Still the only kid on the block that doesn't have an iPhone? Wondering if you're missing out on anything by saving yourself 6 C-Notes? It's time to find out. A week old, there are now plenty of reviews of this new gadget out there, so let's put them all together.

MobileBurn
"Considering this is very much a version 1.0 product, Apple is to be applauded for the overall stability of the device and the amazing performance of its user interface. "

PhoneArena
"While the iPhone is just remarkable in what it does, the lack of key features may be a turn off for some users."

Cnet
(8/10) "Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn't always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player."

Laptop Mag
A whole comprehensive guide to all things iPhone.

PhoneScoop
"Apple didn't set out to create something that would match existing smartphones feature-for-feature. Rather, they set out to re-invent the whole idea of a mobile phone, and they succeeded."

AT&T Official Support
For those who already have the iPhone and need to know where to go for extra help.

I will post more as I find more articles.

As AT&T rushes to get ready for the single biggest day ever for the company a mere 5 days away, it causes one to pause and ponder the question: When will it all be finally OVER?

Seriously. We've had over 6 months to build up all this hype for the iPhone, and yet we as a consumer base don't know that much more about the phone than what we learned when Steve Jobs announced it in January. So we've had 6 months of speculation, rumors, and obsessive fans.

I frankly am ready to just be done with it. Sure, I like the concept of the iPhone. I think it will be a nice gadget and a good quality phone. iBut i don't ibelieve it's iworth all the ihype. I don't think the first iPhone will sell as well as everyone thinks. I believe a lot of people will go into AT&T stores out of curiousity and will want to play with it. However, very few people will be willing to not only shell out $500-600 for the phone, but pay an early contract termination fee of $200 and commit to 2 years with AT&T. That's a LOT of obligation just to get a phone!

So the phone will come out, the hype will die down, reviews will be made, consumers will choose to buy and/or return it, and the fate of iPhone will have been sealed in the coming weeks. And then, once it does, we can look forward to the next iPhone to come out. And the cycle begins again.

The wafer-thin A727 has now hit the stores. This is a bar-style 3G phone with Video Share, 1.3 MP camera, expandable memory, quad-band, speakerphone, and Bluetooth 2.0. It's going for $120 after rebate and 2 year contract.

Cnet First Take

Previously, on prepaid: the options....
I talked about some of the independant prepaid companies, Virgin Mobile and Tracfone. This time around I will mention each of the Big 3 and their prepaid options.

Verizon:
InPulse - the PAYG plan offers Unlimited IN Network calling, Unlimited Night Calling, and 10 cents/min to everyone else; you get these perks at the cost of a 99 cent per day access charge.
EasyPay - Verizon's PYP plan offers two different rates, 350 minutes for $50 and 700 for $70; each rate offers Unlimited IN calling and 3000 nights/weekend minutes.

AT&T GoPhone:
PAYG - two choices. Similar to Verizon, you can get Unlimited calling within the network and 10 cents/min to everyone else at a cost of $1 daily access charge. You only get charged the dollar on those days you use the phone. Or, you can opt for a flat rate of 25 cents/min, no extra perks. The PAYG plans recently added text packages, and also offers rollover balance (when you refill your account, your previous balance will carry over with the refill).

PYP - AT&T offers four different packages, the perks increasing along with the price. 29.99/month gets you 200 minutes total; 39.99/month gives 300 minutes anytime and 1000 nights/weekends; 49.99/month delivers 400 minutes anytime and unlimited nights/weekends; and finally, 69.99/month promises 650 minutes anytime, unlimited nights/weekends, and unlimited mobile to mobile. Each package offers rollover. If you run out of minutes, you can add more before the end of the month.

T-Mobile:
It looks like T-Mo offers PAYG. The perks come with the Gold Rewards; once you buy a $100 refill card you become a Gold Rewards customer, where no matter what kind of refill card you get from then on you receive 15% more minutes and your minutes won't expire for a year. No text packages, but they cost 10 cents to send and 5 cents to receive; sidekick packages are also available for a dollar a day.

If you have family and/or friends who use Verizon or AT&T, it's probably best to get a PAYG plan with those services simply because they offer unlimited mobile to mobile, which can help save you a lot of money on extra minutes.

The big blue globe has a way of jumping onto the bandwagon, especially when it's the last of the big 4 to do so. Shortly after the launch of Verizon's family unlimited messaging, the light bulb has turned on over AT&T's head. As of June 17 AT&T will offer unlimited messaging for family plans nationwide for $29.99/month. This is a much anticipated event, as many families are large texters and shelling out 19.99 per person. Get ready to save some cash!

