This past year at Macworld|iWorld I took a close look at the various keyboard options and I also spent a good amount of time reading reviews. I found it basically boiled down to three categories:
1. Keyboard cases
2. Full size keyboards that are compatible with the iPad
3. iPad specific travel (smaller) keyboards

Looking at how I planned to use a keyboard with my iPad I knew I could eliminate the entire category of keyboard cases all together. I think these are excellent options for people who plan to use their keyboard with the iPad on a very regular basis, people who just can’t get comfortable with the iPad on-screen keyboard or people who truly want a more “netbook” experience. But that isn’t me. I primarily see this as a device that I’ll take with me to coffee shops and on day trips and travel where I don’t want to take my laptop. I still see about 90%+ of my iPad use being without the dedicated keyboard and for that I don’t want to add the extra bulk of a keyboard case. I’m very happy with my current minimalist case solution of an Invisible Shield and a Smart Cover.

That left me to decide between the full size keyboard options and the smaller dedicated keyboards that are designed for the iPad. This now becomes a debate between comfort vs. convenience.

In the full size keyboard camp the obvious contenders are the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard, the iPad keyboard dock or the Amazonbasics iPad Keyboard. In my mind the only one of these options that made sense was the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard. It is the exact same keyboard I’m accustomed to typing on my MacBook Air and without the bulky dock component it has greater portability and flexibility. By comparison, the AmazonBasics keyboard for iPad is a bit less expensive at only $45, but not quite the same keyboard layout and a little more compressed. If I was going to go with a full sized keyboard, I figured having a keyboard that was just slightly different than what I was familiar with would create confusion.

Obvious benefits to a full size keyboard include comfort and familiarity. I have a history of RSI (repetitive stress injury) and I’ve found that ergonomics is key to keeping my hands and wrists happy. The downsides to the Apple wireless keyboard include the lack of portability compared to other keyboards, difficulty charging the battery on the road and problems accidentally activating the keyboard and running down the keyboard battery and/or iPad battery.

On more than one occasion when traveling with the Apple wireless keyboard I’ve accidentally turned it on in my bag and caused it either to completely discharge by the time I needed to use it, or worse, if bluetooth was on, sent signals to my iPad and drained both batteries. I’ve also broken keys as the keyboard was tossed in my travel bag. Of course, with a little pre-planning this can be avoided. I’ve heard of tips such as inserting one of the batteries backwards until the keyboard is ready for use or purchase a case for the keyboard to prevent accidentally turning on the keyboard as well as preventing damage to the keys. I wish the Apple Keyboard had a physical on/off switch rather than the button that’s so easy to activate.

Having tried the Apple wireless keyboard with lackluster results, I decided to try another option this time. At the recommendation of Ed Dale, I decided to try the ZAGGkeys Flex. It’s a simple stand alone keyboard that will work with iOS or Android and pairs via Bluetooth. The keyboard includes a basic case that will protect the keys when in travel and convert into a stand for the iPad or iPhone, though I typically just use my Smart Cover as a stand. I’m also very pleased that the keyboard has a dedicated on and off switch that can be toggled when not in use to prevent the battery from needlessly draining down and charges via micro USB. When I travel I always have my Callpod travel accessory or a micro USB adapter that can charge the keyboard with no problem. No need to carry extra batteries or a custom charger. I also appreciate that it has a row of custom function keys unique to the iPad including a dedicated home, spotlight, show/hide keyboard, cut, copy, paste, lock, and media keys.

Now for the negatives. First and foremost, you do sacrifice some comfort. I am a touch-typist and can easily type over 100wpm on a standard keyboard. I do well enough on the ZAGGkeys Flex, certainly nothing to complain about and much better than my on-screen keyboard. But, it is a non-standard size keyboard means the keys are cramped. Even for someone who has small hands, I do not find typing on it as comfortable as on a full size extended keyboard or even the keyboard on my MacBook Air. I would be fine typing for a few hours off and on, but I’m not going to sit at this keyboard and write a novel. For a blog post or a few hours in a hotel room or a coffee shop, it’s perfect, which is about the usage I’m looking to get out of it. Additionally, while the keyboard has an attractive appearance that complements the iPad, the build quality does not seem up to par with Apple products. It is constructed of cheap plastic and has a somewhat flimsy feel to it. It is lightweight, which travelers will appreciate, but it also doesn’t feel as though it has a quality build. I think people who use this keyboard regularly will find the need to replace it every few years, perhaps more often.

All in all, I’m happy with my purchase and I think it will suit my needs well. It’s small, I’m able to type quickly and efficiently and it can be picked up for around $60 or less on online so it wasn’t overly expensive. In fact I typed this entire blog post using the ZAGGkeys flex on the iPad using Byword for iOS After doing my own research, testing various products and reading reviews from others, I found that choosing an appropriate physical keyboard for the iPad is all about compromise. You have to analyze your needs, determine what factors are most important and go from there. For the causal keyboard user who places high value on portability and convenience I think the ZAGGkeys Flex will fit the bill.

iPhone:
We can expect the iPhone will be upgraded to the much-anticipated iPhone 5 in the Fall of 2012. The new iPhone 5 will bring a re-designed form factor, true 4G data connection and overall improvements to Siri, speed and battery life. I’m not confident the iPhone 5 will be a quad core device, but it’s a very strong possibility if the chips are available that won’t eat too much battery life.

iPad:
The iPad 3 will be released in the spring of 2012 and no surprise will bring improved cameras, a higher resolution display and perhaps a jump to a quad-core processor. If the iPad three goes quad-core I think it’s all but certain the iPhone 5 will follow. Contrary to current rumors, do not think we will see the release of an iPad 3 and the release of an iPad 4 in the same year. I believe Apple will stick to a once a year, or possibly even extended release cycles in the future for the iPad. The iPad 3 will gain Siri support along with 4G networking capabilities. I see a low-end iPad 2 remaining at a lower price point to try to recoup some of the market that may be interested in devices like the Kindle Fire. An 8GB version of the iPad 2 may make sense now, especially given Apple’s growing dependence on Cloud storage. I very rarely come close to filling my 16GB iPad to capacity.

iPods:
I anticipate fairly minimal changes again to the iPod line this year with the possible exception of the iPod Touch. We may see the re-introduction of a camera into the iPod Nano, but no Wi-Fi given the small form factor. I think this will be the year the iPod touch will finally get bumped to 64GB and the Classic iPod will disappear, especially given the emphasis on the Cloud and a $25 subscription to iTunes Match. The iPod Touch will likely see improvements to the screen and camera this year and I will even go out on a limb and say this may be the year we see the option for a an a la carte 3G data plan (similar to the plans offered on the iPad) for the iPod Touch. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if the iPod touch kept with a slower processor and data capabilities to keep overall cost down.

Macs:
This will be an evolutionary year for Macs. We will continue to see the development of the Thunderbolt. There will be the obligatory upgrades across the Mac line with faster processors, graphics cards and a push towards SSDs. I would hope to see Apple make the move to USB 3.0 this year. The major change to the Mac line will be that the 15” MacBook Pro will take on the Air form factor but the 17” will remain for those who refuse to give up the additional peripheral support. The Mac Pro will see a major update in specifications, but I’m afraid it will likely be the last. We may continue to see some increases in overall screen resolution, but I doubt we’ll see any true “retina display” yet in the Mac line due to cost.

