Need a new phone - should iPhone?

I would wait two weeks. You are going to keep it two years. Two weeks and $100 is not a big difference considering the long term use. Your next question is 8GB, 16GB or 32GB?

I have a Blackberry Curve and I love it. I wanted a real keypad instead of a touch pad. Will you email people from your phone? If you do, you might miss the keypad, but then some people LOVE the touch keypad. Best thing to do is probably go look at the iPhone and see how you like the way it feels. Biggest advantage of the iPhone is that there are more apps than any other smart phone at this point. That said, it's not the phone for everyone. I know you say that you won't text much with it, but I find myself answering emails on my phone all the time even though I'm not a huge fan of texting either. You'll use the keypad more than you think once you have the smartphone. One of the guys who teaches guitar in my shop has a Blackberry Curve and he has a program called "Word To Go", which is totally compatible with Microsoft Word...he does homework for his college classes on it. Small keypad, but it works well for him. My Samson/Zoom/Hartke/Walden and Jay Turser guitars rep has an iPhone and it works great with his Macbook, which is what he takes on the road with him to dealers. It's pretty amazing all you can do with the new smart phones. All of them are pretty capable little devices.

Wait two weeks. Get the new iPhone 3GS. The features help bring it in line with Sprint's Palm Pre. I work for sprint, but I say if you already are an ATT subscriber, then definitely get their flagship phone

They're both very comparable.

Best little device out there still, in my opinion. Any of the high end Blackberries are such great workhorses (except the Storm. I've never been so disappointed in a phone).

If you're a complete and total Apple slut (not that there's anything wrong with that) consider the iPhone. The interconnectivity among Apple products is a real plus. Otherwise, there are tons of options that are far better performers, at far lower cost. I don't know anybody with an iPhone that is 100% happy with it, unless they've never used another smartphone.

I have a BBerry Curve on Verizon.

Verizon has the best voice network, having used Sprint and Nextel formerly..

When my contract is done, I am going iPhone. The Blackberry is solid and the best phone I have had, and works well, but the apps and usability of the iPhone blow it away. There is a Blackberry app store, but it is not even close as far as useful things. ( I have an iPod touch, btw)

I'd say, if you are a 'slut' for things that are useful and change the way you use the device in a positive manner, get an iPhone. If not, BlackBerry Curve series. The network near you is a biggie. Here, I think it is a toss up, but certain parts of the country, there are big diffs in speed/call drops, etc..

I mostly really like my BB Curve. As a communications device, it's a solid choice. (I'm on T-Mobile -- and I get really good coverage here in SoCal -- but italso uses the non-3G Edge network, and, yes, the Edge network is pretty doggy, no question. That said, folks seem to be underimpressed by iPhones on ATT 3G, too. My buddy who's had them both seems underwhelmed by what he considers marginal improvement.)

I noticed that the always rocky relationship between AT&T and Apple is nearing the visible end: Apple to AT&T: Drop Dead

Here's an article that makes a forceful case for not upgrading: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/08/why-the-iphone-3g-s-may-be-a-suckers-bet-right-now/

I'm not convinced the iPhone is that great a phone (I really don't like talking to folks who have them, the sound is tweaky, starts off really loud a lot of times).

But it is a brilliant little multi-purpose browsing device (at least on a decent WiFi hookup) and there are some pretty cool little applications for it that blow past a lot of what I've seen for the BB in terms of interface, ease of use, and just plain cuteness.

I know a few people who have BB's for communication and iPod Touch (essentially an iPhone without the phone part) for browsing, fooling around, and, in once case, for running diagnostic and calculation software for his audio installation biz.

I had been hoping that Android would have been more of a real option when I finally had to replace my trusty 5 year old dumb phone, but that was not to be. Still, I'll be likely to give it a real lookover down the road when I replace the BB.

With re real keys -- I do not have big fingers but I have to tell you that the tiny keys on my Curve are NOT at all easy to type on accurately. It's a rough go. On my left hand (short nails) my fingers never seem to be able to find the correct key. On my right hand (guitar picker nails), I have to use the end of my fingernails to press the key and that's a little more accurate but slippery.

