At Verizon Wireless, It's Apple Vs. Android

Now that the excitement over the iPhone's arrival at Verizon Wireless is beginning to die down, Verizon customers have to ask themselves a question. Android or Apple?

Yes, for the first time they can have an iPhone if they want. But they can also choose from a number of other slick, feature-laden smartphones that run on Google's Android system.

While Apple pushed the boundaries of smartphones with its iPhone, manufacturers producing devices for the Android system have been quickly catching up. Newsweek's technology writer Daniel Lyons notes that the quality of Android phones has vastly improved in the last year. He also notes Android has something else going for it - diversity.

Classic battle from the '80s

Those old enough to remember the early days of video cassette recorders may remember the battle between BetaMax and VHS. Sony developed the BetaMax format but chose not to license it to other manufacturers. RCA developed the VHS format and made it available to any manufacturer that wanted to make it.

As a result, most consumers ended up purchasing VCRs that played the VHS format, even though BetaMax was the first, and many argued, the superior format. In video stores, the "Beta" section of tapes got smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared.

That's not to say the same thing will happen in the smartphone world, but right now consumers have a lot more choices when they look at Android phones.

Quiz

ComputerWorld's JR Raphael has posted a quiz to help consumers determine whether they should buy an Android or iPhone. And even if you have decided you prefer an iPhone to an Android phone, there's one very good reason to wait.

Verizon has begun rolling out its 4G LTE network, offering much faster speeds. The new Verizon iPhone 4 is not designed to run on 4G. Chances are, the next iPhone model, likely to be introduced this summer, will. If you value speed, you might consider waiting.

The same consideration applies to those using other carriers, considering a switch to Verizon for the iPhone. Present iPhone users are known to complain about AT&T's network and assume that Verizon's network will be better. But once millions more people are using iPhones on it, who knows?