I like to joke that "Iowa is a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit." Residents often complain that there's nothing to do (other than milk cows and shuck corn). One can only stand so much antiquing.

But we do have a few things going for us: clean air, relatively light traffic, lots of space, and perhaps the best cell phone plan for the iPhone.

Recently, reader PC Drew, a US Marine living in Japan, sent us a note to let us know about the challenge he had in finding an iPhone plan while visiting his wife's family. A contract plan was out of the question, of course, because of his length of stay and the fact that he's still under a two-year Softbank agreement in Japan. And due to AT&T's, shall we say, "perplexing" lack of a prepaid plan for the iPhone, the official carrier in the States wouldn't help him.

He could have stopped by a Best Buy and picked up an O2 Universal SIM Card for less than $10. That would have provided the ironically-named PC with $0.17 per minute calls but that's it -- no data, no included text messages, and no tethering ability.

After searching a bit for a prepaid solution, he stumbled across the MEGAtalk Nationwide plan from regional GSM carrier, i wireless. This no-contract, no-credit-check offering gives the customer 30 days of unlimited calling, with roaming and long distance, for $49 plus taxes.

But wait, there's more! Not only did PC get unlimited voice minutes, but he also had unlimited SMS texting and, here's the kicker, unlimited data usage. And, with the proper hack, i wireless customers can tether their iPhones for free. Yes, you read that right... free tethering on an unlimited data plan!

Of course, getting a service plan from an unofficial carrier (read: non-AT&T, at least in the United States) requires your iPhone to be SIM-unlocked. This has become much easier over the past two years and most cell phone shops can perform the procedure if you're too nervous. PC had already performed the necessary steps, as he often finds himself in areas that aren't exactly covered by his Softbank contract.

Okay, now for the downer. Because it's a T-Mobile affiliate, i wireless doesn't offer iPhone-compatible 3G service. In fact, they only offer EDGE speeds in their Iowa-based footprint, unless you're traveling to an area with T-Mobile 3G. As a result, that unlimited data is a bit crippled speed-wise, but it's still a heck of a deal.

So, if you're planning on traveling to Iowa -- say, to Fort Madison for the 62nd Annual Tri-State Rodeo in September -- or if you're "lucky" enough to be stuck living here, you might want to take advantage of what's probably the most economical cell phone service plan available for the iPhone anywhere in the USA.

UPDATE: Quite a few readers asked if this plan is available outside of Iowa, so I contacted i wireless directly to find out more about its policy. Yes, you can sign up for this plan, even if you don't live in the i wireless footprint area, however, the representative I spoke with pointed out that this plan may expire at any time, which would seriously affect the customer's ability to use his or her phone effectively. If you are interested in further details, please contact i wireless directly.

DISCLAIMER: I own a computer and cell phone store that sells this particular prepaid plan. But the above story is absolutely true; PC Drew did contact TUAW to brag about his bargain find, without knowing me or my connection to the product.

Thank you, Wired.

The #1 hindering factor in purchasing an iPhone -- at least for most people I know -- is that they're mired in contracts with other, lesser-blessed carriers like Verizon or T-Mobile. And often cancellation fees are steep, too steep to warrant a cancellation just (hah, just) to buy an iPhone. (Imagine tacking $200 to that $600 price tag.) Well, the good folks -- particularly Daniel Dumas -- at Wired has you covered with 8 ethically-questionable-but-incredibly-clever tips to salvage your soul from the wireless devils.

A few of the gems include changing your address to an area where your provider doesn't offer coverage (nulling the contract); demanding the physical paperwork (if they can't produce it you're free); or faking your own death. Check the full article for more tips, details on how to get it done, and the odds of each tip's success.

Ah, the open road. What's more American than being mobile, drifting along the highways and byways, traveling hither and yon, free as a debt-laden bird? While I try to rein in that derailed train of road metaphor, let's consider the options for Mac users and wireless data. Many of you would love to take your Internet access with you as you travel on family vacation or spring break; for others, terrestrial broadband (cable modem or DSL) is unavailable or prohibitively expensive at your fixed location. Good news for all: the choices on the wireless access front are better than ever before. We'll cover the US domestic options today, and hopefully get to Europe/UK and other international options sometime soon.

