Listen up.

About five or six years ago, and feeling a little heavy in the pockets with my new iPod and clunky cell-phone, I remarked to a friend that if someone (Apple) combined the concept of iPod and integrated it with a cell phone, it would be unstoppable. About a year or two ago, I caught wind of something Apple had created, something called the iPhone, which was exactly what I had hoped for, and then some! I can tell you with great confidence that no one was more excited than I was about this new gadget that would not only de-clutter my purse, but was pushing the envelope with existing technologies.

And so, giddy with anticipation, I joined the email list. I checked the Apple site daily for updates. I watched the keynote on YouTube about five times. I was a woman possessed.. possessed by iPhone. When the release date was announced, I nearly peed in my pants.

But then, it all fell apart.

The big question, "Who was the service provider?" was finally answered. The answer made my heart break. Just a little (however much a heart can break over a little gadget...well, a little gadget that was perfect in every way).

It was Cingular. Huh? I mean, really? Cingular? The one network famous for its spotty coverage and mediocre customer service?? And, to add insult to injury, just before iPhone was released, Cingular was bought by AT&T, adding to my own reservations.

In the history of my own cell phone service, I started off on AT&T, you know, when it was one of the biggest ones out there and was actually good, albeit expensive. It wasn't good for long; I found customer service lacking incredibly and so I switched to T-Mobile, thinking that if it was good for all of Europe, it was certainly good enough for me. Mistake. T-Mobile was even worse. The coverage was awful! And so, with a heavy heart, I subscribed to Verizon, which by the way, is the only carrier that actually has service in certain areas, like my parents' house. Or my parents' boat. Both pretty important.

So, this post is more like a plea to Apple. After being so excited, I am NOT getting the iPhone. Not even when my service contract runs out in a few months. I choose the service that actually works. Apple, I ask you (I'm really begging here), when people start leaving AT&T in favor of their old service providers, and sales of your iPhone start slogging off, seriously consider that the provider you've chosen to bed your gadget with will be compromising your sales.

After all, keeping exclusivity with AT&T only helps one company: AT&T. It doesn't help you at all. I present the argument that it is actually impeding the sales of iPhone, if my concern is to be reiterated by countless others, which I'm sure it is.

While you're at it, why not design the new version of the iPhone (which you will undoubtedly do in a year or so) with a battery and SIM card that us consumers can actually access, you know, like all the other phones out there?

Until then, my RAZR will do fine. Even though it takes crappy pictures.