Can You Hear Me Now? iPhone 4 to Launch on Verizon

The wait is finally over: The iPhone is coming to Verizon.

Verizon announced Tuesday that it is partnering with Apple -- and bringing the iPhone 4 to its wireless network.

"Today, two innovators are coming together," said Lowell McAdam, president and COO of Verizon, according to Endgadget.

The iPhone 4 for Verizon will be Feb. 10, McAdam said. Customers can pre-order the device on Feb. 3.

Verizon will charge $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB version -- the same as AT&T. But Verizon will allow users to use their phone as a mobile hotspot for free -- AT&T charges extra for that.

"We've designed an iPhone 4 which connects to the CDMA network -- and it has all the features you'd expect, like Facetime, like Apple's stunning Retina Display," Apple COO Tim Cook said. "This is just the beginning of a relationship between Apple and Verizon. I'm very optimistic about what the future holds."

For years, even as iPhone sales have surged, users have often complained about poor service and dropped calls on AT&T's network. But Apple launched the iPhone in 2007 with an exclusive agreement with the wireless provider.

"I can't tell you the number of times we've been asked, 'When will it work on Verizon,'" Cook said.

Of course, nobody knows how much better Verizon will be. Some experts have suggested that the problem lies with the phone's design, and not its network . If that's the case, poor service and dropped calls could continue on Verizon, vindicating AT&T and giving Apple a black eye.

Others suggest because iPhone users eat through lots of data, they weight down an otherwise strong network -- and an influx of iPhone users could turn Verizon's reliable network into one that more closely resembles AT&T.

Verizon officials were confident that there wouldn't be problems.

"We have designed this network for customers to have an optimum experience," Verizon executive Dan Dee said. "We have been test driving this on our network. We have advanced the capacity and built margin into it. We're ready for this launch."