That said, I've done a little typing on iPhones and the touch screen does not like something about me or my skin. It's easier to hit the right key with the much bigger virtual keyboard area on the much bigger screen -- but then when I do, it doesn't seem to register often. (I would hope that there's a sensitivity adjustment. FWIW, I also have problems using other folks' touch pads on their computers and have adjusted the sensitivity on my own up high.)

Phil, wait on the new iPhone. There are some great music apps, some free and some $5 or less. Omni Tuner and iTick (metronome) see a bunch or use here.

If you need a heavy duty phone, the Motorola Tundra is a great choice. -

Plus the new version of the iPhone has a video cam, which I don't think the old version has. I'd definitely wait for the new model if I were getting an iPhone....

That Tundra phone actually has testicles! What a manly, kick ass, Sgt. Rock of a cell phone! Tonka! I want one.

I hear you can use the Tundra as a ban hammer.

I don't foresee a new data plan. AT&T just sent out new brochures on May 24th regarding their nation and family plans (minor changes). So.. It would be a pleasant surprise.

As a current AT&T customer, I did a little test run of an "upgrade" to iPhone from my current device, and the price for a 16GB 3GS iPhone was still $199. I'm not sure how other existing AT&T customers came up with the $299 figure for the same - maybe I got the $199 price because my current phone is a Palm Treo, not an iPhone. AT&T gets bashed a lot, but I haven't had any major issues. I do miss the rate I paid when I was on Sprint - $30/month for service plus $15/month for unlimited Internet - current AT&T plan is $40/mo. for service plus $50/mo. for PDA plan (required for Internet). Then again, a switch to iPhone 3GS would replace the PDA plan with the mandatory $30/mo. iPhone data plan for a savings of $20/mo - under a new 2yr. contract the new iPhone would pay for itself.

I read about the iPhone's rumored move to Verizon in 2010 on other sites. I got on AT&T so I could text my relatives in Asia and Europe - it and T-Mobile were the only US GSM carriers I was aware of. I was never able to text my international relatives while I was on a CDMA network (Sprint/Nextel, Verizon). Verizon is expected to fire up its LTE network (which is backwards compatible with GSM) in 2010.

I recently tried Billshrink (http://www.billshrink.com/), which T-Mobile is currently promoting, to do a bit of phone plan comparison shopping. It selected AT&T for me as my go-to carrier instead of T-Mobile.

That's pretty funny.

FWIW, my BB is on T-Mobile. I get 1000 anytime, free wkends/eves, free LDX, 'unlimited' net access (but 'only' 500 sms -- which is about 490 more than I need most months), which comes to just under $65, about $71 with local tax, etc. And the customer service for the German owned company has been great. They really went out of their way to address some concerns I had and straighten out a billing problem caused by the sudden but unnoticed malfunction of my formerly trusty, five year old Samsung clamshell -- two voice mail calls totalling almost three hours between them that was going to be a nasty overage. (No rollover with my account.)

In fact, when I called T-Mobile back to ask a question about my rebate on my new BB (which I got promptly), and mentioned that I wished I'd been able to take advantage of an earlier Amazon deal that would have made the phone free, she gave me an extra $40 'good customer' credit and added free nights and weekends to my package (which I apparently was qualified for but not set up for), all without increasing my monthly fee.

Side note on Sprint: their abject and utter incompetence was responsible for one of the most awful customer service nightmares I have ever experienced. I cannot possibly say enough bad things about them. Though I've tried.

Blue, considering the state of my current phone, I can't wait for a year or more for Apple to possibly ally with other carriers...

That's why I have a BB today instead of waiting for a next gen Android phone. I don't have a landline, proper, so when my clamshell dumb phone died (and died hard, see note on unterminated voice mail calls above), it was down to Skype Out and smoke signals.

Phil it's the coolest phone in existance. Basically like a mini mac in your hand! Go play with one at the ATT store and you will buy it.