Amid great hoopla and breathlessly gushing anticipation, Apple recently announced the next generation of it highly successful iPhone. It apparently does something called 3G which means something to phone geeks and gets them all excited.

Sitting next to me on my desk are three gadgets. Two of them are in technology terms antiques. There is the third generation iPod, given to me as a gift five years ago. It is on its second hard drive and second battery.

Next to that, a Handspring Treo 90 that I've had almost as long - I bought it on eBay. It goes everywhere with me. I could not function without it's calendar. (Really. Ask my wife.)

Finally we get to the cell phone. A recently acquired LG Chocolate. I'm not crazy about this phone. The buttons and scroll wheel are fussy and not designed for anyone with human sized fingers. If it wasn't for the bluetooth headset which allows me to use it without having to actually touch it, I would have "lost" it already. I got it as a free upgrade when I renewed my contract with Verizon.

What I really want is an iPhone lite. I want the iPod with the touch screen, I'll take the wireless card, and all the software. I don't want 3G networking or Edge or whatever they want to call it. I don't want the internet 24/7 at an extra cost for a data plan. I can deal with the wireless access because I know a number of places where I can get on for free.

What I'm really asking for is an iPod touch that makes phone calls.

And if it would work on Verizon, that would be helpful too.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 01:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment