Ever since I picked up my iPhone 3GS last year, I've been telling anyone who wants to listen (and even some who don't) about my love for the gadget.
It's a mini-computer that uses a ba-zillion different programs (called applications or "apps") you can get through iTunes, it's a camera, video camera, music and video player, game machine and oh, yeah, a telephone.
"Well, why don't you just marry your phone then?" some have said to me - to which I reply, "I'm already married, smarty pants - and besides, they still don't allow marriages between man and machine - I checked."
But that's probably a good thing, because then I'd be ball-and-chained to an old, washed-up has-been.
Sure, we had some good times, baby, don't get me wrong, but ever since they announced the iPhone 4, I think we've been drifting apart.
I find myself coveting the new front-facing camera and slimmer, sexier body (oh my!) - not to mention 4's increased performance.
I have to admit it. I've been tempted to leave you 3GS.
It's not you. It's me.
But I probably shouldn't start registering china patterns with the iPhone 4 either, because recent reports are suggesting that although the new Apple device has all these hot new features - it has issues with touching.
Specifically (and according to many reports from owners and tech pundits), if you touch it in a particular spot the signal strength drops significantly.
So, it's a wonderful state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line, super-zappy-pow portable phone that you actually can't hold?
As soon as these damaging reports started surfacing, Apple was very quick to issue a memo to its store staff to help all the loyal customers who waited in line for hours to add their hard-earned cash to Apple's big pile of dough.
The memo blamed customers, saying they were "holding it wrong," and instructed staff to not offer any sort of free case or cover (which apparently solves the problem).
I imagine that would've been seen as, y'know, taking responsibility for its product and doing right by its loyal customers - but apparently that's a bad thing in today's business world.
Instead, Apple released a statement saying it wasn't a hardware issue at all, but rather something to do with the way the phone calculated the number of bars (reception). Um, OK.
Seriously. They said it was an optical illusion of sorts, and not to do with touching it in the lower left corner, despite all the physical proof, tests and first-person accounts by users.
In fact, just this week Consumer Reports said it would not be recommending the iPhone 4, warning consumers about the problem with reception. It gave the phone high marks everywhere else, but said until Apple issued a free fix to the design flaw, it suggested consumers stick with the tried-and-true iPhone 3GS for now.
I was wrong, baby. I'm sorry.
I'll never look at another phone again, I promise.
(Well, until a slimmer, faster model that's bug-free comes along).
