So how did that first week go?

According to Wired, data from the Speedtest.net iPhone app shows that AT&T iPhone data transfer rates were roughly 2 times faster than those of the Verizon iPhone.

There are a few caveats though; the post notes “results did not provide data on coverage reliability or dropped connections,” and the number of AT&T phones providing data outnumbered the Verizon iPhones providing data 3 to 1.

When it comes to sales of that Verizon iPhone, it’s still attractive to new buyers but not in the overwhelming numbers many anticipated.

Boy Genius Report published sales figures from the first 5 days of the Verizon iPhone’s initial launch that “are performing a little under what Apple and Verizon anticipated.”

• Thursday: Verizon = 909, AT&T = 539
• Friday: Verizon = 916, AT&T = 680
• Saturday: Verizon = 660, AT&T = 471
• Sunday: Verizon = 796, AT&T = 701
• Monday: Verizon = 711, AT&T = 618

On the first day, the five Apple stores included in this data (including “very, very prominent” Apple stores which we can guess refer to their San Francisco and New York stores) were selling 68% more Verizon iPhones than AT&T iPhones, but by that Monday the difference in sales shrunk considerably, though the Verizon iPhone is still slightly more popular.

Perhaps that’s because AT&T’s fees helped to stem any mass exodus of customers. According to BGR:

30% of people buying Verizon iPhones were Android users, just over 25% of people buying iPhone 4 were BlackBerry users, and only 14% of people buying the Verizon iPhone were AT&T iPhone owners. The remaining percent didnâ€t want to say, didnâ€t have a smartphone, or didnâ€t have a phone prior to making their iPhone 4 purchases last week.

Now these numbers don’t take into account the estimated 550,000 pre-sales made online, or sales from Verizon stores, but overall it seems to actually be a good thing for Apple.

The fact that people are still buying AT&T iPhones with 2 options available means that even if demand is less than anticipated, the Verizon iPhone represents a new market, not one entirely cannibalized from existing AT&T customers. The real test will come when the next generation iPhones are released though.

Some expected Steve Jobs to be on stage for the announcement, but perhaps the Apple CEO didn’t want to run the risk of encountering travel delays forecast by many meteorologists. Regardless of which C-suite Apple exec did the formal announcing, it was the expected conclusion to months of speculation.

At the press conference to announce the launch, Cook said that it marked “just the beginning of a relationship between Apple and Verizon.” {Mashable}

The Verizon iPhone will be in stores February 10th, but existing customers can order from February 3rd. Costs are almost exactly the same as the AT&T version with a 16GB iPhone 4 coming in at $199.99 and a 32GB version costing $299.99, both with the purchase of a 2-year contract and data plan.

In addition to the unlimited data that Verizon currently offers (compared to AT&T’s capped 2GB), Verizon customers will be able to use their phone as a mobile hotspot.

Now that the iPhone is no longer a one-network pony in the US, will this mean a more equal competition with Android devices? It’s hard to say if the wider availability means the iPhone will take market share away from any of the smartphone competitors, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 who seem more likely to suffer. Also worth watching, Verizon’s reliability. Some are wondering if the network, which still has a number of Droids and Blackberry devices to support, can hold up to the extra strain iPhone users are expected to place on data services.

Nearly everyone agrees that the date means that the Verizon iPhone will be similar to the iPhone 4 on AT&T, just configured to work on a CDMA network. The logic goes that if there were significant changes, Apple would be making the announcement themselves. Plus, following the normal Apple release pattern, January is just too soon to expect a new version of a product released in June of the previous year. All Things D reports that a Steve Jobs appearance is likely though, so Apple does find the announcement important. While it’s not uncommon for the iPhone to be available on multiple carriers in countries outside the US, inside the US where Android is gaining market share in part due to the sheer number of handsets and wide range of carriers, adding another carrier is a big deal. By the time the iPhone 5 (or whatever the next iteration is called) does arrive, it will mean a much larger audience and possibly a way to maintain a bit of smartphone market share.

Boy Genius Report has the actual CDMA iPhone going on sale somewhere between February 3rd and 6th based on employee vacation request blackout dates, so anyone foaming at the mouth to wait in a long line won’t have to wait too long for the wait. Verizon Wireless is the largest carrier in the US, so we’ll make the prediction that there will be at least a few lines similar to those that were seen when the iPhone 4 was first released. While standing outside in February isn’t the same as standing outside in June, we don’t doubt the dedication of iPhone admirers who just couldn’t bring themselves to map out dead spots on AT&T.