The Samsung A717 was released recently through AT&T and there is an interesting amount of excitement that has been brewing about this device. Engadget is already calling it the new Sync (okay, they're just saying they've pushed the Sync out of their minds completely), even though they're sold side by side and we don't see the Syncs disappearing anytime soon. Obviously one major difference is the price; why get a phone with almost all of the same features and a tiny front LCD for $149, when in some markets you can get the Sync for $24.99 with new contract?

So, let's find out how the A717 fares. First, the main features: This phone will soon be featuring Video Share; has a 2 MP adjustable camera, A2DP stereo bluetooth, microSD, HSDPA, and is slightly thinner than the Sync.

As for reviews, those will follow in the near future. I haven't found any yet! Though this phone has already been released, nobody seems very eager to review it. I'm not sure if that's a good sign....

Yes, you heard me: it's official. The big secretive phone will be making its debut on June 29th. So the Apple reps who were telling us the last week of June were correct; but now it's just nice knowing when exactly it's going to come out!

To watch the 3 new commercials that announce this date, click here.

Another phone coming down the pipeline is the Nokia 6085. This one will replace the 6102i in the stores sometime soon, but no official word on when. This phone, in addition to featuring the same stuff as the 6102i, will also throw in expandable memory, A2DP, and gets rid of the antenna.

Official Nokia Site
PhoneScoop

You ever lose your phone or drop it in water and find yourself not only without a phone but also without all of the phone numbers you had saved? AT&T has come up with its solution to the dilemma: Mobile Backup. For $1.99/month, you'll be able to have all of your contact information backed up via your online account; that way, if you lose your phone and get a new one, you can download all of your precious information directly into the new phone. At first it will only be available for certain devices, but this is definitely a great step in the right direction.

For more info, check out the official AT&T Mobile Backup site here.

LG's got some new stuff coming. One of the first to come in AT&T's new supercharged lineup is the CU575 aka Gator, a 3G HSDPA device with video share. That's about all we know at this point. Apparently it's supposed to be coming out sometime this month, but I'll keep you updated!

Check out this picture of the CU575, provided by engadget.

Just got word today that the C417 will be departing from AT&T stores in the near future, to make room for a new model called the A437. Very little is known about this phone. I've had the opportunity to look and handle it once, but I can't find any pictures on the web, and can only find a vague specs sheet from Samsung. I do know for sure that it has EDGE and at least a VGA camera, if not better.

If anybody has additional information please share!

If you've been waiting for the next latest and greatest from RIM, today is the day! The new Blackberry Curve (RIM 8300) is hitting the AT&T stores today.

For more info on the Curve, go here.

Do you currently own a Treo 680 with AT&T? You might like this new update Palm is offering up to fix some of the bugs in its entry-level PDA. Some of the fixes include:

- Better battery life through improved power management and a camera update
- Fixes the device freezing
- New DST software
- Improved international support
- Increased security
- Fixes distorted characters on title bar of phone app

To get the free download, click here.

The new Samsung A717 on AT&T is ready to hit the stores! With 3G, 2 MP camera, Video Record, A2DP for stereo bluetooth use, this is the second phone for the big blue globe that features Video Share (though the actual service is not yet available on the network).

One thing I find interesting is the front of the phone, which showcases a tiny external screen. This is an interesting change, considering the outside screen on most new phones continues to get larger and clearer.

The official release date is this Sunday, June 3.

First takes and specs:
Mobiledia
Electronista

This has been on my mind recently. In light of the Blackberry Curve being released by AT&T tomorrow, and having such short notice on it, I started wondering to myself if AT&T was upset at Apple for deciding to announce the iPhone so early. Normally, with the exception of rumors and speculation of various phones, the carriers don't like to publicly announce that they're releasing a phone until right before.

Why? My guess is that the carriers worry that possible customers will delay in purchasing a phone just to see what the new phone will be like. This is where the iPhone comes into play in this discussion. I know several people who were interested in purchasing a plan through AT&T but, knowing the iPhone is coming out in June, have stalled their purchase just to see if the iPhone will live up to its hype.

No doubt, this phone will have a large impact on customer retention and new activations, and will be hard for competition until they come out with possible "iPhone killers". But were both Apple and AT&T involved in the decision to announce the iPhone 6 months before release?

Here's the reasons I think AT&T would be upset.
1. This gives the other carriers ample time to prepare a device similar to and, quite possibly, better than the iPhone by June.
2. May lose potential customers during that 6 months, because they're all waiting for the iPhone.
3. If Apple chooses not to allow AT&T to subsidize the iPhone, existing customers will have no incentive for renewing a contract with them in order to buy the phone. Thus, the only revenue AT&T could make is from purchase of the actual phone, but not any recurring monthly revenue. They can only hope there will be enough customers coming over from other wireless providers simply for the iPhone.

