I... couldn't... resist...

Already while I was writing the other post about the iPhone, I was thinking: "But, who are you kidding?" Then I was a few days with my head spinning, doing what all addicts do: finding reasons to keep feeding your addiction. So, there are several reasons which convinced me to buy an iPhone:

• The $60 for the service you have to pay anyway. Since I arrived on August 8th, until the 31st, I had paid over $50 to the pre-paid T-mobile service, so at that going rate I would have paid more than $60 every month. Moreover, the $60 from AT&T include unlimited internet, the other one doesn't (no internet at all).


• The fact that you can buy it refurbished on the Apple web site for $399. Apple gives the exact same warranty to the refurbished devices than to the regular ones.


• That unlocking is already possible, although still not available to the general public. It will be soon. Can't stop the unstoppable.


• That probably I will be able to sell it at a reasonable price when I go back to Barcelona.


• That the iPhone is the coolest device available right now, by far.
  

So, a few days ago I gave in, and I am now the proud owner of a 4GB iPhone.

The truth is that it's really awesome. What's more impressive to me is the maps, an icon takes you directly to Google Maps, and you can see a map of any area (in the world) covered by Google Maps. It's like having a world map in your pocket. And this is possible because the iPhone is permanently connected to the Internet. If there is a Wi-Fi available it uses that, and if not, it connects via the AT&T EDGE network. It's kind of slow (2.5G, between 70 and 135kbps, about twice as fast as the old modems), but it works. It's expected the European version will have 3G, which is more developed in Europe than in the US.

I configured my email right away, and now I can see my email directly in the iPhone. It updates the mailbox every 15 minutes. Actually that takes away one of the pleasures of the internet we had grown used to: getting home and going directly to the computer to see which emails have arrived during your absence. Now you can read them as they arrive.

It has a few drawbacks. The browser does not accept Flash, and it's ridiculous how many pages nowadays use Flash. Only Youtube works, because of the special agreement between Apple, AT&T and Google, the same agreement that makes Google maps work. Then, the fact that it's not 3G. On top of this, Apple has restricted the Bluetooth capabilities, it only lets you pair it with a hands-free device, and not with a computer or with another Bluetooth phone. I guess they don't want you to use the iPhone as a modem. But the biggest drawback is the price. I believe they would have sold twice as many at 299 or something like that.

In any case, I am sooo happy :)