Yes, you can finally make calls on it.
That�s the word millions of Americans have been waiting to hear since Apple Inc. and Verizon Wireless announced that the iPhone 4 was at last coming to the Verizon network. Would it provide a better experience than the version that runs on AT&T Inc.�s rival system?
My early conclusion is, it does. I�ve been using the Verizon iPhone, available today for pre-order and in stores on Feb. 10, for about a week in various locales in Northern California, and it has yet to drop or fail to connect a call. That�s a sharp contrast with my AT&T iPhone, which continues to lose calls regularly.
You have to feel a little sorry for AT&T. When it won exclusive rights to the first iPhone in 2007, there was no way to know how popular it would prove to be — or how much stress all those bandwidth-munching users would put on its network.
Still, deciding between Verizon and AT&T isn�t a slam-dunk, and current AT&T users who are able to switch shouldn�t automatically do so. The AT&T version is superior in some important respects, and you may have better service where you are than I do where I am. It does mean, though, that current and potential iPhone users in the U.S. finally have a choice. And that�s a very good thing.
The new iPhone is just that: a new iPhone. AT&T and Verizon use different technologies, and a phone that runs on one company�s network can�t run on the other�s. Still, the two handsets have the same dimensions, display and user interface, and the physical differences are minimal. The Verizon version has no SIM-card slot, the black bands in the metal rim that serve as the antenna are in different places and the mute switch is slightly lower — meaning that some existing cases may not fit right.
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