Smartphone satisfaction, network concerns, and iOS limits mean no iPhone 4 preorder

I admit I have a problem and I am a smartphone addict who buys phones to satisfy my desire for the latest and greatest in mobile computing. Actually, a major reason I do it is so that I can write articles here based on personal experiences. The iPhone 4 preorders started today and we see the Apple and AT&T online stores being brought to their knees. I owned the last three Apple iPhones, but so far have yet to place a preorder or make plans to visit a store next Thursday when the phones are available. I am sure the hardware and UI will be fantastic and I will definitely have "new smartphone envy", but I am honestly completely satisfied at the moment with my large screen HTC EVO 4G on Sprint and the Nokia E73 Mode & N900 on T-Mobile. The AT&T network, lack of a glanceable home screen, lack of a good notification system, and the fact that I have an iPad are all more reasons I am skipping the iPhone 4 at this time.

I skip around carriers and smartphones and am used to paying ETFs, but having just paid Verizon a hefty fee to cancel my Palm Pre Plus contract I think I will be avoiding both Verizon ($350) and AT&T ($325) in the future since they both jacked up their ETFs to amounts quite a bit more than what Sprint ($200) and T-Mobile ($200) charge. I was fairly satisfied with AT&T's data network when I had my iPhone 3G and 3GS, but their voice service was horrible as I had dropped calls every single day even when the signal indicator showed a strong cellular signal. AT&T also is the only carrier putting limits on their wireless data (2GB) and with a device focused on data this is not good for the customer.

I also like to have glaceable screens on my smartphones so I can quickly see what appointments I have coming up, what calls or texts came in, and quick efficient access to parts of the operating system that I want to access. Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile give you the best glanceable options while webOS and iOS are much more application shortcut focused. I love the notifications in webOS and Android and this is one area where Apple's iOS is still quite weak. I also have and enjoy using my iPad. iOS applications that I use have a better experience on the large screen of the iPad and I doubt I could go back to using the small 3.5 inch iPhone display, even if it has pixels I cannot visibly see.