"Early reviews on the iPhone 3G are trickling in, and it looks sweet. It's a little bit faster and a little bit better than the first-generation iPhone. But it's not a breakthrough device. If you already have an iPhone in your pocket, you'll want to think hard about whether to shell out to upgrade.
If you already own an iPhone -- or an iPod Touch -- you'll get the best feature of the iPhone 3G on Friday, delivered to you discreetly by tiny little invisible elves wearing soft-soled shoes. Or, rather, it'll be pushed out to you over the Internet when Apple updates the firmware on existing devices to the iPhone 2.0 operating system, which permits running third-party apps. The software is free for iPhone users, $9.99 for users of the Touch.
What do you get if you spring for the iPhone 3G hardware? Access to the 3G network, of course -- but only if you live in one of the 280 U.S. cities now served by AT&T (NYSE: T) 3G, with AT&T expecting to broaden coverage to 350 cities by year end. A friend who's considering buying the iPhone 3G lives in Iowa -- that whole state isn't served by 3G. The New York Times's David Pogue notes that 10 states don't have any 3G coverage at all."