Now Google has a new version of the Nexus One that’s compatible with AT&T 3G.  It’s not an “AT&T Nexus One,” exactly: It’s only available as a $529 unlocked phone, and Google appears to have no marketing relationship with AT&T. But given how crippled AT&T’s own first Android handset is, the AT&T-friendly Nexus One is currently the coolest Android phone that’ll run on that carrier. By far. And it’s also the first new AT&T-ready handset to remotely rival the iPhone for general sex appeal.

Of course, at $529, it’s a phone with an even more limited market than the apparently slow-selling existing Nexus One. But I’m especially curious about one thing:  Will the people who spring for it find it to work any better on AT&T’s network than the iPhone 3GS does?

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Except for one number. In the tests, AT&T’s reliability via iPhone in San Francisco was a dismal 55 percent, by far the worst performance turned in by any carrier on either laptop or smartphone in any city. Nearly half the time, the damn phone just didn’t work.

As Mark explains, the tests only reflect what Novarum and PCW found on given days in specific parts of certain cities at particular hours of the day. But the result certainly mirrors the frustrating experience I’ve had with my iPhone in large swaths of San Francisco–the one that’s lately had me flirting with giving up the iPhone entirely in favor of a Verizon phone. If the story’s overall results are any indication, though, I might be much happier with my iPhone if I spent most of my time somewhere other than the Bay Area.

A few other notes on the article:

1) AT&T’s San Francisco reliability via laptop modem rather than iPhone was 85 percent–still among the worst numbers in the tests, but much better than the iPhone turned in. Maybe it’s possible that the iPhone’s reception is part of the problem?

2) In the project’s tests of a Droid on Verizon in San Francisco, the phone was a bit slower than the AT&T iPhone, and its reliability was also iffy at only 67 percent. (For what it’s worth, I’ve been using a Droid recently in spots in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood where my iPhone drops every single call, and it’s been indomitable.)

AT&T may be much maligned these days, and its 3G coverage is still available in far fewer locales than Verizon’s, an issue that PCW’s tests didn’t factor in one way or another. But it’s nice to think that maybe, just maybe, it really is moving in the right direction.

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LTE isn’t a magic bullet, but it’s promising and I look forward to its arrival. Even though absolutely none of the phones and wireless adapters we own now will be compatible with it…

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(Okay, trying to suss this out is irresistible: Seems to me that the window for a Verizon iPhone 3GS has essentially closed, and that the one for a CDMA iPhone on Verizon at all is quickly narrowing, too. With every day that passes with no news, the chances are higher that AT&T will preserve its exclusivity into 2011.)

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Maybe I’m a wild-eyed optimist, but I’m hoping that Sling will eventually be permitted to add 3G support, and that those of us who have paid thirty bucks for this first version will get free upgrades.

Then I sort of forgot about the whole thing, since I rarely used the Wi-Fi version of the app. (In fact I stopped using my SlingBox much, period–I still can’t figure out why the iPhone version was verboten but the Windows Mobile one was OK..) But I hadn’t hoped in vain. Today, AT&T and Sling issued a joint press release saying that the 3G version of the app now passes muster. It’ll be available (and a free upgrade to existing customers) once Apple approves it.

“Just as we’ve worked with Sling Media in this instance, we look forward to collaborating with other developers so that mobile customers can access a wider, more bandwidth-sensitive, and powerful range of applications in the future,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Collaboration with developers like Sling Media ensures that all apps are optimized for our 3G network to conserve wireless spectrum and reduce the risk that an app will cause such extreme levels of congestion that they disrupt the experience of other wireless customers. Our focus continues to be on delivering the nation’s most advanced mobile broadband experience and giving our customers the widest possible array of mobile applications.”

Good news, even if the process moved at a glacial pace. Presumably there are some interesting possibilities for video applications that developers didn’t even bother to consider after Sling was forced to hobble the original version of SlingPlayer. Now writing them won’t seem like a pointless exercise.

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I didn’t give you one option that I probably should have: waiting until an iPhone is available on Verizon, and then switching. Wanna bet that a lot of you wold have voted for that?

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So help me, I’m not an AT&T hater. My iPhone is my primary phone, and it works fine most of the time–including at home, where audio quality is good and calls rarely if ever die. I’m aware that AT&T 3G, when it works, is speedy, and that simultaneous voice and data is a benefit. I also understand that other carriers are far from perfect, and that it’s not a given I’d be happier with something else.

But…

This morning, I was on an important call that went fine until the significant part started. Then the connection died. And no matter how many times I redialed, it died again without getting through. Even though the phone claimed it had a full five bars of coverage plus 3G. Eventually, I lunged outside (into the pouring rain) and ran to my car. Sitting in there, I was able to get through.

