The iPhone, it turns out, is awesome. Its web browser is revolutionary, its screen astonishing, its touch-interface transformative, its aesthetics breathtaking. The only problem, it turns out, is that you can't make calls on it.
In a Consumer Reports study, AT&T's signal ranked either last or second to last in 19 out of 20 major cities. My tests in five states bear this out. If Verizon's slogan is, “Can you hear me now?” AT&T's should be, “I'm losing you.”
Then there's the Internet problem. When you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot, going online is fast and satisfying.
But otherwise, you have to use AT&T's ancient EDGE cellular network, which is excruciatingly slow. The New York Times's home page takes 55 seconds to appear; Amazon.com, 100 seconds; Yahoo. two minutes. You almost ache for a dial-up modem.
It's almost as if Apple shouldn't have gone with the worst cell phone network in the country. But still, the iPhone looks so pretty, and this is mainly sour grapes from a Verizon user who will cackle happily, but in truth, sadly, every time someone with an iPhone loses a call. "Maybe you should touch your screen again," I'll archly suggest, hiding my intense longing behind a wall of cynicism and cruelty.
