By now everyone has probably heard about the Verizon iPhone allegedly coming in January (if you haven’t then you’re not a real geek).

Many of my friends are planning on ditching Ma Bell for the red V after suffering many years of horrible signal (at least the urban warriors).

Not even the ETF (aka Early Termination Fee) is enough to scare them away (despite the expense).

So why is this iGeek refusing to leave despite the fact that my ETF is much lower?

Because if I switch to Verizon I will:

• Lose the ability to simultaneously place a call while reading an email attachment, Google Maps, etc.
• Lose roll over minuets which allow me to use the basic call plan without having to pay for unlimited minuets every month
• A faster 3G speed. Verizon’s is much more stable, however it’s very slow when compared to AT&T’s (it reminds me of EDGE sometimes).
• A global phone. Verizon uses CDMA which is as useful as an Old English yard stick in Europe, Asia, etc. (GSM is the “metric” system of the world

While I would love to see a Verizon iPhone (mainly so my siblings & cousins would finally join), I will refrain from joining the masses and defecting towards the red V (the other V for you scifi freaks!).

Oh, and there is one more reason why I wouldn’t leave AT&T:

Once the masses crash Verizon’s network, AT&T will be the party scene as their network will no longer be clogged by data hungry users.

As much as I love my iPhone 3GS (which I bought last year), I’m going to do something completely insane: I’m going to give away my iPhone 3GS instead of selling it.

I actually did ponder selling the iPhone 3GS, along with a battery extender from FastMac (which includes a built in flash light) which together are probably valued at $200 (I paid $300 plus for both items).

Apple is currently selling 8 gig iPhone 3GS’s for $100, although the one I have is 16 gig (double the storage baby!).

So why am I giving it away? Because I can, and (more importantly) I think it will be a great opportunity to introduce someone to the iCult.

So who am I giving the iPhone 3GS away to? Lets just say that their is a short list, but everyone on it has NEVER owned a smart phone before, so this will be a great opportunity for them to experience iBliss.

Since I won’t reveal who is receiving this gift until my iPhone 4 is activated (which I have to purchase near full price since I do not qualify for AT&T’s subsidy), it will be a few weeks until the person is revealed.

Either way, I hope they enjoy using the iPhone as much as I did (especially since they could REALLY use some of  the apps to help organize and improve their life), although hopefully they’ll keep it out of the hands of kids (as its fragile!!).

Due to my inability to make the AT&T December cutoff, I can only choose one (as iPhone 4 will cost me $500 instead of $300, unless I add a 2nd line).

However if I choose the iPad, it will set me back $1,000 total (as I plan to purchase the keyboard charger plus a case to go with it).

So what is the hold up? The iPhone 4 is my dream phone. Let me explain.

When I purchased the original iPhone (refurbished of course), I loved everything about it. It was sturdy, tough (I know because I dropped it quite a few times), it was my beastly smartphone.

Unfortunately it lacked a video camera, and even if you jailbroke it, the 2 mpx camera wasn’t anything to boast about.

It also lacked 3G too, making Internet browsing over EDGE (aka 2G) “almost decent.”

Then came the iPhone 3G, which also lacked video but came with the 3G speed. I opted to skip this phone and wait for the iPhone 3GS which had 3G and video support (albeit 3.1 mpx).

My biggest issue with the iPhone 3GS was its fragility, which made it too delicate to leave in the hands of clumbsy people.

So I had to sacrifice a quality design for awesome features–until now.

The iPhone 4 has HD video, LED flash, is built like a beast (metal and “glass,” or rather a very hard plastic) and gyro to boot!

So the question remains, should I skip the iPhone 4 and just get an iPad 3G? Or should I hold off on Steve Jobs greatest creation and embrace my iDream?

I guess well find out at the end of June!

–Posted from my iPhone

(Image Credit: Engadget)

Okay, I don’t have any spies inside Apple HQ (you’ll have to contact Michael Arrington for success in that department) but looking at last year’s clues I have the feeling that the next iPhone HD (aka iPhone 4G) is going to be classified as a medical device. Yes seriously.

