Is Verizon's iPhone a 'dud'?

Though hotly anticipated as a superior alternative to AT&T's iPhone, the Verizon iPhone 4, which went on sale earlier this month, hasn't exactly smashed sales records. Now, Consumer Reports has failed to endorse the phone, saying it has reception issues on par with those of the much agonized-over AT&T model. "Evidence is mounting," says David Carnoy at CNET, that the Verizon iPhone is "more of a dud than a hit." Is it really? (See a CNET comparison of the two phones)

No, it's just got a tiny flaw: I question Consumer Reports' decision to leave the Verizon iPhone off its "recommended" list, says Larry Magid in The Huffington Post. The phone's reception issue is insignificant "compared to the broader problems that affect all cell phones."

"Consumer Reports and iPhone 4: Much Ado About almost nothing"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

And Consumer Reports may just be out for publicity: As "millions of satisfied... customers can attest, the iPhone 4 is not a fatally flawed device undeserving of recommendation," says TechHead at My Gadget News. Some have noted that Consumer Reports benefited from "global attention" when it discussed the supposed iPhone "Death Grip" issue in the past. Could this just be a headline-grabbing ploy?

"Lab tests from Consumer Reports find death grip in Verizon iPhone"

Blame the market, not Verizon: The Verizon iPhone's failure to meet expectations is understandable given that "a lot of market forces are actually conspiring against it," says David Carnoy at CNET. A number of strong Android models recently came out, and it's likely that Apple will introduce the next generation iPhone in June, something savvy consumers know. Plus, many AT&T iPhone owners are still under contract, and AT&T has waged a strong advertising counter-campaign arguing why it's still a better option than Verizon.

"Why aren't people buying the Verizon iPhone?"