Since the launch of the iPhone I have always thought it was an awesome device I would purchase the minute it came to another carrier, specifically Verizon. The draconian rules of cell contracts coupled with the throw away nature of cellular phones led me to believe I could never escape the Verizon sphere of influence. This is especially true because I am on a family share plan in which three phones renew the contract in three different seasons. Eventually I came to realize this was not terrible news because the more I learned about the iPhone I realized it had one major weakness, AT&T.
Now that weakness is gone and I am free to purchase an iPhone on Verizon’s robust network, so I may continue my cellular indentured servitude another two years. However, I have decided for a variety of reasons that an iPhone purchase at the point would not be the best decision for me or my family. Specifically, the timing is wrong, the pricing is high, and the competition is fierce.
Apple is notorious for releasing revolutionary new products and then significantly evolving them on a one to two year cycle. This is a major reason why I refuse to purchase a first generation iPad when every fiber of my tech loving being desperately wants one. The iPhone 4 has been out for a while now and it is no secret that this product is tweaked on a yearly basis. Verizon will get their iPhone 4 in the middle of February and it will be old news by late Spring, early Summer. Better to wait a couple of months to get the latest and greatest from Apple, especially since we have waited this long already.
Maybe I am cheap, or maybe my wife is monetarily cautious and I love my wife so I am frugal, but $299.99 (before tax) for a 32 gig phone seems a bit steep. I could purchase a 16 gig phone for 100 bucks less, but I would be cutting my current iPod capacity in half if I do that. Then there is the astronomical monthly data access fee, about 30 bucks a month on top of what I currently pay, which is substantial. Assuming I can get over my parsimonious approach to cellular handsets the iPhone still has to deal with fierce competition from other devices.
While iPhone competitors were negligible in the first few years of the products life cycle, this is no longer the case. The market has dozens of Android powered phones which have all the functionality of iPhone if not the je ne sais quois that makes users smile when playing with that particular handset. I do, however, know that this iteration of the iPhone will not be 4G enabled which means it is actually a generation behind some of its Android competition in terms of internet access speeds. Think of iPhone as DSL browsing while something like the HTC Thunderbolt 4G will be cruising along at cable modem speeds (if you don’t understand what that means I really appreciate you reading this entire posting).
I cannot believe I have come to this point after waiting so long for the magic phone to find its way to Verizon but I will not be purchasing an iPhone any time soon.
Full disclosure I own one share of Apple Inc. and a share of Google as well, I know I’m way to invested in these companies to objectively share my opinions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
1) Never dropped a call or had a single problem with AT&T service. 2) 3G, 4G etc, etc, its all for show. 3) Let's be honest, none of us come close to utilizing these phones in a way that would make any one better than the other. (Unforunately) no one uses voice calls anymore, they all text as good as the other, they all have good apps, games, etc and they all have good internet access (which in itself is not even that important to most regular users)
Sorry, ended up posting the same thing twice cause it said there was an error, i deleted the duplicate.
steve,you're an idiot.
Duder,
4G is lightning fast, have you not seen the Verizon commercials?
Michael,
If you mean informed and well reasoned idiot, then I agree!
Post a Comment