Some New Stuff

The genius behind these commercials is that they don't slam the iPhone - just the carrier it's stuck with.  Remember the iDon't commercials were from Motorola, not Verizon.  Verizon has "clean hands" in the anti-iPhone ad wars.  Slam the network, but leave the iPhone alone.  Genius.

As an iPhone user, I have to admit that these 3G coverage ads are getting to me.  I've always admitted that AT&T coverage wasn't the best - especially in Nebraska - where the ROI on adding towers is much lower than in higher populated areas of the country.  Add in the fact that Verizon has absorbed Alltel (which had coverage everywhere in NE) and Verizon is clearly the carrier to beat in terms of coverage. 

Despite the better coverage of Verizon, I was always able to justify staying w/ AT&T for two reasons:  1.  With the GSM SIM card, I could easily and painlessly swap phones as new ones were released.  As a result, I had a constant stream of Win Mobile and Blackberry phones pass through my hands.  Expensive? yes - but I could get access to the newest version of any handset - and w/ the swap of a SIM card, I was up and running.  2.  Nothing on any other carrier could compete w/ the iPhone. 

Well, lately, as my kids inch toward college age and handsets have matured - the swapping of handsets has slowed down considerably.  This is due to a combination of factors:  the stagnation of WinMobile, the unreasonable expense of a BlackBerry corporate data plan, and the quality of the iPhone. 

Also - with the release of some pretty good Android-based phones on the Verizon network and the promise of more, the iPhone seems a little more vulnerable than it was just a couple weeks ago. 

I'm not yet convinced that Android is offering real competition to the iPhone yet, but its obviously coming - and add to that the constantly reinforced message that the Verizon network is superior in coverage and quality - and all of a sudden Verizon is on my radar screen more than they have been in a long time.