Five Reasons Not to Buy an iPhone

There is much to admire about the new iPhone. The hardware looks beautiful and the product is apparently smooth and easy to use. It's a terrific achievement for Steve Jobs and the Apple (AAPL Quote) team. So give them their moment in the sun.

But beyond all the iHype and iMania, let's get one thing clear. The iPhone isn't the future. It isn't a revolutionary mobile device ushering in a new era.

At its heart, this fancy-looking new product is very old fashioned. The reason: It tries to keep Apple and AT&T (T Quote) in control instead of you.

How?

1. You need to pay AT&T to make phone calls.

The first thing that stands out about this supposedly "revolutionary" communication device is that it is missing the one revolutionary piece of technology that is turning telecommunications upside down.

Walter Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal and David Pogue at The New York Times both harped on about the fact that the iPhone can't use modern "3G" data networks, but they missed an even bigger omission.

'VoIP,' or Voice over Internet Protocol.

For the uninitiated, this is the technology that allows you to make free, or nearly free, phone calls over any Internet connection. No, this isn't just geek stuff. Skype and Vonage (VG Quote) are two widely used VoIP services, and there are now many more. The technology is growing rapidly. Free and open Wi-Fi networks are springing up like weeds in every city.

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