Are you making the switch or waiting it out? We're having the same internal battle here at Mac|Life headquarters, and we figured there's no better way to solve our problems than to write it out. If you're having some trouble making the decision yourself, read on--Nic, Ray and Susie make the case for taking the plunge, waiting it out, or staying faithful to gool ol' AT&T.

Nic

Jump!

Everyone knows AT&T sucks worse than an unplugged Hoover. So why put up with it? Because you had to, perhaps? And now that a bigger, better network is getting the phone, it's time to cut the cord.

I knew I was leaving AT&T as soon as Verizon got the iPhone, which was before Verizon knew it was getting the iPhone, which was pretty much as soon as they started showing off the commercials with those darn red heat maps versus AT&T’s lukewarm orange maps. AT&T's spotty coverage looked like an anemic Dalmatian, while Verizon's looks solidly filled out.

AT&T's response to the Verizon hotspot (roughly "we have no plans on implementing it, but we're researching it") cemented the decision for me. Sure, AT&T might implement the feature a few months later, but a surefire answer would have kept me locked in. The lack of one made me lose my faith in the mobile service provider, especially because AT&T has a habit of being so reactionary. Even if the iPhone becomes available on all carriers, I doubt that AT&T would change its M.O.

Which beings me to my next point: all carriers may have their service issues, but I've been plagued with AT&T's since the day I stepped foot in San Francisco. My AT&T iPhone 3G drops more calls than a one-armed telephone juggler, while my flatmates on Verizon have encountered no such issues.

Honestly, I could care less about the eventual advent of the iPhone 5. My guess is that it’ll hardly be much of an update--much like the 3GS to the 3G. If I end up really wanting it, I'll sell my Verizon iPhone on Craigslist or eBay. Besides, snatching the Verizon iPhone on launch day guarantees I'll have the hottest iPhone for like eight minutes, and in the coming months I'll be enjoying one of the iPhone's hidden features: making calls.

Ray

Wait.

Verizon's got the iPhone! Verizon's got the iPhone!

Before the iPhone, I was a happy Verizon customer, and I've long said that I'd jump back at the earliest opportunity. At long last, here's my chance. Finally! But I'm not going anywhere...yet.

My relationship with AT&T as a customer could best be described as "it’s complicated." I love my iPhone, but it's more of an iMiniComputerThing, and less of an actual phone. Owing largely to AT&T's abysmal coverage in my neighborhood, I rarely use the phone (and in fact Messages recently replaced the Phone icon in the Dock on my device).

So you'd think I'd be chomping at the bit to switch to Verizon. But the reason why I'm not is pretty simple. There's going to be new iPhone hardware in about four months. Apple introduced the original iPhone on June 29, 2007. It's successor -- iPhone 3G -- hit stores in July of 2008. June of 2009 saw the 3GS, and the iPhone 4 hit June 24, 2010. Are you sensing a pattern yet?

Four months from now, the internet is going to be full of whiners. "I can't believe Verizon would be so awful as to release a new product, when I just bought the old one a few months ago -- what selfish jerks!" they'll say. But anyone who's paying even the slightest bit of attention knows the iPhone 5 is right around the corner. And (sorry to burst your bubble) Apple, Verizon, and AT&T aren't the least bit interested in timing their product cycles to maximize your personal technology budget.

Aside from hardware concerns, I also don't know that Verizon's network will fare any better in the locations where I use my iPhone most. Add in a slew of new iPhone owners, and it could be that Verizon's network suffers the dreaded "iPhone effect" as much as AT&T's network seems to. So until I can sit side-by-side with a Verizon iPhone user on my couch and see proof positive that Verizon's coverage is better, there's no reason to run afoul of AT&T's early-termination policies. So I'm waiting, at least a few months until the next phone rolls out.

Although, if Verizon's network does perform appreciably better in my regular haunts, I'll be gone come June. Let me know if you're interested in a gently-used iPhone 4.

Susie

Stay!

So I'm the fuddy-duddy in this trio, huh? Nic's switching to Verizon right away. Ray's probably jumping ship as soon as the next iPhone comes out. And I'm the lone holdout sticking with AT&T. I realize these reasons for doing so are all highly personal, so just keep in mind that your mileage may vary.

1. Every carrier I've had has sucked on some level; I just really don't think they're that different. If you find a network that works in your house and your place of business, and -- this is the kicker -- the company sends you a correct bill every month, you're probably doing pretty well.

2.  I don't actually talk on the phone that much, so I've done ok with my iPhone. Sometimes when a call drops, I'm actually a little relieved -- not a phone person, after all. And I like being able to scapegoat my phone (y'know, "I didn't get the voicemail until hours later, oooooh AT&T!" *fist shake*) when the sad truth is that i just didn't get around to picking up your call or promptly calling you back. I'm sorry, I know this makes me a jerk. I'm really sorry.

3. I use the data all the time. From the early reviews I've read, AT&T's network does have faster data, provided you have a good signal. If I'd never had the option of using data while on a voice call, I honestly wouldn't miss it. However, since it's something I already do use, I really think that losing it now would be noticeable.

4. I'm on a family plan. So my husband would have to switch too, or we'd go back to individual plans. It looks like our plans would be about the same -- sharing 700 minutes for $70/month, the $5 texting ripoff, and a $29.99/month unlimited data plan for each iPhone. I really like the Rollover feature of AT&T's plan, which keeps us from overages if we ever go over our shared minutes. (Which has happened three or four times in 7 years.)

5. I would totally buy that $20/month 3G Mobile Hotspot plan. I just would. I don't always succumb to such upcharges, but I totally would this time. It's too cool not to. The thing is, I might not use it enough to justify $20 every single month, $240 a year. I can't use it exclusively for my home Macs, because if I wasn't home, my husband wouldn't be able to get on the internet.

I could use it for my iPad, but I have the iPad 3G and I think I've paid for data service on it maybe twice, for a total of $60 (canceling it immediately each time). Plus, one of those times was on a business trip, so I expensed it.

So the only times I'd use it are when traveling with my MacBook Pro or iPad to a place that doesn't have Wi-Fi ... and honestly, that just doesn't happen very often.

(Plus, shhhh, but I got the free Netshare app from the App Store before it was pulled, and that lets me tether my laptop to my iPhone, with a cable, in a kludgey, workaround way...but for free. AT&T doesn't even know.)

6. I just signed a new AT&T contract last summer. So I'd have to pay to get out, or at least call them up (one of my pet peeves) and argue with them about changes to the contract and try to weasel out of it that way. Plus, I already have a GSM iPhone 4 that works just great. So buying another iPhone 4 just for 3G Mobile Hotspot and slightly better phone calls is, again, a waste of money.

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So readers, what do you think? To each their own or is an editor clearly right? Sound off in the comments and make sure to flame each other for differing opinions!