5 Reasons to not buy the iPhone 3G

With iPhone 3G parties going on everywhere in the world (word has it that in Japan, more than 1,000 people are lining up for the iPhone as I write this), it’s surely difficult to resist the temptation. For those sitting out on the party this time, to make you feel better, TUAW posted an article a few days ago on why you shouldn’t by the iPhone 3G on Friday.

I also have an entry a few weeks ago on my decision to not buy.

So to convince myself and prevent myself from going to an Apple Store to buy one, here are my top five reasons to not get an iPhone:

1. It’s locked! I travel frequently between the States and Japan, and not being able to swap SIM cards is not going to cut it for me. The iPhone will most likely be hacked, so I’m going to see how that comes out.
   
   
2. Not so great camera and lack of front camera – The 2 megapixel camera is lackluster, but more importantly, the iPhone 3G lacks a front camera, a pretty standard cell phone feature these days.
   
   The front camera opens up the possibilities of using iChat to make video calls to other iChat users on their Macs. If you buy your iPhone now, just imagine when the next version, which will probably have a front camera, comes out. Your friends will all be making video calls, and you’ll be left out. 
   
   
3. You can’t use your iPhone as a modem. There are probably a slew of reasons why they don’t let you do it. But from a user’s perspective, why can’t I use my iPhone as a modem when other smart phones can?
   
   
4. The pricing plans – Compare iPhone’s pricing plan to your current plan. If you’re going to pay more, is it really worth it? 
   
   
5. Lack of Bluetooth features – You can’t send or receive files via Bluetooth, and you can’t listen in stereo with Bluetooth headphones. Though this can be fixed through a software update, we don’t really know when. 
   

So there you go, my 5 reasons for not buying the iPhone 3G now. I have a iPod Touch, so that could be another reason for me.

For those not getting the iPhone 3G, there is still plenty of exciting Apple news such as:

• the upcoming iPhone 2.0 software, which will be available for older iPhones and iPod Touch
  
• a bunch of new iPhone / iPod Touch applications with the launch of the App Store
  
• MobileMe.
  

Stay tuned for impressions.