Dreams Do Come True

http://www.apple.com/iphone/phone/

Finally...what everyone (well, every Apple geek) is waiting for. At this year's MacWorld convention in San Francisco, Apple introduced their iPhone. It's a cellular phone, iPod music player with widescreen video capability, Wi-Fi/EDGE capabilities with Safari, including Google and Yahoo search, and quad band. Available memory is 8GB for the music part, much like the Nano, touch screen features (no stylus to use or lose!). The advanced tech sensors alone will make every phone maker drool with envy. It is unlocked to enable consumers to just pop in their SIM cards from their current providers and it's good to go. It is suppose to retail for $499 but that is not set yet. The device is not yet available; it has to meet some legal stuff.

This phone should wake up other makers. The iPod has become the industry standard in portable music players. There is no doubt that the telephone part of the device would be, too. It is also a wake up call to U.S. wireless providers who keep insisting in releasing the stupidest, dumb-down versions of really good phones out there.

Why does Asia and the rest of the world have access to great phones but not the U.S. market? U.S. wireless providers do not want all that competition and has a monopoly on what type and kind of phone will get released here. But U.S. consumers are also getting smart and are refusing to settle for mediocre phones and are using the internet to search for great phones. I know of some friends who have great looking, technologically advanced phones which will never be released here. And that's the other difference. While the U.S. has "calling plans"where consumers are contractually bound for up to two years, most countries have the "pay as you go" system. The 3G system in the U.S. is so primitive that no one even bothers with it. In fact, only one carrier has the telephone needed to use the system and their infrastructure sucks. Add to that the matter of cost of the service.

There's a lot riding on the release of this phone. I am hoping that U.S. wireless carriers see the futility of their monopoly on what cell phones will be released over here. I, for one, am getting the Apple phone even if they price at $1K...because am self-proclaimed Apple geek and I want a better phone. And to thumb my nose at wireless carriers here which I already have been doing by buying my last three phones outside the country!