NO WAY! Don't even think it. There is nothing like the iphone I don't care what anyone says. I bought that line when Verizon came out with their new touch screen tone and it was crap. Also, why would you need to spend $350. My iphone was $199 and it is fantastic. My .02 cents. Lonnie will definitely have something to say about this.

thanks. i thought that's what iphones cost. is it really only $199?

i should have also asked:

- how much memory do i need. (i've only used 7 GB on my current ipod, but haven't been adding songs for that long.)

- are there other choices to make (like other specs)? please to advise.

I can't wait to hear this. My phony ATT phone pisses me off endlessly, it's heavy, just ick and I want to do something about it but feel paralyzed that I will just end up with a more expensive contract and be unhappy with what I get.

I got my husband an iPhone for Christmas and he loves it. He had a Blackberry Curve and a Pearl before that and longed for an iPhone. It's all I heard about for the six months before he got his own. iPhone this and iPhone that. Now he doesn't stop fiddling with the thing. It takes gorgeous photos, I'll tell you that much. He's totally enamored with the thing.

Depends on how much you intend to use the apps, which are usually not free, but turn the phone into a magic machine. If you are into that, go iPhone. I don't know enuf about the others, but know that re apps, nothing comes close.

Hi Dave,

Man, sounds like you're getting pretty info/tech-wrapped. Maybe a nice walk? How about bowling? :)

You'd never survive on Survivor: 1950's

RH

here's my answer, as it occurred to me the other day -

I have never - NOT ONCE - cursed Steve Jobs since I began using my MacBook Pro two years ago and my iPod Touch since Christmas.
When I used Windows, and even now using MS Word, I curse Bill Gates on a pretty much daily basis.

GET THE IPHONE!

They have come down in price. Also, I would be surprised if all the cool free apps & $ .99 ones were available for the clones.

Re: memory - get as much as you can afford. If you are going to use it for calendar & email as well as phone, music, & fun, you will eat memory pretty quick.

I don't have one YET - but as soon as my contract with my provider is up - I will!

The only reason not to is if you worked for a corporate firm that supported Blackberry email, then you'd go Blackberry. Otherwise, I think you will be unhappy with the clones.

Dave,

If you can hold off till tomorrow, I will be writing something a little more lengthy. Here's the short version of what I'm going to say: Depends. I'd lean towards advising "NO" until I know the following about you:

1) Do you text a lot? Do you see yourself texting a lot?
2) How much do you pay a month for your cell phone plan? How much as you willing to pay?
3) Are you an urban commuter? Or do you drive a lot?
4) What do you want an iPhone for, exactly? Games? Neat travel apps?

Dave,
No, NO a thousand times no. My life partner bought an imitation iPhone (bless her beautiful loving heart) and truthfully it’s nothing close to the real deal.

I bought my iPhone when they first came out. It’s a bit slower and heavier than the new 3G model but I’m not sure now how I got along before I had it.

The 3G won’t set you back much and you’ll never regret the purchase.

Think of it this way: How often does the imitation of anything truly satisfy like the real thing?

Besides, you’ll have several of us here at OS who will eagerly offer you advice on which awesome free applications you should download for it. :)

p.s. I have an 8GB model, keep lots of stuff on my phone, and it performs great.

Mr. Cullen, do you need to store 12-15 movies on your iPhone at once? If yes, you need the expensive 16 GB iPhone at $299. 8GB for $199. Otherwise, everything else is the same. Apple will release a cheaper version of iPhone in Asia soon (maybe next month)? And, I would expect a new version of iPhone will soon be available in the U.S. I have the older version of iPhone, and it is giving me a lot of problems. I cannot wait for a new one to launch in the U.S. I am one of those people who must have i-everything. Anyway, Apple is a life style. It makes your life easier by connecting everything together. Yes, some other 3 G phones are faster than my old version iPhone, but I think you need to go the store and play with a few before deciding on what you like the most.
Most importantly, iPhone allows independent vendors to solicit all kinds of applications to be added to your iPhone. ( click on view all to see some applications http://www.apple.com/iphone/ )

As long as noone can break your "windows"!

