So I reflected.  I pondered.  I daydreamed.  I checked available funds.  I went back to daydreaming.  I checked available funds again.  I quickly learned that daydreaming, while completely lacking in material gain, was actually quite inexpensive on the whole and could sustain me for a good while.  But, just in case, I checked available funds again in case anything had changed in that last 45 seconds I spent daydreaming.  I then went back to daydreaming, but this time, I was daydreaming about both the iPhone 4S and a lot more available funds. 

Mmmmm…..  Available funds….

I also noticed there were a lot of complainers online.  TONS of people twittering, blogging, facebooking that Apple dropped the ball.  THEY HAVE SOME NERVE, not giving us the iPhone 5 they never once mentioned or promised.  HOW DARE THEY reuse a winning design and make millions of accessories useful for yet another year?  I CANNOT BELIEVE they will only double my total internet download speed on the AT&T Network.    I believe OMGFAILLOL was typed very near the sacred words “Apple” and “iPhone,” which amazingly isn’t against United States law yet.

Me? As a proud iPhone 4 user, I’m actually kind of glad that the iPhone 4S would probably let me re-use my expensive Otter case.  I’m just fine with the 8MP camera upgrade and the CPU speed boost.  I’d be looking forward to the supposed extended battery life.  I’d be thrilled with the revamped dual-antenna and better call connection.  I’ve not used Siri, so I don’t know yet how much I’d care that it’s an exclusive.  All of the IOS 5 and iCloud features are pretty much the same on the iPhone 4 vs 4S as far as I know, so there’s not much to discuss there. 

So there I was, convinced that I needed to convince myself to upgrade to the iPhone 4S.  I just needed to convince myself to do it. 

But I paused. 

I had to ask myself — did I have enough experience to do an upgrade?  I know that for some, experience is an over-rated characteristic, but for me, I needed to make sure I knew enough to go through with it.

Interestingly enough, it didn’t take me very long to determine that I indeed had some history upgrading phones and music devices.

Lessee… That’s one iPhone 3G, 3 iPhone 3GS’s, 2 iPhone 4′s, a Windows 7 Samsung Focus and two portable music players.  Not shown: the Cingular 8525, the 4 or 5 Blackberry 8700C’s, or the dozen or so phones and gadgets from before I started keeping my boxes.

I needed more than just experience, however.  I needed to be able to rationalize the purchase.  I needed some sort of “hook” to make the purchase a necessity, not just a luxuy.

The wife’s 3GS is acting up.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.  Her phone is a piece of crap!  “3gs,” I said mockingly, in my head.  Over and over again, I bullied that phone in my mind.  I can’t believe my own wife has a prehistoric bundle of copper wires and duct tape that calls itself a smartphone.  The battery dies after just 30 minutes!  The docking port doesn’t always accept every cable!  Calls disconnect all the time!  IT’S A 3GS AFTER ALL. 

But, I quickly reminded myself, if *I* were to upgrade to the iPhone 4S, then I could give my iPhone 4 to her!  I could even make it sound really really good, like so good it would be on par as a 20th wedding anniversary present or something.  Boy am I smart!

Giddy from how smart I realized I was, I re-checked available funds again and my spirit sunk like the stock market after a jobs speech.  To add insult to injury, my brain decided to remind me that with one of the three phone upgrades available on my AT&T Family Plan, I can get a FREE 3GS replacement from the Apple Store to fix my wife’s phone woes.

Oh well, back to waiting for available funds.

There are three iPhone 4S’s available, and with the upgrade, they are $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB.  I have the 16GB iPhone 4 now and am always bumping against the limit, so I already know I need to budget for at least the 32GB.  And with a bigger camera, I might be taking more pictures so the 64GB might be the thing to get, but with iCloud, I can store more things off-the-phone.

But it’s still 300 or 400 dollars, and that’s a lot of do-re-mi, Fasola Tea.

Here’s where you come in.

If I missed any good rationale or factors that would help convince me that this purchase is a necessity rather than a luxury, please comment below. 

