by Beatweek Staff

The public said they wanted a choice of iPhone carriers, and they’ve gotten their way: the iPhone 4S is the first iPhone to launch simultaneously on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, leaving only the adrift T-Mobile without an iPhone offering. But three months into the iPhone 4S era, it’s time to review how that’s worked out for users. It turns out none of the carrier choices is a perfect one. Each of the nation’s three largest carriers has its own strengths and weaknesses, leaving iPhone users in the position of having to pick their poison when it comes to choosing a carrier for their favorite smartphone. There’s Verizon, whose network routinely rates out the highest in terms of quality, but limits monthly data usage in a manner which could get expensive. There’s Sprint, which offers iPhone users unlimited data but has a network which (based on the experiences of Beatweek staff and reports from our readers) has been steadily declining in quality. And then there’s AT&T, which limits data and has the lowest rated network of all. But it’s not all bad news for iPhone 4S users…

For one thing, there’s the fact that the carriers offer the same compromised experience to all smartphone users; in other words, Android and BlackBerry users have to put up with the same carrier nonsense and have to do so on an inferior device, if it’s any consolation. But for iPhone users who are looking to make the best of a muddled situation rather than merely commiserate, doing so essentially comes down to defining ones priorities. If you need a solid voice network and don’t use so much data as to have to worry about coming up against monthly limits, then Verizon is your frontrunner. If being able to check your email and internet and download files is your top priority, Sprint emerges as the favorite. AT&T still has one ace up its sleeve in that you can make phone calls while surfing the web, something Verizon iPhone users still can’t do. But with AT&T’s recent crackdown on its longtime iPhone users, throttling their unlimited data plans even if they’re using less data than the max on the limited plan, it’s increasingly difficult to recommend AT&T for iPhone users when the iPhone 4S exists on both Verizon and Sprint. Then again, with the (real) 4G LTE era kicking off with the launch of the next iPhone, and all three carriers on differing paths when it comes to their 4G LTE futures, the balance of power may shift all over again. Here’s more on the iPhone 4S.