Software:
I expect we’ll see updated iLife and iWork suites fairly early in 2012 with more emphasis on Cloud support and sharing. I do not expect an OS upgrade or even a preview in 2012. There will be a new version of iOS previewed and released later this year with continued emphasis on Siri and the cloud. I also expect to see across the line upgrades to Apple’s professional program similar to the changes made to Final Cut in 2011. I expect FaceTime will gain multi-party support and hopefully be updated to incorporate iMessages, IM and video rather than having separate applications across multiple devices. Apple will continue to push their respective App Stores as the distribution point for software.

TV
So far I think my predictions for 2012 have been fairly realistic. The mythical “Apple TV” is an area where I have the most skepticism and concern. I do think that Apple is planning on making its next major move into the area of video entertainment; I’m just not sure whether the time is right to do so in 2012. I also very concerned that this is the area where if not handled correctly, Apple could have its first major flop in many years.

While I think Apple will release an upgraded Apple TV, I’m not convinced that Apple wants its product in this market to be a $1000+ ultra high-end television. While I have no doubts that Apple could produce one heck of a television in terms of quality and experience, how many consumers would spend that kind of money on an all-in-one TV that Apple updates every couple of years with new features when we live in a world of $49 Roku boxes? Everyone I know already has a newish HD television in their living room with no plans to upgrade in the near future.

I think the better move here is to stick with a sub-$200 box, preferably a sub $100 box that will work with all modern TVs currently on the market today and has all the functionality of a truly next-generation Apple TV packed inside. This does put Apple in a bit of a catch-22 here because everyone expecting a “true Apple TV” so anything less may be seen as a disappointment. For those ultra-high end consumers perhaps sell a separate display that incorporates with the next generation Apple TV for the ultimate Apple living room experience.

I had an opportunity to share these predictions along with Ken Ray of Mac OSKen and Victor Agreda, Jr., Editor-in-Chief of The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Episode 133 of the MacTech Live Podcast. You can find a direct link to the show here.

Remembering my troubleshooting techniques, I unplugged all external devices and rebooted again. This time, a folder with a question mark. I grabbed the USB key that shipped with the Air and was able to reboot from it, but Disk Utility did not see a hard drive. This is looking more and more like a hardware problem so I phoned AppleCare.

When I get on the line with the first-level tech support I always politely identify myself as an experienced Mac user and troubleshooter and identify the steps I’ve already taken to resolve the problem in the hopes of avoiding some of the normal troubleshooting routine. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to work this time. The first-tier tech insisted all I needed to do was archive and install the operating system. However, she didn’t seem to understand that I couldn’t do that when Disk Utility won’t see the hard drive. After about 10 minutes of convincing, she put me on hold to consult with her supervisor.

One of my friends from the local Mac Users Group runs an Apple Authorized Repair center in town, so I took the opportunity to impose on him for advice. I called my buddy Glenn, after hours and on his personal cell phone (Sorry, Glenn!) and he and I were immediately on the same page. We ran through a couple of additional steps on the phone but unfortunately the situation turned from bad to worse. After a couple more reboot attempts, the computer would no longer recognize the USB key and would do nothing but kernel panic on start. Before AppleCare could come back on the line, Glenn already had my information logged into his system and verified my warranty status and we made an appointment to meet when his shop opened the next morning.

When the AppleCare representative came back, she agreed that service was warranted and when I explained this was my primary machine and needed it back as soon as possible she agreed that the best thing was to take to to an Apple Authorized Service Center in town. (The nearest Apple store is a two hour drive away.)

Glenn ran diagnostics on my machine the same day and placed in a repair order for a new logic board and hard drive. Apple was due to overnight him the parts and I was going to walk out less than 36 hours later with a repaired Air. Unfortunately, Apple had other plans. Glenn came to the shop Wednesday morning hoping to find my delivered parts, instead he found Apple canceled my repair. Upon further inquiry, Apple changed their repair policy three days before and were requiring that logic board repairs be done through their Texas Depot.

I called Apple Customer Service and tried everything I could to let them have the local tech do the repair (he had done them as recently as the week prior) but Apple insisted my machine go to Texas. The rep noted this was a new policy and hinted this was because Apple wanted to recapture the defective logic boards for analysis.

By this time it’s Wednesday afternoon. Instead of having my computer back, I’m now requesting a box from Apple for shipment to Texas. I should note that normally the local Tech would send the computer directly to Apple without involving the customer, simply informing them of the delay. However, Glenn knew I would want to be involved in the process and would get my machine back faster by dealing direct with Apple.

I do have to give credit to Apple once the box was requested their turnaround time was fantastic.  I was able to watch the progress of my machine on Apple’s web site and received email updates every step of the way. My machine was received by 8 a.m. Friday morning, diagnosed by 10 a.m., repaired by noon, and picked up by FedEx at 6pm. FedEx made the first delivery attempt at 10:30 Saturday morning, although I wasn’t available so had to pick it up at the depot later that afternoon. Thankfully, I’ve only had to send devices back to Apple for repair on a few occasions, but every time the turn around time has been within 48 hours assuming no weekends.

In the end, my Air’s logic board and hard drive was replaced and returned to me. Apple’s policy is that they will not ship back a computer if there is any irregularity, so my suspicion is the repeated failed restarts from the faulty logic board caused hard drive corruption and when they detected a problem with the hard drive, they replaced it too rather than just perhaps erase and attempt to repair it. This is a policy that will ultimately serve the consumer well.

The new hard drive was installed with a fresh copy of Snow Leopard just as though it was a brand new machine. Apple warns you in advance your data may not be preserved and mine was not. Of course, I had backups so restoring the data was not a problem.

My machine would have been covered by AppleCare so long as there was no physical damage because it was within the first year of coverage. However, had this repair happened outside of my AppleCare coverage, it would have easily been a $1500+ repair.  People regularly debate the value of extended warranties, but I have always recommended AppleCare, especially for notebooks. With the MacBook Airs, more and more technology is now being put on the main logic board, making individual component repairs that would be less costly impossible.

My only complaint with Apple in this process is that the first phone tech did not seem to be fully equipped to help me (remember all she wanted me to do was archive and install – I had to push to convince her this was hardware) and did not know that the local repair facility was only able to perform some repairs on Macbook Airs. Had I requested a box form Apple on Monday, I would have had my Air back Thursday.

I did have an intermittent issue with my Air with back-to-back kernel panics and the folder with the question mark about two weeks ago that I called into Apple. However, that issue resolved itself without further intervention while I was on the phone with AppleCare. I ran the Apple Hardware Diagnostics in loop mode for several hours after this instance and the machine tested normal. Apple said that meant it was software and I should archive and install, however I always suspected hardware and requested a Case Number that was helpful  for this incident. In retrospect, that was likely the first warning sign something was going bad.  I can’t blame Apple for not taking action sooner because the problem was intermittent and the machine appeared to work flawlessly for the next two weeks until its sudden death.

Hardware repairs are never fun, and I’m concerned that my logic board failed with only 7 months of use. The fact that Apple has changed their policy on Air logic board repairs to require they go through the Texas depot makes me wonder whether this is a larger problem they are analyzing. If I hadn’t already bought AppleCare for the Air, I certainly would now, and I’m going to keep an eye on this machine for any other issues. I’m going to continue with my diligent backup policy and I’ve already learned things from this experience that have caused me to re-think and evaluate privacy and security of machines sent in for hardware repair. Expect a new blog post on that soon.