There is nothing like an iphone! I have paid much more EACH for a series of blackberries, blackberry knockoff, palm pilots with NO phone at all, and this iphone, which I paid $400 for the first one, and $199 for the second one, this iphone is absolutely fantastic. It's what I have been waiting for since cell phone were first developed. I carried around a cell phone and a pda, and this beats both of them together and separately. I still don't know all the features, but I love what I know. I say....finaly God has answered my prayers (or was it Steve Jobs?)

Dave:

Go directly to the AT&T store and get an 8GB iPhone. Do not look at any other device. I have had two Palm Treos. I yearned for an iPhone. So I emailed Lonnie to tell me why I really wanted one, other than just wanting one. He posted his response here:

http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=44328

And here's my response (note that it's less than a week after Lonnie's post): http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=47527

Here it is three months later and I am still thrilled with my iPhone. I must admit that I have kept my iPod for listening to audio books while I commute, but they are on my iPhone as well. I have downloaded quite a few apps, but only two paid apps (one a silly game and the other a really cool checkbook register). I sync quite a few photos, have a lot of video podcasts, some music and audio books and still have almost 3GB available.

In order to get the $199 price, you will extend your contract for two years. In addition to your phone plan, you will pay $30/mo for your data plan (not negotiable).

But it's a gas. I sat for 2+ hours in a dentist's waiting room today and was only bored for the last 1/2 hour because of the iPhone!

Oh, and I highly recommend a book called "iPhone: The Missing Manual" that lets you know things that you would probably never discover on your own.

It's just a tiny computer -- not just a phone or PDA.

ok, pretty convincing, everyone.

and lonnie's post was great. thanks, julie.

so now i have a new question: the 3G iphone has been out 7 months, right? should i bite the bullet and wait for the next model, whatever that might be?

is nine months their typical release cycle?

i would like it soon, but need it before my book tour, starting april 6. and a couple weeks to get used to it would be wise.

I love my iPhone. It is sick how much I love it.
I love being able to check my e-mail when I want to. But it is not exactly reading pleasure when kicking around on the internet. Just my 2 cents.

ATT has terrible reception in many areas and if you live in an area like where I do, they absolutely don't care if you can't get reception. Every day, there are people wandering the streets, making calls because they get no reception in their homes. I live in San Jose, CA, so it's not like I live in the boonies. My mom has Verizon and when my phone doesn't work, hers does. And do not believe that a better phone will make it better...it won't.

Personally, I won't get any phone that is locked to a certain carrier. My phone has to be a world phone, since I travel. A good camera is important (I use it to snap images of things instead of taking notes) and the gps, internet capability is important. I prefer touch screen. Also, battery life is important.

I have an ipod touch, and I'm glad it's not an iphone.

Mr. Cullen, yes, Ms. Marcelleqb is correct that reception is not very good in some areas. However, microCell is coming soon to solve this problem. Also, you need to activate international roaming with AT&T before you travel abroad. Apple picked AT&T as a business decision, but revenue-sharing agreement has since changed &, a lot of Apple users complain about AT&T's service; I am sure more changes will come (but maybe with the 4G?). This is a 2-yr contract, please think about it carefully. To answer your questions, Asia release is in May. I would guess 4G iPhone is unlikely to be available in the next 2 months. But, 4G looks so fab! http://i.gizmodo.com/5150375/new-iphone-4g-concept-is-son-of-macbook-air-and-ipod-touch

i'm already on att. reception is fine in denver, and i'm sure it will be in nyc. not really an issue for me.

(plus, every carrier has problems some places. i've heard the least complaints about att and verizon on that score.)

Just ask Lonnie Lazzar. He is a shill for mac.

One thing to consider about the iPhone is that because of the huge market for them there is also a large selection of accessories and software available, and growing every day.

I have the older model with "fake" GPS (location estimated through cell towers) but even that is very helpful. New models have true GPS.

If you ever get a Mac, iPhone will sync perfectly with the Mac, contacts, photos, music, iPhone backup, everything.

There are a surprising number of conveniences that you discover. For example, you can search for a business on the internet, then save that contact information directly into your contact list. You can map contact addresses directly with the map application -- no keystrokes.

The camera takes good-quality photos.

I haven't met anyone with an iPhone who doesn't like it. I'm sure there are such people, but not many.

Any OS iPhone user in Denver or NYC? We need your input. Technically, there is a difference. Your current AT&T is the regular wireless coverage, but iPhone uses 3G/Mobile broadband coverage. Therefore, if there are more people on the 3G network, then you can run into a traffic jam => drop calls...