TechCrunch’s resident iPhone enthusiast also points to an additional selling point for the Verizon iPhone: unlimited data, which AT&T cut off last June. While it’s not expected that the “unlimited” data generosity (actually capped at 5GB) will continue, Verizon’s most expensive data and phone plan is still approximately $200 less than AT&T on a 2-year basis so it could be just one more incentive for new iPhone users to sign up sooner rather than later.

The Bing app provides an easy way for Android users to use the search engine, and it looks nice, as we’d expect.  The app includes the Bing Image, and changes everyday, just as the website does.  The app also includes Bing Maps complete with directions and traffic information, but it lacks the voice navigation that is present in all Android phone thanks to Google.  Bing also matches Google with voice input, but again doesn’t go as far as Google does with it’s new Voice Commands feature.  In all, the Bing app forAndroid is essentially the same as the Bing app for iOS, but it’s more surprising to find it on Google’s OS. {Mashable}

The most interesting part of the Bing for Android app is the fact that only certain Android users can even use it.  The app is only available to Android users on the Verzion network.  So, only those with some sort of Droid (or the LG Ally) are able to get it.  We can’t see the logic in Microsoft striking such an exclusive deal for an app.  Verizon does seem to have the most popular Android phones on the market, but leaving everyone else out doesn’t make any sense.  Although Verizon is the largest carrier in the US, an app doesn’t seem to be the type of thing that would convince someone to try the network in the same way that a sexy phone (e.g. the iPhone on AT&T) would. Plus, we’re sure that most people who use Android do so – at least in part, because of the integration with Google and the various Google apps like Google Voice. We won’t call this another KIN style meltdown just yet, but it’d be really surprising to see the Bing app become a significant driver of mobile traffic for the soon-to-be second place search engine.

We all knew it was coming eventually.  Last year Verizon and Motorola saw great success with the release of the original Droid, which was the  flagship Android phone for at least a few weeks.  The Droid continues to be a great success, being that it is a great phone with a lot of advertising behind it.  Makes sense that there would be a follow up apart from the Droid Incredible and Droid X.

Today Verizon has finally made the Droid 2, the true successor to the Droid, official.  The Droid 2 looks fairly similar to the first Droid, but the corners are rounded where the Droid had sharp angles.  Gone is the bar under the screen that stayed put when the screen slides up, now it slides with the rest of the front.  Also gone is the D-pad, replaced with arrow keys and an “OK” button, which make the keyboard feel more natural to some.

For specs, the Droid 2 ships with Android 2.2 installed, so no worrying about updates.  The mobile hotspot functionality on Froyo will cost an extra $20 a month.  With the Droid 2 we also have a 5 MP camera, 8 GB of flash storage (with and 8 GB microSD card included for 16 GB of storage), and DLNA streaming.

The phone will be available for pre-order on Wednesday, and will be available in Verizon stores on Thursday for $199 on a two-year contract.  To be nice to current subscribers, Verizon is taking a play from AT&T’s book and allowing anyone who has a Verizon contract ending this year to upgrade to the Droid 2, or any other smartphone, without penalty.  You may want to wait, however, because the R2-D2 version of the Droid 2 will be available online starting in September. {Engadget}

Palm Pre Plus $49.99 {Verizon}:

The Palm Pre Plus is the fastest phone available running WebOS, though with only four such phones in existence, that might not be much to brag about.  WebOS has a slew of interesting features like Synergy which will merge your Gmail and Facebook contacts into the address book if you set it with those accounts.  It also handles multitasking with an elegant card system.  As for speed? It may run a bit slowly compared to recent competitors, and have a relatively small screen, but it’s not a bad phone by any stretch.

HTC Droid Eris $0.01 {Amazon}:

The HTC Droid Eris is essentially the same as the original HTC Hero, but with a different shell.  It now runs on Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI over the top of it, similar to the HTC EVO or Droid Incredible. The processor is not nearly as fast as either of those phones (528 MHz as compared to 1 GHz for EVO and Incredible), but still runs fairly well.  It is certainly more easily pocketable than the likes of the EVO or the Droid X with it’s smaller 3.2-inch screen.  It won’t be getting any more OS updates, but being stuck on 2.1 at the moment isn’t so bad – particularly compared to those phones still stuck on Android 1.6 or lower.