Lessons Learned:

1. AppleCare is a must.
2. Backups are crucial.
3. Ask the AppleCare rep if all repairs can be done locally, if not consider shipping your machine off to Apple from the start.
4. It pays to belong to a Mac Users Group and make friends. Although he couldn’t perform the actual repair, my local Apple Authorized Tech was invaluable and bent over backwards to help me in this stressful situation.

To commemorate the occasion, I thought I’d put together my wish list of things I’d like to see announced in this presentation. Note that these are not predictions; in fact I think there’s an excellent chance that many of these items are tech unicorns. But in the spirit of wishful thinking, here my top ten list of what I’d like to see from Apple at this year’s WWDC:

1. More Content Partnerships and/or A Development Platform for Apple TV

Put this one in the long shot category. Apple TV is still a hobby project, but I think it’s one that Apple is rekindling interest in. At $99 the price is right and one of the major competitors (GoogleTV) has imploded since its release. The field is clear for Apple to take this product and run.

Apple TV has special meaning for me because I desperately want to ditch my Cable TV subscription but there are a few holdouts that keep me subscribed. Apple TV along with some content partnerships could solve this for me. Right now, the $1.99 per episode purchases or $0.99 rental options aren’t enough. We’ve already seen this start with MLB.com. If you could get access to live sports and other specialized programming such as premium channel content and specialized channels like HGTV or the Food Network on the Apple TV I think a lot of people would pay a la carte for the content.

2. Over the Air Sync for iOS Devices

We’re so close here. I can already update my apps over the air and sync my contacts, calendars and email. But I can’t sync my music and podcasts over the air or receive software updates. Wired may be better for some things (like software updates) but if I could sync music and podcasts over WiFi I’d be in heaven. I can see iCloud making this possible for music, though sadly podcasts seem to always be left behind.

One of my law partners recently bought her first iPhone last month. She picked up her first Mac a couple of months before. I setup Exchange to sync her contacts, calendars and mail over the air and she couldn’t be happier. I couple of days ago she came to me asking how to transfer pictures. I told her to plug it in. She asked, “to what?” It occurred to me that she had never synced her phone to a computer, neither her home Mac nor her office PC. She didn’t even realize that was something she was supposed to do. A Verizon employee set her phone up in the store and she never looked back. I bet there are a lot of other people in the same situation.

3. Bridge to the Mac App Store

I like the idea of the Mac App Store (MAS), and when I buy applications in the future I try to make it my first stop. But the vast majority of my applications never came from the Mac App Store and thus can’t take advantage of the benefits of the auto-update feature and the ability to install on multiple machines. It would be nice if Apple would offer Developers some way to “plug in” apps that were previously purchased outside the MAS into the system. I’d even be willing to pay something for this feature so long as the price was in line with the additional benefits and features offered.

4. Upgrades and Demos in the Mac App Store

Related to the above, one of the major reasons I don’t use the MAS for many of my purchases is because developers offer discounts for upgrading software purchased elsewhere. Now, many developers will over specials in the MAS when they release a new version to try to convert users over to the MAS model, but it would be nice if they had the option to offer upgrade pricing.

Another issue is the availability of demo software. If all software could come with some built in “try before you buy” option where you could download a demo it would clean a lot of cruft out of the MAS. Currently, developers of to clog the MAS with two versions of their software, one demo version, one regular, have people who are unhappy request refunds, or send buyers to their website to download demo versions. Seems Apple could implement a better way.

5. Archiving Email

I don’t throw away email. Perhaps that’s a character flaw that will come back to bite me one day. But I like to be able to go back through and search the archives of my email, and more than once this practice has saved my bacon. MobileMe webmail already offers an option (in the form of a button) to archive email, but this functionality is not built into the Mail.app client or on the iPhone. Gmail already does through its web interface and the iPhone. Why can’t MobileMe figure this out?

6. Better MobileMe Email Filters

While we’re on the subject of MobileMe, could we please get some useful server-side email filters. Apple finally implemented some basic server side filters last year, but they pale in comparison to the email client offerings or even the customization of competing services like Gmail.

7. Multiple Custom Email Signatures on iOS Devices

I obviously have lots of issues with email. For personal email, my generic iPhone email signature is fine. But especially in a work setting, there are times when I don’t want my clients (or my bosses) to know that I’m not in the office. My normal work email signature is fairly lengthy, so I’ve created a TextExpander snippet. This works fine, but because TextExpander support isn’t natively supported in Apple apps I have to launch the TextExpander Touch app and either compose the message there or copy and paste my signature. No question, better than typing it manually, but a problem that could be easily solved by Apple.

8. A Better iDisk

There are rumors that MobileMe will be swallowed up into iCloud, perhaps the core features will be free with a pay service for more advanced features with maybe a cloud music service will be premium. Currently I pay $99 a year (okay, less because I buy from Amazon and other sources) primarily for my email address that I’ve had for years and over the air sync with the MobileMe cloud. But everything I currently pay for with MobileMe could be replaced by free services. The one feature MobileMe feature that I wish I could use but don’t because it’s woefully underpowered is iDisk. I’ve switched over almost exclusively to Dropbox when possible.

Apple, meet Dropbox. Fix it.

9. True Voice Control and Navigation

I love the Dragon Dictation apps for the iPhone, but I don’t use them as often as I should because they’re not built in the OS. The speech recognition is remarkably good. I recently dictated my dinner order flawlessly to a text message while sitting at a traffic light. (Small sirloin, medium, with loaded baked potato and side salad.) It was wonderful, but a feature I rarely use.

The limited voice control feature on the iPhone has been hit or miss for me. Unfortunately I’ve found voice dialing on the iPhone to have poorer accuracy than my previous Motorola flip phone.

While we’re at it, how about you let the iPhone read me back my text messages and email messages at my command. That would be ideal for the car, gym or any other place where I don’t want to pull out my phone and check my messages.

10. Don’t Lose OS X

I am not a part of the Apple Developer program so I haven’t seen anything about OS X Lion other than the information that Apple has made publically available or that has otherwise leaked from various sources. However, I am concerned about the merging of OS X and iOS. Some crossover is a good thing, make the operating system more user-friendly and easier to use. But there’s a line.

I don’t want to sound like a curmudgeon stuck in the past, but I don’t want to lose my ability to be a “Power User” within OS X. The walled garden approach Apple takes with iOS devices is not appropriate for a computer operating system. Remember, the Mac App Store, as great as it is, is limited to only certain apps because of API and use restrictions. Many of my favorite apps had to loose functionality or are not available in the MAS because of Apple’s restrictions.

From what I’ve seen, I don’t think Lion is taking us down this path, but I don’t want it to start us down this slippery slope either.

1. No Verizon service at my house either – As I’ve mentioned my home is a bit of an anomaly in that it is situated smack dab in a black hole for cell phone coverage. I’ve had several Verizon phones at my home for testing purposes and I’m afraid to report that they too have no or very poor service. Now, I will say that Verizon has vastly better service all around town compared to AT&T, but I still make about 75% of my calls or more from my home. I understand that Verizon has a device similar to the AT&T Microcell I currently use, so that’s at least an option in the future.

2. I’m still in contract with AT&T – It’s quite a hefty fee to part ways with AT&T. I paid that early termination fee several years ago with I switched from Verizon to AT&T in the first place to get the iPhone, I’m not looking forward to doing it again. However, the early termination fee plus the cost of a subsidized iPhone is less than the price of a full priced iPhone. So, if I’m ever in the position where my iPhone breaks out of warranty and I would have to purchase a new one at full price, the early termination fee would suddenly become a moot point.

