I think the OP's point is more that other carriers are getting better phones in terms of the phones themselves, nothing about network quality. The newest phones on Verizon are only viable because of their LTE radios. Other carriers have dual core phones, phones with more RAM, etc. So from that perspective, the OP is right. Verizon tends to be behind when it comes to these things. Sprint is getting the Evo 3D this month, which blows the Thunderbolt out of the water (again, not considering network).
Verizon is a great carrier, great network. But what would make them leaps and bounds above the rest would be if they released a top of line phone on their top of the line network. Right now we are getting phones that are "good enough" put onto a bullet-fast network to make up for what they lack in other specs. All I want, and I am sure others agree, is the best phone on the market on the best network in the U.S.
And don't try to bring up the Bionic. Not only is it an unknown amount of time away, but it is also made by Moto. With HTC's recent announcement of unlocked bootloaders, a top of the line HTC phone on LTE could be the greatest thing since sliced bread, especially for those of us in the modding community. >.>