An Annual Tradition

It's summer again (or close enough), and of course that means it's time for trips to the beach, enjoying the sun until 9:00, big expensive movies, and of course a new iPhone.

If you know me very well you already know that I waited in line for the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G on the first day they were available. This year I thought I'd have to get mine after the official launch date because I wasn't due for a discount on it until July 12th, and even I'm not fanatical enough to drop an extra $200 just to get my hands on the latest Apple gadget one month early.

But fortunately AT&T did something nice (no really, I'm serious) and allowed us early adopters to upgrade to the latest toy before we were technically due, however their rules for this privilege are fuzzy and have left many of my friends and family wondering why they don't qualify.

I would have opted to have my iPhone delivered to me since that was an option this year, but since I didn't know until two days before the release date that I could get one, I'd have to wait several days after the launch before it would arrive, and I'm not really that patient.

Because home delivery was an option I figured I didn't need to show up quite so early this time around, as the lines would be more manageable. Turns out I was wrong. I showed up at Bellevue Square at 7:00 and waited in line for about two hours. I figured once I got into the store I'd be through quickly, however I was there to get new phones for both Becky and I, and AT&T's system said that only I could qualify for discount pricing even though I had been told differently earlier, so I spent a very long time on the phone with them until they said, "sorry, we'll get back to you." Irritating, but Becky doesn't really care.

But now I've got my new toy and I must say I'm pretty impressed with it (who would've thought?). Going from the original iPhone to the 3G was similar to moving from dial-up to DSL, and that was huge to anyone who actually tried to surf the web on the bus with it. Going from the 3G to the 3GS is like moving from a Celeron to a Pentium with twice as much memory.

Just about everything on the 3GS feels faster, browsing the web, switching between apps, and watching video. The improved camera, video, compass, and voice recognition are cool too, but really the big benefit is from the speed.

My old one is up on Craigslist, and the great thing is that it will sell for more than I paid for the 3GS. I know that I had to sign a new two year contract, but for as long as the iPhone is exclusive to AT&T, I'm obviously not going anywhere.