3. My family just renewed their AT&T contracts – I begged them not to, but my mom, dad and brother all got iPhone 4s on AT&T for Christmas just a few weeks ago. Thus their AT&T contract (I am not on their family plan) was renewed for another two years. The cost to break the early termination fee times three means there is no chance they will switch to Verizon for another two years. So that means that if I want to continue to enjoy free mobile-to-mobile calls with them, I too have to stay on AT&T. They probably make up about 60% or more of my calls, so I could see myself having to increase my rate plan if those calls were no longer free. Though I do understand that Verizon does have some kind of “A list” calling on some of their plans – that might work.

4. Verizon’s iPhone is already old technology – the iPhone 4 released on Verizon will be 8 months old by the time it is available for sale. Assuming Apple keeps with its steady upgrade policy we can expect to see the iPhone 5 sometime this summer. Will the iPhone 5 be available on Verizon the same time it is on AT&T? I don’t know, but it makes the most sense for Apple to try to keep the phones as similar as possible to avoid confusion. The Verizon iPhone doesn’t use the new LTE network and it doesn’t provide the ability to use data and voice services simultaneously. I see this release as a stop-gap measure to get the iPhone on Verizon, much bigger things are to come and I don’t want to be stuck in a 2 year contract with old technology.

There are many things appealing about Verizon’s iPhone. A better network in my area (assuming it can withstand the strain) and the new mobile hotspot (though we don’t have word yet on pricing.) Unless AT&T makes major changes to their network and coverage, I will not be renewing my contract with them when it expires. I may very well end up breaking my contract with AT&T sometime down the line, but not for this Verizon iPhone.

Nonetheless, I’m very excited about the announcement of the Verizon iPhone. I hope this will encourage AT&T to step up its game and become more aggressive with their pricing, features and network build-out. We long-term AT&T customers who have had to suffer with poor service patiently all this time would sure appreciate a free mobile hot-spot and some upgraded speeds. I’m still waiting for HSDPA in my area, but heck I’d just be grateful for consistent 3G coverage at this point.

I’m putting you on notice AT&T…I have other options now. So get your act together and soon. You’ve got a limited amount of time left to impress me, and I’m keeping my eye on what Verizon is up to. If you continue to disappoint, I will cheerfully pay you my early termination fee and show myself the door.

Here’s my rationale…

I am on a roughly two and a half year upgrade cycle with my Macs. I’ve been keeping to this schedule for the last 10 years or so and it seems to suit me well. Normally, I tell people that a Mac has a much longer life cycle than a typical PC and will easily last three to five years, perhaps longer. However, I like to be on the newer edge of technology so I stay updated more frequently.

Looking at product cycles, there tends to be major upgrades to machines every two to three years with a series of speed bumps and enhancements in between. Keeping myself on this cycle allows me to take advantage major enhancements to a product line rather than just the occasional processor and hard drive bump. Things don’t always work out this way, but when they do it’s a bonus.

It’s easy to be tempted to upgrade more frequently, especially when new machines are released and yours is no longer the latest and greatest. To help stave off the temptation, I usually try to treat my Mac to a little upgrade about mid-way through my upgrade cycle. Somewhere between a year and 18 months I’ll look at a RAM upgrade or perhaps putting in a larger or faster hard drive. Something inexpensive, usually $200 or less that will give my Mac a little refresh and speed boost to give it that “new Mac feeling” again and get me through the next year or so. This year, I think I may invest in a 500GB “hybrid” hard drive for my MacBook Pro that uses a combination of traditional drive technology and Solid State Storage for faster performance.

When it is time to upgrade, I want to get the best price I can out of my Mac so I can use that to offset the purchase of a new machine. Another reason to keep on a two to three year upgrade cycle is that a two to three year old Mac still has lots of life, and thus good value left in it. It’s also important to me that the buyer have a good experience.  The reality is, stuff happens. For all you know, the Mac that has never given you a bit of trouble dies three days after you sell it to the new owner. This is always a tough situation because it’s really no ones fault (assuming you were honest and didn’t deceive the buyer) but the buyer will undoubtedly feel cheated. For that reason, I always make it a point to sell my Macs when they still have a couple of months left of AppleCare coverage. That way if anything happens, the new buyer is dealing with Apple not with me. AppleCare also adds to the resale value. (I also make it a point to warn any buyer that hard drives are temperamental and can die suddenly and without warning and educate them about the importance of backups.) I try to arrange things so that a Mac has two to three months of AppleCare remaining at a minimum when it is transferred to the new buyer.

To enhance the resale value of my Mac I make sure that it is in pristine condition and keep all the boxes, manuals and original accessories. I will also throw in all the upgrades I’ve made to the machine including the latest Apple software since the newest versions will come with my new Mac. I’ll first try to sell the Mac through my local Apple Users Group so I can deal with someone I know or have a connection to. If I’m able to do that, I’ll throw in as an added bonus some of my time to help the person setup the new Mac if they so desire. Selling the Mac to someone you know or through a network of friends is a much better and safer experience than dealing with Craigslist or eBay. Now I’ve built up a good reputation and I regularly get to visit my 500 MHz Titanium PowerBook and my 1GHz 12” PowerBook at User Group meetings. They’re still in good use and their owners are happy purchasers.

In short, the two and a half year upgrade cycle seems to work well for me. I can stay regularly updated with close to the latest and greatest machine while still getting good resale value out of my old machine. I’m afraid if I upgraded more frequently I’d be loosing more money on the resale and if I lengthened the period I’d potentially run into problems with the machine being out of AppleCare and possibly being behind the technology curve.

My upgrade methodology won’t work well for everyone. If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck your best bet is to buy your computer and hold on to it for as long as possible. It’s not uncommon for a Mac to have a useful life of five years or beyond, especially if you’re performing fairly casual activities such as web browsing, email, word processing, etc. So do your own research and see what works best for your needs.

Another big issue for me was the AT&T contract. I have had nothing but trouble with AT&T since signing on with the iPhone more than three years ago. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to kick AT&T to the curb. Keeping the iPhone 4 means committing to AT&T for another 2 years or paying them a $300+ early termination fee. While I was maybe willing to swallow a $175 early termination fee should the iPhone become available on Verizon, $300+ makes that a significantly larger burden. If I returned the iPhone, I would have reverted back to my old AT&T contract terms, which would put me on a month-to-month contract.

Returning the Phone Also Would Have Cost Me:

When I upgraded to the iPhone 4, I gave my iPhone 3G to my dad. He needed the iPhone 3G to use with his microcell. (Microcell wouldn’t work with his iPhone 2G.) In return, he gave me his iPhone 2G which I sold on Gazelle for about $75. (Not exactly a windfall, but enough to buy a few iPhone 4 accessories.) So if I returned the iPhone, I would have no phone to go back to. I was in a no-win situation because I wasn’t about to ask my dad for my phone back and leave him in a lurch.  If I returned my iPhone 4, I would have to turn around and buy another phone to replace it. That meant buying an iPhone 3GS from Apple or AT&T and signing another AT&T contract – that didn’t make any sense. If I’m going to be stuck in an AT&T contract and use up my eligibility for a subsidized phone, might as well have the latest technology.

