New Toy: iPhone 3GS

I have a bit of a gadget problem. I get lots of them and always tell myself that I will write a bit about them after I spend some time with them. Of course, time gets away and I never get back to talking about my latest toy. I also get distracted because a new gadget usually come along fairly quickly.

Yesterday I logged in to check on my phone upgrade options. For some reason I’ve been doing this almost daily for the past month even though it always told me 12/31. I was shocked yesterday when I logged on to find that there was no longer a date listed and I was eligible. I thought maybe they were kind enough to build in the shipping buffer. That made me a little worried about going in to the store and getting the same deal. Luckily enough, the mall is only a few minutes away. In store I was also eligible. Upgrading was painless.

I’ve been debating what phone to get for a while now. The iPhone 3G I have is painfully slow. The processor just can’t handle the running of the phone. The keyboard seems to anger it at times. I knew that upgrading to the 3GS would give me a processor boost but not a whole lot else. The compass would be nice on occasion when trying to use the maps in a city. Video recording isn’t that important, I rarely use the camera. So essentially I wouldn’t be getting the exact same thing, only faster. A Blackberry would be something completely different. I tried the new Blackberry in the store and while it is really nice I felt like I’d wind up preferring the interaction with the iPhone.

The other problem is that AT&T is not reliable in my apartment (Verizon doesn’t work either). I debated T-Mobile because the new Blackberry supported UMA. Meaning I could use Wi-Fi for calls inside. AT&T’s Microcell will be out someday. Plus, I would have had to pay the ETF for canceling AT&T 6 months early. I also wasn’t sure about T-Mobile, I know what I have with AT&T, which is very reliable when out of my apartment.

I decided I was going to stick to the iPhone. It really does everything I need it to. People were shocked that I didn’t talk about the 3G much after I bought it. That was mostly because it was exactly what I wanted. It didn’t change my life, it just did what I had been looking for. It also plays nicely with my Mac: iTunes and Contacts most specifically.

All I was left with was the hesitation that there will be another new iPhone this summer with some unknown feature that I will drool over. But even if it comes out in June. The slowness of the 3G will continue to drive me nuts. If it’s really that groundbreaking I’ll sell one of the other iPhones and pay the full price for the new one.

Having the 3GS for about a day now, I’ve learned that this is the iPhone that should have been released in the 1st place. The 1st iPhone didn’t make any sense because it didn’t have 3G. The 2nd iPhone’s processor couldn’t keep up with itself. The 3GS feels solid and responds right away when I tell it to do something.

Nice extras: The battery % indicator is a nice plus. The Wi-Fi seems to connect a whole lot faster, which is key when using the phone when I don’t have a decent signal. The stats on the Apple site indicate that the Wi-Fi is also more power efficient. I’m hoping that it adds just a little bit more life so I don’t get stressed as often when it’s about to run out (the % indicator will help with that as well). I also get another charger and I’ve yet to try the new headphones.

As for the old 3G, I’m not sure where that will fit in just yet. I may use it around, not sure how yet. I am a little concerned that since they look exactly the same I may leave the house with the one that I can’t use as a phone. It will likely stick around until someone in the family decides they want to pay for iPhone service.