So, my prediction that the iPhone was coming to Verizon has finally panned out as the official Verizon Wireless iPhone page is now live! The CDMA iPhone was confirmed at a press conference hosted by Verizon at the Lincoln Center in New York today.
The planned arrival comes just a hair late for me. As my earlier prediction stated, I intended to get the Verizon Android if the iPhone wasn’t coming soon enough, and for various reasons, mainly involving timing, I went ahead and got an Android.
I’m actually still very pleased with my Droid X by Motorola, and I’ve been studying how applications leverage its various transitions and the overall user-interface style. The Android has one significant advantage over the iPhone in my mind, because of the Google operating system. While I am somewhat platform-agnostic, being fairly comfortable with Microsoft, Apple, UNIX, etc — I primarily use a Microsoft PC because I still feel the need to experience the internet on the same system/browser combos used by the majority of people out there. (I’m not at all saying that Microsoft is better than Apple!)
One thing that irks me is that Apple created a developer SDK which pretty well means that iPhone development must be done on an Apple operating system. Having coded for the internet for quite some time, I now have a biased perspective that it really ought to be possible to have coding activities be platform-agnostic. I shouldn’t have to buy an Apple computer in order to code apps for the iPhone.
I’m probably going to experiment with coding some apps for the Android operating system and test them on my Droid X phone.
As you may be aware, there is an increasing convergence between local internet marketing, local search marketing, social media, check-in services, and mobile marketing going on. I’ll likely be experimenting with the nuts-and-bolts of the Android connections to GPS as well as other methods used to identify the cell phone user’s geolocation. (Incidentally, I’ll also be assessing the accuracy of the cellphone triangulation to some degree, since there are various methods by which Verizon may be accomplishing this.)
I might eventually get a Verizon iPhone to tinker with as well. I know there’s likely issues involved in trying to switch from my Droid contract over to iPhone, and I might take a beating on that. However, despite Apple’s unsavory desire to be very controlling about iPhone development, I still would like to code apps for use by both systems in order to be able to engage with smartphone users in multiple channels.
My more cynical side is slightly concerned about whether the Verizon network will actually stand up to the increased usage strain that the iPhones may place on the system. AT&T discovered to its chagrin that they weren’t really ready for iPhone traffic on their wireless network, particularly in some population-heavy regions such as around New York. However, Verizon may perform a whole lot better considering its network really has been superior overall.
In fact, Verizon’s superior network is why I chose to stick with Verizon Wireless service instead of switching carriers in order to get the addictive little iPhone!
ShareThisTags: Android, Android Operating System, Apple, Apple iPhone, cellphones, Droid X, geolocation, Google Android, iPhone, mobile marketing, mobile phones, Motorola, smartphones, Verizon, Verizon iPhone