Not to interrupt the Apple love fest going on in here, but also consider going to T-Mobile and seeing if you can't get a hands on demo of the new Google Android-powered phone they have.

If you absolutely must have an iPhone (and I understand that - the App store is chock full of fun diversions and no one does UI better than Apple), the difference between the 8GB and 16GB phone is really about how much music you think you want to carry with you. I have an 8GB mp3 dedicated to nothing BUT music, and I still found it too limiting for me. You, however, may feel differently. If you don't mind having to make hard choices about what music you want to carry with you (and have no plans to take advantage of the TV and movie offerings on iTunes), then go with the 8GB model. However, if you want a little more room to grow or plan to download a lot of video, go 16GB.

Ordinarily, I'm the cheapest mo'fo' in America, but I have to say, in this case -- and I don't have an iPhone, but I think I know human nature, here -- don't get the knock off. You'll always secretly still want the iPhone. And it's the sort of thing that, cost-per-use, you will MORE than get your money out of.

My beef is with AT&T: I had the worst customer service experiences with that company, not to mention lousy phone service, and swore I would never do business with them again. Then the iPhone comes down the pike. Well, I bought an iPod Touch and resisted, but Dear Apple, I will throw down hundreds of dollars I don't have TOMORROW if you will open the iPhone to the Verizon network.

Dave, I've had no problem with the iphone in the Denver/Boulder area. No dropped calls. I did notice more dropped calls with AT&T in the mountains. I don't think you should wait for anything new. This iphone is fantastic. I did pay $199. I have the unlimited plan for $99/month +20 or 30 for the internet fee. It's been worth every penny.

My wife has been lusting over an I-phone for awhile now. It's not the purchase price that's holding her back. It's the $70 + per month application fee. That's a big chunk of cash to lay out every month for one phone.

coogansbluf - one point of clarification and NO, I AM NOT A SCHILL for Apple. I just happen to be one of the people lusting after an iPhone.

In the Apple apps store (at least for my iPod Touch), you don't pay a monthly fee for the apps (unlike Sprint!!!! which charges 4.95/MONTH for most apps).

In iTunes/App Store, you pay a one-time fee to download the app (usually .99 or 1.99 although some run to 4.99 - 7.99) and a good many are FREE.

Go for the iPhone. We did and haven't regretted a thing.........except how damn expensive the monthly fee is. But I consider how much less time I spend on the computer at home, how much easier I find my way around (the GPS rocks), how I can Google things when I want to and not later when I've forgotten about them, and how I can refer back to a client email to make sure they really did want that thing placed right there. There are so many cool apps (and lots of dumb ones too) that really expand the capability of the machine to best suit your needs. I have to say that if you took it away from me today I'd wander around like a zombie for a bit. Oh, and the service is just fine in NYC. Two downsides - no video filming capability currently and no ability to send text photos.

I don't know if you realize the extent to which you will not get service if you have a network that doesn't work. When I lived in AZ, I got great reception. When I moved to NYC, it was horrible. I couldn't get calls in a building, on the subway or even in the street sometimes. Everyone laughed at me and told me I should be using the network they use. Many phone services are great in cities on the train lines, where the first digital network was laid (that's SPRinT, as in Southern Pacific Railroad 'n' Telegraph). They are particularly great in places like CO, AZ, NM, TX, where there aren't a ton of condensely located buildings. I've used ATT, SPRINT, Cingular, T-Mobil, Virgin, and some others that don't apply in the US. I would suggest that you wait until you get to NYC and ask everyone what they have, especially when you see them talking in place that you yourself would be using the phone. When I had ATT, I could only use my phone if it was in the interior corner of the closet door. I dropped it there one day and saw the bars go up. I could technically use it, with a bluetooth reciever, but I could never hold it in my hands. When I lived in London, I could only use my Virgin sim card if the phone was placed on the wall, 3 feet from the window and 6 from the floor. My Vodafone sim card gave me excellent reception no matter where I was. You can probably go month to month with ATT if your contract expires and that phone upgrade will always be there.

An iPhone seems like a goofy little toy, but life is short... if it would bring you joy on some level, go for it at once...

And OF COURSE you would buy the genuine article, not the Zune edition... sheesh(tm).