The Verizon iPhone Has Arrived

(Credit: Apple)

People have been wanting one for years and now it’s finally here. The iPhone 4 will be available on Verizon’s network starting next month.

Representatives from both Verizon and Apple announced that a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 would be coming to the network at Verizon’s 1/11/11 event. There, they talked a lot about how well the phone has done on AT&T’s network, some of the features that it will exhibit on Verizon’s, and how well they expect it’ll do once it becomes available on America’s most reliable wireless service provider.

Design-wise, they discussed how this new iteration of the iPhone 4 had to undergo a few physical changes in order for the antenna to be optimized for communicating with a CDMA network. Don’t look for a major redesign here, though. Just the removal of a slot for the SIM card and some relocated slits on the phone’s bordering antenna that serve to better allow its cellular chip to communicate with a different infrastructure. One possible downside to the second change is that it may prove frustrating if you plan on switching from AT&T’s iPhone to Verizon’s and hope to continue using your old case, because one of the new slits on the side of the phone has caused a bump-down of the volume buttons and mute switch. All that means is you’ll have to go out and buy a new case if you want one that will fit the phone’s slightly different style correctly, which is always annoying.

When it comes down to the software that powers Verizon’s iPhone, it also received an update. When guests at Verizon’s event got a chance to go hands-on with the device, they noticed that it was running iOS 4.2.5 as opposed to Apple’s latest public release, iOS 4.2.1. Included with the new version of iOS is one cool new feature that’s located in the Settings app. That feature is called “Personal Hotspot”. It allows the phone to act as a wireless hotspot and share its 3G connection with up to five other devices that connect either by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. In other words, it’s tethering.

The Verizon iPhone is a 3G only device. No 2G, no 4G, just 3G. When asked why both companies decided not to implement Verizon’s LTE network, they responded by saying that it would have taken them a while longer to come up with a larger redesign to fit its technology and they just wanted to get the phone to consumers as quickly as possible. They also stated that they simply wanted to place the new iPhone on a very stable, widely available 3G network and watch how it handled there. Both are very legitimate reasons to wait on further advancing the phone’s cellular technologies and I agree that it’s probably for the best that they wait.

For those of you disappointed to learn that LTE won’t be available on the CDMA iPhone 4, try not to be. LTE is still a relatively new tech and it’s the first CDMA iPhone, plus, 3G speeds aren’t that slow, so you really should cut them some slack. Besides, I think your wish will come true if you are just patient and wait a good while after Verizon launches this one so they have the time to see how it’s working on 3G. If all goes well and Apple and Verizon team up to start designing, developing, and testing an LTE iPhone soon after, if not immediately after, I’m willing to bet that we might even see one around this time next year.

One thing in particular that seems to have detracted a few people is that Verizon’s CDMA network doesn’t allow for simultaneous use of voice and data. That means that if you get a phone call while in the middle of surfing the Internet or downloading a file, your data access will be suspended until the call is answered, sent to voicemail, or the caller hangs up. It also means that you can’t multitask with applications that use data while in the middle of a call, as an iPhone commercial has shown a user doing with the iPhone on AT&T’s network. I’m going to go out on a limb, however, and say that this won’t be an incredible deal for most people. But I could imagine it getting annoying pretty quickly if you’re the type of person that tends to get a lot of calls.

In an effort to end things on a positive note, a really cool thing about the CDMA iPhone is that it is non-exclusive, meaning that other CDMA networks, such as Sprint, could carry it at any time. For those currently signed with a non-Verizon CDMA network that are eager to get the iPhone, this means that you have a shred of hope of not having to switch in order for that to happen! I don’t think companies will find low-demand a problem when looking at bringing the iPhone to their own network, so there’s a pretty significant chance it’ll make it there as soon the company deems that there is a demand amongst their customers. There have, although, been a few reports that suggest, as one CDMA provider, Sprint will not be quick to bring the iPhone to their customers. If that’s true, I wonder what their reasoning behind holding off might be…

All in all, if there are no major problems with it or the network after it launches, I think the first CDMA iPhone, the Verizon iPhone, will be a win.

(Via: Engadget, Gizmodo)
(Source: Apple, Verizon)