I will probably not be buying an iPhone 3G.
For starters, in NZ the new Vodafone plans launched for the iPhone are laughably terrible.
It’s a given that no-one is buying an iPhone and not anticipating using it for web browsing and whatnot, so you’d expect that iPhone-specific plans would reflect that with hefty data caps, or maybe even a speed-decrease when you hit the cap instead of an over-use charge.
No.
Vodafone’s iPhone-specific plans are, amazingly, actually worse (for data at least) than even the general voice and data plans they already offered. You might get a few more voice minutes and txts but the data side of it is absolutely terrible. Their iPhone-specific $250/month plan gets you 1GB/month of data. However their generic 3G broadband pro plan gives you 6GB/month for around $100 total, with a $10 discount if you use less than 3G.
So the new hotness plans are, bewilderingly, completely outclassed by their old busted plans.
But yeah, as I say, not really a biggie because you can just buy the handset outright and use it on your old plans, while pointing and laughing at the absurd new ones as they drool in the corner and soil themselves.
The main reason that I won’t be getting one is apple’s fault. I fairly routinely use my current 3G phone as a modem for my laptop. It’s a pretty normal thing to do, actually, if you want to get connectivity remotely. My Nokia N95 does it without any problems at all. It’s so normal and routine in fact, that I didn’t for a moment presume that any modern phone handset wouldn’t do it.
However, I found out today the iPhone does not support it.
At all.
So, I’m afraid that’s a dealbreaker for me – and a very strange piece of functionality for Apple to leave out of a handset made in 2008.
[Edit: I’ve just been informed that there may actually be a way to make this happen. I am investigating. I’m still inclined to let the first wave of 3G iphones be field-tested by others, I think. I’ll just have a play with someone elses and make sure it can do what I want.]