If You're an Original iPhone Owner – Then What?

I used to love PCs.

I remember arguing with Mac people, insisting that most of the software I bought was only made for PCs so I had to stick with them. My sisters were some of the strongest advocates for Macs. We would debate pros and cons until they would give up, throw their arms up in the air and say things like, "Suit yourself! Maybe someday you’ll understand."

Somehow, one of them convinced me to get an iPod for my hubby for his birthday. Shortly after that we bought our first Mac. It was one of those sleek, shiny MacBook devices. That Mac led to another iPod, then another Mac, then another iPod and, before I knew it, I was seeking out information on that mysterious new device that was supposed to change the way all phones were made – they called it the iPhone.

I wanted one, but I was not about to stand in line for hours to buy it. On a fateful night last June, we coincidentally decided to go out for dinner – to a restaurant in a shopping mall that just happened to have an Apple store. We passed by the unreasonably long lines as we walked to get to the restaurant, enjoyed a long, leisurely meal and started to head out to the car. But, in order to get to the car, well, we just had to walk past the Apple store again…but this time the pull was too much. It seemed like a huge, sleek, well-designed Mac magnet gripped me and wouldn’t let go.

"Oh, what the heck. Kids, go run over and see how long the line is," I commanded, without any idea where my boundary lay. Would I stand in line if the wait were 15 minutes? What about an hour? Two hours?

One of my kids ran back and excitedly reported, "Mom, the line is like nothing compared to what it was when we first got here. DD is already in line! Come on, Mom, you have to do it. You know how much you want one."

Mmm, err, yeah. I do…

In the next instant, I was hustling my way down the hall to the line where my daughter stood, smiling like she just caught a blue marlin . It’s so sweet when your kids are so … supportive. Isn’t it? Thanks, sweetie.

I’ll always remember the next thirty minutes of my life. Sounds crazy, maybe, but I will. The employees of that Apple store were so efficient, courteous and enthusiastic, I think they should provide instruction to places like Office Depot, Circuit City or even the Post Office. The line moved swiftly and, as I walked through the doors of the store, several Apple folks had their arms in the air, their hands poised to meet mine with a high five as they exclaimed, "Congratulations! You’re getting an iPhone!" It was exciting.

Then, I carried it home, waiting to make the opening into a moment. When I walked in the door, I just looked at the sleek, well-designed shopping tote specially made for the iPhone. I set it on the counter. Then, slowly, I reached down into it and lifted out the gorgeous, sleek, brilliantly-designed box. So small yet housing so much wonder and fun. The experience felt just slightly surreal.

Activation of my phone service was seamless, so within a very short period of time my iPhone was up and running.

Skip ahead a year or so and guess what? I still love my iPhone.

So when I heard the news about this new 3G iPhone being released July 11 all sorts of things raced through my mind.

Will it make mine obsolete? Am I essentially going to be penalized for being an early adopter? If so, how could they do this to me – a loyal Apple/Mac devotee. Will my iPhone be just another phone? A has-been? A good-for-a-year but rendered obsolete product? The kind of thing where the patient people who waited for the price to come down will look at those of us who jumped right in and say, "Yeah, see? You should’ve waited." More importantly, would I feel as if I had to buy another iPhone? Or, horror of horrors, even start considering other phones?

Then, just this week I read a wonderful article by David Pogue. You know, he’s the New York Times technology guru, better known in my family as the guy who had me singing the "I Want an iPhone" song (sung to the tune of Sinatra’s My Way) so much that my kids knew the whole song by heart.

Bottom line?

Owners of the original iPhone will reap the rewards of the new software, will be able to play new, exciting games, use a better (scientific) calculator and choose from a vast array of cool applications from the Apple App Store.

Yes!

The only thing we won’t have is the increased internet speed (2.4 x faster) from the third generation (3G) technology. But, I don’t mind. Would I like a faster connection? Sure! But, as mentioned in Pogue’s article, the network is not yet functional in much of the United States.

So, if you have an iPhone all you’ll have to do on Friday is sync your phone in your usual way, then update your iTunes and update your iPhone software and you’ll enjoy all sorts of new features, applications and games. Free!

Now I’m excited! I can’t wait to play Monkey Ball on my updated iPhone!!

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Here’s a link to a guided tour if you want more info…