try it with a normal phone, if it works, then get the iphone

The signal is good and seems to work all over, I travel a lot for my job all over the US and have no problems. The voice quality is much better. That was the first thing I noticed when I switched.

I switched from VZW to ATT sometime back and have no regrets.

I currently have the 8525 and pay $39.99 a month for unlimited data. VZW in my opinion is too expensive, again that is just my opinion, I am not bashing.

I assume you're in DFW, which is where I'm at too. All over DFW, coverage is excellent and over 60% of cell phone users here are with ATT.

Do what Nuckingfuts said, and get a regular phone first to see how you like it, and here's why. ATT offers a 30-day trial period. The iPhone only gives you a 15-day trial, and once the box is opened there's a 15% restocking fee. The iPhone is also considered a retail purchase, but requires a 2 year contract. Because it's a retail purchase, you can buy an iPhone for the same price even if you're under contract.

So, get a different phone to try out service. If you like it, purchase an iPhone and activate it through iTunes. Keep the first phone as a back-up.

If you keep everything you have now -

59.99 voice plan
( 900 minutes, Unlim M2M, Unlim N&W, Rollover)

40.00 Iphone Data Plan
( Unlimited Text, Unlimited Data + Visual Voicemail.)

=

$99.98

As far as coverage, its going to depend on where you are. You can go to att.com/wireless and you can view the coverage map to get a better idea of coverage.

If you're in the DFW area, AT&T is a little better. Both VZW and AT&T thoroughly blanket the area. However, much of AT&T's service uses the 850MHz band, which penetrates buildings better. VZW uses the 1900MHz band because the local carrier they bought to provide DFW service was a PCS carrier. With VZW, I could barely make a connection in my office. With AT&T, no problem.