I live in the DC metro area. I had an AT&T/Cingular wireless phone for years. Last year I finally switched to Verizon because I was sick of AT&T dropping my calls 5 times or so a day, no matter where I was or whether or not I was in a moving vehicle. Since switching to Verizon, outside of rural areas, I've dropped maybe 4 calls TOTAL.

For all of Apple's smarts, why the hell would they pair themselves with an inferior network? I'd love one of those new iPhones, but not if it drops every other call....

...Unless the new 3G network is somehow better than AT&T's main network. Is anyone making that claim?

I think cell phones are like cars or brands of computers: everyone has a strong opinion based on their own experience of the 'lemons.'

I definitely here AT&T bashed more frequently online, but surveying my friends (which is no more or less scientific than listening to random people online) there's plenty of people who hate verizon or sprint, too. Let's face it -- all cell phone service providers have lousy customer service, inconsistant billing, and dropped calls.

I'd prefer Apple didn't sign an exclusivity deal, but certainly there are many, many other phones which are tied to specific providers. They're just usually not that noteworthy so no one cares.

Simple. Two GSM providers in the US: AT&T and Tmobile. AT&T has 3G, Tmobile does not.

It has to be GSM if the thing will sell worldwide, and the point is moot anyway since Verizon is famous for being very stodgy as far as which phones it selects for its network.

Agreed that much cell phone coverage opinions are subjective. But in this case, I have some evidence to back me up: Consumer Reports publishes user ratings of cell phone service for 20 different metropolitan areas. In all 20 regions, Verizon beats AT&T, usually with Verizon at the top of the list and AT&T at the bottom.

My experience in Washington DC is typical: of the 20 cities, AT&T got their next to lowest score in the country in Washington.

These differences will subside. Verizon concentrated on urban areas when establishing it's network. Cingular had better overall coverage. Not everyone lives in the city.

All of this will soon converge as the network coverage becomes more complete. Until then, use what works best for you.

Your handset makes a difference also. Not so much the brand or model, but the individual unit. I had an identical phone as my wife several years ago. We live in a fringe coverage area. Her phone would work at home. Mine wouldn't. I understand that this is a well known phenomenon among wireless geeks. There is significant variation between units of the same make and model.

Man, am I the only person who has yet to have any problems with AT&T? I've been with them since 2001, through all the mergers, from AT&T to Cingular to AT&T again and I'm quite happy with the service. With the rollover minutes I have the lowest plan since I never go over, so I only pay $40 a month. I've barely had trouble with dropped calls. If anything has happened with my account I call customer service and they fix it right away. I personally think everyone should have a Samsung phone. I've had samsungs four phones in a row and I always have great service. I've noticed that people who use LGs tend to get less than par service.

Screw the iphone.

It's AT&T because Verizon wouldn't cut the deal that Apple wanted. That's been pretty well documented, and even Verizon has said that's what happened. Personally, I suspect it was a case of AT&T needing the iPhone more than Verizon did.

It's a pity that the U.S. mobile phone market has worked out the way it has, with carriers signing exclusive deals for some period for each new phone they get. (If you don't believe me, see how many phones you can get from only one company - the iPhone is nowhere near the only one.) An open market would be much better for all of us, but we're a long way away from that.

Verizon was never an option as the iPhone was intended to be sold outside the US as well, so CDMA (the Verizon network technology) was simply not an option. It was only a matter of chosing between T-Mobile and ATT, and T-Mobile simply wasn't big enough in the US. In the rest of the world, T-Mobile got the iPhone (and in the UK it was O2).

endorendil, Verizon itself has said that it rejected Apple's terms for financial reasons, not technical ones.

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Randy, I think that was a case of sour grapes.