iPhone 4: Letting go of my favorite gadget

I love my iPhone 3gs. I love it more than I loved my original iPhone and I don't doubt that the iPhone 4 is quite possibly the best phone ever made when you account for design, features, construction and user interface. At this point in time I can confidently say that I will be letting go of my iPhone and this is why. (Sorry for the rant)

I've never been one to listen to the banter of the Apple bashing. I know they make expensive products. I know their features aren't always the top of the line. I've purchased my Macbook Pro not because it had the fastest processor, graphic card, or highest resolution screen, but because of how it was made and how it works. The laptop feels great in my hands, with materials that make me want to hold it, running an operating system that seems to have less conflicts than Windows (although I run Windows 7 on it as well and it is a fantastic operating system) and overall I just enjoy using it. I can't say the same for any of my Dell or HP laptops whether the plastic felt cheap, the hardware would fail and I'd wait 3 weeks for a repair, or the operating system would randomly slow to a near halt. I paid the Apple premium and I was happy to do so. If people think its too expensive, that's their prerogative, but between design, function, construction, and usability I'm very happy with my purchase.

I have the same feelings towards the iPhone. Yes, it's expensive and it's on AT&T but the phone works amazingly well. For nearly 3 years I haven't been able to imagine life without my personal assistant and buying my first iPhone was one of the easiest decisions I ever made. Times have changed over the years though and between Android and manufactures stepping up their game, the iPhone isn't the only player in the world of amazing phones. Still, after playing with Droids and other Android sets I still believe the iPhone is the clear winner but there are so many disadvantages to owning one now. AT&T is worse than it ever has been: It's signal strength is dismal, the costs are the highest among all carriers, and if you sign up now you have to pay full price for an extremely small amount of internet. Not only does the service suck, but now the iPhone has a major reception flaw (link at the bottom of the post) that is unacceptable from a product you spend so much money on.

Over the next 6 months there will be a whole lot of new phones coming out as well as Android 3.0. The phones will have better performance and features than the iPhone. The operating system will be better but I don't believe it will be as good as iOS. Hopefully these phones take on better design and construction to go with a very good operating system on any network (Sprint is half the price, Verizon is expensive but is incredibly fast and reliable). Fact is, Apple you blew it. I was faithful to you and your product line but you chose the worst carrier and now your phone isn't up to par. I can't wait to see what phones come out that I'll love more than my current 3GS

Link