As I wrote , being involuntarily separated from my iPhone practically gave me a Twitter Age version of the shakes. Features such as Google Maps, a mahjong game, and most of all, the mobile Web itself had become addictions. How would I survive another movie line or 10-minute wait for the bus? How would I even know how long the bus wait would be? I feared being disconnected from the world.

Yet as great as the temptation was, I resisted buying another iPhone. Not even the speed boost from EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) to 3G managed to lure me. The idea of getting my favorite blogs, videos and social-networking sites sooner was overshadowed by the grim reality of waiting another two years for a new contract to run out.

At US$30 per month, the iPhone 3G data plan isn't really that expensive, especially since it comes with a subsidy on the price of the phone. But you can't buy it without a monthly voice plan, starting at $39.99. Then there are the taxes, plus the cost of any text messages, which was bundled in with the original iPhone. And in the end, it's not so much the monthly charge as the commitment to pay it for two years, or to pay another large sum just to stop paying the one you decided you didn't want.

That's why I've gone back to the future.

It turns out that for the same price as the 8GB iPhone 3G ($199), beleaguered Palm is selling its Centro with no commitment at all. Pick any carrier using GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), get their SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, and slide it in. There's no jailbreaking to do, because there's no jail for this Centro, nor for me. The phone has a four-band radio (850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 1900MHz), so it will work in most countries. I got mine about two weeks AIP (After iPhone), put in the SIM card AT&T gave me for the duration of my contract, and decided to tough it out with no data plan at all. I've been quite happy with this setup.