Apple iPhone WiFi Problems And The Palm Pre

For the first time since I bought my Apple iPhone 2G last year, I’m seriously considering switching from this half-beloved / half-hated device for the Palm Pre. I was recently on vacation in Cabo San Lucas carrying my iPhone and my laptop. WiFi connection was only available in the lobby of the resort we were staying at. I figured, sure no problem … hey I’m on vacation anyway … work only in the lobby.

The first morning, before the fam woke up, I tiptoed downstairs to the lobby with my Apple iPhone. I looked smugly over at the other travelers with their big bulky laptops furiously tapping away at email. While sitting on one of their luxurious leather couches I tried to connect to the hotel WiFi. To my dismay, I could not get a connection to any WiFi hub. I kept trying for at least 20 minutes, moving from seat to seat, and one end of the lobby to the other. I even sat next to one of those big chunky laptop owners … NO WiFi.

Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper. At that point I had NO idea what the problem was. Later on in the day I brought my laptop down and had NO problem whatsoever getting a WiFi signal – a good signal too. A couple of evenings later, I happened upon another proud owner of an Apple iPhone who had the exact same WiFi problem.

We eventually moved to another hotel later in our stay. At this point, I had no idea what was going on thinking it was only a signal problem. But, I had the same WiFi issue at this hotel as well. My laptop worked, but my Apple iPhone had a WiFi problem.

It was only a couple of weeks later, while trolling forums that I realized the issue. There were numerous posts from “proud” Apple iPhone owners who complained about their WiFi problem after upgrading to OS 3.0. How could Apple allow this to happen? To this day, it’s still unresolved, even on the three other iPod Touches that I upgraded to OS 3.0.

On another note, my partner, Alex, bought a Palm Pre about two months ago. Now, I’d been a Palm user for several years before switching to the sexy iPhone last year. There were 2 major reasons that I made the switch: big gorgeous screen (I’m an avid amateur photographer) and applications galore. It was just one cool device.

Alex boasted to me that the Palm Pre, with its oh so slightly smaller screen, was an Apple iPhone killer device. One of the main reasons is because of its physical keyboard and multi-tasking capability. I, of course, having already made the leap to the iPhone platform, was not easily impressed.

UNTIL I started experiencing first had this WiFi problem and investigating pricing structures. The WiFi problem, of course, did not happen with Alex. He was vacationing with his Palm Pre in Thailand and Laos, happily emailing me to his heart’s content from free WiFi providers.

So, I started comparison shopping based on pricing structures. AT&T requires a minimum $30 data plan, $5 minimum for 200 text messages a month and some minimum number of minute plan. Sprint, on the other hand (I also have a Sprint plan for the rest of the family), has a data plan for as low as $10 / month – all you can eat, and a $20 / month, unlimited texting for the whole family. Sexiness aside, doing the math on pricing alone, I’d save a bundle by switching to the Palm Pre and perhaps gain reliability, multitasking, and a physical keyboard all in a slimmer package.

How’s that for Steve Jobs’ declaration that the Apple iPhone is the new PC. Both Apple and AT&T need to get off their laurels and start thinking about the customer, before the customer starts thinking about thinking about the competition!