Now, before I get into what happened after that, lets go into a little history of the iPhone.

The iPhone was initially released in June 29, 2007 and was initially priced at $499/$599 for the 4GB and 8GB versions.  This also came with a forced data plan and 2 year contract with NO subsidy assistance from AT&T.

On September 5th of the same year, Apple dropped prices.  The 4GB version was discontinued and the 8GB was dropped to $199 ( with 2 year contract, the rest being subsidized by AT&T ).  Those that had purchased the iPhone in the previous 2 weeks were protected by a price protection clause that AT&T and Apple both had and could be refunded the difference.  The other customers put up quite a fuss.  On September 6th Steve Jobs ( Apple CEO ) announced that any iPhone customers that were not eligible for some other form of compensation, would be eligible for a $100 Apple credit.

The iPhone 3G was released on July 11, 2008.  AT&T continued thier subsidy plan.  With the release of the 3G, AT&T decided to do something rather unique in the cellphone industry.  They allowed users that had purchased their original iPhone on or after May 27, 2008 to exchange it for an iPhone 3G.  Those that had purchased their iPhone BEFORE May 27th, were allowed to upgrade for the subsidized price and with a contract extension.  ( source )

This was a very rare move for a cellphone company.  Normally, until you are near or out of your contract period, if you want to want to upgrade your handset, you have to pay the unsubsidized price ( simiar to prices that the iPhone was when it was first released ).  AT&T never said that this would be common practice and anyone that’s been paying for higher end phones for the last few years, should understand this was likely a very rare occurrence.

As mentioned last week, Apple announced the iPhone 3GS. After it’s announcement, users excitedly went to the AT&T and Apple sites to see what it would cost them to upgrade their iPhone 3G from last year to the iPhone 3GS.  To the shock of many users they were NOT eligible for the new user price.  If they wished to upgrade they would be asked to pay $399 for the 16GB version and $499 for the 32GB version. Those wishing not to add an additional 2 year to their contract would be asked to pay $599/$699 ( source ).

Not surprisingly, iPhone users are upset, as many of them expected to be able to pay the $200 or $300 to upgrade like they did approximately 1 year ago. Since last weeks announcement forums have been flooded with disgruntled users and many different sites have written about the customer dissention.  There is even a twitten petition called twitition of uses “signing” asking AT&T to offer the subsidized price to them. Some analysts are calling this a “crisis”, as was mentioned at ComputerWorld.com.

Now, while I understand that a larger price tag, especially in this economy, is not something that anyone appreciates, but users have to realize that 1 year ago they signed a 2 year contract extention.  They also were able to the their iPhone price discounted because AT&T was paying part of that pricetag to Apple.  For AT&T to make up the price, they assume the customer will fulfill their 2 year contract or pay an early termination fee of $175 to get out of the contract.  While I sympathize with users wanting to upgrade to the lastest version, they really don’t have a leg to stand on.  They signed a two year contract and need to fulfill their end of the contract, since AT&T fulfilled their end by providing a less expesnive phone.

Users that upgraded to the iPhone 3G should wait until next year.  Next year there will undoubtedly be yet another iPhone released ( possibly with an OLED screen? ) and your contracts will be over and you’ll be eligible for the new customer pricing.  I know our society now feels like they are entitled to everything they want when they want and how they want it, but at some point we have to grow up and comply with the responsibilities that signed up for.

I currently have the T-Mobile Wing, and while it’s a decent phone, it’s left me wanting more. I need/want a phone that reacts faster. I love the real keyboard that’s pretty amazing, I like the fairly large screen, but there are many things I wish it did….better.

Here’s my current plan:

- 1500 anytime minutes
- unlimited n/w
- unlimited internet
- unlimited MMS/SMS

Last month I used:
- 1136 minutes used ( 127 off peak and 377 weekend ) 1554 total minutes just talking with Brooke.
- 197 Text messages received
- 156 Text messages sent

Apparently I am a fucking chatty Cathy on my cell phone, I had no idea I talked with Brooke that much.

Plans

This is where SOME of the concern is about what I’ll be paying per month, but none of them will DRASTICALLY change what I am currently shelling out to TMobile ($100/month ) for unlimited texting and internet w/1500 anytime minutes. So, this is more of a perk if I can save some cash or get more bang for my buck.

