3 Reasons the iPhone 3Gs is Not For You

It doesn’t take much more than a stroll around the web to see what everyone and their mother is talking about. Apple unveiled its rumored and highly anticipated iPhone 3Gs yesterday at the WWDC keynote presentation. Besides a number of significant hardware and software upgrades, they also decided to drop the price of their 8GB 3G (notice, no “s”) model to a mere $99 with the hope that even the dude in charge of the fries at the local burger joint will be sending SMS messages to his girlfriend in between orders. If you are the previously mentioned “Fry Guy” I felt it might be important to share a few reasons why the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs devices might not be for you.

1. You have one email address that you check no more than once a week:

   One of the most widely used features by the largest number of iPhone users (besides the phone feature itself) has to be email. The convenience and ease of setting up and managing multiple email accounts on the iPhone is incredible. If you rarely check your email or don’t have an email account at all then the iPhone is probably not for you. No need to waste your hard earned cash on a $30/month data plan if your not going to need it.

2. You have no intention on installing iTunes or synching your iPhone:

   To some current iPhone users this might sound ridiculous, but I know a handful of people who have never once attached their iPhone to a computer and have no idea why they should. By not synching your iPhone to your iTunes account, you miss out on a number of things… most notably backing up the data (or lack thereof) on your iPhone. Imagine the fry guy drops his iPhone in the fryer accidently while sending his girlfriend a flirty text message when the boss isn’t looking. He could just buy himself a new iPhone and be up and flirting in a no time right? Sure, but all his friend’s phone numbers, photos of his girlfriend from their weekend roadtrip, and other data would be lost. Back ups are good a thing.

3. You don’t like to travel or attend events:

   There are a ton of features that make the iPhone 3G and the new iPhone 3Gs a perfect companion for those of us who are not hermits. You could add new and interesting people or businesses to our address book (don’t forget to shoot a quick snapshot to add their smiling face to their contact information), manage your appointments with the handy calendar application, and capture special moments using the new 3 megapixel photo and video camera with autofocus on the iPhone 3Gs. Add these features to a growing list of social networking applications, like the Facebook and Twitter apps and you can share your experiences with friends and family every step of the way. Lets not forget to integrated GPS and Google maps to guide you to new destinations on road trips. Don’t like people or can’t stand traveling outside of the city limits? Then these features might not get much milage from your phone.

There you have it. A few reasons why the new iPhone 3Gs or the original iPhone 3G might not be your cup of tea. I love my iPhone and I recently pre-purchased an iPhone 3Gs to replace my 1st generation iPhone. Although I think the iPhone is a device that can open up a whole new world of experiences for anyone willing to use all the tools, applications, and games available on the platform, it is safe to say that it is a device that not everyone should spend their hard earned money on. Do you know anyone who seems to have purchased an iPhone for the “coolness” factor, but doesn’t really use more than one or two features? Could they get away with purchasing a standard cell phone with no data plan?