that was word of mouth from someone that works for Verizon when we were talking about Verizon getting an iPhone and how much stuff they will have to work out in their deal.

I can’t edit anymore, but here is the USA Today article from 2007 before the iPhone was released that the first link mentions. It does indeed mention a 5 year exclusivity deal between Apple for the iPhone and AT&T. It also mentions that Apple was barred for that time from even developing a version of the iPhone for CDMA shops (which Verizon and Sprint are). I’m sure there have been some changes to their agreement over the years, but it still sucks that that was the original agreement.

I’m so with you. I have a berry and refuse to get rid of Verizon (service is too good and family plans rule). But my ipod is on it’s last leg and I’ve been dying for an iphone for years… so I’m crossing my fingers that this January rumor is true. That said, I’d wait (well, I am waiting!).