Before I delve into the latest iRumor, here is a video from last year debuting iPhone 3.0 OS.

This idea apparently was inspired by a diabetic who pleaded Steve Jobs to make managing diabetes much easier.

Life Scan announced this app at the WWDC last year, but unlike the various other apps (ranging from multi-player games to enterprise apps) Life Scan never appeared in the app store–and Steve Jobs never breathed a hint about this app again.

I suspect that as soon as this app was revealed, Uncle Sam (or the US Government for you non-yanks) got involved, and that Apple and Life Scan had to go through some medical approval process before being allowed to mention this app again.

I also suspect that this feature (or app) will ONLY be available upon the upcoming iPhone (which could be called iPhone HD or iPhone MD).

Again, I have no hard evidence on whether or not this is true (so you’ll have to tap your own sources as Apple is as secretive as the Kremlin), but I have a feeling that Steve Jobs is going to unveil iPhone MD in a few days.

And when that happens, we will hear a loud, rusty, breaking sound, as Android devices everywhere are seen as “green junk.”

(Image Credit: Mobile Computing)

Ever since Opera was able to put Opera Mini upon the iPhone, bloggers, journalists and tweetaholics have been experiencing “geek shock” that El Jobso would approve another browser outside of Safari.

Opera mini has been downloaded over 1 million times in the app store over the past 3 days and many iLovers have made Opera their default iBrowser (well, unless you click on a link within an email in which case Safari still takes over).

But enough of the Opera stats, I’m here to write about Firefox!

Last year Firefox announced plans to create an iPhone app which would allow users to surf the net outside of Apple’s native Safari.

With Opera’s approval, I was hoping that the company would seriously consider building an iPhone app, as that would give users 3 1/2 choices when it comes to iBrowsing (currently iFans only have Safari and Opera, plus “remixes” of Safari on the iPhone).

Unfortunately it looks like Firefox isn’t interested in building an app upon Steve Jobs playground, despite the fact that users are asking for a Firefox browser for their iDevice.

(Fierce Mobile Content) Mozilla, maker of the popular Firefox browser, said it does not plan to build an iPhone version of its Firefox Mobile product, and Bolt browser maker Bitstream and NetFront browser maker Access have similar positions.

“Our understanding of browsers in the iPhone App Store is that a ‘full’ Web browser like Firefox that incorporates its own Web rendering and JavaScript engines would be prohibited,” said Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s vice president of product. “We have no insight into any arrangement between Apple and Opera.”

So it looks like Firefox is not going to invest in an iPhone browser after all, despite Opera’s success with the device.

Currently the only browser business interested in the iPhone who has a chance of getting approved is Skyfire, who is really popular on mobile phones powered by Windows 6.x (which will become extinct thanks to Windows 7 Mobile).

While I think Firefox is making a HUGE mistake by ignoring the iPhone, hopefully the company has more success with Android devices (which are starting to become really popular amongst my extended family).

It seems my brothers, sisters, cousins, neices and nephews have one thing in common: they all want smart phones for Christmas!!

Being the chief geek in the tribe I decided to pick up an iPhone when they first came out, then purchased the iPhone 3GS later on (although I do miss my iMetal friend–I hope ___ _____ is enjoying it).

Unfortunately many of them want the next best thing, and since most of Verizon’s phones are ugly (Moterola Droid included–at least that is what my sister said) they are all looking for the next best thing.

Since I don’t feel like paying $200/person per phone (and will not either by the way), I am going to have to hunt for some awesome deals at WalMart, Bestbuy, eBay and Amazon.

Thus far I’m heavily looking at the Droid Eris, which has a nice user interface that actually rivals the iPhone (a first in my honest opinion).

I missed the $30 Eris Droid sale on Black Friday (Grrrrrrr!!!!) but hopefully it’s still cheap enough for me to purchase a few for the extended family (although they’ll have to pay for Verizon’s draconian service plan themselves). I might also consider a Blackberry Storm 2–depending on the deals they have. (hint, hint!)

What I really want to do is send them all an I.O.U. for Christmas and wait until they mysterious Google Phone appears (which according to rumors is similar to the HTC Passion).

