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A year ago I was able to resist the initial launch of the iPhone because I was in the middle of a 2-year contract with T-Mobile. This time, however, resisting it proves to be a little harder; the new iPhone 3G is a lot less expensive than its predecessor and promises 3G capability, which any intense user would like to have. Moreover, my contract with T-Mobile has expired and I’am quietly paying by the month until I decide to make a move.

But going for the iPhone 3G isn’t such a no-brainer as some might think. Not for me, anyway. I’ll tell you why. First because when I signed the 2-year contract with T-Mobile I got the T-Mobile Wing for free through letstalk.com. They even shipped it to me free of charge. All I had to do was to fill out an online form and a couple of days later I found it in my mail box. That’s a savings of at least $200 plus the convenience of having it come to me as opposed to going to the store and standing in line for it.

Second, I don’t see that much of a difference in the feature pack. I read my email almost exclusively on my phone, I browse the Internet on my phone whenever I can’t use the laptop. (I still prefer a big screen for browsing the Internet. The websites that I use regularly don’t display quite the same on the cellphone screen.) I can read/write Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents (a feature that the iPhone doesn’t have) and I can do anything that you are expected to be able to do on a cellphone. Oh yea, I also listen to music on my phone ;). So, why should I get the iPhone?

And then there is this crazy idea that the new iPhone works only on the AT&T network. Even if you unlock it, there are so many people that report that as soon as you upgrade the firmware you’ll have to unlock it again and re-install all the applications that are not “kosher” to Apple. Do I really need this aggravation? I’ve had my T-Mobile Wing unlocked in Romania when I traveled there last year and now I can use the phone with any SIM card with all functionality intact. I remember I paid a guy $10 to unlock my phone; however, someone told me that T-Mobile customer service will give you the unlock code for free (I didn’t try it, though) — supposedly all you have to do is call them. Again, why get stuck with the iPhone on AT&T?

There! I’ve worked up enough courage to say something against the Apple hype machine. I know I’m not alone in thinking this way. One thing: I welcome comments especially when the authors disagree with me, but please stop short of using objectionable language. There is nothing uglier that a person who resorts to ugly language. Now, let’s disagree.