If you have words of encouragement for me during these difficult times, please comment below.

If you have tips on how to deal with the time between now and when I get the funds to upgrade, please comment below.

If you happen to have any extra available funds or Apple gift cards, please comment below.

Summary: It’s a better phone + PDA + music + social media tool + web browser + gadget.

Details are in the extended entry.

I’m just kidding.  There are no more details.  iRock.  iPeriod.

Now I better get me my phone tomorrow.  Despite Apple’s emails assuring me of my reservation, I have reservations about it. 

Click to embiggify

Here’s what I see in this email:

• Subject says “A reminder about your June 19 reservation”.
  This makes me feel like I have a special place in Apple’s heart.  They even showed me a picture of their silver-grey heart (conveniently shaped like an apple), as if a piece of it were removed out of the right side, and I’m the piece that’s missing.  Cue the “aww” track.
• They look forward to seeing me tomorrow.
  They expect me.  They want me.  They love me.  And don’t think I missed that they put this loving directive where?  RIGHT ON THE SAME LINE AS THE APPLE.
• First paragraph says “Just a reminder that you can purchase your reserved iPhone anytime tomorrow”
  Whoa.  First they say “reservation” and now they confirm it again with the word “reserved”.  And they even labeled the iPhone as mine.  MINE.  Do you understand what that means?  It means it’s mine!
• Fine Print #1: “Your reservation is valid until close of business on Friday, June 19, 2009.
  Third time’s the charm, right?  They referred to my “reservation” again!

However.

(Remember Harry Potter?  Remember Professor Snape and how awesome Alan Rickman was playing him? Easily my favorite character from the 5 movies.  He’s the one I hired to come in and say “however” just now.)

So, again I say.  Turn your books to page three hundred and ninety-four.  Where I say “However” and incredibly unique and engaging way.

At pool Wednesday night, Ren expressed slight doubt at my ability to actually PROCURE an iPhone on Friday.  Needless to say, this freaked me out a bit (more like, upset me) and in this email, sure enough, were two more sentences that didn’t make my lunch sit properly, what with all the butterflies that recently migrated there.

• Reservation does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
  GAH!  A few days ago, they said “Pre-authorization does not guarantee…” but now they’re using my special term!  They’re using “reservation” and putting all sorts of limitations on it, like it’s not, well, A RESERVATION.

Is there some other dictionary I’m unaware of, where “reservation” means nothing but “haha sucker, you’re just like the other people without a reservation”?

We’ll see tomorrow.

Side note: I like how each of the manufacturers like to double up their graphics whenever showing off a phone.  It’s like you subconsciously get TWO phones.

I have my personal list of PROs and CONs about each phone/service.  What I’d like from you is not necessarily a vote for one of the other (because WHICH phone YOU would choose is less applicable than WHY), but instead, list your likes and dislikes of each.

Here are the facts first:

• I’m currently with AT&T and I qualify for the upgrade discounts… so I’m pretty sure that means $99 for 8GB old iPhone, $199 for 16GB new iPhone and $299 for 32GB new iPhone.
• I believe I’d save $15-20 a month on the iPhone all-inclusive plan over the Blackberry all inclusive plan.  I still have to confirm this, though.  (We already have unlimited texting on our family plan)
• I’m an Enterprise user and my group administers the BES at work (some of you know what that means and why it’s a factor).
• I’m an extremely fast typer and I rely heavily on email functionality, both work-related (Exchange) and personal (Gmail via IMAP).

I think what I’ll do is this: I’ll let Dave2 make his very witty and comedic-yet-unrelated comment, and then I’ll sit and watch the PROs and CONs filter in from all you smart and helpful folk.  Later, when everyone’s had a chance, I’ll see if any of mine were missed and I’ll add them in.  I guess really what I’m saying is I may steal the thunder from a lot of comments if I list out all my factors, and I don’t want to pre-empt comments.  I love comments. 

Feel free to be as technical as you want.  Or as frilly, I don’t care.