OT: iPhone (was Re: Cellphone looping)

[Mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 10:47 AM -0700 7/9/07, Mark Sottilaro wrote:
>
>Totally OT, it's the best phone I've ever used (my wife is a smartphone
>junky and has owned a lot of them) Since it was providence that my old
>company was canceling my service (how dare them stop paying for my 
>cellphone
>after I quit!) on the day the iPhone came out, I went and met with my wife
>who was already on line for one at our local Apple store.

Thanks for the quick review, Mark!

Both my wife and I are *drooling* over this little gadget.  However, 
we've decided to chill out until we can purchase an unlocked version 
of it.

With all the travelling we've done, we've decided that the way cell 
companies work in the US is just criminal.  Here, you can usually 
only get an account if you're willing to tie yourself into some bogus 
"plan" for a year or more.  And the only network available for the 
iPhone right now is AT&T?!?  Bugger them!

I really rather like the "pay as you go" plans that are prevalent in 
Asia and Europe.  You buy a minute, you use a minute.  Simple.  Use 
all your minutes?  Walk down to the local "Family Mart" and buy a PIN 
number to reload some more.  And if you don't like the cell provider 
you're using, you get a different SIM chip down at the corner store 
and purchase minutes from a different provider.  None of these silly 
lock-ins, or small print in your "plan".

I'm going to be over in Japan in a few weeks.  I'm hoping I might be 
able to snag an unlocked iPhone over there, then just install any SIM 
chip I want into it.  Otherwise, I'll wait for the general Asian 
rollout and get one in Bangkok.

Sorry for the rant, but I do appreciate hearing from somebody out on 
the street who has RL experience with it.  Just makes us want one 
even more.

        --m.
-- 
_____
"I want to keep you alive so there is always the possibility of 
murder... later"