© ljcybergal


This is a big week for the big Apple (not The Big Apple, but Apple Inc.). The .mac service has died and been replaced with MobileMe, iTunes 7.7 is out, and the iPhone firmware 2.0 with the application store is here. They have been busy in Cupertino.

The big news on the minds of Apple fans everywhere is the birth of the iphone 3g. The sleeker, faster, and GPS equipped version of my favorite smartphone is hitting the streets this week, and I am not buying it. Yes, for this edition of Buy This Not That, I am saying buy anything else, not the iPhone 3G - if you already have an iPhone, or if you never wanted the original, there is nothing special about the hardware revision to justify the expense.

What you will get:

• An iPhone with a 3G radio allowing internet access at 2.5 X the speed of the current iPhone.


• A GPS radio.


• Access to the Application Store in iTunes.


• Access to MobileMe via the iPhone firmware 2.0.


• $199 bill for the new iPhone


• $10 a month higher bill (that is $240 over a 2 year contract)


• Same limitations as the old iPhone (no copy/paste, no Bluetooth headphone profiles, iTunes only)

Don't get me wrong, I am a major Apple fanboy; I purchased the original iPhone on day one, and I love it. I will however, for free, receive most of the benefits of the iPhone 3G with my firmware upgrade. With Wifi, which is how I surf 90% of the time, I will kill 3G speeds. Plus, when the next iPhone comes out (probably in one year), I will be ready for a real upgrade - not just a revision.