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I think its too early to call the VIP (Verizon iPhone) a dud. I think with the elimination of the NE2 discount and annual upgrade, many are waiting to use their discount one last time or want to make sure that they get the right phone with that last discount. For any one that bought a BlackBerry in the summer of 2009, say like a BB Tour for example, their NE2 is likely to be in March, not February. My NE2 is March 14, so it doesn't make sense for me to blow a $50 discount plus pay an additional $20 upgrade fee, which is a total of $70 more to buy an iPhone now when I can wait 2 or 3 more weeks and save that $70.
I think there are couple other strong reasons why people may be hesitating.
The ATT advertising of simultaneous data and voice plus faster network may keep GSM users staying with ATT, but we CDMA users have never had that, so I am not sure that's a big deal to us. However, for people who plan on using the mobile hotspot feature or tether their phones via other means, they may come to appreciate a faster network speed and same time data and voice. But, when Verizon is developing a much faster network, LTE, that does allow for those two features and it is available in 30 major markets in the US, and Verizon has 4 or more handsets coming out in 2011 with LTE capabiity, I think many prospective VIP owners are on the fence. They want the iPhone, but they want LTE, too. Currently, only Android has the LTE in their upcoming devices. But will the next iPhone feature LTE?
I don't know how many smartphone users like to re-program their phones. Read Android Central and you'd think that everyone who buys a smartphone wants to re-program it. Read some of the forums on TIPB or even here on CrackBerry and you'd think that even Apple iPhone users want to re-program their phones. But I think the vast majority of smartphone users just want the phone to work as is. I am very interested in Android but I don't want to root my phone and from I can tell, a stock Android is not as fun to use as a stock iPhone. So, do we jump off the fence and go to Android to get our LTE or do we go iPhone and have a phone that works and is cool to use? It's a tough choice. Especially when some Android fans love to say that a stock Android is better than a stock iPhone, yet they never seem to have a stock Android.
The other reason is the new updated model is likely only a few months away, Now, I have never known Verizon to come out with a new model of an existing phone less than 12 months after the first. But, perhaps Verizon just wanted to get the iPhone early and get a jump on ATT, meaning that the new version will come out in June or July as per Apple's normal schedule.
I am just waiting for the friggen HTC Thunderbolt to drop, so I can see if that LTE is mostly hype or is reliable at the handset level. I confirmed LTE availability in my area.02-25-11 02:12 AM
