Rethinking the iPhone
The Swiss Army knife of telephony
When I asked my friend Quentin recently how he liked his new iPhone, he said it was great, except as a telephone. He was right, and as a devoted iPhoner since its introduction, this made me think.
My carrier’s coverage (AT&T) is lousy, the 3G connection is slow/patchy and AT&T is expensive, on average $82 a month. I love the iPhone’s design, its Apps and look, and of course the “always-on” access to emails and internet it provides, but I recognized myself an over-user - constantly looking things up, checking/replying to emails in real time, and generally being a nerd!
So I decided to rethink the experience, especially as, on analysis, my 300 minutes average monthly phone usage was costing me a whooping 27¢ per minute - OK so this included manic email internet usage. This meant spending $2,168 over my two-year contract, if I include the $200 upgrade fee.
Recently, AT&T obligingly told me I had to wait several months before I could get a $200 upgrade to iPhone 4, which would trigger yet another two-year contract cycle. How I hate being in the hands of a telephone company!
So this is what I did: it retains all of the iPhone functionality, markedly improved my phone and internet experience, saved money and ended the two-year contract habit. And I can live with the minor compromise, which make me less manic.
COMMENTS
All irrelevant if you live outside the US
My initial outlay was a bit of a shock, but I just bought my iPhone outright, and got a cheapy contract with excellent coverage. The overall cost is less than going for one of the subsidised deals, certainly less than a load of unintegrated gadgets, and I'm not locked into any long-term contract.
hah hah
So wait, you're advocating replacing one device that does everything with.... 4?! All so you don't have to be "tied into a contract"? I hope no one pays you for this kind of advice. ROFL
Shame you get raped on the charges...
... as over here £35 a month is pretty much all you need and you can get an iPhone on a great network!
AT&T?
Basically this is another AT&T is crap article isn't it? It's just that as the iPhone exposed that crapness, it seems to get tarred with AT&T's stinky brush.
Were are the non-american-at&t centric articles eh?
wow
In the USA your cell providers really screw you!
I pay so much less per year in the UK and all my minutes are bundled as well as unlimited internet.
I bought an unlocked Android Nexus One when they were released and that has now allowed me to negotiate my contract down further, from good to silly good.
Personally I think you are perhaps missing a trick not using your cell phone as a mifi point, my Android does it comfortably. even if it is slightly against the terms of service to use a phone teathered I figure the little I do it won't hurt.
Still, I feel sorry that you are being so screwed. When I renegotiated my contract they said I was a high-tier customer, so I could have any phone for nothing *and* I pay half your rental for a passable service.
My sympathies to our American cousins.
