Mossberg reviews Verizon iPhone 4: Better voice, but slower data

“I’ve been testing a Verizon iPhone 4 and comparing it to an AT&T iPhone 4, which has been out since last summer,” Walter S. Mossberg reports for AllThingsD. “On the big question, I can say that, at least in the areas where I was using it, the Verizon model did much, much better with voice calls. In numerous tries over nine days, I had only three dropped calls on the Verizon unit, and those were all to one person who was using an AT&T iPhone in an especially bad area for AT&T: San Francisco. With the nearly identical AT&T model, I often get that many dropped calls in one day.”

“The Verizon model also introduces a feature that some iPhone power users have been craving but that AT&T hasn’t allowed in the past: the ability to use the phone, for an extra monthly fee, as a Wi-Fi hot spot for Internet connectivity to multiple laptops or other devices,” Mossberg reports. “In my tests, this worked fine with Windows and Macintosh laptops, and an iPad. Wednesday afternoon, AT&T countered by announcing a similar Wi-Fi hot spot plan for the iPhone at an unspecified future date.”

Mossberg reports, “In my tests, the new Verizon version of the iPhone did much better at voice calling than the AT&T version, and offers some attractive benefits, like unlimited data and a wireless hot-spot capability. But if you really care about data speed [AT&T’s network averaged 46% faster at download speeds and 24% faster at upload speeds], or travel overseas, and AT&T service is tolerable in your area, you may want to stick with AT&T.”

Much more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Looks like Walt’s nasty case of Android Tourette’s has cleared up; a Mossberg iPhone review without a single tic blurting about Google’s possibly patent infringing poor man’s iOS is a rare thing indeed. Let’s hope Walt’s permanently cured.