A bit of our life, in words.

So I went ahead and did it last week. I just couldn’t resist having e-mail and web access (almost) anywhere I go for $20/month. It’s great, and with the latest update just released today for the iPhone, it makes it even better. My only complaint so far: 3G phones have better reception. (My blackjack was 3G)

And I’m not complaining about the slowness of the EDGE network the iPhone uses; I’m just talking about the quality of voice calls, and the signal strength where I go. When we were in the hospital last Friday visiting Pam’s dad after he had some surgery, I had No Service throughout the whole building. Pam’s phone was at least on “Extended Network”, obviously struggling to get a signal, but got one none the less. I was just dead in the water.

There are spots too, if it’s not just right, I get a horrible signal. Luckily it’s just barely not bad enough to ruin the experience, but it does put a damper on it. I feel like I’m taking two steps forward and one step back. I never had to worry about signal or battery life with my blackjack… but now I find I’m always checking to see if I have a signal so I don’t miss a call, or that I may have to hunt down a signal if I’m in a building.

Ironically, this is exactly what the AT&T guy at the store warned me about. When I asked him if he had any iPhones, his immediate response was “is there a particular reason you needed the iPhone? Or does it just look cool?”. He then proceeded to pull his own iPhone out and tell me the problems he has with it; which include having to go outside to make/take a phone call sometimes cause of poor signal strength.

We’ll see, I have another 8 or 9 days to take it back if I’m unhappy!