iPhone Lovin’

This post is inspired by Well-Heeled and Always The Planner”. Both of these lovely blogettes have expressed a desire in owning the iPhone although presenting differing perspectives on that desire.

So, uh, my name is Investing Newbie and I own an iPhone.

Hi, Investing Newbie.

I actually got my first (I know, this will be discussed momentarily) in December of 2008. It was a sad, sad time in my life and my parents understand that material things were probably the best bet in turning that frown upside down. It worked. It was a 16G iPhone 3G with a white back. I didn’t need too much of a tutorial as my brother was an employee of Apple and bought the very first iPhone (and every iPhone thereafter). I only loved the iPhone because I could access the internet during work hours. It was tough being away from FaceBook for 10 hours a day, but once I got my iPhone, I was always on. LITERALLY.

Fast forward three months. To protect the innocent as well any shards of dignity I have left after that night in Philadelphia I’ll just only state that I lost the iPhone. No further comments.

Carrying on… Without a doubt, I knew I had to get another iPhone. Luckily for me, I had an upgrade available. This meant I paid $199 for the iPhone rather than the full $599. That was the main motivator. But I also thought that any other phone after 5 good minutes with an iPhone feels like a serious downgrade. Well, any phone that doesn’t have similar capabilities. It would have to be a touchscreen, with camera/GPS/internet/iPod/downloading app capabilities. Very few phones actually have all of those components. So, I knew another iPhone was the answer.

I’ve had this phone for about 8 months now. It now has a cracked screen. Sigh, I know. This screen is so cracked that Apple refused to replace it because it looks like intentional damage was inflicted. Oh really, Apple? I intentionally damaged my screen? It couldn’t have been the fact that I was my dog was annoying me and I got up but forgot that my iPhone landed screen first on concrete? No? It can’t be that? Because that was the true story.

Having the iPhone hasn’t been a pure love story. My apps crash at least once a week. A crash usually is when the app freezes and then seconds later you are returned to the home screen. Not sure what you call when the whole screen freezes and you have to shut off the phone. That happens a lot too. Also, AT&T just doesn’t have the infrastructure for the amount of people that are using the 3G network. This isn’t an iPhone issue per se, but it is a consequence of AT&T being the sole distributor of the iPhone. Don’t try to make a call during lunch or right after work, because it won’t go through. And if it does go through, it will get dropped. Lastly, the fees are pretty hefty for owning an iPhone. Thankfully I’m on a family plan, so I pay about $60/month to have unlimited text, unlimited data (a requirement) and I guess some minutes, but who actually calls people these days? Furthermore, my company provides a small, but helpful discount on the phone bill. Without the family plan or discount, you’re looking at spending nearly $100/month on the plan if you have similar features.

Questions?

Wasn’t this post supposed to be about loving the iPhone?

Haha. I do love the iPhone. I’m pretty sure that I will probably have this phone for the rest of my life. Not this particular phone, but an iPhone. Overall, the iPhone is convenient. It does everything you could ever want a phone to do and more. One of my favorite apps is the GPS. All I have to do type what I want and then bam, I’m presented with all the options within 20 miles. I can get directions from where I am to any of those options and that includes driving, public transportation and walking. The iPhone saved my life the one night I had that weird craving for Taco Bell.

You just shouldn’t have a craving at 12 AM for Taco Bell. It’s just not right.

All in all, I do LOVE the iPhone. Aside from its obvious convenience, it is a leader in the smartphone industry. Personally, I think it goes beyond that. It is a wunderkind, a sui generis, unique to the point where you will have to place it in a league of its own.