The other option to stay without an AT&T contract would have been to buy a 3G or 3GS without a contract. Used iPhones hold their value well and are still selling for $300 – $350. My iPhone 4 subsidized was only $299. Although I had many twitter friends who I trusted willing to sell me their iPhones, it’s always a bit of a mixed bag when you buy a used phone. Regardless of which way I went, I would still out $300 or more compared to where I was 30 days ago. I either had an iPhone 4 that was a much better device, but a worse phone. Or a comparable phone, but only a slightly better device.

If You Don’t Like It…Take It Back…

Apple says “if you don’t like the phone, return it for a full refund.” Sounds great., right? What more could you possibly expect from Apple? Well, I could expect them to deliver the phone they promised. Here’s the problem: I took Apple at their word that the iPhone 4 had a revolutionary new antenna design that was better than any previous iPhone and I would have even better reception than before.  Granted – I would have been okay with an iPhone 4 that had just as good reception as I had before and still had all the fancy new iPhone 4 features. Now, I’ve got a phone with worse reception and nothing to go back to.  What more could I ask for? I want what Apple promised me! Unfortunately, Apple let me down in that they couldn’t deliver on what they promised. It’s one of the few times that’s happened.

But, I’m Keeping The Faith:

While I haven’t been thrilled with the way Apple has handled this whole situation, I still have faith that they’ll come through and do the right thing. Apple acknowledged at their press event that despite the new design of the iPhone 4 antenna, it drops more calls than the iPhone 3GS. Something is wrong.

My AppleCare advisor tells me that Apple is continuing to work on this problem. They are not just giving away free bumpers and calling it a day. Steve Jobs specifically said that the free bumper program was only going to last until September 30^th so Apple could “reevaluate” the situation at that time. That statement in itself implies they’re working on a fix so bumpers won’t be necessary.  Apple may never say another word about antennagate, but I would bet you the purchase price of an iPhone 5 that the iPhones that roll off the assembly lines a few months from now will not be as prone to these antenna problems as the ones that rolled off the assembly line 30 days ago.

My AppleCare case is still open, and my support tech promises me that he’ll keep in touch regarding the situation and if I want to swap out my iPhone again in the future, all I have to do is say the word. We’ll see.

What I Know Now:

If I knew 30 days ago what I know now, would I have ordered the iPhone 4? In a word: No. I wish I could turn back the clock and have my old iPhone 3G back, my $300 back, the money I’ve spent thus far on accessories back, and all the time I’ve spent dealing with this issue back. For now, I wait and hope that Apple comes up with a fix, that AT&T starts building towers and that Verizon announces they will start selling the iPhone.

I know there are a lot of people out there who are fed up with this topic. So this is the last I’ll say until there’s some kind of new information. For the vast majority of you who are not having any type of problem with your iPhone, I’m happy for you and sorry to have bored you with my tale. But I do at least hope that I have shown you that there are real people out there with real problems. Is “antennagate” over-hyped? Probably. But for those people like me who are having problems, it doesn’t feel like Apple has taken it seriously enough.

About a year ago, I made a job change and moved back to my hometown. While I love my new job and being closer to family, I’ve been plagued by poor AT&T coverage. My current city has multiple dead zones in highly populated areas and in general suffers from poor connectivity. It’s quite common to be in an area with 5 bars of coverage yet calls go directly to voicemail or text messages are delayed, sometimes hours. Making matters worse, I live in one of those dead zones and literally have no service inside my home. Outside isn’t much better, I can usually only maintain a call for a couple of minutes before it drops.

My AT&T contract is up on July 11th and I knew that a new iPhone would be released about that time. With AT&T unable to provide me any kind of answers, I was really struggling to decide what I was going to do. Short of the iPhone changing to another carrier, something that I think will happen but will be later rather than sooner, my only hope was the promise of the AT&T 3G MicroCell. I watched the WWDC keynote with mixed emotions. Lured by the appeal of the iPhone 4, but at the same time dreading signing a new contract and committing myself to two more years of cell phone purgatory. But something else happened on June 7th that was perhaps more appealing to me than anything Steve Jobs had to say in his Keynote address, the mythical 3G MicroCell came to my city.

What is the MicroCell:
I’m not going to get into all the technical specifics of the MicroCell. I’m sure there are data sheets you can read. In short, the MicroCell is a mini 3G tower for your home. The MicroCell uses your home broadband connection to connect your call to a local AT&T tower. From there, your call is sent out on the AT&T network. It’s using a broadband connection to bridge the coverage gap between your home and the tower.

The device needs to be connected via Ethernet to your home network. There are various ways to connect the device depending on your home setup. It also has a GPS chip inside that is used to confirm the location of the MicroCell. AT&T says this is a requirement for the e911 service so emergency responders will know your location.

Requirements:
The MicroCell only works with 3G capable phones on the AT&T network. If you have a first generation iPhone or other non-3G cell phone it won’t do you any good. You are also required to have a broadband internet connection to connect the device. Lastly, AT&T’s network must also be ready for the MicroCell. In order for the MicroCell to communicate with the towers, there must have been an update to the towers in your area. The MicroCell isn’t available everywhere, but interestingly, availability opened up to a slew of new areas on June 7th, the day the iPhone 4 was announced. Coincidental? I think not.

You can check AT&T’s website to see if the MicroCell is available in your area. If not, you’ll be prompted to enter an email address and they will supposedly notify you when the MicroCell arrives. This didn’t work for me. The MicroCell has been available in my area for a week now, but I haven’t received AT&T’s email message. The only way I knew the MicroCell was available is because I’ve bookmarked the availability website and make a point to check it every day. So, don’t trust the email system to notify you.

Cost and Plans:
The MicroCell costs $149 to purchase from AT&T and must be associated with an active account. You can buy the device outright to use with your current plan. Without an optional MicroCell plan, any minutes used will be deducted from your minute package.

AT&T has an optional $20 a month plan that will allow all calls made from the MicroCell to be free. If you’re the type of person who makes a lot of calls from home, then this might be worth considering. I’m already on the lowest cost voice plan and have plenty of unused rollover minutes, so the extra expense is not worth it for me.

However, at the time I bought the MicroCell AT&T was running a promotion where you would receive a $100 rebate if you signed up for the $20 monthly MicroCell plan. I quizzed the store manager and read all the fine print on the brochure I was given and could not see any requirement that you have to keep the plan. The manager at my local AT&T store assured me that I could sign up for the plan for one month, send in my rebate and cancel the plan once my rebate came 4-6 weeks later. I’m not sure I believe him. But I got all of his information and decided to give it a try. My guess is this will come back to bite me, but I’ll let you know. If you decide to try this, make sure you fully investigate the terms and conditions and are comfortable doing this.

There was also another rebate option for customers who used AT&T as their home ISP. This didn’t apply to me, but check your area to see if there are promotions that may reduce the cost of the MicroCell.

Setup:
Before setting up the MicroCell you must register it online with you AT&T account using the device’s serial number and your address. You also must register the numbers of the phones that you want to allow to access the device. The MicroCell allows you to register up to 10 AT&T phones that can have access to the device. Up to four devices can be connected at a time. So you’re not sharing your MicroCell with the neighborhood, only the friends and family you choose. You can register any AT&T phone number, it doesn’t have to be someone you share a plan with and you can modify the numbers as needed.

