iPhone 4 decision

I just bought my new iPhone 4, but I really wanted to “go Droid”, probably with the Droid X from Verizon. Of course, at the pace that new handsets are being released there is always a better device right around the corner.  But at some point you have to stop waiting and take the plunge.

I certainly wasn’t lacking in reasons for ditching the Apple/AT&T “partnership” (I use that term loosely).  AT&T has been ripped from Day 1 for not being able to handle the bandwidth requirements of iPhone users.  They beg you to question their understanding of their own business when they release an unlimited data plan for the iPad and then almost immediately have to retreat back to a metered plan.

Apple probably has mixed emotions about the mudslinging at AT&T; on the one hand, they are joined at the hip with AT&T, so the mud hits them too.  On the other hand, criticism of AT&T serves to distract from the richly deserved criticism given to Apple.  They have shown with Antennagate that they place more value on design than functionality, and when they are called out on that fact they act like a 12-year old and yell “they did it too!” towards their competitors.  Then there is Apple’s “parental” control over the app platform, enraging developers and users alike by trying to act as our moral authority – a job nobody has asked them to do.

So why did I upgrade my iPhone 3G with an iPhone 4?  When I looked at the reasons for my decision, I found that they were as much about business models as it was about phone features.  And this makes sense to me – phones are increasingly similar in terms of their features, so buying decisions will take other factors into account.  

Here are the main reasons I stuck with Apple and upgraded to the iPhone 4, instead of switching to Verizon and getting the Droid X.  (Note: I do acknowledge that AT&T offers some Android handsets too that would make some of the below reasons irrelevant, but I felt that their current offerings were inferior to Verizon’s Droid X, so my personal decision was one or the other.)

1. My wife has an iPhone, and we have a family plan. The family plan allows us to share minutes for only $10 extra per month.  That is a very attractive price, and a reason for me to stay with AT&T.
2. I have thousands of rollover minutes that I would lose if I left AT&T. I’m actually fascinated by the rollover minute concept, and would love to know the actual statistic behind it.  I’m willing to bet that providing rollover minutes costs AT&T next to nothing (i.e. the number of users that would otherwise upgrade to more minutes without the rollover is probably close to zero), but serves as a psychological lock-in for customers.  I’m actually surprised that Verizon doesn’t also offer it.
3. My investment in apps. I’ve probably spent at least $100 on apps over the last year.  Not only would I have to buy many of those apps again, but I’m not even sure they all exist on Android (and if they do, I’m not sure of the quality).  It is simply easier for me to stay with the iPhone – and both AT&T and Apple know this and are counting on it.
4. AT&T’s Pittsburgh service is fine. If I was in San Francisco or New York, it would be a different story.  But in Pittsburgh, there is no service issue.  (When I start to travel a lot more, I could very well find myself buying a phone from Verizon to ensure I have enough cell and data usage when travelling).
5. AT&T finally offered tethering. This important to me, and if AT&T didn’t finally offer it then it could have been the deciding factor to go elsewhere.  But the feature already existed, so it was more of a business model decision by AT&T to offer it and how to charge for it.
6. The iPhone 4 is a good product. Yes, they got egg on their face with the antenna, and without a case you might need to be careful in how you hold it.  But it is a great piece of hardware, either ahead of or on par with any headset on the market today.  Fanboy or not, that is indisputable.  So by staying with the iPhone I’m clearly not settling for an inferior product.
7. My iPhone 3G became practically unusable with the new OS. Apple is reportedly “looking into performance problems with the 3G” after upgrading to the new OS, but let’s be honest: Apple knew exactly what would happen to older hardware with the new OS, and it is just part of their business model designed to highlight to you how slow and clunky your old iPhone is and why you want the new one.  Sure, this definitely goes in the “evil” category, but it is an effective sales strategy nonetheless.
8. The iPhone experience is still more polished than Android. While I am offended that Apple thinks it is their job to police what is “appropriate” to put on my phone, I recognize that Apple’s heavy-handed app approval process does result in a level of consistency and polish across its apps that Android just doesn’t have.

So to summarize, AT&T’s business model to keep me as a customer: lock me in with the family plan and rollover minutes; decide to finally offer tethering; and pray that I don’t live in NY or SF.  Apple’s business model to keep me as an iPhone customer (and get me to upgrade to the latest hardware): count on my app investments to lock me in; create a pleasant (though censored) user experience; make a great-enough (but not perfect) product; and ensure that my old hardware becomes useless through software upgrades.