One of the most important accessories for the savvy business traveler to pack for their business trips nowadays is a smartphone. Whether conducting business during all hours of the day, staying in touch with family from your San Diego corporate housing suite, or passing time in the airport playing games, a smartphone is essential.
Now that Verizon will be offering the iPhone in February, it is important to decide if you want to switch from your AT&T iPhone (or other smartphone) to the Verizon iPhone. Based on functionality alone, they are essentially the same phone; both are 3G phones that will use the same apps, get them from Apple’s App Store, and sync with iTunes.
Verizon refers to them-self as “America’s most reliable network” and if you determine reliability by fewest dropped calls, highest customer satisfaction ratings, and being the largest US wireless carrier (by subscriber count), then this could be true. Nothing could be more harmful to your business trip than not being able to stay in touch with the home office or being out of reach for new, potential clients!
One of the most basic differences between the phones is that AT&T uses a GSM network and Verizon uses the CDMA. This means that should you decide to take your iPhone over from AT&T to Verizon, you will not be able to use the same phone and you will have to purchase the Verizon model.
Because Verizon uses the CDMA network, Verizon iPhones will be unable to use voice and data features at the same time. AT&T iPhone users, however, are able to chat on the phone while accessing the Internet, all without disrupting their phone conversation.
For those who are interested in your iPhone doubling as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot, the Verizon model will do just that. It comes equipped with a special mode to turn your phone into a portable Wi-Fi router and allows you to connect up to five devices to the Internet simultaneously. It is important to note, however, that data speeds could be significantly slower when shared on five devices.
Rumors are circulating that Apple will be releasing an iPhone 5 very soon. And both networks are currently working towards adopting a 4G network later this year, so it may be beneficial to sit tight with your current smartphone for that next business trip before running out and buying a new one.