There are a couple of ways to connect the MicroCell to your home network. If you don’t use a router, the MicroCell sits between your modem and your computer. It has a port to connect to your modem and a port to pass through the connection to your computer. If you use a router, you can plug the MicroCell into any open ethernet port just like you would any other connected device. Lastly, you can plug the MicroCell in between your modem and router.

If you don’t have a router, or you don’t have a router with any wired ethernet ports, then you don’t have much choice in the setup, you have to connect the MicroCell between your modem and computer. However, I think most people have some kind of wired router in their home. In this case, you want to give a little thought to about how you want to connect the device to your network. When active, the MicroCell works just like another device on your network, it’s going to be sending and receiving data and will impact the overall speed of your network.

By connecting the MicroCell in line before your router, you give it priority over you other connected devices. When you’re on a call, your network speed to your other devices will suffer, but your call will take priority. The only problem with this setup is if the MicroCell has a problem, it will bring down the entire network. If you connect it just as another device to your router, it will share bandwidth with your other devices and if you’re doing any heavy downloading or file transfers while you’re on a call, the call quality may suffer.

In my case, I opted to setup the MicroCell before my router so it would have priority. I figured that I would want my phone call to take priority over any file downloads if they happened to be going on at the same time. However, the first day I setup my MicroCell I had some kind of hiccup that brought down the MicroCell and my home network and required a restart of everthing. I should note that this happened during the initial setup of the device. The MicroCell has now been running fine for 5 days without any type of problem or network interruption. I haven’t noticed any kind of slow-down to my network while the MicroCell is in use, although I don’t usually check the status of my file transfers while I’m on a call. But while idle, I haven’t noticed any network hit.

From time to time you may need to reset the MicroCell just like you would any other router or connected device. Be aware that the device takes some time to power up and connect to AT&T’s network. Although subsequent restarts don’t take as long as the initial setup, you can expect it will be 10 – 20 minutes after restarting the MicroCell before it will be ready for use.

Because my ISP doesn’t have any way to check my bandwidth usage I can’t speak to how much data the MicroCell is using. I would imagine that data usage would be in line with a VOIP telephone service like Skype or Vonage. If you are on an ISP that caps data usage, you’ll probably want to keep an eye on this.

When first connected, the MicroCell can take up to 90 minutes to activate. AT&T says that you need to place the MicroCell near a window so it can get a GPS lock and that this is the cause for most activation problems. Once activated, you can usually move the MicroCell to another location within your house, but AT&T says the it needs to be fairly close to a window so it can transmit GPS information.

In my case, the MicroCell was about 6-8 feet from a large window with a clear path to the window and I was able to acquire a GPS lock without any problem. I’ve since moved the MicroCell a little further away from a window to sit behind my TV on my entertainment console and it still seem s to function without any problem about 8-10 feet away from a window.

The initial setup of the MicroCell took me about 45 minutes from the time I plugged it in until it was fully operational. There’s probably another 10 minutes or so of time to register the device and plug in the appropriate phone numbers. The first time your phones connect to the device may a while. Once the device status showed as ready, it took my iPhone 3G about 10 minutes to find it. Sometimes turning your phone off and back on again will force it to go out and look for a connection to find the MicroCell. Your phones will have some kind of icon indicating they’re connected to the MicroCell rather than a standard cell tower. Mine displays “M-Cell.”

Finding the right placement of the MicroCell can be a bit of a compromise. It has to be in a location relatively close to a window, that has power and a wired connection to your router or modem. You also want to place the MicroCell in an area of your home that is centrally located to make sure that you can cover your entire house. One more complicating factor – the MicroCell is fairly big, and it’s pretty ugly. The device is much larger than a standard wireless router, it’s got an odd “upside down Y” shape and it’s bright white and orange. I ended up putting my MicroCell on my entertainment console in my living room and hid it behind the TV.

Usage:
Now, for the part you’ve all been waiting for…does the MicroCell work? In a word…yes. I live in a 2,500 square foot townhouse with two levels and a rooftop terrace. I have 5 bars of coverage throughout my entire house and on the terrace. I also have MicroCell coverage on my porch and out in my garage and driveway. It’s about the same coverage area as my wireless router.

I also setup a MicroCell in my parents home. They have about the same square footage as me, except their house is spread out over one floor and their square footage is more “horizontal” where my square footage is more “vertical.” In my parents house they have coverage throughout the house, although it does drop to 3 or 4 bars on the outskirts of the house. Still, much better than their prior level of service.

I have made several calls on the MicroCell in the past week and have never dropped a call. One call was over two hours long. I am very pleased with the coverage, as far as I can tell the MicroCell works as advertised. Of course, it’s going to be susceptible to interference so the build of your home will make a difference.

The MicroCell is supposed to hand calls off to the local cell towers when you leave the range of your MicroCell. Just like cell towers hand calls off when you’re traveling. Unfortunately, the reverse is not true. Calls transfer out, but don’t transfer in. Calls initiated on the cell tower do not transfer to the MicroCell. So I can’t start a call on the road and then take it into my house. (In my case it only takes a few seconds of walking into my house before a call drops.) However calls started at home should transfer out to a tower. This is the only problem I’ve found so far with the MicroCell, hopefully it will be resolved with a future software update.

Conclusion:
Overall, the MicroCell seems to work as advertised and has solved the bulk of my coverage problems. I’ve gone from no service to 5 bars within my home and haven’t noticed any negative side effects of having the MicroCell connected to my network.

I’ve heard from several friends across the US that the MicroCell suddenly became available in their area on June 7th as well. If you’ve been waiting like me for a MicroCell, you may want to re-check your availability.

Editorial:
I’ve tried to be very objective in my review of the MicroCell, but I do need to throw in some editorial comments here, both good and bad.

I have been angry for a very long time about the situation with my AT&T coverage. I spent nearly $100 a month on cell phone service that I couldn’t use. I understand that AT&T can’t guarantee coverage inside buildings, but my issue is outside as well. Additionally, AT&T’s coverage maps clearly show that my area should be blanketed by excellent 3G coverage. That’s just not the case. When investigating this issue with AT&T last year, they even sent out network testers who verified that despite the coverage maps, my area was a dead zone and the only solution was to build a new tower. Of course, the maps still show this area as having excellent coverage despite AT&T knowing better.

Quite frankly, the idea of me having to pay AT&T $150 for a MicroCell and having to use my own broadband internet connection to compensate for their poor service that I’m already paying for, is offensive. If I had excellent service outside my home or if the maps showed poor or no coverage, I would have no problem with AT&T. But that’s simply not the case. My fear is that AT&T will use the MicroCell service, at the expense of their customers, as a reason not to beef up their network. The MicroCell works great in my home, but it does nothing about the poor network service around town.

On the other hand, I’m very happy to have the option to use a MicroCell in my home. It’s an a lifeline for people like me who otherwise wouldn’t have service. I understand that AT&T can’t cover every square inch of the US with a reliable network. I’m sure if they could do so in a manner that was reasonably cost effective they would. I also don’t have to stay with AT&T. I could switch to another carrier, but I don’t because I love my iPhone. So I’ve made a choice to tolerate a sub-par network to have my preferred phone.

Currently, AT&T’s official line is that they are not discounting the MicroCell under any circumstances. I had more than one AT&T rep read me that official policy over the last week. The store managers claim that they have no authority to discount a MicroCell and the first line telephone support apparently doesn’t have the authority to do so either. That being said, and in full disclosure, after a little “gentle pressure” and refusal to accept no for an answer, I was able to work my way up the chain and explain my situation. I received a number of credits on my bill from AT&T that will just about offset the price of my MicroCell. (I never once played the “do you know who I am?” card or told them I was a podcaster or blogger – I doubt that would have made any difference anyway.)

