My heart belongs to Apple... sort of

Apple’s iPhone 4 is available for pre-order starting today. Do I want one? Yes! Do I want one BAD? Hell yeah! But I’m not going to do it.

The 32GB iPhone 4 comes with a sticker price of $299 with a two year contract with AT&T. Add tax and the $18 upgrade fee and it’s still not a bad price, but multiply that by 2 (one for me and one for Randy) and the price gets to be a bit much. I have my heart set on a bedroom remodel this summer and a new walk-in closet is in my future.

Walk-in closet? iPhone? Walk-in closet? iPhone? Sorry Apple, the walk-in closet wins this battle. I’ll be saving up for the phones and pick it up by the end of the year. My iPhone 3G is just fine for now.

Apple Stuff

I have an iBook 3G (which is too slow to run anything except it’s operating system), a 3rd generation 40GB iPod (which can’t hold a charge to save it’s life, but is serving out it’s time as an external hard drive), one Power Mac G5 (hooked up to my TV), one Power Mac G5 Quad (right before the change to the Intel chip), and of course, my beloved iPhone 3G. Somewhere in the depths of my storage area lives an ancient Power Book. I can’t remember the model, but let’s just say it’s old enough to sport a monochrome screen.

I love my Apple products, but I won’t go as far as saying I’m a fan girl. I don’t love EVERY Apple product. Mac Book Air? What’s up with that? I don’t stand in line to get the latest and greatest from Apple. iPad, you can wait… until you come with a built in camera, at least.

There are a lot of Apple haters out there. The two arguments against it I hear the most are the price and the software availability, both valid arguments. I, for one, am willing to shell out that kind of money and the convenience the products give me is worth every penny. I haven’t had a virus in over 10 years. As for software, I can’t think of a single thing I want that I can’t get – granted, all I want is Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and World of Warcraft.

If you want a PC, go for it. I don’t blame you. It is cheaper (sort of, but that’s another story) and there is more software available. I just don’t want to or know how to deal with the problems that come with using a PC.

AT&T vs. Verizon

As for the iPhone, I hear more complaints about AT&T than the phone itself. Sure I get a lot of dropped calls (A LOT), but the pros outweigh the cons. I didn’t think a phone could change my life, but this one did. For one thing, my purse is a lot lighter. I no longer carry around a phone, MP3 player, camera, and PDA. I just carry around one device that does it all. I’m far more productive and connected to my friends than ever before and I don’t get lost nearly as often (thank you GPS feature).

Okay, I haven’t used other smart phones, but I have no desire to. I haven’t heard of any feature available on any of them that makes me think “Oooo! I want that!” and it isn’t available on the iPhone.

I used to have Verizon as my cell phone carrier… a long, long time ago. I got signal when other people didn’t. I love it. I LOVED it… until the bill came. Back when I had Verizon, cell phone companies offered a local calling plan and a national calling plan. A national plan on any carrier was outrageously expensive, so I went with the local calling plan.

The problem with Verizon’s home calling area was that it was limited to the Greater Los Angeles area – and not all of it. I would get roaming charges up the wazoo even if I didn’t leave the LA/OC area. Back then I traveled to San Francisco and Las Vegas frequently. I couldn’t turn on my phone in fear of getting a calling and having to pay roaming charges. Did I mention customer service at the time sucked too? Then along came Pac Bell (which later became Cingular and is now AT&T). They wooed me with their local calling plan: practically the entire state of California and Las Vegas AND it was cheaper than Verizon’s plan. Okay, sign me up!

AT&T and Apple’s exclusivity agreement is scheduled to end in 2012. There are rumors that it may end sooner, but I’m not holding my breath. When that happens I’ll explore the options between AT&T and whoever else is carrying the iPhone. Until then, I don’t mind hitting redial.

P.S. I don’t want to jail break my phone.

P.P.S. Roll over minutes has saved my ass twice. Thank you.