What is going to be an endless question for a little while now will be, “should I buy the iPhone 3g?” The answer, sadly, is “yes and no.”
If you already have an iPhone from the original 2007 release, your answer is going to be a tricky one. The first things you need to do is ask yourself if you will really need the new features.
Do you really need the faster 3G speed for viewing websites?
If you are satisfied with the current speeds the EDGE technology gives you, than you would have to go with no. Sure, 3G would be nice, but is it worth enough to make you upgrade so soon?
Do you really need the built-in GPS?
The GPS is a really stellar bonus to the new iPhone 3G, and the ability to add geotags to your images will be nice, but true mapping functions will be a killer update to the iPhone’s functions. However, you’ve lived without this feature for the past year, will it change your life enough to want to buy a whole new phone?
What about the new third-party applications?
Current iPhone users will get to enjoy all the iPhone apps without any worry when they release the new software update in early July. This update will be free, so at no extra cost you will get this new function.
What about the new Apple online service, MobileMe?
MobileMe is an exciting new product from Apple that will allow you to share email, calendars, files and more across multiple devices such as Macs, PCs, the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It will work with the current iPhone also at release.
In short, if you have the current iPhone, you will just have to weigh how important these new features are. Personally I would say most current owners could wait on them until their 2-year contracts expire with AT&T in 2009 (or later, depending on when you signed up).
For people who don’t currently have an iPhone, and have been sitting on the fence, this is what you were waiting for. Buy it, but it now. $199 for 8 GB and $299 for 16 GB with GPS and 3G is a heck of a deal… if you didn’t already buy one.
