iPhone 3G: Dodged the Bullet?

As I indicated in my post yesterday, today was the momentous launch of of the iPhone 3G. And I was pretty bummed I wasn't eligible to pick one up. But following widespread reports of long lines, significant wait times and serious difficulties activating the phones, I think I may be better off without an iPhone. At least for the moment. As early adopters of the the iPhone were burned last year by the rapid price decrease, so it seems that buying straight off the assembly line may not be the way to go.

In addition, there is a rising tide of vocal dissatisfaction around the globe at the ridiculous price of the data packages for the new iPhone. I would not be surprised if either the cost of the phone, or the cost of the data plan saw a reduction prior to the holiday season, when I'll be eligible to get one. Until then, I'll sit back, wait and watch.

iPhone Dreams

The news is almost a month old, but on Friday Apple is releasing the new 3G version of the iPhone. I've been saying since the first iPhone was introduced, that as soon as Apple offered a version that ran on a 3G network and had Exchange support, I'd buy it. Now both these features have been added to to product and the price has dropped to $199 as well. So I decided the time was right to do away with my AT&T 8525 brick of a smartphone and make the plunge. One problem: When the original iPhone was introduced, AT&T allowed subscribers, regardless of where they were in their current plan, to make the switch to the iPhone with a new 2 year contract. But that was when AT&T wasn't subsidizing the cost of the iPhone.

Now, a year later, the drastic reduction in the price of the iPhone 3G is directly related to AT&T subsidizing about $200 of the cost. And since AT&T is footing the bill, if you're mid-contract with any handset other than the iPhone (which they didn't originally subsidize) then you're out of luck. You can either wait until you are eligible for an upgrade, or pay the unsubsidized price for the iPhone ($399 for the 8 GB model).

Regrettably, I'm not eligible for an upgrade until November of '08, and I'm not stupid enough to pay $400 now for a product that could see another price drop by the time I'm eligible for the discounted price. So for the moment, I'm stuck with the handset I've got and iPhone dreams.