Most people who know me, write me off to being an Apple Fanboy and that's fine.   The truth of the matter is that it is much more complex than that.  I do enjoy and celebrate Apple products, why?  Because they work for me.  Not you, me.  As a technologist, I have spent too many hours to mention in my life dedicated to fixing Microsoft products and issues to want to allow that to carry over to my pesonal life.  I can do things on Windows that can cause big problems.  Sure I could do the same with Apple products, but I don't have to.  I don't have to worry about registries, dll files, drivers or a never ending battle with virus attacks.  More importantly I don't have to worry about me screwing someting up.  So in that context, Apple products project me from me.  I don't jailbreak my iPad or iPhone, I don't hack away at the UNIX underpinnings in my OSX operating system, I just use the applications to get things done and 95% of the time they work as advertised.

This post is not about Apple or Microsoft, but it is about the electronics consumer in the United States and how the mentality of consumers has shifted.  The recent Apple PR/Engineering debacle of the iPhone 4 has uncovered true ugliness of doing business in the United States.  With Government regulations, Class Action Lawsuits, a rabid panic-enciting media base and a population that feels everything is owed to them, it is a wonder that any company can do business in this country or want to.

The truth in all of this iPhone 4 drama is this.  Apple made a product.  That product has issues.  Apple has handled the situation badly. Trust in their product has taken a hit.  What is not true is that Apple owes us nothing.  Their decisions; good, bad or horrendous are their responsibility and will impact their bottom line and their shareholders.  Why we act as if the decisions or trip-ups that Apple the company performs somehow damage our lives.  News flash:  They dont.

Yet, the environment seems to indicate that somehow apple owes us something for puttnig out a less than operational product.  In my opinion they did the right thing by waiving all fees to return the phone within the 30 day window in which anyone who didn't like the phone could have returned it.  I didn't have an issue serious enough to warrant turning my phone back in.  That was my choice and I exercised it.  Those who didn't puzzle me.

These individuals seem to think that because they spent money with a company who was willing to give that money back within 30 days, that decision was the responsibility for Apple to make based on the crazy idea of issuing a recall of the device.  That is just insane.  So why?  I could see it if the iPhone was the only mobile phone on the market.  It isn't.  So what would drive someone to ignore the issue for 30 days, then get on the bandwagon to somehow punish Apple for their own bad decision?  Class Action Lawsuits, bumper or case giveaways or full-out recalls are all aimed at somehow punishing Apple while holding on to the very device that is not working to their expectations.  AHA!  There it is, the word... "Expectations"

We expect too much and are willing to defer all decision making, risk and responsibility to others because we are owed something.  I think back to the days when rational individuals took responsibility for their own decisions.  The fact that a company is willing to provide options for you to make decisions with should be a kudo's to that company.  We need to stop blaming everyone else for our own bad decisions and start taking responsibility for our own lives.  That includes in our purchases of products.

So in the case of the iPhone 4 issue.  My device is working within my expected parameters.  I am not going to turn it back in and will wait to see if the small issue I do have with the Antenna is sorted through Apple's future actions.  If not, then I have to live with my decision and be happy with it.  I was an early adopter and as with anything else, there are certain risks that I sign up for.  If it goes bad, I really have no one to blame but myself, the penalty to Apple will be another little bit of trust and consumer satisfaction lost from me.  That translates into my decision making process going forward with Apple will be under more scruitiny that it was in the past.  Over time, that will be the ultimate penalty for Apple a growing loss of brand loyalty.

So stop acting like someone has died because of this issue and insisting that Apple be strung up on high because of it.  Look in the mirror ask yourself the following questions:

1. Can I live with another phone?
2. Would I be happy with gettting my money back?
3. Is this issue really impacting your life in a negative manner?

If the answer to any of those is Yes, then you should really consider taking the phone back and getting something else.  Otherwise, stop flooding the world with an issue as trivial as whether or not you get 2 or 5 bars all day, every day.  No one really cares, free up your time to thinks like hunger, people losing their phones or even what is going to happen to the Gulf as a result of the millions of barrels of oil poured into our environment.  Those issues impact peoples lives.  Not whether or not you have an iPhone, Blackberry or Android.  If you want drama, go back to watching soap operas, I hear they are taking a hit in viewer numbers. 

It seems like every other day we are bombarded with "We have more 3G coverage" or "We have fast 3G speeds!" It is quite tiring actually to listen to all of this noise as a technologist and avid mobile user. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for the average non-technology person with a mobile phone or smart phone. Newsflash, it's only going to get worst. We have already begun to see the smatterings of newer 4G technology with Sprint. Verizon is due out in the fall with their LTE network followed by AT&T and others.

So what does that really mean for the person who has one of the new iPhones or Android Phones? Think about this. With faster speeds and bigger pipes to deliver data to your more powerful phones, what is the natural result? You will use more data than you do today.

