Tuesday, July 8, 2008
iPhone or not?
My contract with Sprint is up this month. Should I get the new iPhone? Does anyone have one and love it/hate it? Or do you have a different phone that you love? I'm totally open to any possibility. David and I hardly use our phones, since both of us rather detest having phone conversations with anyone but maybe our mothers. But I'm wondering if I had email capability and GPS and all that fun stuff, if the way I use my phone would totally change. C'mon, brag about your phones so I can make a decision.
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You asked about iPhone experiences.
ReplyDeleteSince my partner is a real estate agent, communication and connectivity is mission critical. He uses his iPhone for email, calendaring, contacts and access to web sites -- the same things he uses his MacBook Pro for. Except it fits in his pocket.
AT&T coverage isn't as rock solid in the northeast as Verizon, so he continues to carry a Verizon phone for dead-reliable, never-a-dropped-call, VOICE.
I'm a Verizon customer for the same reason -- network reliability -- but am thinking about adding AT&T just to get the new iPhone, since I'm technolgical junkie and I already pride myself in resisting the first generation iPhone. I think it's time to give in.
MY RECOMMENDATION: Check out AT&T coverage in your area, especially where you work and inside your home. If it's acceptable (not all people need 100% reliability; some can tolerate 80%), then you won't regret switching. It will change the way you manage your daily life, especially as you travel. Be wary of using it internationally, though. The charges can be astronomical. That's a useful topic that deserves its own story though.
iPhone service is, of course, is more expensive than voice-only: the iPhone's Individual Plan is $70/month for unlimited data, 450 anytime voice minutes + $5 for 200 SMS messages. Family Plan for 2 is $130 for 700 pooled anytime voice minutes + $30 for unlimited SMS messages (you can only buy unlimited SMS messages on the family plan).
The iPhone is obviously more than a phone. It will continue to rapidly distinguish itself from other smart phones as an avalanche of new applications distributed through iTunes becomes available for downloading to your iPhone with the click of a mouse.
I would like to add to what your friend stated above that beginning Friday iPhone will offer a new application free called iApp. Several months ago they opened up the iPhone to external developers and new applications through iApp are being developed (a friend of mine is on the cutting edge of this stuff) as I type. Some of these will be free and some not, but it opens up a whole new world to iPhone users.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that ATT has spotty service, but you have been with Sprint whose service is hardly better. I stay with Verizon because of the service, and the great customer support. My phone died 18 months into my contract and I had it replaced for free. This is some of the great things about Verizon. I also know that LG has just com out with thier version of the iPhone. It's probably not as sleek and stylish, but it's a thought. We have the Voyager, which is cool (you saw it while we were there in April), but everyone has their own needs.
i'm anti-apple just because i am anti-hype, so my vote is: NO! DON'T DO IT ROBB! NO!.
ReplyDeletei have an unlocked sony erickson that i use with t-mobile and that chris used with AT&T before that. i like the idea of "unlocked phones" because then you can use whatever you like, not whatever your plan likes. before that, i had a sexy but crappy samsung that t-mobile sold and it broke in four months.
chris has a blackberry now that's super sweet. he uses it for all his emailing, instant messaging, on the go internetting now and loves it. other blackberry users that i know love theirs as well.
Everyone bags on Sprint all the time, but I've never had a problem. Of course, I hardly use the phone at all, but it is always there when I need it. Punchinello, you carry two phones? That is hardcore man, I can't even imagine. lol
ReplyDeleteI'm just trying to decide if I'll actually use the iPhone enough to warrant the extra money. I won't use it to talk to people any more than I already do, because i hate talking on the phone, period. It will be nice to have my iPod and phone in one. Can I plug the phone into my car stereo like I do my iPod?
I think I will use the email features, and perhaps I'll get more into text messaging. I briefly looked around at the iApps, but I'm not sure how much of that kind of stuff I'll need. I won't play games, and I don't need to spy on my friends and see where they are in the city and crap like that. But if we're out on a walk and decide to stop at the Chinese place on the way home and want to order a few blocks before we get there, it will be nice to be able to use the internet to look up the phone number.
Catharine, you are crazy in your hatred of Apple. Apple has hype because it is, simply, better. At least for me, a person who likes music and photo and movie editing. I hear Microsoft is still better if you are a gamer, but my video game experience is still limited to Atari, so I'm good with my Mac. Which is gorgeous. I love that when we have couchsurfers I can carry the entire dang computer into another room, something I could never have done with my PC. It is making me more stupid though. With the PC I had to learn all the tricks of how to find things and open things and fix things. Now I just turn the computer on, and it works.
Anyway, I'm thinking the iPhone, even with the added costs, will still be cheaper than a laptop, which is something we were also considering. And it is just easier to have all of my computer stuff 100% compatible brand-wise.
I wish I could remember your phone Rick, I always love comparison shopping. But I'm feeling overwhelmed with the options and just want to make a decision.
haha. thanks robb. ;) i agree, apple is pretty awesome. i'd love a mac laptop myself. i just love finding comparable alternatives that aren't super trendy. it's a personal quirk i think. secretly though, i fancy the iphone and the ipod touch; they are pretty hot. :) good luck with your decision making!
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't blame you. I have a tendancy to shy away from the what other people tell me will make me "cool". I'd rather decide that for myself (which, since I'm just *naturally* super-cool, is fairly easy. HA!)
ReplyDeleteBut I always make the exception for Apple. I wanted a Mac before the iPod, I just couldn't afford it. Now I like my Mac not so much because I can brag about it (because, really, who cares?) but just because I LOVE its functionality.
Anyhoo, I've just spent the last two days looking over a bajillion other phones, seeing if I could find a cheaper alternative, or if I could just stay with Sprint since that would be easier. But nothing really compares. I like that I can plug the iPhone into my computer, to which it is designed to sync up with. The Sprint Instinct is PC only. Lame!
So I think we're taking the plunge. I hate spending the money of course, since I'm a cheap bastard, but I like that once I have it I'll never have to think about it or worry about making it work. Just like all of my other Apple stuff (with the very annoying exception of the Mighty Mouse, don't get me started on that) it will just work and that will be that.
But I'm not going today. I hate lines.