Here are a few things I'm wondering from yesterday's big news that Verizon is opening up its network to any device with wireless capability.

The big footprint here obviously is that if you like your phone (and it's not an iPhone), you can take it with you over to Verizon.

What we know is this: Under the new plan Verizon will allow anyone to bring their phone over as long as it meets a set of minimum standards to be on their network. It also means that people can start to develop software or their own devices and can show up at the Verizon store and say "can I try this?"

What also makes this interesting is that it will allow for more than phones, but also music players, game systems, music devices -- pretty much anything that could connect wirelessly.

This is a pretty big about-face for companies that are notorious for not giving buyers much choice at all. Seriously, think about it for a second. How many times have you been phone shopping but stuck between choosing a cool phone on a bad network or a decent phone on a good network.

Like a lot of people, I stuck with an old black and white clamshell phone on Sprint for years because a.) I could not find a phone I liked and b.) wireless coverage is notoriously spotty here in Vacationland.

Reports are saying Verizon is trying to get out in front of its competitors before they do the same thing. At the same time they are also responding to the looming threat from The Google, which wants to buy a new chunk of the wireless spectrum that is being auctioned off by the FCC in January. The catch is that the new network must be open.

It appears Verizon – as the second largest wireless carrier in the country – is getting ahead of the game.

They're also trying to get ahead of The Google, which announced Android earlier this month, which could change cellphones as we know them.

So I'm wondering, how good is their coverage here in Maine? I shopped around for phones this last summer and ended up on AT&T because I got a good deal on a phone, and before that, I was on Sprint. From what I hear, people really like U.S. Cellular's coverage too.

While the news about bringing any phone, device or anything you can think of to Verizon is great, does there need to be more work on improving wireless networks?

What would be the point of jumping ship if you still can't receive a call in the far reaches of Aroostook County?

Here's a round–up of the news and thoughts from around the Interwebs:

Boing-Boing Gadgets
NY Times Bits
Gizmodo

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