Well, I finally gave in and joined the cult of iPhone. At the beginning of this month, I decided to splurge and get an iPhone through Fido, Rogers discount brand. Why? I suppose it had something to do with the extension of the 6GB/$30 “promotion” or the fact that I was able to find a 3GS for sale locally, but mostly it had to do with the fact that I needed a new toy. (Note that the iPhone is hardly a novelty item, with >21 million of them out there)

Keep in mind that I didn’t have a mobile phone until late 2007, and even then I decided to only go with a prepaid provider (Virgin Mobile) because I didn’t have much of a need for a phone, but really just wanted Internet access. However, this past summer my phone got more use than usual, especially with regard to Internet access. With Internet browsing being anemic on most non-smartphones, I decided it was time to upgrade.

I narrowed my choices down to two: Either the Palm Pre or the iPhone 3GS. However, I wasn’t very pleased with what plans Bell had to offer and wasn’t sure if the Pre developer ecosystem (and thus the applications available) would turn out to be as varied as the iPhone. So, I decided to join the cult.

Another reason that led me down this path was the fact that I already had an iPod Touch from earlier in the year, and so I was already used to the iPhone interface. (I’ve since sold the Touch) And yes, I do realize in that very article I berated the monthly cost of the iPhone only to now end up doing a complete 180 on the situation. It’s not that I’m happy with what I’m paying, but rather that I’m willing to suck it up. Such is the power of the cult, and perhaps one of the reasons for the iPod Touch’s existence – to suck users into getting an iPhone. After all, Steve Jobs did describe it as “training wheels for the iPhone”, but perhaps “gateway drug to the iPhone” would be more accurate.

Fido actually had some okay plans; okay for Canada that is. In the end, I’m paying just about $80 CAD a month. (including taxes) It’s about $50 more than I was paying for my old phone, which is quite a bit, but the iPhone has been invaluable in the intervening period after moving where I didn’t have Internet access at home. We’ll see if it doesn’t lose its appeal in the coming months.

In the meantime, however, it’s been a blast. There are literally too many apps out there to try, so I’ve only had a chance to play with the more popular ones. Some of my favourites include the AllRecipies dinner spinner, Wikipanion, Restaurantica (which I’m surprised isn’t promoted more on their website), and of course, Shazam, the accuracy of which continues to amaze me!

But the most useful features for me have been the always-available easy-to-use Internet access and the access to Google Maps overlaid with GPS. It’s been invaluable, especially after moving to a new city. Without it, I’d literally have been lost more than once.

Despite all the positive features, there are still some sore points. Firstly, battery life on the 3GS is atrocious, as reports have indicated. On a full charge, I can barely last two days with moderate data usage, some music playback and hardly any YouTube/video usage. Be prepared for the daily recharge should you get this phone.

Additionally, being an Apple product the iPhone looks very attractive but is a dirt/dust/fingerprint magnet. Even with the new oleophobic coating (fancy word for anti-fingerprint) you’ll still probably want to get a screen protector and case for this device. I’ve opted for the Speck PixelSkin, which I believe is one of the better cases out there, as it’s tough, rigid and adds a nice grip to the iPhone.

Lastly, there are no good default ringtones supplied with the iPhone! I don’t need some fancy pop-music ringtone, I just want something that sounds normal. Thankfully, a coworker directed me to the perfect iPhone ringtone, and I’ve since been happy with it.

I’ll leave you with some comparison pictures of the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch 2nd generation.

I finally caved and got a mobile/cellphone after years of seeing pretty much everyone around me, from grandmas to infants, use the devilish things. What prompted my conversion? Well, the main reason I never bought into one before was my fear of contracts – it seems that to get a decent price on a cellphone, you have to sign into a three-year contract, with the threat of huge cancellation fees should you decide that the service isn’t for you. I never really liked that and more importantly, didn’t really need a mobile phone in the first place, so paying all this extra cash just didn’t make sense.

However, I recently became aware of Virgin Mobile Canada’s $10 dollar unlimited data plan, which began back in October. As with all other Virgin-branded mobile services around the world, VMC is a MVNO, meaning they buy time from a carrier that owns the actual infrastructure (in this case, Bell Mobility) and resell/re-brand it as their own service. They also offer a pre-paid service plan so pay-as-you-go is an option. (Though that will be changing soon.)

This suited me perfectly. I wasn’t planning on talking a lot on my phone, but I wanted something that I could use to access the Internet to check e-mail and IM without being charged ridiculous rates for data transfers. I’m currently signed up for VMC’s $10 unlimited data plan and I don’t pay any more than the $10 plus tax per month. Virgin doesn’t have any poppycock like “network access” fees or “911″ fees, so what I’m signed up for is what I pay. If I do make calls, I pay by the minute, but since I don’t anticipate heavy usage that won’t be a problem. If needed, I can switch to a proper voice plan; their offerings seem pretty fair.

I do hope that the move to a subscription-based model does not negatively affect how I use my phone.

The Phone

I decided to go with the Samsung M510 since that was one of two phones that Virgin offered that supported EV-DO and that they would let you use with their $10 unlimited data plan. (The other was the Moto KRZR, but I wasn’t going to drop $300 on that) Futureshop had it on sale this weekend for $180, so perhaps that also prompted my decision.

My initial impressions of the service and the phone were very positive. (Though this is coming from someone with zero experience with mobiles) You have to activate the phone yourself over the Internet at Virgin’s website, but the process was entirely pain free. One hour later, I received a text message on my phone informing me it was now activated!

I’ll post a full review of the Samsung M510 and Virgin Mobile Canada’s service after I’ve had some experience with it. Right now, it’s just like a toy and I can’t seem to get enough of it, which might be clouding my judgment…