So I can either get them an inexpensive gift this year (say a DVD) until the killer phone launches (just in time for birthdays) or attempt to buy them a smart phone which will become obsolete next year.

Either way, I need to make a decision–soon!! (as Christmas is next week!)

– Posted from my iPhone

Update: Changed permalink as posting via YouTube simply left a weird number. Ghetto! (Hat Tip: Engadget)

So if you haven’t already seen the anti-iPhone Verizon ad, here it is in all its glory.

Here are the the points it lists, which I’ll update later on why its flawed.

• iDon’t have a real keyboard
• iDon’t run simultaneous apps
• iDon’t take 5-megapixel pictures
• iDon’t customize
• iDon’t run widgets
• iDon’t allow open development
• iDon’t take pictures in the dark
• iDon’t have interchangeable batteries
• Everything iDon’t

More later (as I’m posting this via YouTube).

Here we go!

iDon’t have a real keyboard

When Apple launched the iPhone a few years ago, Steve Jobs explained why they didn’t include a physical keyboard.

iDon’t run simultaneous apps

This has probably been one of the biggest gripes about the iPhone in general, as many of us have longed to run apps in the background.

In fact the only way to enable this was to jailbreak your iPhone via QuickPWN. With many angry users at their throats, Apple explained why they went with push notifications instead:

iDon’t take 5-megapixel pictures

The iPhone 3GS (which I have) has a 3-megapixel camera. While not perfect, I have yet to find a camera that is easier to use than the iPhone.

In fact, the iPhone is sooo popular that it has dominated Flickr as the camera of choice–despite superior digital camera’s out there.

(LA Times) Here’s a tidbit that’s sure to irk Flickr’s elitist photographers: The iPhone has just topped Canon’s high-performance Digital Rebel XTi as the most popular camera on Yahoo’s popular image-sharing site.

The iPhone, with its bare-bones, two-megapixel camera, has been battling for the No. 2 spot for months in a tight race with two other Canon cameras and the Nikon D80, according to a graph plotting the overall user percentages of each model on Flickr’s Camera Finder.

While the iPhone is not the best camera at taking images (and yes, this iUser will admit there are a ton of smart phones with better camera’s), it is the easiest to use–hence the reason people use it more often.

iDon’t customize

Apple currently does not allow users to customize the iPhone (i.e. having a real wall paper). So Verizon is dead on about this issue.

iDon’t run widgets

Verizon is right about this one as well. Unless one jailbreaks their iPhone, they can not run awesome widgets like these.

iDon’t allow open development

Apple allows developers to build anything. The only catch is that they have to approve the apps that come through the gate.

While Verizon may boast about Android’s open approach to their SDK, the fact is they have two problems the worry about, the first being “splintering.”

(TechCrunch) Android, an open source operating system, must avoid the fate of J2ME, an open source mobile applications platform. Open source is great, until everyone splinters off into their own world. That’s what happened to J2ME, and a number of frustrated Android developers are now saying that there is a risk Android will follow the same path. [...]

We’ve spoken with a number of high profile Android application developers. All of them, without exception, have told me they are extremely frustrated with Android right now. For the iPhone, they build once and maintain the code base. On Android, they built once for v.1.5, but are getting far less installs than the iPhone.

And now they’re faced with a landslide of new handsets, some running v.1.6 and some courageous souls even running android v.2.0. All those manufacturers/carriers are racing to release their phones by the 2009 holiday season, and want to ensure the hot applications will work on their phones. And here’s the problem – in almost every case, we hear, there are bugs and more serious problems with the apps.

The second major issue is that Verizon has to worry about hackers, who may build an app that hijacks a person’s android phone.

While Google does have a kill switch, it may not be too little, too late, especially if a hacker is able to use his Android app to hijack and steal personal info.

iPhone users do not have to worry about that (as Apple approves what goes in, and has a kill switch just in case anything gets by).

iDon’t take pictures in the dark

Since I have a FastMac battery extender with a built in flash light, this point doesn’t matter to me.

