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The iPhone and Verizon, Will it ever End?

You know, I just want there to be world peace. Love and happiness. iPhone and Verizon. But good grief, it seems the drama never ends. In every coming release, even with the iPad, there’s always been rumors of Apple hooking up with Verizon. And while I’d love to see the two making sweet love under that beautiful red network, I don’t know if I see it happening. When the WSJ noted today that a new version of the iPhone would be made for Verizon, people freaked. After all, the WSJ is a big news source. Gizmodo is skeptical (right?), but says that if it does happen, it’ll be a pretty big deal. Gruber on the other hand, calls bollocks. So, what should we expect?

I’ll be dipped if it does happen, but I’m not going to play optimist this time (and I usually do). While it’s wishful thinking, I don’t know why Apple would come out with the iPad on AT&T, then turn around and seal the deal with Verizon via the iPhone. Would that mean Apple would have to produce Verizon capable iPads too? It doesn’t make sense.

But let’s say it does happen. Holy crap. This is bigger than the Saints finally winning a Superbowl. Well, okay, I guess people didn’t think the Saints were that big a deal after all. But still, it would destroy the competition. It might even hurt AT&T’s sales as people flock off their contracts and move to the better network. And while it could relieve congestion temporarily, I got the feeling the end result is still suckage.

I’ll give AT&T the benefit of the doubt. They have a pretty decent wireless network. But you know how many people in the same area are browsing on their iPhones? A lot. Thousands. And with that kind of use, it’s hard to operate under so much strain. Now I know, I know, AT&T promised us a land of milk and honey, and they should be good on their word. But let’s say we all jumped onboard with Verizon: would they have the same problems?

…Because there’s been these silly commercials lately talking about Verizon’s 3G coverage. Okay, coverage doesn’t mean jack squat if you can’t support a few thousand slash million people who’re in that coverage. While it’s true that Verizon does an excellent job of providing me with cellphone service, and they’ve been doing pretty well with internet via the Droid, I wonder if their backbone could handle a rush of iPhone users? Because you wouldn’t get a few hundred thousand iPhone users in the first week. You’d get potentially half-a-million people who’re on the fence, waiting to pull the trigger. It’d be a tidal wave, and I don’t think anyone could be prepared for it.

So Verizon, if you can seal the deal, good for you. But if you can’t handle our lust for all things web, then you’ve pretty much failed to live up to everyone’s expectations. I think people are putting a lot of trust into Verizon, and I don’t see why, because I expect the end result to be the same.

However, from an iPhone perspective, I would love to see it available across the networks - I just want it to be possible for every everyone to have the option of both a great smartphone and cellular plan of their choice. And I’ve always wanted tethering, but that’s another story.

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