Thread: Why does At and t get all the cool phones/gadgets?

Well, that's because the iPhone was designed, by Apple, to be a globally-capable device they could market anywhere, and since the US is pretty much the only country that uses CDMA network technology (what Sprint and Verizon use, along with a lot of smaller regional carriers), they didn't see the economic sense in manufacturing a CDMA version.

This is also simple supply-and-demand economics. By limiting the number of carriers (to one) that have the phone, the demand is greater from that carrier, and Apple has more control over sales and distribution. Considering how many of those crappy phones (and yes, they are crappy phones) AT&T has sold for them, it's unlikely that those two are going to break up any time soon.

There are a lot of great phones using the Android system, and all the other carriers have great devices that use it. I've owned two Android phones, the T-Mobile G1 and now the Google Nexus One. I wouldn't trade my Nexus for a dozen iPhones.

Android is open source, and there are thousands of apps available, many for free. You don't need to use iTunes or some proprietary software to sync your phone. Android phones integrate with Google apps seamlessly. They support more audio types and include video support, and will have Flash support long before the iPhone does (probably in the next couple of months). The phone have wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G capability, you can hack them, root them and some of them (like the Nexus) come SIM unlocked from the factory, so you can use them anywhere in the world. There's a variety of devices, so you can choose what you like instead of settling.

You don't have to send the phone back to Apple when the battery finally dies. At your expense. Six months after you get the phone.

And don't get me started on the iPad.

Look at your options. Don't fall for the cult.

Like iPad and iPhone? Why not Verizon or Sprint? Or any other phone carrier?

I want to get an iPhone and iPad, but I hate At and t. Their cell phone reception and customer service is horrible.