The iPhone will strain the network as much as any other smartphone. If the crush of iPhone users won't strain it, a crush of Android users will. It's stupid to blame the iPhone for that.
You all should want the iPhone on Verizon- it will keep Android developers from getting complacent and will motivate them more to do better things. Look at Apple- they got a bit sloppy on AT&T because they knew they were the top dog. At Verizon, Android was the top dog. Not anymore- now they have to work to be the top smartphone choice on Big Red. Which I say is good. I go with whoever is better- I am not committed to either platform.
This won't have the doomsday mass exodus to Verizon that everybody is worreid about.
AT&T users are locked into a contract with a sky-high termination fee. There are family plans, business plans, people who get AT&T work discounts but not Verizon discounts. There are cities, amazingly enough, where AT&T isn't so bad. There are people with grandfathered 3G unlimited plans. iPhone users are used to the bad service, I had a friend tell me when he makes a call, he just always prefaces it with, "I'm on my iPhone so if it cuts out I'll call you back..." A small minority of the iPhone 4, 3GS users will switch no matter what and will pay hundreds of dollars to do so. So what?
Those iPhone, iPhone 3G users who still have a iPhone may switch, but then again if they still have a 2, 3yr phone, I'm guessing the if it ain't broke, don't fix attitude will prevail.
The biggest iPhone sales will come from within Verizon's ranks (the dumbphone users with NE2), the casual user wanting a smartphone on Verizon, and iPhone 4 buyers that aren't planning to wait for a iPhone 5 and now have a choice to see which service is better for them.
Again, you won't see a doomsday scenario with Verizon Android users- the oldest Android phone is the Droid, which is what, still 1yr old? So there is still a financial barrier.
Even if they release the fabled unicorn white iPhone, again how much is a white iPhone? $300 ETF and another $200 to buy it? Those sales are negligible.
It's one phone people. What is this, the Keyzer Soze of phones? You're just hyping it up. There are, what, 4 LTE Android phones coming? Tegra 2 anybody? Chillax.