Missing the iPhone, but never leaving Verizon
Honestly, since switching from the iPhone 3GS to a Verizon/Motorola Droid in November 2009, I haven’t really been keeping up with the news/updates/rumors to Apple’s mobile platform. Aside from the rumor that the iPhone is coming to Verizon, which is always going to be just a rumor, and IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN…. EVER, there is a lot of really great stuff happening.
When I switched, I was coming out of a very heavy relationship with Apple Mac OS X, iPhone and MobileMe. I used an Intel-powered iMac as my primary computer, had an iPhone 3GS with AT&T, and used MobileMe for my personal e-mail, and also to synchronize all of my personal and business contacts and calendars. I also used MobileMe to synchronize data between my multiple Macs and Windows machines. I had a company Exchange server, for Team Spearfish, but I only used the e-mail part of Exchange. Everything else, both business and personal, was handled by MobileMe. In my mind, there was nothing better. MobileMe was the most elegant synchronization platform, iCal was the best calendar application (still is), and the iPhone was the world’s greatest phone (still is).
Then, things changed. My day-to-day work changed directions and I needed Windows as my primary platform. I ended up buying two new Windows machines, and replacing my parents’ aging iMac G5 with my Intel-powered iMac as a Christmas gift. Suddenly, I had two Exchange server accounts, one for the other company I work for. That company had Verizon, and I was given a company phone. When I heard about the Droid, I was pretty into it, and told my boss, who I am very close friends with, and he bought two Droids… one for him, one for me. We had the same phone so if he had any issues, I would know how to resolve them since I had the same computing platform, same mobile network, and same mobile phone.
The Droid doesn’t link to MobileMe, so I ended up relying on Exchange and Google for all of my synchronization. Honestly, I don’t know what resides where. I have two Exchange accounts and one Google account, and all three of them have to be on the phone in order for me to have all of my information. Should something happen, I’d be fucked because I honestly don’t know where all of my data is. This is my fault, 100%, and hopefully I’ll have time soon to sit down and really organize my stuff and make backups. But, just the junkiness of the situation makes me really miss MobileMe.
The Droid is an incredible phone. Even when I had my iPhone, I wanted a Droid. Before switching to an original iPhone in 2008, every phone I had from the time I was in seventh grade was a Motorola phone. I swore by them. I loved my RAZR, ROKR, and whatever the other one was. People ask me, because they know I was such an Apple fan (and still am, even though at the moment I don’t really have any Apple products that I use daily), what I think about the Droid vs. the iPhone. My answer is this: the Droid is a better internet phone. Google knows the internet inside and out, and the Android platform is optimized for the internet. Verizon’s network is insanely fast even in redneck Amish areas like where I live, and I’ve not come across anything that I can’t do with this phone. The GPS is amazing, Exchange support is totally integrated, and push notifications/background downloads work perfectly. Battery life is great, too. The iPhone is a better platform and better phone for most average users. It’s brain dead simple and elegant, but it’s heavily dependent on your client computer. Where Droid doesn’t even have an app to sync to your computer, the iPhone requires iTunes just to activate it. Droid gets software updates over the air only, where iPhone gets software updates only through iTunes. iPhone is limited by AT&T’s horribly slow network, so unless you have 3G or WiFi, your internet experience is probably a limited one, and you’re probably just doing very trivial tasks and taking notes on what you want to look up or download once you’re back at a computer. Gaming hands down is better on the iPhone, and the iPhone has better applications, better developer support, and is basically the better platform. If iPhone had Verizon’s network, there would be no reason for anyone to not own an iPhone. I seriously believe that. It’s the best platform, based on what’s good vs. what’s bad.
iPhone OS 4 brings a lot of great things: multitasking, tools to organize your apps, better Mail application (more like the Android one, actually), and enterprise support. There are ZERO enterprise tools for the Droid, or even the Android platform. Android doesn’t support group policy, mass updating from an administrator, etc. iPhone does. iPhone OS 4 is going to set the iPhone farther apart from all of its competitors again… and we’ll have to wait 6 months or a year for everyone to catch up, at which time, Apple will release iPhone OS 5. iPod Touch and iPad will be running the same software. It’s a really exciting time to be an Apple customer, or a developer. It really is.
This all makes me miss my iPhone. I miss being excited and constantly hitting “Check for Updates” in iTunes to get the latest software. I really do. I miss following Apple Insider every day because I just HAD to know what was coming next on my phone or computer. I miss the elegance and beauty of the iPhone experience. I just don’t miss AT&T’s EDGE. Honestly, as far as mobile providers go, I didn’t really have a problem with AT&T. I always had great experiences with their phone support and in-store support. They had gone out of their way and made exceptions to their policies a number of times for me, and I appreciated that. I’ve had T-Mobile, Cingular (before AT&T acquired it), the original AT&T Wireless, 360 Communications, ALLTEL, and Verizon (before my company phone). AT&T was the provider I was most satisfied with. Now, being a Verizon customer, I’m very very happy. My ex-girlfriend’s mother works at our local Verizon store, and she always helps me out and makes exceptions so I get what I want, but also, Verizon’s online support is great. The My Verizon app on my Droid is useful too. Verizon’s network is so fucking fast it’s unreal.
Honestly, though, even if 3G came to my area, I’d probably stick with Verizon. It’s a safety precaution. It’s being a smart consumer. There are just too many areas where AT&T doesn’t work, or won’t have 3G. My area is important, but it’s not the only place I’m ever going to go. And honestly, the further away from home I am, and the further away I am from big cities with a lot to see and do, and people to give you directions, the more I use my phone. I can’t afford to risk having AT&T and using EDGE, or not having AT&T signal at all. Verizon is a safe, wise choice. Verizon is everywhere. As much as I love the novelty and beauty of Apple’s platform, having access consistently, everywhere, without delay, is more important to me.
Unless some miracle happens, and the rumors are true, and the iPhone does come to Verizon (seriously so doubtful… completely different technology, and zero financial incentive for Apple to make a separate product just for the extreme minority of people who would be able to use it, let alone would actually buy it), I’ll be an Android user for life. Or, until something better comes along, that isn’t a Blackberry, or Symbian, or Palm. I don’t like those platforms. I like the Apple platform. It’s the better platform, but network trumps platform, and Verizon is the better network.