More on Mac wireless broadband after the break.

The last Motorola iTunes-enabled ROKR phone ships this month according to Engadget. New ROKRs, currently available in Hong Kong, ship with SD card support and onboard Bluetooth but no iTunes integration. The ROKR will support MP3, MPEG4, AAC+, WAV and Real Audio. RealPlayer replaces iTunes on the phone, which will still be a media player as well as a communications device. Engadget suggests it will soon be released in the US and IndiaTimes reports that the ROCKR will hit Indian markets by mid 2007.

Looks like we might finally have some reliable information regarding the specifics of the long rumored iPhone. MacRumors has posted a description provided by a "reliable MacRumors.com source" of the upcoming device as well as an artists rendition of what the phone might look like. Judge for yourselves, but this certainly strikes me as the first mock-up we've seen that I could really see Apple releasing. The sleek simple design closely follows the look of the 5G iPod line, and it makes sense Apple would take advantage of user familiarity with the interface and the recently announced iPod games. According to the source, the clickwheel will slide down to reveal a standard numeric keypad.

[Thanks Jason Kraus}

SoonR allows you to connect to your computer (PC or Mac) and look at files, emails, and appointments via a cell phone that can connect to the web. Today SoonR has released a beta of their client for OS X. The coolest thing about this client, in my opinion, is that you can do a Spotlight search on your Mac at home via your cell phone.

I'm not sure how useful this will be, but it is very cool. Basic Soonr accounts are free, though upgrading to a premium account will cost ya (a premium account includes backups, access to host computers even when they are off, and cheap international calling).

True to form, looks like the good ol' US is again going to be late to the party when it comes to cellphones. The Motorola RAZR V3i, which has been available in the United Kingdom for months, is rumored to be hitting American shores some time soon. MacNN got its grubby little hands on some newly released marketing materials which indicate an initial US release exclusively for the Cingular network. The V3i will be the third phone from Motorola to ship with a media player capable of playing music purchased through the iTunes Music Store. The phone, initially slated for release in November of 2005, also sports a 1.2 Mega Pixel camera, micro SD flash card slot, and the same slow, badly designed user interface we have come to love and expect from RAZRs.

The iPhone. Will they or won't they? That has been a constant topic of discussion amongst the Mac faithful for a long time. Along comes Pantech, a South Korean phone maker, who has introduced the phone to the right. What's that thing that looks like the iPod's click wheel? Why, it is Pantech's 'revolutionary touch-wheel sensor' which is not only used for the phones built in music player, but also for the phone's camera.

The PG-3600V is on the market in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

If you dread pulling out your earbuds (you use those?) when you get a phone call, dread no more. A new gadget by the name of Blueye will save you from earbud yanking by connecting your iPod headphones to your phone via Bluetooth. When you get a call, Blueye will allow you to mute your current music (but not pause it unfortunately). With the Blueye's built in microphone you can talk away without unplugging your headphones. Blueye is available in white, black and a sort of rusty red.

Personally I use a Nokia 6230 with a gig of memory for my music listening on the go, even though I have a black nano, so the Blueye is not necessary. My Nokia 6230 sports a home-modified pop-port cable for any headphones and includes the original Nokia microphone to take calls.

[via Engadget]

Engadget thinks that the phone to the left might be the new ROKR E2, the followup phone to the not so successful ROKR 'iTunes phone.'

Anyone out there have an orignal ROKR? What do you think of it?

Speaking of SMS messaging via your Mac, make sure you check out BluePhoneElite, formerly known as BluePhoneMenu.  It's currently free (translation: in beta with a purchase link announcing that purchasing is not yet available) and does quite a nice job of coordinating SMS communication between your Bluetooth capable phone and your Mac, as well as serving as a rather powerful call center: "Dial, answer, hang up and hold calls with the touch of a button. Both incoming and outgoing calls are saved to a call log that includes the time, date and duration of the call, the phone that was used, and whether the call was answered, missed or ignored. You can even add notes to a call and export it to Apple's Address Book or iCal!" Pretty snazzy!

Thanks, Judith!