iPhone - Argh! O2 - Argh! 3G in London - Argh!

I have long been a fan of the iPhone. I also have a macbook, and vastly prefer them to PCs. I like the interface, and they seem better suited to music and straight audio and visual media consumption, which is all I really use a home lappy for. I can't be bothered with the maintenance aspect of PCs either; trojans, malware, and viruses are (for now anyway) not things I have to worry about. Grist to the mill of the mighty Apple corporation also. I do think that inspiring such fanaticism is a fine and balanced line for Mr J and co to tread though- as we all know, there is a fine line between love and hate. Their recent staggering arrogance and proprietary behaviour will, in my humble opinion, be the source of their ultimate dilution.

More of that another time. I want to specifically castigate the iPhone, or more precisely it's symbiosis with O2.

I may need some help here, but is it all networks that get no signal in London? Something to do with density/ tall buildings? I live and work in the centre of one of the most vibrant and economic centres of the world. The 3G reception in N1 (work) and SE1 (home) is so bad, I have it permanently turned off. I have wireless at home and office so it's not a deal breaker, but even so, you'd expect better. And then browsing on the go?

Don't even get me started.

To be fair, in the west end and heart of the city, you can turn on 3G and it tends to be ok. In N4, N5, N16, an iPhone 3GS just will not function as a phone at all. I called O2 about this in August last year, and after much badgering, they told me they were upgrading their 3G network in that part of London, and it was best to turn 3G off. I now have an iPhone 4

It's still the same.

Five months later.

In the whole of the northern half of a city inhabited by 7.5 million people.

But as a phone it works fine with 3G turned off- it's just an issue for internet access via 3G.

But hey, that's ok, because as an O2 customer, you get free access to BT Openzones! Problem solved. Except you don't. If you were to take a casual stroll from Angel station up past Islington Green, your iPhone would be constantly connected to BT Openzone. But once you get 50 yds from the station, it will not work. No connection. So you have to turn it off. And then with no 3G, you're back on the 'dot of doom'. 1G reception. I'd be quicker going to the library and looking up the information I required in an encyclopaedia.

Because it seems to me that 95% of BT Openzones are not available for free to iPhone O2 customers. They are pay as you go zones, slaved off business or home hubs, which are understandably ubiquitous in the capital.

Do they tell you this in the shop? No.

Do they tell you this on the phone when you call them? No.

Please, someone tell me, is the iPhone any better on another network?

Even if it isn't, my next phone will, on current form, be the HTC HD-7. Windows 7 is lovely, and it works, unlike Vista which was like a baboon with an abacus. It has a bigger screen, is thinner, costs much less, and by the time my iPhone4 contract is up in about a year, will have all the apps I will ever need.

Not only that, increasing my insurance from £7.50 to £15 a month? At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.

So, do others have the same problems with their smartphones in North London?
Is it iPhone related?
Is it a universal problem with O2's network?
What do you think?