It would be like a popular fast-food chain offering the same calories flavor and taste in a pill. The less filling, pill would make it easier to consume more. The downside. You hit eligibility status for The Biggest Loser TV show 4x faster than you would otherwise. Easy and fast, but before you know it you are paying for it and it hurts.

Aside from the hard-core mobile phone users who choose to stream music in the Pandora application or watch full length movies over the cellular network, the rest of us who consume a fair amount of data need to be aware of one very important thing.... we have to start being aware of what we do and how much data we consume.

Contrary to what these carriers want you to focus on, it really isn't all about the cellular networks. What really matters is understanding when and where to get your data from based on what it is you want to do. These days almost every "smart phone" or modern mobile device gives you access to the same on-line data through your cell carriers data network, or through Wireless networks or WiFi. There are pros and cons to each, but if you understand which to use with what type of data you want to access, you can save yourself money as well as headaches in the long run and not really be too concerned as to whether or not your data comes from 3G or 4G when you are out and about.

Essentially, we need to look at our own behavior and modify that to get the most out of your fancy new device. Way back when AT&T was offering an "Unlimited" data plan, it didn't really matter much to sit at your desk and listen to on-line radio all day. You paid one price for All-You-Can-Eat data. Other carriers had various limits to the amount of data they would allow in a "Unlimited" type plan. That cap, even today generally at 5 Gigabytes of data. At that limit you're paying around $60 ~ $75 a month just for data! That's insane.

What you should begin with is understanding your current usage over time. AT&T for example, gives you the opportunity to look up your monthly data usage of a date range. If it seems steep, you should then break your data usage into two separate types.

1. Data that is primarily text based (Foursquare, Twitter, facebook wall postings & commenting, email etc.)
2. Data that is "heavy" (Pictures, videos or music streaming.)

For the text based data, don't worry about limiting yourself too much. Your 3G/4G cellular data service should be able to handle this not only quickly, but also cheaply. For those data hogs in number 2, save that for when you are at home connected to your wireless access point (WiFi) or when you have access on the road to a location with WiFi access. Hotels, coffee shops and book stores are a good place to fine WiFi hotspots to duck into. This might sound a bit extreme, but it will get you to start thinking about how you manage your data usage.

Going forward, with the amount of power and speed the current mobile devices are delivering, access to data will begin to come quick, fast and in a hurry. Cellular carriers are hoping that with these tiered plans, combined with you not paying attention to how much data you consume, the overages and other fees will begin to add up. I personally don't want to take more from my own pocket to feed another company. I simply want the access. Outside of that, I am responsible for how much I pay. I will always seek a WiFi Hotspot over using my 3G data connection when possible. Do you?

I was asked today what I thought of the new AT&T Data Plan revisions that have been announced. As with most of these conversations they usually start with someone rebelling against "The Man." In this case, AT&T. To be honest, being an avid RSS Feed reader, I was initially shocked by the announcement and based on the headlines went straight into the mode of thinking "Oh damn, I'm going to get screwed now."

Then I did what many are not doing before passing judgement on the announcement. I went and started digging into my own data usage on my iPhone. What I found actually shocked me. I was not consuming nearly as much data as I originally thought. Not only that, but I will actually save more money under the new plan should I choose to give up my $30 a month "Unlimited" data plan.

The first thing I did was obviously check the iPhone itself to see how much data I was consuming and it was not that clear given the fact that it only gives you what you are consuming during the current billing cycle. I needed to see an average across a period of time. So then I turned to the AT&T Application on the phone to see if I could get that information from AT&T directly. Same number.

My next attempt was to hit the AT&T Wireless website to see what my account details said, or if I could even see historical data usage on my account. There it was, a little link in the "Group Usage" section at the bottom right that said "View Past Data Usage." I clicked on it and it gave me the ability to analyze my data consumption across billing cycles over a range that you set. What I found blew me away. In the past year, my lowest consumption month was 256 mb of data, while my most active month was at 533 mb. I was sure I was consuming well over 500 mb of data in a month. For anyone who knows me, you would probably think the same thing as much as I am on-line from the phone. My running average over a 12 month period worked out to only being 391 mb of data per month. Compare that with the Mrs. who also has an iPhone and uses it as probably the average iPhone user would, who consumes only 72 mb of data per month averaged across the same 12 month period and you begin to see why the AT&T plan isn't really impacting the "average" iPhone user. In fact, it probably will save them money over the $30 unlimited 3G data plans required in the past.

With that information in hand, I turned to the new AT&T Data Plan to see what the financial difference would be over what I currently pay.

ATT Current iPhone Plan

• simplyRik - $30/mo Unlimited Data - 12/mo Average Data - 391mb/mo
• Mrs. simplyRik - $30/mo Unlimited Data - 12/mo Average Data - 72mb/mo

ATT New iPhone Plan

• simplyRik - $25/mo for 2Gb "DataPlus/DataPro"
• Mrs simplyRik - $15/mo for 200Mb