It is a strange irony that is not lost on any of us. The iPhone 4S is announced mid-day on Tuesday, word of Steve Job’s death comes the following evening, and the new iPhone starts pre-orders start at 12:01 AM PST. No doubt some people will suggest it should be delayed. I never had the honor of meeting Jobs, but my guess is he wouldn’t even dignify that with a response, well — maybe a two-word email like “Plans stays…” but not an actual response. So which iPhone 4S to get?
What Color? This is an issue of personal taste, but I find black devices tend to stay looking fresh longer. And if you do find yourself needing a change, there are all kinds of decals you can put on the device to freshen the look. So this is really a toss-up. Personally I’m going black.
What capacity? We finally have the option for 64GB on the iPhone. It is about time and a welcome addition. Sure iCloud is rolling out, and you can easily off-load a lot of you content. Still, with the difference between 32GB and 64GB being just $100 on contract, I will offer my standard rule — if you can afford it, go with the greatest capacity available. You MIGHT not use it all, but if you do find you need it you cannot add storage later on. Start big if humanly possible. I’m getting the 64GB.
Which Carrier? This is either a tough one or a rather easy one. If your family is on one carrier and won’t be switching, it likely makes sense to stay with that carrier. Also, if you still have a grandfathered unlimited data package, then you may want to stay put and hope they continue to honor it. If you are free to choose, you can roll the dice, but as you do — consider this.
AT&T stinks, but on its network you can be on the phone and use the 3G service simultaneously. I’ve heard from a lot of people that they don’t care, but I find there are too many times that I am on the phone and do need to look something up. This “feature” matters.
Verizon stinks, but on its network you won’t be dropping calls nearly as often as you will on AT&T. Although to be fair, we don’t know what, if any, difference the new dual antenna design will have. On Verizon though, on all but some of the 4G/LTE model phones you cannot talk and surf at the same time. Since the iPhone 4 will not be 4G LTE, it is a consideration.
Sprint stinks, and, while I have never used their network, a lot of people I trust and respect have told me horror stories that make me not want to go near them. Still, since Sprint is just now breaking into the iPhone market they are hungry to get customers. I would expect some nice incentives that may make the move worth your while. Personally I detest AT&T, but I have unlimited data and it is what Elana uses so I’m sticking with them… for now.
So my iPhone 4S will be a 64GB Black AT&T version. How about you?