The Verizon iPhone Is Coming! 5 Takes on the Highly Anticipated Gadget

Looks like the wait is over.

Verizon and Apple will finally put an end to one of the consumer tech industry's biggest questions when the two companies reveal the iPhone's introduction to the Verizon network. The announcement is taking place today at what had been a mysterious engagement until The Wall Street Journal confirmed suspicions that the New York event would bring the iPhone to Verizon.

Today's announcement is already heating up competition between Verizon and AT&T, with AT&T PR executive Larry Solomon telling Business Insider, "I'm not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane."

And with a possible Steve Jobs sighting, this thing must be big.

Surge Desk rounds up opinions from across the blogosphere to prepare you for the Verizon iPhone's big day.

PCMag.com's Sascha Segan says the hype is overblown.

"The iPhone is going to dominate the discourse this week because it's an easily comprehended story and one people have been following for years. It's not about technology, it's about drama: Apple and Verizon have strong 'personalities' that readers connect with emotionally. It's something people know, something people understand, and something people have been primed to accept."

TechCrunch's John Biggs lists five changes consumers can expect from the Verizon iPhone. Chief among them:

"First, expect iPhone sales to surpass Droid sales for a brief period and then level off. My friend (a former Hell's Angel) told me how a Verizon rep sold his niece a Droid X explaining that it was as good as the iPhone. After seeing ... her uncle's iPhone, however, she was gravely disappointed and repeated the litany to herself, albeit with some trepidation as the rumor of iPhone's apparition on Verizon has been a long time coming. This time, however, we're almost certain that the prayer will come true. Before you Droid-heads start flaming, accept that, at least until Honeycomb, when Verizon has the iPhone its Droid sales will dip."

Mashable's Ben Parr argues that the "Verizon iPhone doesn't spell disaster for AT&T."

"Let's take a step back and keep some objective perspective, though. While the Verizon iPhone will have a negative impact on AT&T, it's not going to break AT&T's back. The network has been preparing itself for the loss of its iPhone exclusivity contract for a long time. It's ready to do battle with Verizon."

ZDNet's Joel Evans plays the contrarian to offer "Four reasons to not get the Verizon iPhone," among them, bugs!

"What do you get with the first iPhone to ship designed to work on CDMA? Bugs! Are you ready to enjoy a bug or two? I'm pretty sure there will be some CDMA-specific bugs introduced. Either some bugs related to handing off between data and voice or battery drainage. Regardless, when you ship a new product it's buggy, unfortunately."

The New York Times' Nick Bilton is watching Verizon carefully.

"Late last year I wrote about the possibility of the iPhone crushing Verizon's network and cited Jeffrey Nelson, executive director for corporate communications at Verizon Wireless, who said the company's network was 'tried and true.' Mr. Nelson also noted that Verizon has 'built our network for reliability. It is our DNA, it is our brand -- anything we do, or don't do, in the future, will ensure a good customer experience.' I guess we'll find out soon enough."

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