TMobile

Tmobile has a $49.99/month unlimited calling plan which I quality for, and could pick up the Android at the same time. I’d need to add texting and internet which would keep my bill at about $100 / month which is exactly what I pay now. I’m not necessarily looking to SAVE money, but I’m looking to add utility while not spending MORE money.

ATT

AT&T for the iPhone offers the following plans ( all have unlimited web/email & mobile to mobile )
- $70 – 450 anytime/5000 Nights & Weekends
- $90 – 900 anytime/ unlimited Nights & Weekends
-$110 – 1350 anytime/ unlimited Nights & Weekends
- $130 – unlimited minutes

( rates taken from: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/en/iReady_checklist.pdf )

None of these plans offer texting, and for unlimited texting I’d have to add an additional $20. There is rumor of some cheaper iPhone packages coming from AT&T, but that’s still a rumor.  I could drop to $90 + tax, probably taking me close to or exactly to what I pay now.

Sprint

Sprint has the following offer:

- $99.99 – unlimited data/text/and calling

Phones

There has been a flood of information with the Palm Pre being released this Saturday, June 6th.  There have been real handsets in possession of reviewers for a little less than a week now too.

Andriod

The TMobile G1 has been out a while and really banged on.  It’s a solid phone, but isn’t revolutionary by any means. The UI won’t wow anyone, the features don’t make any of the other smart phones sweat.  So, what’s so great about it?  2 words.  Open Source.  A platform with the kind of software support that Google can muster will eventually bring a lot to the table.  What are the downfalls of the current OS?  It’s not so much downfalls as in features it just doesn’t quite implement fully. Google set up the platform and is letting developers fill the gaps.  Well, if the userbase isn’t large enough, developers won’t flock to it like they did the iPhone.  It comes down to market share, and even app developers want to know they have an audience to develop for.

Once the Andriod phones start hitting other carriers, I’m sure we’ll see more apps and more people picking up the handset, for now I’ll leave it at the relatively small market share TMobile carries compared to the likes of Verizon and AT&T. ( Verizon has 86.6 million U.S. subscribers^, AT&T has 78.2 million subscribers, and T-Mobile has 32.8 million subscribers ).

iPhone

The iPhone firmware 3.0 ( and possibly new hardware ) will be available sometime this summer (I’m thining June/July to combat the Pre hype ). This is supposed to add much better support for Apples version of multi-tasking with the iPhone, copy & paste ( about time ), sending photos & sounds in MMS ( 3G phone only ), and texting/email in landscape layout ( also about time ).

Pre

Announced to be releasing on June 6th, many BestBuy stores are getting demo units in the coming days.  There’s one in Woodland Hills, CA that will have a demo unit, so I’ll try to have to check in there this weekend and see how I like the feel of it in my hand.  Some users have said it feels very “plastic”, and while the screen is crisp and clear, it feels like it’s not very “solid”.  The QWERTY keyboard got some bad comments in the lack of space between the top row of keys and the bottom of the slideup screen, posing problems hitting the correct keys at times.  I know a number of phones have a very similar slidup screen to expose a keyboard, I’m not sure if it’s just a comparison with what a user is used to, if they have really fat fingers, or if it is a legitimate problem.  A user at precentral.net got a Pre a little early and has been leaving impressions there and answering questions.  Not sure if his is retail release or not though, if not this could be why some things aren’t working as documented.

PreCentral.net also has one of the most indepth ( if slightly biased ) towards the Pre.  Give it a read and watch the videos.  Apparently the gestures are not too intuitive ( not saying that any other device has that done pat either though ), and there is slowdowns and crashes.  Well, it’s software, that’s to be expected, especially with a first generation product.  There will be issues, and they will be addressed, but we don’t really know how long that is all going to take.  It may be until the phone hits multiple carriers ( rumored to be around the start of 2010 ) before we see v2 of WebOS.

Olivia Munn wasn’t overly fond of the Pre with comments she left on twitter: Read them here and here.

Battery life:

I’ve read reviews that run the gamut here, everything from my iPhone sucks and dies in 3 hours to my G1 sucks and dies in 3 hours to my G1 was amazing, it lasted ALL night and made me breakfast in the morning <3. It takes a little while of sorting through the fanboy noise to really find some consistent information.

All 3 phones are rated right around ~5hrs of talk time:

- G1 specs

- iPhone Specs

- Pre Specs ( this is unofficial, but the best I could find ).  Here are official specs: Palm Pre

I’ve found a copy of the Palm Pre user guide(http://www.scribd.com/doc/15851822/SG-Pre-UserGuide) and it seems all the phones recommend the same thing for extending the battery life, turn off features, turn down the brightness and use it less.

