Verizon Website Crumbles as Preorders for iPhone Begin

Today, Feb 3rd, is the day that Verizon customers can begin pre-ordering the CDMA iPhone. While Verizon has maintained that their cellular network will be able to handle the influx of new iPhone customers, it appears their website is having no such luck. Business Insider reports:

Since I need a new phone, I logged on at 5 A.M. to put in my order. For the last three hours Ive been greeted with this screen that reads, “Sorry, an error has occured.”

Im not alone, either. A look at Twitter reveals others are having the same problem.

We can only hope that we won’t see the same type of pre-order debacle caused by AT&T when the iPhone 4 launched. A few initial hiccups are probably normal, so it remains to be seen if Verizon will buckle under the pressure. Keep in mind, this is only Verizon customers. Who knows what will happen when the floodgates open on February 10th and AT&T customers start jumping ship.

Initial reports show that, while the Verizon iPhone is just about identical to it’s GSM cousin, that CDMA radio makes a difference. Calls are clear and crisp. Dropped calls and call quality issues are few and far between. You may not be able to use your data connection while jabbering on a call, but many AT&T customers can’t maintain calls anyway.