Like ZD's Matthew Miller, I won't be getting an iPhone 4 today, or in the foreseeable future. The reasons for this aren't all that complex, but I feel like I should at least explain it.
First, I do want one. I suffer from the same illogical gadget lust that many of you suffer from, of course. But more specifically, the iPhone 4 just looks like an awesome device, and unlike the 3GS it appears to be a decent upgrade over its predecessor. (I am curious about one thing, however: Why is this the only iPhone upgrade where the performance delta between this phone and the last one has not been discussed at all? Apple loves to talk this stuff up. Is it actually not faster? Is that possible?) Anyway, it's not out of any real or imagined criticism of the iPhone. I think it's a wonderful phone (and I did preorder one and could pick it up today). And I think that anyone who gets one will no doubt love it.
There's a lot of angst around AT&T, much deserved, though as I've noted before, their customer service is excellent and responsive, and only about a million times nicer than anything you'll find at Verizon Wireless. (And those customers know exactly what I mean.) I've been dealing with AT&T's network for three years now. It's gotten a bit better. That's not it.
It's expensive, but then so are all smart phones. In my case, because I upgraded fairly recently, it would cost me $500 to upgrade to the 32 GB iPhone 4. I can't really afford that, and while I could make some (BS) case about it being work related, or that I could write about it and perhaps recoup (some of) the costs, the truth is, that would just be an excuse, and excuse to feed that upgrade demon. Anyway, it's not the cost, not really. I've done stupid stuff like this before. I'm trying to fight the urge this time.
And no, I'm not taking a stand of any kind. (Though I'd love to be able to frame it that way.) It just doesn't make sense for me to do this, on a number of levels. Primarily, I guess, I'm not upgrading because Windows Phone is happening this year. I expect to be able to get a phone early, so I can finish my next book (Windows Phone 7 Secrets). And then I expect to use Windows Phone going forward. I've been trying to drop the iPhone for over a year now. The thing is, there just wasn't anything good enough to make me switch. This year, I think, that will finally happen.
(Side-note: If I wasn't doing what I do for a living, I probably would have switched to an Android phone by now, actually. And that's absolutely an option that others should at least investigate. The only issue I see with Android is that a new "best Android phone ever" appears almost every single week now. If you feel upgrade envy with iPhones, you're going to really be frustrated with Android. But even writing about Windows/Microsoft primarily, I couldn't bring myself to use Windows Mobile, even after testing several devices over a long period of time. That is telling, I think.)
Anyhoo. I'll be heading across the country on an ill-advised road trip with my dad soon; he's retiring to Colorado supposedly, and we're going to move some of his stuff out there. I originally planned to bring along the iPhone 4 and use it to record photos and videos, but I guess I'm stuck with the old iPhone 3G (my 3GS was stolen in May, grr), and I'll bring the KIN One along as well. It could be worse.