[iPhone] IPHONE FREAKY FRIDAY!

Hello true believers! Today is the day that the iPhone is released from AT&T stores and Apple stores...how exciting, eh? I've purposely been avoiding posting news bits about it all week, just because the whole net is FLOODED with stuff about the iPhone. Instead, like many of you, I've been keeping abreast of what is going on without trying to read the same junk over and over again.

With lines forming all across the country for this cool new device, there are plenty of questions about what it can and can't do. One of the prevalent discussions is about the iPhone using the EDGE network over the 3G one. This morning, I read an interview that Steve Jobs and AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson gave to the Wall Street Journal, that addressed a couple of key questions, including the one about the 3G/EDGE networks. The primary concern of a lot of folks is that the EDGE network is way too slow to handle full internet applications, even if it is great at handling maps and email. According to Jobs, they knew that going into this whole iPhone deal...and that is why they integrated Wi-Fi into the device. Now it can piggyback nearly everywhere there is an open Wi-Fi source...granting it great speeds for internet easily. The best part about that, the device is configured to just find the Wi-Fi automatically...no having to find it yourself.

Of course this could lead to more people actually turning on security for their wireless networks...I had this discussion with my girlfriend's parents...as they never turned any kind of security on for their network...and I'm willing to bet half their neighborhood is piggybacking their Wi-Fi. Anyway, I digress. According to the article, T-Mobile just launched a service that allows cellphone calls to roam onto wi-fi networks...supposedly to help users get better coverage and save a little on their cell bills each month. We could likely see more use of Wi-Fi in years to come, and less of the 3G, especially with things like the import ban on items with 3G chips.

We'll have a lot to see about in the coming weeks and months after the release.

What say all of you, dear readers?

-Mike Leader