This is a laptop using DDR1 memory. Not that cheap to upgrade. Downloaded smart defrag and CCleaner and was shocked by how much they improved performance over the regclean and defrag that comes with XP.

This just gave me a geekgasm: Keystick keyboard folds up like a Japanese fan

We could use a good portable keyboard, and designers Yoonsang Kim & Eunsung Park might have a solution with Keystick. It's a full-size keyboard in its unfurled form, but then it collapses like an accordion into a nice compact package when it's time to hit the road. If this were small enough, it might be even better than that excellent Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard we reviewed.

My Verizon Wireless 2 year contract expired and I'm thinking about getting an iPhone. A couple of questions:

1. I keep hearing about the crappiness of AT&T service in general in terms of coverage. Just how crappy is it? Is it a deal breaker?

2. What do you lose by buying a refurbished iPhone (which is $50 cheaper) compared to a regular one?

ETA: OK, I got that wrong. Checked my plan and I'm apparently subscribed to this thing called "New Every Two", where you can upgrade to new phone every two years. I have 3 months more to go until the next upgrade point. But my *original* 2 year contact was years ago (I had this number for about 8 years). If I switched to iPhone now, would I be penalized in any way?

I don't love AT&T, but don't hate it either. It has better national coverage than T-Mobile by a lot, but not as good as Verizon. This has affected me in exactly one place, a deep suburb of Burlington, VT, and even there I got service upstairs, just not on the first floor. I don't love their service, but haven't been burned now that I'm on an iPhone plan like I did when their data plans were more confusing (and expensive), and haven't heard great things about Verizon's service either, so whatever.

In the middle of NYC, where I am, the data speeds on the iPhone are often pretty slow, and I get a decent number of dropped calls. I don't let it bother me, and it's never kept me from getting things done I need to get done. If you talk on the phone a lot for highly important things, I'd say stick with Verizon. Otherwise, the iPhone is pretty sweet.

(However, you might also want to check out the Droid since you're already on Verizon. Apparently, despite the terrible advertising for it, it's a pretty darn good phone. See this link: [link] . If I were not already on AT&T, I would probably go for this phone.)

despite the terrible advertising for it

What do you mean, Gris? It is a robot, and all other phones suck. It does everything you could possibly want it to do. What's not to like?

The coverage difference between AT&T and Verizon was the deciding point for me. Those map commercials are true, it's just that the Verizon commercial is specifically addressing 3G coverage (the fancy data stuff) and the AT&T ad refuting it is primarily talking about voice coverage. It affects me a lot, but I'm in rural areas almost all the time.

I don't have any specific refurbished iPhone info, but in general terms I have had a lot of success buying refurb electronics.

I believe your actual contract terms and your "new every two" are separate beasts. However, you need to check to make sure that you have not been renewing your two year contract every two years, and that in fact, you are clear of it now. If so, you should be fine. (Incidentally, the "new every two" thing doesn't mean you can't buy a new phone sooner than that, it just means you don't get the spiffy promotional pricing for it. You have to pay full price, which is often ridiculous. But you *can* change, if you're willing to pay.)

I have a hard time recalling any advertising campaign as uninteresting and downright confusing as that one.

The new commercial for the Palm Pixi is pretty great, though. i like the look of that phone more than the Pre. Non-slidy keyboards come back!

I find T-Mobile's dropped calls so frustrating after Sprint, where that almost never happened, that the things like Gris said about AT&T are pretty much dealbreakers. I'll be dropping TMO the second my contract is up this summer and I think Verizon is in the lead as a replacement. Or hell, maybe Sprint will have something interesting out by then.

Vonnie if you live or spend a lot of time in NYC or San Francisco, I don't think the Iphone is worth the hassle. Just about everywhere else, the coverage seems to be okay.

I hate fucking AT&T, but I've been with them for years, the rollover minutes work well for our household and because I buy unlocked phones, my cell phone plan is comparatively cheap.

T Mobile only sometimes doesn't connect my calls. Doesn't drop them here in LA. Coverage has been much better than Cingular/AT&T, and I don't ever need to talk to their customer service. So they might be as execrable as AT&T was to me, but I don't care if I don't know. I don't want AT&T to have my money, not even for the sexy iPhone. They burnt me badly.

I have an earphone question: my sister's iPhone earbuds just gave up the ghost (wire stripped near plug). I'm thinking of getting her a replacement pair as a bonus Christmas present. Is $30 a reasonable price range to be looking in for someone who didn't mind the shipped buds? Can I get her something better for that price? Or should I be looking higher?