I wasn’t really surprised: I spend a lot of time in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, and for the most part, my AT&T iPhone is an outdoor phone there. Indoors, it’s an utter crapshoot whether I’ll be able to make and take calls. I’ve lived with the situation for a year and a half, but I’m growing weary, and I have no idea when or if the situation will improve. (We know that AT&T Mobility President Ralph De La Vegas is not a reliable source of information on what to expect.)

(I also have no idea whether the iPhone itself deserves any of the blame–there are those who say that poor reception is at least partially the phone’s fault.)

Anyhow, for the first time, I’m seriously considering switching to another carrier–which most likely means using another phone as my primary handset. (Full disclosure: The iPhone is one of the most newsworthy platforms of any type we cover, so I’d keep the phone and wouldn’t cancel my AT&T account…but when I just wanted to get stuff done, I’d use a different phone.)

Here are the options I’m currently contemplating:

Verizon Wireless: I’d buy a Droid or the soon-to-be-available Palm Pre Plus. The Droid, however, is no longer the coolest, most advanced Android phone– the Nexus One, which is really a T-Mobile phone, is. The new Pre Plus, on the other hand, is the newest Web OS phone, and WebOS is an OS that speaks to me. It also works as a MiFi-like wireless router, which might let me get rid of my EVDO adapter. On the other hand, the WebOS app library remains skimpy, and Engadget’s review of the Pre Plus leaves me worrying about its battery life. And the Pre, like the iPhone, now feels like a last-generation phone when it comes to screen resolution and camera specs.

Sprint: I could buy a (no longer the latest and greatest) Pre from these guys, too, and their service-plan pricing is aggressive. I also know of folks who are fans of Sprint’s coverage and reliability.

T-Mobile: I’d get the Nexus One. (Actually, I’d spring for the $529 unlocked model so I wasn’t committed to T-Mobile for two years, and could use it overseas for cheap with a pay-as-you-go SIM card.) It’s a good phone with a good OS and lots of apps (including Google Voice!) and its future seems bright.

Wild card: I could unlock my iPhone and use it on T-Mobile, right?

Weird wild card: I could get a MiFi pocket router from Verizon, use it with my iPhone, and make calls via Skype over Verizon’s network, right?

None of these options is without its pitfalls, but if I had to do the deal today, I’d get a Verizon Pre or a T-Mobile Nexus One.

Or I might just stick with the iPhone and AT&T. If carrier support wasn’t an issue, I’d still choose the iPhone. And like I said, AT&T works fine most of the time. It’s just that when it doesn’t, that “More Bars in More Places” tagline feels more like mockery than a promise.

What would you do?

[UPDATE: Let's turn this into a poll!]

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The Big Apple is one of AT&T’s problem spots when it comes to its network, and many have blamed high concentrations of the iPhone in the city for the problems. I guess the easiest way to fix this would be to attempt to slow down sales of the device there and hope that it keeps the problem from getting any worse.

“We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels,” was all AT&T gave Consumerist’s Laura Northrup when she asked for official comment. A online sales reprsentative went further, saying the company  doesn’t “have enough towers to handle the phone.” There’s your answer, folks.

One has to think that Apple must be pretty upset right now. It now appears to be AT&T’s strategy to shut down sales of the iPhone in an area if its network can’t handle it. So who’s next? San Francisco? Philadelphia? Los Angeles? If this move isn’t an argument to trash the AT&T exclusive agreement ASAP, I don’t know what is.

Only a matter of time before Verizon makes fun of this one…

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Better to be safe than sorry, I guess?

Quite a surprising statement considering the company is spending quite a bit of money putting down Apple in its “Droid Does” ads that we’ve all been getting peppered with for the past two months plus. But in a way it’s not because Verizon has watched as AT&T’s network problems have become a serious liability to the company, “Operation Chokehold” notwithstanding.

“Absolutely, I think we could handle it,” Verizon Wireless CTO Anthony Melone told BusinessWeek in an interview. Now, lets not get the story twisted here: Melone is not saying there is any deal yet, but its pretty much common knowledge that the two sides have at least discussed possible partnerships in the past.

Verizon has gone the opposite way of AT&T over the past several years in investing in network infrastructure, spending about $19 billion on the network itself over the past three years. As Gizmodo points out, AT&T’s spending since the iPhone launch on the network itself has actually decreased.

With Verizon readily talking about it’s iPhone readiness, I wonder if T-Mobile USA will start making overtures as well. The carrier has been mentioned much more often recently as a logical next carrier for the device, as it would take minimal changes (adding TMUS’ 1700MHz band to the 3G chip of the iPhone) for it to work.

Going to Verizon — and CDMA — requires a much more involved rework of the device. Going to be an interesting 2010 in iPhoneland, that’s for sure.

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