In the heat of summer I stood in line, a long line, outside the Apple Store on 14th St to wait for my iPhone 4, which I had reserved a few weeks before.

Was it worth the upgrade? Yeah, probably. But my mobile device act is still far from what I want it to be. I wonder if the next iteration of the iPhone will give me a chance to get closer to my version of nirvana.

Here's what I carry with me now:

1. An iPhone 4, which I primarily use for photos. I see it as a communicating camera. It's much less bulky than the new honker Canon EOS 5D that I almost always carry with me now (in my knapsack, on my back, along with the 11-inch MacBook Air), and it takes perfectly good pictures, and of course it can communicate. The Canon can't.

To store the pictures I use Flickr. But given the instability of Yahoo, and my new (developing) mantra No Corporate Blogging Silos -- I feel a sense of urgency to convert to a photo platform that I trust. I love Flickr, and would be happy to stay there, but they'd have to spin it out for me to feel good about it. Or show some serious love (like bringing back Stewart or Caterina and giving them autonomy to love the product and its users). That might actually be a good mission for Yahoo, with its public stock and huge flow -- to be an investment banker for proven, seasoned entrepreneurs. A federation of Internet talent. The United Artists of the Internet. Some serious potential there. But I have wandered off-topic.

2. A Droid, which I use for text messaging, GChat, to check email, and for maps. It's also my telephone, but like many other people, I don't use the phone very much these days. I have a theory that AT&T's lousy connectivity and the popularity of the iPhone have killed the phone for modern people such as myself. Can't prove it of course.

3. A MiFi device that I use to connect my MacBook Air to the Internet when I'm working in a restaurant or a coffee place with inadequate wifi.

The carriers are: AT&T, Verizon and Verizon.

At home I have FIOS, and Verizon's cable TV package.

So I'm pretty close to being an all-Verizon dude.

Now here are the upgrades I'd love to get.

1. I understand that Verizon now has a super-fast wireless way to access the Internet, what they call 4G, and its available in NYC, where I live. Of course I'd love to get that.

2. The Doid is looking realllly old. I hate the form-factor. I have no use for the keyboard. The screen is embarassingly bad compared to the iPhone. I gave away my Nexus One because it didn't work with Verizon, and stuck with the Droid. But now there are all these sexy Android phones coming out and I want one. Maybe even a small Android tablet.

3. I am annoyed by my monthly AT&T bill. I would like to, if possible, get rid of it.

4. I am also annoyed by the MiFi device. I think my Verizon phone should be doing that job.

Of course it's too much to hope that Verizon, which is now (apparently) about to become an iPhone seller, has planned for people like me, and have a nice package to offer, that allows me to get rid of AT&T and the MiFi device, get a nice new Android, and convert my iPhone to Verizon (obviouslly swapping hardware). If Verizon were really aggressive they'd be ready to mass-convert AT&T users. I hope.

 12/30/2010; 9:46:27 AM.   .