I blame an article in Wired and some pretty cool commercials, but I desperately want Apple's new cell phone, the iPhone. It combines cell phone, digital camera, web surfing and MP3 player. So really, I'd be saving money by spending 6 or 7 hundred dollars on one. Yes, I can surf the web on my current phone, but only in black and white and on the "mobile web".
Surfing the Internet on your phone is one of those activities that sound cooler in theory than in practice. I've spent maybe 1 hour on the web with my phone in the 5 years that I've had it (and no more than $2). Still, it is perilous to dismiss anything to do with the Internet. Because in case you hadn't noticed, the Internet has become quite popular.
The Apple phone uses GSM technology, so you non-Rogers/Fido customers are out of luck. But even current and potential Rogers customers will have to wait. No firm Canadian launch date has been announced. That is probably smart for Rogers. The company has been burned before by non-existent demand for Internet enabled phones (which was the whole point of spending tens of millions to switch to GSM technology) while being stunned at demand for SMS and camera phones (Rogers could have stuck with first generation TDMA for that). And Apple has a pre-iPod history with a portable device, it was called the Newton. I wanted one of those to, initially. But I never bough one. Carriers are so desperate to generate revenu from their GPRS and Edge investments that they are now pushing TV on cell phones.
Will I buy an iPhone? After all, for the price of the iPhone, you can buy a spanking new computer, an HD-ready TV or about 35 lap dances... On the other hand, for the price of a diamond ring or necklace, you could buy a couple of iPhones (and as far as I know, the iPhone doesn't cause bloodshed in Africa and isn't used to launder money).
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