While the rest of the world has had the luxury of buying the iPhone on multiple carriers for some time, those of us in the States have been stuck with AT&T since the phone"s launch. For many, it was a love hate relationship, but for those on Verizon, the iPhone launch represents a sigh of relief.
According to 9to5mac.com, 250K iPhones were sold on the first day of preorders. What should be noted is that only existing subscribers could purchase the phone and this does not represent any conversion of AT&T users. Verizon had to put a stop to the pre-orders as the allotted amount of iPhones were claimed in less than 24 hours.
Verizon will begin accepting orders for new customers next week before the retail launch. It won"t be until next quarter, when AT&T and Verizon announce their earnings, that we will have any idea as to how many users actually bailed on AT&T.
Verizon has pushed the iPhone hard and has released several new advertisements. AT&T is also fighting back by sending out micro-cell units to customers who have been experienced a high volume of dropped calls. While the iPhone hasn"t even officially launched yet for Verizon, the fight is already on.