Those of you who know me are well aware that I’m a serious tech/gadget junkie.  I’ve used more mobile devices and platforms than most small towns.  My smartphone affair started years ago with early Windows Mobile devices and within minutes I was hopelessly hooked on these mobile computers.  I was never very happy with WinMobile due to bugs and over-complicated UI.  I switched to Palm a while later only to discover what a disaster the old PalmOS was.  I went back to WinMobile for a while before moving to BlackBerry.  I’ve been an avid BlackBerry fan for a while now and still love so much about the BB platform.  The one major downside for me with BlackBerry was that it is so Windows reliant for a lot of functions and updates.  I’m a daily Mac user and wanted a more symbiotic device that worked with my system.

I had tried both the original iPhone and the 3G and had never been that impressed with them.  They had serious lag problems and were missing some major, key features (MMS, video, enterprise, push, etc…).  My other big complaint was with AT&T, which has deplorable coverage in much of Oregon.  Upon moving to Phoenix this past month I was greeted with a wonderful gift of a new iPhone 3GS.  I was hesitant to activate it at first until discovering that AT&T actually has fast, reliable service here (twilight zone anyone?).  I have to say, I’m very impressed with much of the 3GS so far.  Apple truly has fixed most of the problems that plagued the older models and added the features it needed to compete (no thanks to AT&T).

I do have a couple complaints still about the iPhone.  If you’re going to make the battery non-removable, make sure it holds a decent charge.  I get 1/3 of the battery life on my iPhone that I did with my BlackBerry Tour.  Half the time I look like a cyborg with all the charging cables I need to carry around just to keep it running throughout the day.  I’m a very heavy user so I’m sure I don’t fit into their “typical usage” benchmarks, but still, the battery life is horrible.  I also wish that Apple and AT&T would be a little less Apple when it comes to app requirements.  I know they want to have control over their device, but we need (not want, but need) certain things enabled on our iPhones.  Google Voice, tethering, removable batteries, and expandable memory would all be incredible additions.

As far as the ecosystem of usage, the iPhone is the best I have used yet.  The Mac+iPhone+MobileMe experience is absolutely beautiful.  Apple has developed an entire world of symbiotic usage that is unmatched in the mobile world.  Sadly all that symbiosis comes at a steep price.

I’ll still recommend BlackBerry to a lot of people as it is just faster and easier for some lifestyles, but I’m a true iPhone convert myself.  Now if only we could dump AT&T, get some dev loosening, and we’ll be set.

*note* yes, I know many things are available through jailbreaking, but it just wouldn’t take on my newer 3GS and is far too unreliable to be considered a valid alternative.  It’s also beyond many generic users skill-sets and invalidates the warranty if not reverted before service.