The House that M Built

I’m a geek.  I mean, I have 7 years of work experience, a bachelors degree, and thousands of hours of reading related to technology.  I also switched over to the dark side (as the PC die hards will say), becoming a fan of Mac for your generic computing needs, so it was no suprise when I purchased an Apple iPhone as a graduation present.

I loved that phone.  To me, it was more than a phone.  A phone allows you to make calls, receive and send text messages and emails, and other core functions related to what you would expect for business purposes.  I don’t need to tell any of you that the iPhone was way more than that.  I utilized that phone to it’s fullest extend, I couldn’t keep my hands off it.

Let’s just hope my addiction wasn’t the reason for its downfall.  While in Houston for the 2008 Texas Bowl my phone began to act up, not receiving a cellular signal.  While I would normally have just brushed this off as being in a location that interferes with the network, it wasn’t the case when I’m sitting next to JG and KC and both of their iPhones are not having a single issue.

But whatever, phone dies since searching for a signal eats battery life (and I was already at half battery before this occured), so I deal with the loss of connectivitity (even though it cost me a chance to see my uncle in Houston), and watch the remainder of the game, head back to the hotel and charge the bastard.  After drinking away my sorrows from our loss I make a trip back to my room and grab my phone.  Works.  Perfect.

Now fastfoward to Wednesday Afternoon.  We’ve just landed at the airport in Lansing and begin our bus trip back to Kalamazoo.  While I was able to make and place phone calls at first, I notice halfway between Lansing and I94 that the same problem is occuring.  I restart the phone, no luck.  I figure this is a sparsely populated area, maybe by chance there’s no service.  I look over at KC, whos in the seat across from me, and her phone is working.  I decide to be patient, knowing that I’ll be able to receive service once we pass through Battle Creek.  No such luck.

After that, I think I was able to get the phone working a total of 3 times since Wednesday night.  I’ve done everything to try to fix it myself, and have spoken with AT&T to make sure that there wasn’t an account or network issue on their end.  No go.

Now, I’ve found the downside to owning my iPhone.  I have to drive up to Grand Rapids today to their retail store to get the phone serviced or replaced.  While this wouldn’t be an issue at all with my macbook, it’s definitely a downside for the iPhone, since in the 5 years of having a cell phone I only needed to drive a few miles to get service, not an hour drive like I will take today.

I understand why Apple exerted control over their device.  I’m not complaining over their model, my hope is that they will begin to expand their retail outlets or establish a service presence in other locations to bring their model in line with the expectations of cellular customers.

And while I’ve ranted, I will make one thing clear:  This is not a showstopper in any way for me.  This device delivers the most utility of any phone I’ve ever had.  And I’ve had a lot of phones.