Video:Verizon vs. AT&T iPhone Plans

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Transcript:Verizon vs. AT&T iPhone Plans

Hi, I'm Shane Murphy, your technology guru for About.com. Today we'll pit AT&T's iPhone against Verizon's to see who has more to offer.

It's important to note that the physical iPhone you'll get is virtually the same. The difference lies only in the plan, services, and network support you'll receive. If you're tied into a multi-year contract with either carrier, it's probably not worth the fee to break it just to make the switch immediately.

Connectivity and Data Speed for Verizon vs. AT&T iPhone Plans

Connectivity is the first factor to consider. This is no third party data out there that measures this, but plenty of tech blog and consumer research polls have found that AT&T users experience dropped calls much more frequently then Verizon. Nothing about the iPhone's tech prowess can change this.

Next to consider is sheer data speed. AT&T's GSM network is technically much faster than Verizon's, but this is almost irrelevant because of the usage statistics -- more users on a network means slower speeds for everyone. There are limitless anecdotal testimonies out there about each network's speeds, but this is really too close to call because of all the circumstances involved.

Rates Are Similar for Verizon vs. AT&T's iPhone Plans

Finally we’ll look at rates. In this test almost everything is the same: the standard voice and text plans are literally identical. The difference here is that AT&T prices its data plans on a lower grading then Verizon.

Making this decision relies very strongly on personal preference and data usage. If you are constantly using your phone to, say, upload and download video all day, then it might be worth it to invest in Verizon's biggest plan, twice the size of AT&T's at 10 GB.

If you're just Googling restaurants on Friday nights, you're probably best served by AT&T's cheap 250 MB option. It's also worth noting that AT&T's mid-range 5GB option is $5 less.

Major Difference in Verizon vs. AT&T's iPhone Plans

The only difference in terms of key features is that Verizon's iPhones cannot currently talk and send data at the same time. This is another idiosyncratic decision: if you spend a lot of time talking on speaker while surfing the web, you'll probably want to go with AT&T.

The final verdict is that Verizon seems to have the lead, but not by the extent that it was hyped to have. Unless you're getting a special deal in your area or Verizon's coverage is unusually weak, they're probably your best bet.

Check out About.com's dedicated iPhone channel for more useful information on your smart phone.