We can talk about the iPhone 4 in a moment.  Thanks to Gizmodo, we have a good idea of what the next generation iPhone will look like as a physical and functional device.  What isn't answered is the question to my number one issue with the iPhone: It's not really a good phone. 

Why am I saying that?  Here I am, sitting at my desk. There are 5 bars next to the ATT.  Phone rings, I answer, we start talking. About 30 seconds to one minute later, the call just drops.  Gone.  Kerfloot.

The picture to the left is AT&T's "Marks the Spot" app.  Each time I lose a call, or can't make a call, or generally have problems using the phone as a phone, I use this app to report it.  Right now, I'm sure there's a guy heading to the cell tower nearest to me to do whatever it takes to provide me with insanely great coverage.

Mick famously sang, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you get what you need."  I want all the cool features of the iPhone 3G, plus the new features of the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4 features

• a bigger battery
• a front facing camera, presumably for video chat
• flash photography
• better screen resolution
• app folders
• multiple EAS accounts

What I need doesn't seem to be on the list -- a really reliable telephone.

Hooray!  AT&T has announced upgrades to its 3G network to HSPA 7.2 in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami.  According to their press release, HSPA 7.2 can support 7.2 Mbps. Of course, this in itself doesn't help my 3G (no "S")  iPhone.  The important part of the announcement comes several paragraphs down:

The New York Times reports Customers Angered as iPhones Overload AT&T.  Really?  Actually, it's not all that bad here in Chicago, but when a 3G cell gets saturated, data speeds drop to nothing. My big gripe is that voice mail often loses touch with the phone.  I get no indication of a failed call or voice mail until I reboot my phone and it suddenly discovers 4 messages.