Joe Noccera had a great article in the New York Times yesterday dissecting why Apple needed Verizon much more than Verizon needed Apple and how the addition of the iPhone to Verizon could expose iPhone flaws.

To date almost all problems with iPhone reliability have been blamed on AT&T  Noccera makes the argument that many of the iPhone reliability issues are actually the result of the poorly designed software in the iPhone.

Mr. Vogelstein went on to note in his article that the troubles that ensued — the dropped phone calls, the frequent network crashes and so on — were not entirely AT&T’s fault. His Apple sources, he wrote, confirmed to him that “the software running the iPhone’s main radio, known as baseband, was full of bugs and contributed to the much-decried dropped calls.” But since Apple walks on water, and AT&T doesn’t, it was easy for Apple to place all the blame on its wireless carrier.

Noccera goes on to explain that Verizon’s commitment to Android is not likely to wane simply from the launch of the iPhone as Android OS phones are outselling iOS phones.  We would also suggest that the profitability on Android OS phones may be greater for Verizon as the variety of device makers allow the carrier to have negotiating power.

According to Gartner, in the second quarter of 2009, Android sales constituted 1.8 percent of all smartphones sold, compared with Apple’s 13 percent. By the second quarter of 2010 — just a year later — Android was actually outselling Apple, 17.2 percent to 14.2 percent. This must have been a shock to the system at Apple — it was being outdone by an uncool competitor.

And he concludes with:

Mainly, though, the Verizon Wireless subscriber is simply used to a different kind of experience. If they all migrate immediately to the iPhone, then truly I will raise the white flag. If they hang back, then it will signal that there are still some people who prefer something that works over something that dazzles.

We have always seen the iPhone as cool piece of technology but not exactly the best option for most wireless users.  Yes, it does have a dizzying array of applications but how many apps does a phone user actually use and what trade-offs does the user have to make to get those apps?  When we analyze those questions along with reliability and battery life our conclusion is that most users will be better served with an Android or BlackBerry based phone.