Waiting for a Verizon iPhone? Don't.
While I don't think any of the US users if the iPhone are too happy with AT&T, there haven't been any other options if you wanted to stick with an iPhone. And while I think many of us had placed our hopes on a Verizon iPhone in 2010 when the AT&T exclusivity runs out, I think the latest advertising campaign by Verizon signals that we won't see an iPhone on their network anytime soon.
The iDon't ad campaign we're talking about is for Verizon's first Android phone, built by Motorola, called the Droid. They campaign has a web site at DroisDoes.com, the phone is to be released next month. The campaign is focused on pointing out the things that the Android phone does that the iPhone doesn't such as multitasking, physical keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, customization, widgets, and open development. But the troubling part is how derogatory it is to the iPhone.
The concern I have is that if we were to see a Verizon iPhone in 2010, negotiations would already be underway. And if you are negotiating with a company for products that you want to carry, you don't publicly denigrate them like Verizon has done with their iDon't campaign. Verizon is publicly ripping into the iPhone. They wouldn't do so if they were any chance of them selling that product anytime soon.
So when, or if, the AT&T exclusivity expires next year, what options will we have. The only other two networks in the US are Sprint and T-Mobile. And both are even worse than AT&T in most parts of the US. So that basically means, yes, we're stuck with being treated like second class citizens with AT&T.