Some folks have suggested that I could upload blog posts via an iPhone instead of using my Nokia E71. So, why don’t I use an iPhone for moblogging? It’s simple, because you don’t ever own an iPhone, you just rent it from ATT. Yep, rent.

You can’t buy an unlocked iPhone. You must pay money to Apple and then to ATT and sign a two-year contract. At the end of the contract what happens? I dunno. Guess you have to stay with ATT since it won’t work with another carrier. In other words, you hope that the rent doesn’t go up again.

It’s different with the Nokia E71. I own it. I can pick my carrier. I can use sim cards in other countries. Etc. And frankly the Nokia E71 does as much or more than the iPhone. For example, it has a hot-swappable micro SDHC card slot. Means I can load stuff to my phone very quickly. Means I can put the micro SDHC card in an adapter and shoot photos with my cameras, then put the card back in the phone and then do whatever I like with them. I can also tether the E71 to my laptop. You can’t do that with an iPhone! Can you believe that it’s impossible? I haven’t found out if you pay ATT more money if you can or not. But, the point is that Apple, who made linking between devices simple and easy to do, won’t allow you to link your Apple Powerbook to the Apple iPhone. Oh, I know, ATT won’t allow it. Part of the contract it has with Apple. It’s a stupid policy. Just one more reason why I’m not on board with the Apple/ATT marriage.

And in the meantime there are hundreds, maybe thousands of applications that will work in the Nokia E71 that have been released as freeware. And more and more new applications are coming about. Like Scribe by Jay Fenton. Seems he has a new version underway that will allow me to upload photos directly from the E71 without doing an ftp to my server.

I refuse to rent an iPhone. I prefer to buy something I own. Sorta like the difference in owning your home or renting from someone else. When the roof leaks I fix it, when it leaks in your rental house, well, maybe the owner will fix it, maybe not.

And, I sit here wondering what will happen two years and one month down the road. How many iPhones will there be in the local landfill? Or, how many folks out there will be paying ATT MORE MONEY to continue their service?