Why I returned my Verizon iPhone 4

I've had an AT&T iPhone 3Gs for almost 2 years and love it. When I got that phone, I had a Verizon wireless phone, which I kept active for a couple of reasons:

1. My previous experience with AT&T wireless was not good, so I wanted to keep the option of going back to Verizon if things didn't work out.
2. I have a Verizon family plan with 4 different phones, and dropping one one of the lines would only save about $10/month.

My AT&T contract ends next month, and now that Verizon has the iPhone, I figured I could save some money by upgrading my old Verizon phone to an iPhone 4 and dropping my AT&T service. Rather than wait for my AT&T contract to end, I decided to go ahead and do the Verizon upgrade now, so I would be ready to drop my AT&T service as soon as my contract ends.

I got the Verizon iPhone and activated it a week ago. Yesterday I sent it back. Here's why:

1. Where I live, 3G data speed is much slower with Verizon than with AT&T. At times, I couldn't send mail or access web sites because the connection to the server timed out. I use the phone much more for data than for voice calls, so this was a deal breaker for me.
2. Although Verizon has a reputation for better coverage than AT&T, the Verizon signal in my house was very weak, to the point where some incoming calls would go right to voicemail. Since I don't make or receive many wireless voice calls, especially at home, I could have lived with this if it were the only problem. For what it's worth, my next door neighbor also got Verizon iPhone 4, and she has found the voice call performance to be pretty bad compared with her AT&T iPhone 3 (which she still has).

From what I've seen online, a year or two ago Verizon's 3G network was faster than AT&T's, but AT&T has been investing in their 3G infrastructure, and it shows, at least in my area. Part of the problem is the iPhone 4 itself -- another neighbor upgraded his AT&T iPhone 3 to an iPhone 4 (still AT&T), and found he got a weaker signal in some places.

When I called Verizon yesterday to make arrangements to return the phone, they were very accommodating. They charge a $35 restocking fee when you return a phone, but they said they would review my case and consider waiving that fee.

When I spoke with the Verizon representative, she told me Verizon would be getting the 4G-enabled iPhone 5 later this year, but she didn't know when. Given the iPhone 4 issues, I'll wait for the iPhone 5 to come out before upgrading my current iPhone 3Gs -- maybe I'll give Verizon another try at that time.