A Mobile Phone Quandary

If you are reading this blog, or have seen a computer, newspaper, television, or any other media device in the past week, you know that last Friday Apple released the new iPhone 3G.

The vast majority of what I have read has been in glowing praise of the new iPhone. Despite the major issues experienced at Apple and AT&T stores across the country last Friday, everyone who has one seems to love it. I have been suffering from a severe case of iPhone envy over the past week.

There are now also tons of very useful applications that you can download to your iPhone. Mike got one that allows him control his computer’s iTunes via the Airport Express directly from his iPhone. This is only one small example, but there are many out there.

Now, let’s look at my current mobile device situation.

In April 2007, I decided that I needed a Smartphone that would allow me to access email, browse the web, and do other related tasks. At that time I left Verizon, which has a great network in Maryland and never gave me any problems. The only issue with them was that their data plans were quite expensive.

So, in the interest of saving a few bucks a month, I switched to T-Mobile and got my current Blackberry. The T-Mobile network is probably the worst I have experienced. I get absolutely no service within 2 miles of my office. Now, granted, we’re out in the woods a bit, but most people get as least some reception.

My contract with T-Mobile does not run out until the end of April 2009. This is 9 full months. So, the ultimate question is this. Is it worth spending the $200 cancellation fee in order to get an iPhone?