I just broke up with Verizon Wireless. I feel a bit guilty, but I think it’s for the best.

We had been together for three and a half years, and we had some great times. But I changed — I needed more from my phone.

I went as far as I could with Verizon, but my priorities have changed. I’m a different man now. I now talk and travel less, while I use data and an iPod more. And there’s only room in my pants-pocket layout for one electronic device.

We both made mistakes. I had a fling with Verizon’s CDMA rival, and Verizon said some nasty things. Nobody’s perfect.

But this is more serious. I’ve been cheating on Verizon with AT&T for almost a month. It didn’t mean anything at first — I was just attracted to AT&T’s iPhone. And AT&T gives me voice, data, and more text messages than I’ll ever use for $60 per month — Verizon wants more than $100 for that. I can even email pictures off of my phone for free. Text messages don’t take me an hour to type. And the web browser, while often slow, is actually functional.

I thought I’d keep going back to Verizon for EVDO tethering. But I don’t want to commit to that contract right now. I need to be without tethering for a while. It gives me time to think on the train.

When I broke the bad news, Verizon tried to reason with me. “We have music-playing phones, too! And I’ll let you pre-order any of our upcoming phones that have great data capabilities. Please? We can even offer you a month of free service.”

It was futile. I had made my decision. I knew, in my heart, that no crippled LG, Motorola, or Samsung phone with a clumsy red interface or any buggy, poorly designed Palm or Windows Mobile “smartphone” would ever be good enough again. (I know what you’re thinking: I should try a BlackBerry. Well, I’m not a racist, but I just think their interface is ugly and clumsy. And they all look the same to me. I don’t see the appeal.)

I’m sorry, Verizon. I really wanted us to work. I hope we can get together again in the future when you’ve matured, accepted that you were wrong, and released the iPhone on your network. On that day, I’ll come crawling back.