I keep seeing these kind of poasts here and on the Bolt forums and the message I take away is that VZ RUSHED 4G out and the 4G devices were also rushed out...
Look I switched over to T-Mobile from Verizon because I was tired of Verizons ever increasing prices in such hard economic times even though their competition was coming out with cheaper and cheaper packages (like Sprints and T-Mobiles $79 dollar 'Everything' plans) as well as their clamping down on Android by heavily influencing the OEMs to lock down the bootloaders and such. So please don't read into this post that I'm in any way a Verizon 'fanboy'.
As odd as it is that I feel compelled to come to Verizons defense here, I just have to say that Verizon in no way 'RUSHED' 4G out at all. They are in fact still rolling it out, and it won't be completed for years to come. This isn't any different than when they rolled out 3G. It took a while to get everyone covered, and of course not EVERYONE is covered by Verizon 3G even now, but it's the largest, most reliable 3G network in America... and when it's all said and done, they will more than likely have the largest, most reliable 4G network in the nation as well.
As for 'rushing' 4G devices out... they do have 4G service available in some cities, and the availability is growing by the day (and let me add that their LTE service BLOWS AWAY the competition... my T-Mobile 4G service is between 7 and 10 mb's down, compared to 25 to 35 mb's down on LTE!). So there is a legit demand for 4G devices on the market. If some people buy a 4G device even though 4G isn't available, or isn't very strong in their area yet... then that was their choice. People really don't have the right to complain about weak 4G coverage because Verizon isn't making any claims to the contrary. They will readily admit that 4G coverage is still in the early stages, and that widespread coverage is a few years away. So that criticism is unfounded IMO.
Furthermore, you also can't blame Verizon or any other carrier for bringing 4G devices to market because that's what the consumer is demanding right now. And in business you have to cater to consumer demand or you'll quickly find yourself behind the competition who is catering to it. And that's the catch-22, because the consumer isn't always as informed as it should be, and demands things before they're really ready for the mainstream. So businesses have to chose between not offering that which the consumer wants to buy, or offering it before it's matured and risking consumer backlash to the bugs still present in the technology.
It's really a no-win game they're playing. But that's about enough of me defending Verizon. Carry on.