iphone should i wait??!!

[studioprisoner]

lol, grats on the xbox purchase, i love mine COD4 live is awesome

[SheepdogMama]

It doesnt help that I am brand new to the whole apple thing but I am hooked now and dont even know about the i-phone except that I want one, & am going to have one, but cant find one anywhere at present -- I called athe apple store in Lousivlle ( i live 55 miles away) and they were polite but could not give me any info nor does the online store have any available -- so can anyone help me -- what is this 3g thing people are talking about and will the battery go dead on me fast...also with ATT is the internet extra for the iphone?

thanks all

[baseballboy828]

iPhones are out of stock at most Apple stores. It is predicted that a 3G iPhone will be released very soon. The current iPhone models use AT&T's Edge network. 3G is a faster standard, and will make browsing the internet over AT&T's network much faster. 3G does deplete the battery quicker, and in current beta builds of the next software release, there is an option to turn it off. This option will almost definitely carry into the final release. AT&T offers special plans for the iPhone. All of these come with unlimited data access. Here is the plan list:



I suggest waiting until the next revision of the iPhone comes out. It will include 3G, and probably several other additions.

[notabadname]

I expect the 3G service to be under an additional data plan over the existing plans. I would be more than surprised if they offer "unlimited data" over 3G at $59.99/month, with voice. Currently, ATT's 3G capable data plan with tethering (that allows your broadband phone to be used via bluetooth with your laptop), which uses 3G, is $65/month with a 5GB limit. I bet we see a price closer to $100/month for 5GB of Data via 3G, unlimited edge, 450 anytime minutes and 5000 nights and weekends.

The other big question out there is if there will be a GPS capability. The new phone (according to numerous leaks, including leaks of the new 3rd party cases to hold it) are that the phone will be thicker. Likely due to the antenna for 3G, as well as a larger battery to preserve similar performance with higher drain of 3G. If they squeeze in the GPS as well, the phone will truly be a knock out punch to the industry. The business travelers would be trading in their Blackberrys in a hurry. But GPS is certainly on the fringe of speculation about new features - but I can still dream.

[SheepdogMama]

babeballboy28 thank you for the info -- I am illiterate for this more in depth techno stuff like the 3g stuff and all the more in depth stuff the phone is being used for by you techies but I am adament on becoming involved and learning..... do you think they are going to add other networks to the game? also is the price going to go up with the new 3g network in your opinion? I want the bigger (16 gb) phone and think at 500 its a stretch but am going to go for it just the same as having email and everything with me at all times is so appealing... I hate that we havent a choice for the newtwork though.... thanks again

[notabadname]

All the rumors have been that ATT penned a 2 year exclusive deal with Apple for the iPhone, with some rumors saying that ATT had options to take the exclusive deal longer after 2 years. But the longer term would supposedly be very expensive to ATT, and the phone becoming available to other carriers after 2 years would be pretty likely. I seriously doubt a move away from ATT in the next (second) year of the iPhone.

If it were to become available with other carriers, it would be awesome. The discount battles to get you to buy it from competing carriers would just about make the phone free.

[baseballboy828]

As for using other carriers, only GSM carriers can be used. There are two types of radios in cell phones: GSM and CDMA. Basically, everyone uses GSM except for Verizon and Sprint in the U.S. There are other minor carriers using it, but those are the two major ones. The iPhone has a GSM radio, meaning it cannot be used with Verizon or Sprint. Current iPhones can be unlocked to work with other GSM carriers, such as T-Mobile.

Version 2 of the iPhone software will probably break most if not all unlocking techniques, but the hackers will find their way back in. I assume Apple will let other carriers have at the iPhone after their contract with AT&T is up. With the success of the iPhone, other carriers will offer Apple a heck of a deal to have the iPhone.

[SheepdogMama]

okay so what do I need to do to get my hands on the iphone -- att store has a few left but they are the original 8 or 16 and apple online stores have none and the apple store in loiusvill has none... this is telling me that maybe all the rumors are true and a second gen of iphone is going to be anounced at that world wide convention in 2 weeks (is it june 10th?)-- do you think I am on track here -- if so -- will I need to camp out at the apple store after that to get the phone -- when will they make it available and how soon can I find out ? I just dont want to miss out -- this time I want one....Thnaks so much for the info and help --

[baseballboy828]

The WWDC Keynote is on June 9th. We may very well know more then. I would wait until the announcement of a second-generation iPhone to make any purchasing decisions.

[notabadname]

Other than Apple making an announcement, nothing is "for sure". But with all the other evidence, most of which is very credible, it seems all but certain there will be an announcement of the new iPhone at the DC. But the announcement could be about a July release. I certainly would not buy a current iPhone, even if you found one, unless: 3G is not an issue for you, larger memory capacity is not an issue, and possibly (although I think this one is wishful thinking) GPS is not an issue.

The final answer though to your "how soon can I find out?" question is: When Apple announces it. Everything else, and I mean everything else, is just speculation.

The only other iPhone fact, because it came from Apple and Jobs, is that we will get a software update to 2.0 which will permit the use of 3rd Party Apps soon to be available at iTunes. That is next month. But that doesn't require a new iPhone to be released in June.