iPhone goes from an absolute, to a maybe..

Almost a month ago, I was giddy and schoolboyish about the new iPhone 3G rollout. Now I’m not so sure, and I’ll tell you why;

1) The hype has been overwhelming, and nothing good ever comes from things that are over-hyped.

2) I’ve no intention of standing in lines for hours on the 11th for the privilege of giving Apple, or AT&T $300 for a phone.

3) No home activation. This means that I’ll have to activate the phone in store. I have no problem activating the phone/accounts (save for costs, discussed later). It’s just having to wait longer in line at Apple with the potential of them sending me to AT&T’s store for whatever reason. Apple stores have phones, but AT&T stores are the ones trained on the speedy activation.

4) Cost of the AT&T plan. — I use about 500 minutes a month. Right now, I have T-mobile with 1500 minutes for $39.99 per month plus about $10 in assorted taxes/usage fees, etc. Adding Internet and 500 text messages takes me to $59.99 plus the requisite taxes, etc.

When I go to AT&T, I’ll have 900 minutes plus rollover and that’ll include the Internet and messages (maybe?) for $89.95 (currently guessed price). *BUT* it’s my understanding that even though it’s a personal phone paid by me, they will consider me a “corporate customer” (read: more money) if I try to access the Exchange server at work, which as you might imagine, sucks hard…

It’s not the cost of the phone. Hell, I paid $200 for my currently dying PEBL, and almost $300 for my 60gb iPod. I also realize that — as my only phone — I’ll always have a cellphone bill. It just shouldn’t, in my never-so-humble opinion, cost $100 per month.

THAT being said… as a piece of ironic cruel fate, thinking my contract ended in October 2008, I called T-mobile last night to examine my options as far as replacing the current phone and getting better coverage in my office only to discover that my current contract with them ends on Monday the 14th…

This means that *if* I’m going to jump, it might as well be now…

To Phone, or not to Phone, that is the question.