One thing that helped me was using AT&T’s “Mark the Spot” iPhone app to report network problems. Much to my surprise, the higher level AT&T rep was able to see how many reports I had logged of poor service. So AT&T is at least paying attention to the reports it generates. Of course, your experience may vary. I’ve always found polite persistence to be the key in obtaining help from customer service. Please don’t yell at the salesclerk who has no ability to help you.

My feelings towards AT&T would be much more positive if they had some kind of official program in place to provide MicroCells to customers either free or at a greatly reduced cost if they had a documented and legitimate coverage issue. My hope is that they’ll change their current “no discount” policy and help other customers who are in situations like mine.

All things considered, the MicroCell has changed my daily life. I can’t even begin to explain to you how nice it is to have a working phone again after living a year with this constant frustration. As I said, I had been angry with AT&T for a very long time, and after about 5 minutes of starting at my phone with 5 bars, I felt a lot of that anger lift away.

AT&T’s network still has much to be desired in my area. But the MicroCell has just about resolved my issues with making and receiving calls at home which takes care of most of my problems. The availability of the MicroCell has made up my decision that I’m okay with staying with AT&T for another two years and I plan to upgrade to the iPhone 4 on day one.

Thanks for reading my monster MicroCell review. I’d love for you to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Well, I’m once upgrade eligible for a fully subsidized iPhone, (plus $18 upgrade fee) yet I’m not sure I’ll be pulling out my credit card on June 7^th. Here’s why the purchase of this iPhone is a tough decision for me:

AT&T’s Poor Network

Anyone who follows me on twitter or listens to my occasional ranting knows that my AT&T service sucks. I live in a city with a population of over 260,000. Not a metropolis by any means, but still large enough to justify reasonable cell coverage. AT&T has been a miserable disappointment. Sure, every city has their dead spots, that’s to be expected. But I have bad service just about everywhere I go. Voicemail can be hours delayed, my phone regularly doesn’t ring, even with 5 bars of service and text messages sometimes show up timely, sometimes not. I love the iPhone, but I hate AT&T.

Complicating matters for me personally is that my home is in a known dead spot for all cell phone providers in my city. Because of the geography of the land, we have an area that is recessed between a series of hills and has notoriously bad coverage. There have been efforts to get a tower in my area for years, but because the area contains a major park, two schools and several hundred residential homes, there has been community concern over the possible health risks associated with a tower. (Apparently there are those who think the cell towers are going to cause children to grow gills or something.)

The Verizon Question

The “experts” have gone round and round over the issue of AT&T exclusivity. The generally accepted notion is that the original exclusivity deal was for 5 years, but that there may have been modifications to the contract. Buzz seems to be at an all time high that a Verizon iPhone is coming but no word on when.

I had Verizon before and still had that same dead zone around my home. But generally after I left home and traveled around the city and state I had no problems making and receiving phone calls and messages. So for me, Verizon would likely have the same dead zone in my home, but probably be better service overall.

Also, let’s be real – everyone hates their cell phone company. They all suck. It’s 2010 and we sill haven’t figured out a way to make cell phones operate reliability. As one blog post pointed out, the grass may not be any greener over on the other side. We all saw how AT&T’s network crumbled under the iPhone’s popularity, what makes us think Verizon’s network will be that much better?

Let me weigh in with my two cents regarding this issue: I think we’ll see a Verizon iPhone within the next 2 years. Or put another way, I think anyone who signs a new 2 year contract with AT&T when the iPhone 4G comes out will be faced with a decision as to whether or not they want to switch carries badly enough to pay the early termination fee to dump AT&T. I do not think we’ll hear any announcements about a Verizon iPhone at WWDC.

Early Termination Fee

This just has me fuming. You may have heard that effective June 1, 2010, AT&T is drastically increasing their early termination fee on smart phones, including the iPhone. The ETF increases from $175 to $325. AT&T did lower the ETF by $25 on non-smart phones from $175 to $150. I should also note that for iPhones the ETF drops $10 a month for every month into your 2 year contract you go. Their rational is that the current ETF does not adequately cover the phone’s subsidy.

This may be true, but let’s just say the timing is interesting. True, Verizon made a similar move in raising early termination fees last year, (Verizon’s ETF is $350 and drops every month as well) but one can’t help but wonder why AT&T is doing this now. Part I’m sure is related to the iPhone 4G release, but is some part of it related to the fact that they know their exclusivity deal is coming to an end and they want to make sure that they can take one more swipe at their customers as they jump ship and head for Verizon?

The Promise of the Microcell

I’ve got mixed emotions on this one. First off, when the heck is AT&T going to release the damn thing nationwide? We’ve been promised the Microcell for over a year now with the nationwide release being right around the corner. Then AT&T announced the Microcell came out of the “testing phase” in Mid-April but it still isn’t available in most areas. Apparently AT&T has to push out a network upgrade for the device to work with the towers. I check the AT&T website every day, no Microcell yet.

I’m not sure I like the idea of the Microcell. Of course I like the option for customers who have very poor AT&T service to have an alternative way to use their phone. But, I already pay for AT&T service that I can’t use. On average, I use around 200 minutes a month on my phone, not because I don’t want to use any more minutes, but because I can’t. My phone doesn’t work in the areas where I make most of my phone calls. So because AT&T has poor service, I have to pay them another $150 for a device to connect to my broadband to supplement their network. That doesn’t quite seem fair. I pay for the minutes, I can’t use them so I have to pay for the Microcell and I have to pay for the broadband. By the way, for the first time in years, I also now pay for a home phone line because I can’t use my cell phone at home.

If AT&T had some kind of policy that would provide the microcell to customers for free or at a drastically reduced cost if there were documented network issues in their area, I would feel much better about this whole situation. Unfortunately, they’ve got me. I can’t make a call, I don’t want to give up my iPhone, so I’ll pay the $150 for the microcell. But all the while, I’ll hate them a little bit for it.

What to do?

While writing this blog post I called up AT&T customer support. They were polite and tried to be helpful, as always. Unfortunately they had no news on the possibility of any new towers or Microcell availability in my area. One thing I do have to say for AT&T is that their customer service has been great. So long as you’re polite, the AT&T reps will do their best to help you and throw a couple of bucks credit at you for you troubles. Unfortunately, they can’t build a tower or upgrade a network. So for now, I sit and wait as I have been for the past year.

Which brings me to the question of what do I do next? A lot of that depends on what’s announced at WWDC. I’ll have to see how magical and revolutionary the new iPhone 4G really is to justify me upgrading and how strong Steve’s reality distortion field is. Although I’m doing the best I can to mentally prepare myself for iPhone launch day and resist the urge to immediately pre-order an iPhone online, we all know there’s a pretty decent chance of that happening.

My iPhone 3G is adequate for my needs for now, but my AppleCare is due to expire soon and with the new iPhone 4.0 OS having limited functionality on the 3G iPhone, I’m really about due for an upgrade. At some point I’m afraid I’ll drop my 3G or it will finally die and I’ll have no choice but to buy a new iPhone. But for now, it’s adequate for my needs.

