RIP iPhone

After between 22 and 23 months by my side with almost unfailingly decent levels of service, my iPhone will die today. It no longer wishes to charge itself, and being an iPhone, this gives it a very short life expectancy.

Sadly this also leaves my mobile phone-less until I'm due an upgrade, which thankfully isn't too long, so if you need to get hold of me... tough.

The phone went through some tough times, it lost it's volume buttons, but it carried on. It took a tumble through a massive hole in my pocket onto a harsh Tenerife street (you know the typical Spanish kind with the little squares) and cracked its screen, but it carried on going. But like so many older devices, it started to get confused, telling me the accessory wasn't optimised for iPhone, when I hadn't actually got anything plugged into it... freezing up during calls, and sometimes not even wanting to receive them at all.

Now it looks like the little weekend away in Burnham on sea was it's last action as a useful device (thanks Gracie), it's farewell tour if you will. Now it's refusing to be fed, there's just 24% of the battery left of its life, so about an hour and a half then!

Not wishing to sound heartless, throwing away my long time companion and replacing it with a newer shiner model without a second thought, but it's only a phone! This does open the door to be acquiring an iPhone4! Yes, of course I know the iPhone5 isn't all that far behind, I am a fully paid up member of geek you don't have to tell me, but circumstances have forced my hand. Plus the 4 will be more than adequate for my needs.

I've already started having a look around, and I've already assumed o2 are not going to offer me a decent deal and will frown at my data usage and the early leader is three. For the same as I'm paying now, they'll give me ludicrous amounts of texts and calls and most vitally, 'unlimited' data (I haven't checked the old t&c's yet and am fully aware there is probably some kind of cap or fair use policy, but it's still better than 500mb) all with an iPhone4 (either colour... woo-hoo...) for exactly the same as I paid for my 3GS all those many many months ago.

I will ring up o2 and give them a chance to explain their early upgrade procedures before I laugh in their general direction when the price is mentioned. Or I could wait a month 'til they'll upgrade me anyway. Not sure when I'll ring, or indeed on what, but I'll ring! Have to asses my options from that point.

Last night I frantically backed up music, photos, but not contacts... hmm oversight there and it's only just occurred to me, oh well...