Saturday, 19th June 2010
iPhone 4 Obsession
It seems fitting that the first post I’ve made in ages be about something I seem to have become obsessed by. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ll have heard about Apple’s latest gadget – the iPhone 4. It’s due to be released in the UK on the 24th (next Thursday) on pretty much every network in the country.
The phone itself is awesome. It’s new display, better camera and ability to record HD video are the things that appeal to me the most (being able to take a decent quality photo and geo-tag it will be great). I’m still using the original iPhone 3G. I didn’t get the 3GS because I’ve been contracted to O2 for the last 17 months and only now am I eligible for an upgrade. The weird thing about getting an iPhone this time around is the vast carrier choice available. When I got my current phone (24 hours after returning from Oz), I had to go with O2 because of their exclusivity deal with Apple. This time around though, I’ve been doing some research…
First of all, I made a spreadsheet.* I wanted to know just how many minutes, texts and data I actually use on a monthly basis. I’ve always considered myself a heavy user of data but the numbers speak for themselves. My average 3G data usage is just 268.2MB/month. Even if you combine this with data I use whilst tethering my phone to my laptop – it only goes up to 329.6MB/month (also note that O2 charges my £15/month for the privilege of tethering). There’s been a lot of uproar since O2 announced their new plans and capped data usage to 500MB/month but (as you can see from above) this is highly unlikely to affect me.
The easiest way for me to get the new iPhone next Thursday would, without a doubt, be to stay with O2 (especially since they are reserving their stock of the phones until July for existing customers only). The trouble is that I don’t get the best reception with O2 at work or even at home. I also don’t like the idea of continuing to pay an additional £15/month for tethering (which I do like to have but don’t use anywhere near enough to justify the cost). I’ve been looking at Orange and Vodafone’s plans for comparison and I think I’m going to go with Vodafone. They seem to have the best signal, are offering 1GB of data (twice that of O2) and permit tethering for just £5/month (500MB will be more than enough). Not only this but they offer a device called Sure Signal that plugs into your home broadband router and gives you 5 bars of 3G signal whilst at home (which would be great because I’m sure that all of the networks will provide awful signal in my home due to it’s location).
The problem with going with Vodafone is that you can’t pre-order. I visited a store today and was told that I would have to pitch up to a store at 9am and hope they have enough in stock. Only after they’ve sold all of their stock will they be able to pre-order additional phones. That blows. I have to work on Thursday and I’m driving to Poole on Friday evening (for Fi’s exam on Saturday) so I’m pretty sure that the stores will be sold out by the time I get to one.
Oh well, patience is a virtue they say.
*with that statement I’m pretty sure I heard the door close behind my very last friend who’s tolerated my geeky obsession.