But for those of you who do not, I’d recommend buying one–you can purchase one over here.

iDon’t have interchangeable batteries

This might look like a major issue, but in reality its not.  One only has to look at the Macbook to see why they didn’t allow interchangeable batteries.

Everything iDon’t

There will always be a better phone out there, as there is always engineers creating breakthrough technology.

While I do not have any hate against Android or Verizon (which are both excellent products/services), they need to let other people praise their products, as well as tear down their rivals as well (Apple included).

Verizon seems to be following the footsteps of Sprint, whose Instinct didn’t do to well afterwards (and if you were wondering what happened to that “iPhone Killer,” I am asking the same question and getting blank stares).

While I am glad that Verizon is finally embracing a decent phone (so now my extended family can stop drooling over my iPhone), they need to stop focusing on “the iDevice,” and instead focus on promoting their phones/services.

Unless you are apart of the alternate reality know as the geek-a-sphere, then you probably have not heard about the upcoming Palm Pre, exclusive to Sprint.

While this device rivals the iPhone in several ways (one of them being multitasking), this device is doomed to fail–although through no fault of it’s own (with one exception).

Dude, where’s my App?

After being inspired by jailbreaking hackers, Apple launched an app store which everyone from Google Android to Blackberry copied.

To my knowledge, Apple has over 30,000 apps while Android has a few thousand (note: I have no clue what Blackberry’s numbers are).

If Palm Pre launches without some App momentum behind them, they may not attract many users because their too busy coveting Stanza, Ocarina or Joost which are on the iPhone (but may not be elsewhere).

Solution: Palm Pre needs to entice the iPhone developer community in order to attract the masses by the thousands.

With many iDevelopers in an uproar against Apple over a delay of payment, now would be the perfect time to “steal away” developers from Steve Jobs.

My suggestion? Offer the first 10,000 developers 100% commission for the first month of operation, and extend that offer for another month for those who end up in the top 10.

Compare yourself, with thyself

When Sprint launched the Instinct, one of their first mistakes was comparing themselves against the iPhone. Not only did Apple receive free advertising, but it showed just how clear the screen was.

Palm (and Sprint) should let the pundits compare and contrast the phones, and not marketing execs (unless they want a public backlash).

Palm and Sprint are doing a great job of this this far, although I fear desperation for attention might kick in ruining everything (especially with WWDC rolling around in June).

Solution: Highlight your phone, wait for the Apple mania to pass (give it two weeks) before proceeding to the next idea below.

Palm Pre What?

While many people have heard of Palm–at least in the corporate world–very few in the mainstream have heard of Palm Pre.

Let’s face it, everyone has heard about the iPhone. I know plenty of kids (8 years or younger) who know exactly what an iPhone is and (sadly) think nothing can compare to it.

Suggestion: Since neither Palm or Sprint can match Apple’s market share (at least immediately), my suggestion is they introduce the world to the Palm Pre via talk shows like Oprah and Ellen.

They should focus on why the Palm Pre is “Oprah/Ellen friendly,” and then give one to every member of the audience (with 6 months free service).

This would generate headlines beyond the realm of geek, and help establish Palm as a serious iConpetitor.

Conclusion: You are probaly wondering why I, an iFanatic would seek Palm and Sprint’s success, instead of their demise.

Truth be told while I probably would never exchange my iPhone for a Palm Pre (at least without seriously testing the Pre), I do want a strong rival to appear against Apple, instead of these half baked attempts by the Blackberry Storm (who needs a UI design for their phone) and Google Android (who has a software hardware dissconnect on the HTC).

Palm is currently my best hope that a serious iRival will emerge which will not only save both companies from financial ruin (that would be Palm and Sprint), but it would spare me the agony of hearing “Hi, I’m an iPhone–and hi, I’m an Android Phone” in the not so distant future.

–Posted via iPhone

My iPhone battery extender has just arrived in the mail.

While I didn’t expect it to arrive this early (as the USPS tracker was not updating) I am now glad that I can Tweet/blog/game/do excel sheets/game/heavily edit photos/game/Facebook/friendfeed without having to worry about my battery dying.

– Post From My iPhone