Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2010 > June > 23 > Entry
iPhone 4: I am so on the fence here
I’m running out of time to decide.
In a fit of excitement and beat-the-rush frenzy, I reserved an iPhone 4 for tomorrow at an Apple Store. (I used the Apple Store app. All attempts to do it on the Web were unsuccessful.)
Am I still under contract on the iPhone 3GS I bought last year? Yes. Yes, I am. Was I able to wiggle out of my upgrade eligibility denial to get the $199/$299 price on the iPhone 4? No. No, I was not.
I called yesterday in one last-ditch attempt to save myself the humiliating $200 extra early adopter fee (OK, it makes up for the 2-year contract that subsidizes the discounted price the phone. I know that. But still.), and the customer service rep kindly, but firmly, told me I was out of luck. I’m not upgrade-eligible until February.
I employed a tactic I like to call “The Naive Customer” and pretended not to know why on Earth I wasn’t eligible. “Is there anything I could do? Why am I not eligible? I pay my bills and I thought I was a loyal customer.” I tried not to sound too whiny when I said, “Other 3GS owners are upgrade-eligible and I’ve had my phone the same amount of time.”
The rep explained patiently that other factors come into play, like multiple lines on an account, the size of the voice/data plan (mine is the smallest available). Facts I already knew, but was hoping would magically disappear.
So, here I am, on the eve of the iPhone 4 launch. Many co-workers and friends already have theirs locked up and some have even received them in the mail already. (Stop posting on Twitter, guys. You’re making the rest of us cry.)
And I’m here pondering whether I’ll really pay $500 for the black 32 GB phone on reserve or if I should just hang back and bide my time. I’ve already upgraded my iPhone 3GS and it’s actually performing even faster and new features like folders and multitasking seem to be working well. The camera app is much faster and even has digital zoom. Why not just be content with that and wait until February?
Plus, Apple is planning to send an iPhone 4 for us to review next week, last I heard.
There’s just something tough about an early tech adopter sitting out that launch day excitement. I broke down and got an iPad on launch day even though that wasn’t part of the plan. I rationalized it by telling myself I was going to buy one eventually for my wife, so why wait?
But this is a little different. When the iPhone debuted three years ago, I was one of the people who said it was ridiculous to pay $600 for a phone, any phone. And now here I am ready to drop $500 on a phone that’s just a higher-res, redesigned version of the phone I already have. (And which even shares the same software.)
I sat out the iPhone 3G and stuck with my first-gen iPhone for more than a year. Why can’t I sit this one out?
Maybe it’s because I know my wife will inherit a much faster 3GS phone and because the camera features on the new phone are so impressive. I take lots of photos and videos with my iPhone and I salivate thinking about the higher quality images, HD video and front-facing camera on the new model.
Should I buy the phone and take it back later if I change my mind? Wait until the review unit arrives next week and buy a phone later if I’m blown away and can’t resist? Or wait even longer?
Any advice would be appreciated. I mean, I’ll probably ignore it and go buy a phone tomorrow anyway and find a way to rationalize the extra $200 somehow (by selling the iPhone 2G and some plasma, maybe?). But I’d still like to hear your thoughts.
It’s gonna be a pretty sleepless night.
(P.S. If you couldn’t care less about the iPhone and are an Android user all the way, good news: the Verizon Droid X looks like it’s going to have some pretty sharp specs. It was just introduced today and is out in July. Photo below.)
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment Categories: Austin, Gadgets, Internet, Phones, Shopping
Comments
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By Omar Gallaga
June 24, 2010 11:32 AM | Link to this
James -- good idea in theory, but:
1. I'd be replacing a 32 GB 3GS and my current phone is already almost full. I'm not willing to cut my storage space in half.
2. My wife is using my old 2G iPhone. She'd need to either keep it or upgrade to my 3GS. She doesn't want to buy a new phone and would not take kindly to me taking her phone and selling it.
3. If someone is buying 2G iPhones for $150 tell me where because it's more like $80 everywhere that I've seen it. Same for the 3GS. I haven't seen anyone offering more than $200 for one, even the 32 GB version in good condition.
By James Fair
June 24, 2010 9:30 AM | Link to this
Sell your 3gs for $300 - 250, and sell your 2g for $150-100 then go buy your 16GB phone why do you need a 32GB one?
By maczter
June 23, 2010 11:30 PM | Link to this
I'm with you, Omar. While I like the new features on the iPhone 4, the thing I'm most excited about is getting my wife off of my sluggish old 3G and onto my (soon to be her) 3GS.
By Jordan
June 23, 2010 10:47 PM | Link to this
Hey Omar,
I appreciate how you feel about the new phone and part of me feels the same way. However, my dissatisfaction with At&t's poor performance is too strong to ignore. My contract is up in a month and I will be exploring other options. I currently have the 3GS; previously had the 3G and the 2G before that. In the interest of not further supporting a company that cares nothing about their customers, I will resist my urge to get a new iPhone tomorrow.
By Pam
June 23, 2010 10:27 PM | Link to this
You should wait on the tester and see if it's worth the extra $200. I just upgraded my original IPhone to the 3GS 2 weeks ago (so I could have the unl data for only $30) - I was sure the Iphone 4 announcement 2 days later wouldn't matter. WRONG, the thought of the awesome new camera, flash and HD video has me waivering too...BUT what about the data? HD video is bound to eat through 2GB-right? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the data usage, after you get your tester, that is!
By Barbara
June 23, 2010 6:27 PM | Link to this
If you aren't sure I'll take it! I couldn't get a reservation because AT&T servers kept kicking out errors for me "You must go to the Apple Store to resolve this error." (Of course when I went in they gave me a blank look and said I could stand in line and maybe get one on release day.) Not sure why AT&T couldn't handle my request. Possibly because I have a pre-iPhone $19.99 unlimited data plan that might be grandfathered in. My contract has been up for almost 2 years. I've been holding out this whole time for tethering on the iPhone. But my poor old Nokia is totally broken so I am without a smartphone right now and I'm DESPERATE for the new iPhone! Can't wait until July!
By Bob LeVitus
June 23, 2010 6:09 PM | Link to this
So I guess I'll see you at the Apple Store tomorrow... :-)
By emsteratx
June 23, 2010 5:59 PM | Link to this
Get the phone!!