My CrackBerry and My SighPhone
by Kara Swisher
Posted on June 11, 2008 at 9:46 AM PT
With the drop in price of the iPhone in its new 3G mode to the low, low price of $199, Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs was signaling that he was pricing them to move.
Or, as the old retail cliche goes: Stack them high and watch them fly.
The bid to bring the groundbreaking smartphone to the masses is a good thing, of course, in order to move its influence well beyond the early-adopter crowd and generally elite market that it has been most popular in.
I was one of those customers, of course, buying an iPhone almost as soon as it was available.
But, from reports, even though the 2.0 version is obviously better (although I have yet to see one), I will not be doing that again when the new iPhone 3G (pictured here) comes out in a few weeks.
Why not?
No, it is not because AT&T’s (T) network is so weak–as it has been for me–because I am already locked into a two-year contract anyway from my first iPhone.
No, it is not because I am cheap either–I will buy any gadget that shows up on my doorstep.
No, it is not because I don’t admire the iPhone for many of its qualities, such as its spectacular touchscreen, Web and multimedia experience (although a better camera would be nice).
It’s actually because of the same rap everyone has made on the first iPhone–the virtual keyboard that I still find irksome to use, which makes my email and texting experience completely frustrating.
Add to that the continued lack of a cut-and-paste function–it makes the decision not to upgrade an easy one.
On the other hand, I will be first in line to decide on which of the next versions of the RIM (RIMM) BlackBerry I will happily overpay for.
That would either be the BlackBerry Bold (pictured here), a tasty-looking upgrade to the traditional one with better everything (screen, multimedia, connection).
This is an easy yes for me, because I have been a fan of the BlackBerry from its block-of-soap format to now, largely due to its huge usefulness as a communications device.
True story of my obsession: I was clicking away and sending updates, right up until the drugs kicked in as I was wheeled into the delivery room when I was having my son.
I know, I know! I am a freak.
But the thing is exceedingly useful to me and has been, as I often joke, one of the most reliable relationships of my life.
That’s why I am a bit wary of the second possible BlackBerry choice–its iPhone-copycat called the Thunder.
Despite my so-so-experience with the iPhone, I do love its touchscreen technology, a feature I miss with my standard-issue BlackBerry.
So, that will obviously be the most attractive part of the Thunder to me.
My great hope, of course, will be that it will have more than a virtual keyboard, but one with real keys to click.
Because the lack of one is a nonstarter for me, which is exactly why my iPhone 1.0 has become a glorified and much more expensive iPod Touch for me.
(By the way, here’s a post on Walt Mossberg’s first impressions of the iPhone 3G and here’s a Voices piece by Dan Gillmor, who is also dubious about getting one.)
