Twice as fast. Half the price. That’s the tagline for Apple’s iPhone 3G. The new device will be surfacing a month from tomorrow — on July 11. Pricing will start at $199.

No doubt you’ve already read something — a news article, blog entry or the back of a cereal box — extolling the virtues of this new mobile offering. So I’m going to focus a little bit on 3G and what that brings users, then extol virtues.

3G stands for third generation of mobile phone standards, and the networks that support it are wide area. Think fast and full of capacity. These networks can deliver more services. For the iPhone, that includes faster web surfing, faster email and better video delivery.

These have existed practically forever in Asia, but finally found their way to the United States on a slow boat piloted by Verizon in 2003. (An earlier implementation withered on the vine — or should I say, wire?)

3G phones already exist. The AT&T Tilt 8925 Smartphone, the Nokia N91, the Sony Ericsson K800i are just three examples.

What sets the iPhone apart from these others? It’s not price. The Motorola RAZR V3xx ranges from $39.99 to $99.99 — with a two-year service contract. The Palm Treo 750 SmartPhone, a $500-$600 phone, is only $149.99 with a two-year service plan.

But, as Treo reviewer y2kinfos points out when talking about his or her phone: “…Most of you guys know when u have a PHONE + PDA + CAMERA + BLUETOOTH + WINDOWS MOBILE + UPGRADABLE MEMORY, there is nothing else you would need more apart from GPS…”

Mr. Jobs has delivered the GPS. Plus, the iPhone now supports Exchange, which makes it much more enterprise-friendly. And you get an iPod built in. That’s a sweet package.

But service is still restricted to AT&T. And AT&T’s 3G coverage doesn’t exist in my part of California. In fact, if you look at AT&T’s service coverage viewer, you’ll discover that 3G is mostly a big-city feature in the United States. That means your iPhone will revert to poky old 2G in the byways of Sante Fe, Lubbock, Wichita, Lansing and hundreds of other small and mid-sized communities. It’s like having a really great toy and not being able to get the batteries to run it. Steve, can you hear me now? That’s the problem I want you to solve next, please!

Come July 1, those of us traveling in California will be facing fines if we drive while holding a cellphone to our ears. The fines aren’t huge — a first offense is $20, but with penalty assessments that adds up to $76. Personally, I can’t use my phone while I’m behind the wheel — I weave all over like Carol Migden on a bad allergy day. But I can’t say the same for Significant Other. She frequently calls me while I’m at my desk, and I say, “Are you driving right now?” If there’s a pause on the other end, I know what the answer is.

So it’ll be easy for me to justify the cost of a couple of new headsets for our vehicles. I’d rather it went to buying new stuff than to landing ignominiously with a small tinkle in the State of California general fund or, worse, having somebody I love plow into a tree.

I’m looking at the Aliph Jawbone Wireless Cell Phone Headset – an elegant choice SO is sure to approve of. A lot of readers have weighed in on this model, and here’s the sense I get:

This headset does an amazing job of blocking out background noise. (I’m thinking our 5-year-old counts in the backseat definitely counts in that category.)

It’s nice looking — always a good thing when you’re walking around with a dongle dangling off your head.

The sound itself gets mixed reviews. Some say it’s excellent; others call it “tinny.”

The controls are in a weird position on the device, but since you don’t really need to use them much, that’s OK with most users.

You can easily bust something when you take it out of the recharging cradle. On that recharger, apparently, the company doesn’t offer one for the car — rather an oversight.

The earpieces included with the unit are horrible. They don’t fit well, especially if you have small ears. (But even if your ear isn’t small, it’s still custom to you.) Many users seem to be replacing them with Jabra EarGels.

Well, looks frequently trumpet usability in this household. Tinny tone and lousy earpiece be hanged! California Highway Patrol, here we come…!