With the exception of the turn down the brightness suggestion, the rest of the options kind of suck. You are buying a phone because of all the options it provides, not to have to turn them off to make the phone acceptable. One thing that Pre and G1 have over the iPhone in this respect is the replaceable battery. Replacing the battery on an iPhone voids the warranty and is akin to a small surgery. Doing so with the Pre and G1 is like changing batteries in 99% of all cellphones: slide off the back, pop out the battery, put the new one in and replace the back plate. Why Apple went the way of the iPod and gave it a non-replaceable battery is beyond me. No, people don’t like having to carry around a spare, but they do like having options.

The G1 has a few 3rd party battery that is rated at 2400 mAh, which lasts approximately 3 – 4 days of moderate use on 1 full charge. Down side of this is that it nearly doubles the thickness of the phone, requires a new backplate ( supplied ) and costs around $60.

The iPhone also has battery extender options:

http://www.phonesuit.com/products/MiLi_Power_Pack-14-10.html

http://fastmac.com/iv.php

http://www.mophie.com/collections/batteries

Personally, I think the iPhone 3rd party solutions are slicker and prettier than the G1 solution is ( Pre will probably fall into the same category ). In the end it looks like this is a push. All of them have “longer batteries” if at a $50-$100 cost, and will all give you that additional benefit. The G1 gets a lot thicker, the iPhone gets a lot heavier. Deal breakers for any of them? No.

Apps:

Right now the iPhone has the nod on this one. Why? Simple. It’s the numbers. Even if there are several thousand fart apps in the iPhone app store, there are an incredible number of apps that end up solving problems for people. My co-worker was able to download an ssh client to remote into a server, restart some services and get things back up and running. While I’m sure both the Pre and G1 will have expansive application bases at some point, they just aren’t to the same level as the iPhone at this point in time.

External Storage:

- Plain and simple the iPhone and Pre lack here. The Pre is stuck at 8GB of storage ( about 7.4GB useable ) and the iPhone ranges between 8GB and 16GB depending on how much cash you shell out.

What’s right for me:

In the end what it all comes down to is to the carrier and then the phone.  T-Mobile has been solid for me, but with my spending more time in the Thousand Oaks area and unable to receive MMS while at work ( my phone lights up that I have a message but the content doesn’t download until I leave the office that evening ), T-Mobile just hasn’t grown like I need them to.  In fact, I think their coverage has actually degraded over the last few years when they decoupled the roaming onto many AT&T towers ( locally ).

My younger brother has Sprint and has been with them quite a while.  His coverage at home is sometimes spotty, but at work he has no problems with email, web, text or calling ( we do work in different areas ).

My younger sister ( who does not live with me ) has AT&T, and whenever we’ve hung out she’s had coverage when I’ve played with her iPhone ( usually more “bars” than me, not that “bars” is an accurate measurement though ).

Right now I hate to say it, but the devil ( Apple & AT&T ) are swaying me their way.

At this point I’m considering the $70 package with $20 for the text messaging. All my mobile to mobile will be used with Brooke and if I get close to going over with general minutes I’ll just push up to the $90 package and be home free. I’ll likely also add the Mili battery pack to add a few additional days of usage time, especially for those long hungover weekends when I’m not near the office or a charger.

The Pre looks very promising, but after checking out sprint coverage in my areas of usual travel, Sprint just doesn’t have the body of coverage that AT&T and T-mobile do, and even TMo lacks compared to AT&T out here. Around the turn of 2010 several other carriers ( may ) get the Palm Pre and at that time I can reconsider my phone options if I so desire.

Now I know phone companies and service providers like to set up partnerships to guarantee that someone will buy the phone, but making them exclusive to one company is just bad business. It doesn’t sound like Google will be doing that with the Android, or dream as they’re calling it, but I for one will never own an iPhone while AT&T has exclusive rights to it, I just don’t like AT&T. I know you’re saying, well, stupido, just buy one and crack it! Only problem with that is that I currently have (and like) Sprint for my cell phone provider, but they use CDMA whereas the iPhone is still GSM-only. I’m sure AT&T is loving the exclusive contract, but there doesn’t seem to be anything in that deal that sounds appealing to Apple. They get less sales and have to deal with a subpar service provider.