LG Ally $0.01 {Amazon}

The LG Ally is the second phone on this list with a physical keyboard, but unlike the Pre Plus, it runs on Android 2.1.  The phone is actually fairly new, having launched on Verizon to little fanfare in May.  There’s no talk of a Froyo update as of yet, but as LG’s first Android phone, it’s a pretty good opening shot.  The phone’s processor would clock in around the Eris, but it runs on stock Android with an optional themes app that could mean less of a drain on the battery.  If you want a smartphone on Verizon with a physical keyboard that isn’t as cramped as the Pre Plus, and don’t want to spring for a Droid, the LG Ally is a good choice.

On Monday, June 7, that will change and Android users on Verizon will be able to enjoy the on-demand TV shows that other Verizon customers enjoy.  Of course, like other Verizon customers, Droid phone users will have to pay extra for V CAST.  The service will cost them $3 per day or $10 a month depending on how they wish to use the service, if at all.  {Electronista}

The networks on V CAST include Nickelodeon, Fox and NBC among others.  Verizon’s V CAST is advertising the upcoming FIFA World Cup, so if you happen to be a fan of Android devices and soccer, you’re in luck. Sprint is also offering the game to mobile users with it’s own service, Sprint TV.  Sprint TV is loaded into all Android phones from Sprint already, including the new EVO 4G.  Sprint TV is also a free option for customers, as opposed to Verizon’s paid V CAST. {Androinica}

Of course, it is a step up on both AT&T and T-Mobile, neither of whom have streaming video services for customers, let alone for Android phones.

After thousands of tests in 18 cities, the test came back with the almost surprising conclusion that AT&T is the fastest network out there right now. Considering the notoriously unreliable phone coverage of the network in places like New York and San Francisco, that might be the saving feature that convinces iPhone users to stick with AT&T if and when the rumored Verizon iPhone comes to fruition.  The iPhone carrier came out as the fastest in all areas of the US aside from the Northeast.  It is worth noting that technically, Sprint’s 4G network was the fastest that was tested, but it was only available in 9 out of 18 cities tested so it wasn’t counted. {PC Mag}

In the Northeast, T-Mobile was declared the fastest thanks to it’s improved network that it rolled out in New York City recently.  It also had a network on par with AT&T’s in Boston, Baltimore and Washington, DC.  Sprint’s 4G network was only available in a few markets, but had an average download speed of 2.1 Mbps, as opposed to AT&T’s national average of 1.79 Mbps.

Of course, with T-Mobile rolling out it’s faster network in more cities, and Sprint continually rolling out it’s 4G network, these numbers are subject to change over time.  AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are all looking at 4G rollouts starting in 2011 at the earliest.

The Sprint and Verizon networks have been known to be generally more reliable, if not as fast and unable to do voice and data at the same time.

Keep in mind that speed doesn’t always mean reliability, and that good data speeds don’t mean great calling quality or service.

The Kin phones from Microsoft launched last month, with the Kin One costing $50 and the Kin Two costing $100 after rebate.  The phones are somewhere between a feature phone and smartphone, aimed directly at pre-teens to those in their early twenties.  The only problem was that the phones were just a bit too expensive for that market.  Best Buy has answered by lowering the phones by $50 each, bringing the Kin One to free on a two-year contract, and the Kin Two to $50 with a two-year contract. {Engadget}

That still doesn’t solve the problem of the $30 data contract required for the phones, however.  With actual phone service, the total comes in around $70/month. That, unfortunately for Best Buy, is left up to Verizon Wireless and Microsoft.  Given the phones’ market, it’s more likely that the users parents would be buying the phones and paying the contracts every month.  It’s not very likely that there are a lot of parents who are willing to spend an extra $30 per month on a phone that can only really use Twitter, Facebook and the mobile web, but coupled with enough pressure from teens the free price tag of the Kin One could be convincing.  Still, with the price of the monthly data plan, we’re betting that the tech savvy teens will save their leverage to get a Palm Pre Plus or Droid Incredible instead.