Fuck iPhone.

Wait, wait. That’s not right. Fuck Apple.

Ok, that’s better. See, I have nothing against the iPhone per se. In fact, all told, I’ve owned 6 iPhones altogether. That involves buying one, getting bored of it, selling it, buying another one, selling that one, and so on. Each time there would be this inexplicable sense of anticipation, like I was going to pick up a new puppy. Then I would it up, and would set it up, jailbreak it, load all my old apps, and it would be like that first hit, the one that gets you really, really high, all over again.

But like that first high, it’s never as good the second time. Each time the phone was a little less enticing.

So in February I sold another 3GS in anticipation of Telus’ Milestone release. I’d heard great things about the 2.0.1 Android device, and in spite of its shortcomings, seemed like a very cool device. But soon it wasn’t good enough. I missed the apps that Android didn’t yet have. I missed the great RSS readers, the NY Times, I missed how smooth everything was.

So I sold the device and bought another used 3GS. And again I was disheartened. Jailbreaking provided usable multitasking; 4.0 was not an exciting release for anyone in the jailbreak world. The iPhone is app reliant; in fact, there is barely anything you can do outside the app framework. Once a notification comes and goes, there is no way to retrieve them. The Settings app provides no usable information on current installed apps.

So Android was like an open world; it is World of Warcraft to iPhone’s Diablo (I don’t really do games, sorry if that’s not apt). There was usable information wherever you looked. You could see what song was playing, check out a widget one of the many home screens, turn off WiFi, turn on GPS. Your live wallpaper could show you your location on Google Maps. It breathed. It still breathes two versions later.

iPhone 4 is a beautiful piece of closed world. I cannot wait to read books on it, and to watch HD YouTube videos. But in terms of sheer value, $659+tax for the 16GB version, unlocked and off-contract, does not make sense to me. You can buy the HTC Legend on Bell for $350+tax and unlock it for $5, forever. No software unlock, no tinkering. Forever. You can (could) buy the Nexus One for $529US ($550ish)+tax and it does a whole lot more to the average geek.

I’m a geek. I will always be a tinkerer and a user. I consume like the rest of us, but my heart is in making the software better, faster. Despite the Library of Congress ostensibly legalizing jailbreaking, Apple will not stop trying to stop hackers from doing it. iPhone 4 in Canada will be one of the most popular phones ever released.

But the magic, at least for now, is over.

PS.

I don’t anticipate an Antennagate in this country. The networks are too robust. Shouldn’t be an issue. But when the white iPhone 4 is released later in the year, I expect there to be a new antenna design. And when that happens there will be a lot of really, really pissed off early adopters. And Canadians, with their more robust networks, will be there to pick up the AT&T pieces, unlock the shit out of them, and make them work.