It’s late and it’s a holiday, but this bizarre post (and equally bizarre parody) inspired me to write a tiny bit about the 3G iPhone that’s coming out exactly a week from today, on July 11. I know there’s plenty of press out there already about the device, but it never hurts to put a personal slant on things and also weigh in with readers.
A bit of backstory: when the first-generation 2G iPhone was announced, I nabbed a 16GB iPod Touch. I’m not kidding when I say the gadget dramatically changed the way I went about everyday life on a college campus. Since Wi-Fi is basically ubiquitous on the William & Mary grounds, constant connectivity afforded by the Touch was able to untether me from desktops, libraries, and even my old and clunky IBM notebook.
Particularly crucial were the following:
- being able to check e-mail from anywhere on campus
- the beautiful Facebook iPhone page helping me keep in touch with friends
- Google Reader for complete print and online media replacement
With the 3G phone, these pros would be enhanced even further. Connectivity away from Wi-Fi hotspots, gadget consolidation with my blocky LG phone, and a decent camera to boot– the whole package proves extremely appealing. Plus, the iPhone’s one of the premiere gadgets with which to engage in the latest social media, always a favorite when waiting for class to start.
The downside, of course: the price. Even the smallest plan and a paltry 200 text messages a month costs a prohibitive $75/month, which may be manageable for a businessman but not so much so for your average college student. Plus, many folks just aren’t wowed by the feature set. Says Raj Dandekar,
“Still no video recording, no MMS, no stereo Bluetooth for listening to music, no Bluetooth file transfer, no removable battery, no expandable memory, no tethering to a laptop to use as a 3G modem, no copy ‘n’ paste, 3rd party application support stinks…”
This laundry list of letdowns is enough to give even the most dedicated gadgeteer pause.
As for me, I’m still up in the air. An old coworker of mine and good friend is now working at a local Apple store, and I’d love a chance to see him. The question remains: is my chance to do so next Friday, or at some indeterminable date down the road?
What do you think?
(Need some more info on the soon-to-be-released gadget? Hit up local Williamsburg blogger Brett Peters’ site and read what he has to say. Informative yet still easy to digest!)
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5 Comments
I wouldn’t worry about the missing features. The iPhone is so much nicer to use than any other phone I’ve owned that you won’t miss the MMS. (Video would be nice, but you adapt.) Price is a bigger issue than features.
Are you on AT&T already, or would you have to switch?
I’d have to switch from Verizon. The whole family might have come with me if my folks hadn’t just gotten my sister a new plan.
By the way, what an impressive collection! All I’ve owned is this blocky LG-VX4500. Ugh.
I work for a cell phone online retailer. It makes it easier to cycle through new phones, but even we don’t carry the iPhone.
Personally, I would stay on Verizon and wait to see what new iPhone 2.0 applications come out, particularly VoIP clients. Don’t go into debt over a gadget.
That’s kind of what I’m leaning towards. I’ll shell out the $10 tomorrow to upgrade my iPod Touch and go crazy downloading, testing, and playing around with the applications. If after a few days to weeks I find myself saying, “Man, I could REALLY extend this functionality with an iPhone,” I’ll revisit the question.
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