Gear Diary created a minor stir Thursday when it posted the map at left (click to enlarge) purporting to show the extent of AT&T’s current 3G coverage. On the map, blue represents 3G, dark orange is AT&T’s old EDGE network and light orange is its original GPRS data service. Not much blue there, which could be a concern for the customers expected to line up outside Apple and AT&T stores next week. The iPhone 3G, which goes on sale Friday July 11 at 8:00 a.m., is Steve Jobs’ answer to complaints about how slow the original iPhone was when downloading data over AT&T’s sluggish EDGE network. Customers who don’t have 3G would pay AT&T’s new rate for data ($10 more per month) but get it at the same old speed. “If you live in one of these uncovered areas and already have an iPhone, I wouldn’t jump on the iPhone 3G wagon,” writes...
[read full story]