A lot also depends on the Microcell. Right now I don’t even have the option to use the Microcell, but I can’t help but wonder whether I could live with AT&T another two years if I could reliably make and receive calls in my home. This would alleviate about 80% or more of my problems. It won’t solve my problems everywhere, but it’s a start. Assuming of course I can actually buy it at some point.

Depending on the new pricing that is announced on the iPhone, it looks as though the cost of buying an iPhone at the subsidized rate and paying the early termination fee is a few bucks cheaper than buying a contract-free iPhone. I might also look at waiting a while and trying to pickup a refurb or gently used 3G S or 4G without a contract.

I’m sure I’m not the only one facing this dilemma. I’d be curious to hear what others are going to do. Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Netflix changed the movie rental market forever with its business model. I haven’t stepped foot in a traditional movie rental store since activating my Netflix subscription. In fact, the idea now seems so old fashioned. Who would want to drive to a rental store, suffer the limited selection and frequent inability to rent the newest titles? Inevitably,   you wouldn’t get around to watching the movie until the day it was due and someone would get stuck driving back to the rental store in their PJs in order to avoid a ridiculous late fee. No, thank you!

Unfortunately, the rental market is changing again, and Netflix may be struggling to keep up the pace. Now, I don’t even want to wait the reasonable two business days for my Netflix movies to arrive. I want to be able to turn on the TV, push a button and have the movie come to me. Netflix offers streaming, and the service beats almost anything offered by the competition.  But the service has suffered from the random availability of titles and the near non-existent availability of new releases. You may add a title to your instant streaming queue and a month later it’s unavailable.

Netflix isn’t all to blame for the availability problems. I’m sure they would love nothing more than to have every single movie available for instant HD streaming. Sadly, the movie studios are trying to hold on to a dying revenue scheme and are putting the brakes on the innovation companies like Netflix are trying to bring.

In an effort to focus more attention on the streaming service, Netflix is striking deals with the studios that further limit their ability to offer new releases. Just a few months ago, Netflix inked a deal with Warner Brothers whereby new release titles wouldn’t be available for rent until 28 days following their release for sale. Redbox recently had to make similar concessions in order to settle litigation with Warner.

What sealed the deal for me was a growing inability to access new releases. Since very few new release movies are available for streaming I have no choice but to add the physical DVD to my queue. Over the past few months I’ve noticed the wait time for new DVDs growing longer and longer. Recently, I had four new releases at the top of my queue, all with “very long waits.” It was over a month of waiting for these movies before I finally received one. Some people have speculated that Netflix is buying fewer movies in an effort to save costs. Perhaps it’s just a growth in membership as more physical rental locations close. Whatever the reason, the ultimate result is longer delays and the push by the movie theaters to delay new release rentals will only compound the problem.

By contrast, a recent check of the iTunes store showed that every one of the four titles Netflix was showing as a “very long wait” was available to rent instantly. This was a pleasant surprise as iTunes also has to deal with the studios pressure to push back the availability of rentals. While there may be a delay in the rental availability of a DVD compared with the sale date, at least with iTunes I’ll be able to rent the movie as soon as it’s available rather than taking my chances with Netflix availability.

For now, I’ve placed my Netflix account on a 3 month hold to see how the other options compare. I spend roughly $9 a month on my Netflix subscription, and on a typical month watch maybe 3 movies. With $2.99 iTunes and Amazon Unbox rentals and $1 a night Redbox and Blockbuster Express rentals, my bet is that I’ll spend the same or less money every month and actually watch more of the movies I want when I want.

So, Netflix and I are taking a break from each other while I experiment with other movie delivery methods. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll report back later with an update. The good news is I can restart my queue with a few simple mouse clicks.

Traditional mobile broadband plans have required two-year minimum contract. Verizon and AT&T both have lower-level plans that range between $35 and $40 a month for between 200 and 250 MB of data. Standard 5 GB mobile plans cost around $60 a month. For traditional wireless data plan, I can expect to pay somewhere between $842 to  $1,440 over the course of a two-year contract plus, the cost of the equipment which can vary between free and a couple of hundred dollars depending on the device purchased.

When I look back on the past year, there have probably only been a handful of times that I would have liked to have mobile broadband access for my computer but I didn’t otherwise have coverage. If tethering my iPhone to my computer would seem to be an ideal solution. Unfortunately, here in the states AT&T has failed to launch tethering and given the current state of the AT&T network, no one realistically believes it will see this as viable option any time soon.  $1,400 over the life of a 2 year contract seems an awfully steep price to pay for something that I really wouldn’t use all that often.

For few years now, I have been looking for a pay-as-you-go broadband solution but until recently there have been no plans available.  Within the past 6 months, Virgin Mobile (a pre-paid MVNO that uses the Sprint Network) launched a service called Broadband2Go. Verizon has also announced the availability of prepaid mobile broadband. My hope is that with two carriers coming on board we’ll start to see others follow and more competition in this space.

You’re going to pay more per MB of data using a pre-paid plan. For example, a 5GB plan at $60 a month with a monthly contract is about $0.01 per MB. As of the time of this writing, here’s a breakdown of the plans and the cost per MB (rounded to the nearest penny) for the Virgin and Verizon prepaid plans.

Typical Contract Plan

• $60 for 5GB per month = $0.01 per MB

Verizon

• $15 for 75 MB (use within 1 day) = $0.20 per MB
• $30 for 250 MB (use within 1 week) = $0.12 per MB
• $50 for 500 MB (use within  30 days) = $0.10 per MB

(1 day is a 24 hour period, 1 week is 7 days)

Virgin Mobile

• $10 for 100 MB (use within 10 days) = $0.10 per MB
• $20 for 250 MB (use within 30 days) = $0.09 per MB
• $40 for 600 MB (use within 30 days) = $0.06 per MB
• $60 for 1GB (use within 30 days) = $0.05 per MB

Obviously, the cost per MB of data is significantly more expensive with a prepaid plan. Looking at cost per MB alone, these plans make no sense. But if you start to look at your realistic overall usage, then a prepaid plan can save the occasional user significant money over the course of a year.

There are a couple of things to consider when looking at these pre-paid plans. First is the quality of the network. When comparing the Virgin Mobile (Sprint) and Verizon wireless networks, Verizon by far has more coverage. But if you live and travel mainly within the coverage area of the carrier this becomes less of an issue. Second, is your use.  Are you more likely to need data to use over the course of a couple of days, or just for one instance at a time? How many times on an average month or year do you see yourself using the device? Third is the price of the device. With prepaid plans you typically don’t get a discount on the device. WIth Virgin Mobile, you have one choice, the Ovation MC760 by Novatel Wireless for $99. Verizon has more hardware options that start at $120 and up.

In my case, I see myself mainly needing relatively small amounts of data usage for one time access. Or perhaps slightly larger amounts for a trip over a couple of days.    So the Virgin Mobile option looks like it will work best for my needs. My best guess is I’ll probably use the device 4-6 times a year and spend $10 -$20 each time. After paying $100 for the card and assuming I use the $20 plan six times a year (which is probably high) I’ve spent $220 a year for my first year of access compared to $720 I would pay for a monthly data plan.

After doing the math, I’m sold. I’ve ordered a Broadband2Go USB device from Virgin Mobile’s online store. I managed to find a special where I get my first $20 of service free and plan to use that when I travel for Macworld if an opportunity doesn’t present itself sooner. It may be a while before I need to use the card, but when I do, I’ll post an update and let you know how it all works out.