For more than three years, iPhone owners have grumbled about dropped calls and slow service on AT&T (T), the exclusive cellular network for Apple’s (AAPL) transformative device. Now they’ll have the chance to see if Verizon (VZ) can do any better. The company recently announced it will start selling iPhones on Feb. 10. (Existing customers can pre­order the phone on Feb. 3.) For those who still haven’t chosen sides in the AT&T vs. Verizon showdown, consider these points before signing a contract:

Price: Verizon customers will pay the same as AT&T’s-at least for the device itself. A 16-gigabyte iPhone costs $200, while the 32-gigabyte model is $100 more. The more important retail factor, however, is the monthly service charge, and Verizon hasn’t released any details yet. The industry scuttlebutt is that the company will offer an all-you-can-eat data plan, which AT&T stopped doing last year to keep data hogs from straining its network. Verizon currently charges $30 a month for the unlimited plans on other smartphones, with voice and text messages costing extra. That’s $5 more than what AT&T charges its heaviest data users, who can download up to 2 gigabytes of data per month. For those who like to stream The Daily Show with Jon Stewart while in line at Costco (COST), $5 may be a small price to pay.

Quality: It’s hard to know whether AT&T deserves the battering it has received for poor network quality. Each carrier’s coverage differs from area to area. AT&T increased its investment in wireless infrastructure by over $2 billion in 2010, and says it’s improving. As of last August, however, the percentage of dropped calls on AT&T’s network had risen to 5.8 percent, compared with 2 percent for Verizon, according to a survey by Changewave Research. Infonetics Research co-founder Michael Howard says AT&T is more conservative with its network investments and took longer to upgrade from copper wires to fiber-optic cables and other cutting-edge gear. “Verizon planned its network with greater foresight than anyone else,” says Recon Analytics ­analyst Roger Entner. “They have a very well-built network, and they don’t cut corners.”

Features: The carriers’ iPhones are nearly identical, but where they differ, AT&T has the advantage. Verizon’s network is based on a technology called CDMA, which runs voice and Internet over different tracks. That means Verizon’s iPhone owners won’t be able to surf the Web or use apps while on a call. AT&T users can, and the company says that more of its customers use the simultaneous talk-and-surf capability every day than watch videos or use GPS navigation.