In response to Verizon's Tuesday iPhone announcement, AT&T focused on what it considered to be the limitations of Verizon's CDMA network.
"For iPhone users who want the fastest speeds, the ability to talk and use apps at the same time, and unsurpassed global coverage, the only choice is AT&T," the carrier said in a statement.
At a Tuesday press event in New York, Verizon joined Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook to announce that a CDMA Verizon version of the iPhone 4 will be available starting February 10. Existing Verizon customers can put in pre-orders starting February 3.
AT&T has had the exclusive rights to the iPhone in the U.S. since 2007. In response to Tuesday's announcement, AT&T cited the limitations of CDMA, including international access and not being able to talk and surf simultaneously, and said that Verizon offers slower data speeds and "probable" lower battery life.
CDMA does not allow for phone calls in most of Europe and Asia, and CDMA phones have no networks to roam on and lack SIM cards, AT&T said. The Verizon iPhone 4 is indeed a 3G, CDMA iPhone. It works on Verizon's 850 and 1900 MHz bands, with no LTE or GSM, and is not a world phone.
AT&T also said that CDMA does not allow a user to talk and surf the Web at the same time. On AT&T's 3G network you can surf the Web during a phone call. On Verizon, however, if you navigate to the browser while a call is in progress while not on Wi-Fi, it will give you an error.
AT&T also said that Verizon's CDMA network is 60 percent slower than AT&T's 3G network, on average, nationwide. In PCMag's search for the Fastest Mobile Networks 2010, analysts found that AT&T performed faster than Verizon nationwide, delivering average download speeds of 1.79Mbits/sec compared to Verizon's 1.01Mbits/sec.
Finally, AT&T said that GSM has better battery consumption because it is a "relatively simpler technology." If Verizon's iPhone has two radios, "it may lower battery life," AT&T said.
What do the other carriers think?
"We don't comment on future plans for devices, but Sprint has a great 3G and 4G device lineup right now," a Sprint spokeswoman said in a statement. "Devices like the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Epic 4G are compared very favorably to the iPhone. We can't share details, but we're also excited about the products to come in 2011."
As PCMag mobile analyst Sascha Segan pointed out in his hands-on with the Verizon iPhone 4 this morning, Verizon said its deal with Apple is non-exclusive, so the CDMA iPhone 4 might also work on Sprint, if Sprint can close a deal with Apple.
"T-Mobile remains focused on offering not just the most compelling and innovative devices, but also a blazing fast 4G network and rich experiences at unbeatable prices," a T-Mobile spokesman said in a statement. "Consumers are savvy enough to look for the total package; there's no fun in having a great device running on a slow network."