The iPhone has been one of the best "lust after" devices for a couple of years now. I've had my Apple iPhone 2G for over year and have pretty much felt like a "one device" man ... although I've also kept my Palm Treo, as backup as well. However, I've recently begun lusting after the new Palm Pre for a number of reasons, including Apple's WiFi woes and AT&T's outrageous "take it or leave it" pricing plans.
A couple of weeks ago I was on a trip to Cabo San Lucas where I could only get WiFi access in the lobby of the hotel. I figured, heck, that's ok, since I was on vacation anyway. One morning I snuck downstairs to the lobby to check up on work. I smugly walked past others clicking away on their chunky laptops holding my sexy Apple iPhone. To my dismay over the next 20 - 30 minutes I could not get a WiFi connection.
I shifted from one end of the lobby (a big one indeed) to the other, but still could not find a WiFi connection. I even sat next to one of thos e "silly" laptop owners who was happily working away on her WiFi connected laptop. For the life of me I could not figure out what was going and finally gave up in disgust.
Later in the evening I brought my laptop to the lobby (yes, I always bring it as a backup) and got connected to WiFi in a split second. I didn't think much of it for the rest of the trip, even as we went to another resort with the same problem.
Finally returning home, I started investigating the forums and discovered that the Apple iPhone WiFi woes began with upgrading to the OS 3.0 operating system. It appears that there is some coding problem, which Apple had been trying to "keep quiet." Why? I ask you. Fix it!
Now, my partner, recently bought a Palm Pre about 2 months ago. He was so excited about it and told me all of the great benefits of the Pre over the Apple iPhone, including the ability to multi-task AND it's physical keyboard.
I had been a fan of Palm for many years, including, as I mentioned still owning a Palm Treo 700p. So, owning a Palm Pre was not necessarily out of the question. But, was really making me consider switching back is the vi sion of my buddy, who traveled to Thailand and Laos, without a problem at all connecting on WiFi with his Palm Pre.
This WiFi problem that Apple still has not corrected is just one of the reasons that I am considering switching to the Palm Pre. The other major reason is AT&T's outrageous pricing plans. They seem to take the stance that "if you want the Apple iPhone", you have no choice. But, we now DO have a choice.
You see, AT&T charges a $30 data plan and a minimum $5 for only 200 text messages a month. They recently came out with a t $15 data plan but that is only to use their MUCH slower Edge network, not the 3G network. Sprint, on the other hand, has a $10 unlimited data plan and a $20/month texting for the whole family. If you do the math, you'll see that AT&T really knows how to gouge people.
If Steve Jobs really wants the Apple iPhone to be the "new PC", they have got to fix the WiFi problem, open up their closed walls and get AT& T to open their eyes ... there's a new real competitor out there.
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