The main benefit I can see for Steve to announce the iPhone so early, other than creating a LOT of hype, is simply to inspire additional growth in technology through competition. Does this help Apple out? The answer will not come until after the release of the iPhone and its success.

PS. This is the opinion of a guy who knows nothing about Apple's inner workings and does not reflect the view of AT&T or Apple.

The GSM follow up to the Motorola Q, cleverly named the Q9, is rumored to be coming to AT&T in the summer months (the rumors I have heard are that it will come out in July). This new PDA will have 3G support with HSDPA, Windows Mobile 6, and 2 MP camera.

First looks:
InfoSyncWorld
Brighthand
Engadget
Official Motorola Site
BoyGeniusReport: Full Gallery

After a long-anticipated wait, we have finally been graced by the presence of the Nokia N75. This new 3G phone released by AT&T features a 2 MP camera, Bluetooth, Sync capabilities, 40 MB Internal memory, MicroSD slot, among other fabulous features.

Reviews:
Phonescoop
InfoSyncWorld
MobileTechReview
GSM Arena
Cnet (6.3/10)
Nokia Press Release
Laptop Mag

Resources:
Official AT&T Site
Nokia Support

Shopping:
Get the N75 on Amazon!
Nokia N75 on LetsTalk.com

There's a new Blackberry coming to town: the Curve, aka the Blackberry 8300. This is hyped up as the big brother to the Pearl, another consumer-friendly device but this time with a full Qwerty keyboard. The keyboard is supposed to be a small bit larger and easier to use than the 8800, and comes with a 2 MP camera (no wifi or GPS on this one, however.) The word on the street is that this is the BEST RIM yet! Obviously that's personal opinion, but when the experts say that kind of stuff, it really gets your crackberry taste buds salivating. Update: it will also offer PTT and a spellchecker (a first for RIM).

First looks:
Laptop Mag review
Cnet (8/10)
blackberrycurve.com
Gizmodo first take
Wired Blog
Phonescoop

Release Rumors:
BoyGeniusReport: Curve teaser on ATT business site?

Update: The Curve will be released May 31.

Some of the questions I get asked the most on a daily basis deal with the iPhone. Thus, I naturally deduced that it's time to compile all of the confirmed facts that have been released about the iPhone!

Facts:
1. Apple and AT&T have a 5-year exclusivity agreement. This means that AT&T customers can look forward to not just the iPhone, but several other models as well.
2. Costs for the iPhone will be $499 for a 4GB model and $599 for an 8GB model. The reports are that the costs of the phone will not be subsidized for new contracts.
3. It will be quad-band and EDGE net access.
4. Runs on Mac OS X.
5. You'll be able to Sync it up with your iTunes, but I haven't figured out if it will sync with anything else....doesn't look likely at the moment.
6. The introduction of Visual Voicemail. This will provide a list of your voicemails and you can choose which one you want to listen to without having to listen to the previous voicemails first.
7. Soft QWERTY keyboard on a touch screen.
8. 2 MP camera.
9. Safari browser will enable you to view a site as it appears on your computer's browser, and you can simply touch the screen to zoom in.
10. Multi-touch display enabling you to control everything on the phone via various finger gestures.
11. Check out the specs of the iPhone here.
12. One word: Wifi!
13. Threaded SMS feature.
14. Release date: sometime mid-June? (I hear rumors ranging from June 11 to 15, to end of June. Cingular has always had some problems getting their phones out on time, but I prefer to think Apple will be a little more strict and ensure its getting out earlier.)
15. Not available for pre-order.

Links:

Gizmodo post of official press release
Official iPhone site

The 8525 has many names. Some may call it the Cingular 8525. Some may call it the AT&T 8525. Others, the HTC Hermes. Many people simply want to call it that one fancy phone with slide-out keyboard, high speed internet, stereo bluetooth capability, Pocket PC, touch screen, trackwheel, 2 MP camera, Syncing capability with your PC, etc.

Reviews:
Cnet (8/10)
Phonescoop (3.8/5)
MobileTechReview(4.5/5)
Laptop Mag (4/5)
InfoSyncWorld
PocketPC Thoughts


Resources:
AT&T Support
HTC official site

Shopping:
Buy it on Amazon!
Get a 2 GB MicroSD Card
Need another stylus?
8525 Battery
8525 Carry Case