AT&T unveils 5x Edge speed increase for iPhone launch
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
I was SO not planning to get an iPhone. Really I wasn’t. The rumored plan costs of $100 a month had my mind firmly planted in the “I can live without it” camp. Then Apple announced the iPhone’s plans would start at $60.
hmm…
OK, well, now I CAN afford the monthly plan… but, really, aside from the coolness of the interface (I tried to reason) the only thing really different about the iPhone to me would be the web browser, and according to reviews, that is apparently just to darn sow at the moment.
Well, looks like AT&T may have addressed the only legitimate criticism levied against the iPhone.
According to numerous forum reports, AT&T has boosted the speeds on the Edge data network the iPhone will be using. Users who were seeing download speeds of 40 kb/s just last week are now reporting speeds close to 200 kb/s. Some are speculating that AT&T may even be unveiling their rumored “Fine Edge” plan.
Damn! i REALLY didn’t feel like standing in line today…
Wow. That’s excellent. I have been battling with myself over whether or not the iPhone will be my phone when my Verizon contract ends in October. This development combined with the fact that my iPod just met a scalding hot green tea death last week is making my decision much easier.
Head on down to the AT&T store. There are no lines.
Yeah, but Apple stores are where the fun is. It’s hard to feel warm and cuddly about AT&T. We’re just nice to them because their Uncle Steve’s “friend.” 😉
Hey, I read the Edge runs 75 – 135 Kps. If dial up were that fast 3/4 of us wouldn’t have DSL or cable modems!
Once again people/press is playing games with relative terms in order to make a terrific product appear weak. Yes it doesn’t do 10 MPS, but who needs 10 MPS to read a web page?
Call me a grumpy gus, but the iPhone in spite of the hip and cool factor is still just another flash in the pan new cell phone. Web browser? “Yehaww.. hot dang the interweb email and a teli-phone in one.” Now don’t get me wrong, as handheld electronic devices go they are cool with their touchscreen interface; very state of the art, but c’mon folks. Let go of Steve Job’s marketing weener just for one minute and be rational. In two weeks after having it when the novelty is gone it’s a cell phone. It won’t get you laid more. It won’t make you more money. It won’t make food taste better. While you’re huddled in the corner of the nearest coffee house watching tiny movies on your phone I’ll be enjoying them at the local cinema or on netflix on a large screen TV and I’ll still be ahead by 700 bucks.
My advice to all the people who think the iPhone is the next coming of Christ is to invest another 400 and get a cheap MacBook, or …just do nothing. You’ll look back at your enormous and ugly original iPhone in 1 or 2 years when these kind of things are given away for 150 bucks with every 2 year wireless agreement and wish you’d had the savvy to just keep your card in your pants.
Grumpy gus
Gus,
It will make me more money – the Visual Voicemail alone will save me at least 15 – 20 minutes a day plus major stress.
And are you so sure that they won’t license Active Exchange — and maybe get non-Yahoo push??!?!?!? Or are you just complaining and not talking about the real world?
1) Why buy first generation? It may not have a single problem, but the second generation is likely better, and worth waiting for. If, in a month or two, everything is great with G1, and G2 isn’t in the rumor mill, get the G1.
2) What kind of nitwit pays $600 for a freaking phone? You need a computer, so the phone actually costs you about $1500 to start (from scratch). And the computer already does the surfing, your iPod already does the music( and this is barely a nano), and your free phone from Verizon already does the mobile calling. What do you get for $600? Internet access while you ride the train to work, and a bigger too-small video player? And what percent of people actually use mass transit?
I love my Mac. I love my iPod. I don’t bother with a mobile phone (you can get me at home or the office; my time in the car or on the train is MINE). This is profligate spending. I’d love to have one, but not at this price.
Knock it down to $200 and I’ll start to think about it. But not until my iPod starts to die. If my iPod dies in the next 10 months, I’ll go to $300, because that’s what AMEX will pay to replace it!
The iPhone is an overhyped turd.