Apple iPhone4 is sadly still an AT&T-only; is EVO better?

Apple's new iPhone4 was released today in San Francisco and it has exciting features, like HD video and video calling. But the one thing it does not have, is the most anticipated one thing: service from a carrier other than AT&T, like Verizon. That news alone has some going for, or sticking with, their Sprint HTC EVO, even after the iPhone4 San Francisco introduction.

AT&T's service is terrible, particularly it's auto-billing system. As I blogged before, in 2008, AT&T mistakenly put $1,033.36 on my iPhone bill each month, causing me to file a dispute claim with American Express. Thus, the $1,033.36 was sent back to AT&T.

On a conference call early in 2009, the rep AT&T admitted to the American Express rep that the charge was an error and should not be counted. In fact, that was the fourth time an AT&T rep admitted the error. The AT&T billing system system was sending out that same amount each month. Then, four months later, another group of AT&T people said the charge wasn't wrong and stopped reversing it.

In other words, those evil AT&T people were arguing for the right to charge $1,033.36 on my account each month. Seriously.

In total, I talked to about 10 different AT&T reps over the course of the history of the dispute. It was exhausting!

So, seeing I was not going to get any relief, I told AT&T they should take their contract and shove it. Unfortunately, I had to stop using my iPhone.  I thought about jail-breaking it myself, tried to do it myself, and failed.  Lame.

At first, I switched to a Blackberry, which was OK, except that it made "robo-calls" far too much to be tolerable. Now, I use a T-Mobile G-1, and while it's not quite an iPhone, it has just enough features to make me happy.

All the while, I was waiting for Apple to essentially unlock the iPhone, or get it out of AT&T jail. Steve Jobs was expected to make an announcement that haters of AT&T could come back home to iPhone because it was on the Verizon network, but that did not happen.

That's sad.

Why Apple and Steve Jobs have invested so much in a singular relationship with a company as awful as AT&T boggles the mind. But here we are.

Is Spring HTC EVO better?

ZDNet's buzzing about the Spring HTC EVO phone.  In fact, the new version of the Google android phone was the hit of TechCrunch Disrupt New York City.   Reportedly, it has so many features that it favorably compares to the iPhone 4, but ZDNet's Matt Miller ended his article by stating that Apple's best move is to offer other carriers than just AT&T.

Steve Jobs, iPhone users hate AT&T, and so do potential iPhone users.  Unless you don't mind losing fans, get the iPhone out of the AT&T jail, before it's too late.