iPhone 3G

[[AK]Clay]

Anyone get one yet? Opinions?

[[AK]Squidly]

I haven't upgraded from my first-gen iPhone, but I'm enjoying the heck out of the new APP store. It's like having a new phone again...only more and better.

A coworker did get the new iPhone, and I was able to hold it. Lighter, and slightly wider. Looks good.

[[AK]Clay]

Thanks Squidly. Now that my travels are over - I can get to important matters like what my next cell phone will be .

My Sprint contract has expired and I'm seriously thinking of switching to AT&T for this phone. It's a tough call, because the 3G network is not available in my area, whereas I think Sprint's high speed network is. The 2 yr cost when you add up contract and capital is about the same for the iPhone and Sprint's me-too version, with AT&T being a bit higher. I get the impression that the iPhone is the better phone, but that AT&T is the lesser network.

One thing that I don't get: why did Apple switch from metal and hardened glass to plastic? Is this cost savings, or is this a product improvement? Glass tends to not scratch, but I'm neverous about this plastic screen. Any data/reviews on the screen resilience?

[[AK]Squidly]

Front is the same - hardened glass. back was changed to all-plastic for reasons of improved reception for the 3G and GPS. Signals don't penetrate metal as well, etc.

The software store (many FREE apps!) and the user interface make the iPhone a clear win over anything Sprint is offering. 3G coverage is one thing, WIFI is another option in many places (including, for most people, their own home and place of work.)

That said, I've downloaded and installed new apps over Edge and it was fine.

I think PC world did a series of drop-tests/scratch tests on the 3G iPhone.

http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,852-...d,0/video.html

[[AK]Choozoo]

you could probably pick up an EDGE iPhone pretty cheap right now (eBay), then upgrade to the 3G when you're area is upgraded.

I might get one just for everything but calls, as my iPod is on the way out...
good development testbed too

[[AK]Clay]

I looked into doing just that Chooz. My thought was to pick up a Gen1 iPhone on the cheap and jailbreak it for use on my Sprint network. But the eBay prices on Gen 1 phones are obscenely high right now, so decided to pass.

[[AK]Clay]

So now that I've had my iPhone 3G for a few months and the shine has worn off a bit, here's what I think:

There's a lot of good - but there is also a lot of bad with this phone:


The good:

I still very much like the phone. You almost can't even call it just a phone, it's more of a personal-everything device. I:

• watch movies,
• play games,
• listen to music,
• text,
• manage email,
• surf,
• talk,
• GPS navigate,
• take pictures,
• use it as my office calculator,
• Use it as my travel alarm clock,
• Use it in rifle matches as my timer

- you name it, I do everything on this phone.

Sound great right? Well there's also...

The bad
AT&T SUCKS.
When they say no roaming, what you think that means is no fees for roaming. What it really means, is there's no roaming. At the inlaws - everyone else's (other plan) cell phone works. Neither my iPhone nor the wife's normal phone can get a reliable signal.

Sometimes it'll tell you no signal, so you powercycle, and look, now you have 4 bars??

On a work bus coming back from a trip - through urbania so you know there are plenty of towers- none of our AT&T phones get reliable service. It'll sometimes even say 4 bars, but the conversation is just dropping out. You don't know when the conversation drops out - you just hear a long silence and assume the other person is being thoughtful. Had I known AT&T was going to be this bad - man I don't know if I would have gotten this phone - as amazing as it is. Let me say it again - AT&T SUCKS. A cell phone that you can't reliably make calls from ain't so useful.


The iPhone is not rock solid reliable. It'll lock up. And since you can't get to the battery - there's not a thing you can do about it. It'll lock up for 20 minutes sometimes before it'll reset itself. Not too impressive there. I wouldn't say it does it a lot - but it does it a couple times a month - enough to be highly annoying.

The safari web browser is unstable. It crashes - a lot. Particularly on graphics heavy pages. There are some sites I can only surf for about 20 seconds before bam - safari crashes and I'm back to the desktop. Even more annoying, you can't spawn new pages from links - so when surfing the AK forums - I have to navigate down to where I want to be, then navigate all the way back up before I can move on to the next thread of interest. Weak.

Also, remember the world famous Apple Advertisement during the Superbowl in the 80's where the drones were stuck staring at the man - given no options in life? And the heroin runs through and smashes the screen the sledge hammer? Yea, well the guy on the screen now is Apple. Everything is Apple's way or the highway. If you want to transfer music to/from you phone - you're only option is iTunes. And iTunes doesn't work on Linux. The Apps rock, but all apps must be pre-screened and approved by Apple. Someone made a pretty handy ballistics bullet drop calculator for an iPhone - but you can't get it because apparently Apple thinks only Terrorists would be interested in that.

The GPS is fantastic - BUT, you have to be connected to a data signal to use it. It doesn't store even rudimentary maps - so if you're deep in the woods, yea, you get a GPS signal - located on a grid that doesn't move. A blinking blue dot isn't' that useful on an empty grey background. I was hoping to use the GPS to help me navigate on my international travels; where data access is expensive in the extreme - and unreliable. Is there some kind of App out there that comes with pre-built basic maps I can use for that? Otherwise the GPS usefulness just took a real hit.

Battery life is attrocious. I regularly drain it to 0 in less than an 8 hr day. Mostly this is because the GPS and data connections suck up a lot of juice.


Conclusion
If I lost my iPhone tomorrow would I get another one? you bet! And I'd pay over $500 to do it w/out batting an eye - it's that amazing.

When someone finally makes something as good as an iPhone and it's not on the horrible AT&T network will I switch. You bet!

One thing I didn't mention is cost. I personally think the price of the phone and the plan is fair - for what you get. I'm mostly annoyed with the poor connection service reliability. Did I mention AT&T sucks?

[[AK]Hylander]

The single reason I don't own an iPhone - AT&T.

It's no iPhone, but I must say I love my Motorola Q9c. It's only locked up on me once and that was when I was testing a beta version of SkyFire browser. The one area that it definitely is lacking in is the camera. The 1.3mp is pretty weak. But overall - the best $79.99 I've spent. I have the unlimited data/messaging plan with Verizon. I have my Gmail account synched using iMap. I have Gmail checking all my email accounts (around 5 or 6) so I always have all my mail at my disposal. I use twitter messaging, etc. Xtreme Agenda works fantastic as a PIN and syncs right up with Outlook. I'd rather use Thunderbird, but to be honest - now that I'm using Gmail with iMap, it's really not that important and Outlook works well enough for the limited uses I use it for now.

I wish I could use GPS - but Verizon has disabled the Google Maps GPS ability so that you have to purchase their Verizon Navigator service.

[[AK]StitchJones]

My cell phone has the ability to make phone calls with Verizon as my carrier. For that I am glad.

My Nintendo DS plays games. For that I am glad.

My Ipod Nano plays MP3's and movies. For that I am glad.

I pick and choose what I need so that if any one piece of technology is lost or ruined then I am only dealing with the loss of that one item. For that I am glad.

Overall I'm a pretty glad guy that I don't have or want an Iphone.

[[AK]Squidly]

I have none of the problems you indicate above with my iPhone.

Caveat - I have a first gen phone, fully updated and backed up daily. I charge it at night and at work on my desk, so battery life is never an issue.

AT&T is rock solid in my area, and there's no dead-zones other than in the basement of the steel building I work in. And I rarely go there trying to make a phone call.

[[AK]Abaddon]

AT&T has a lousy track record in my area ... I've stuck with Verizon because their service is rock-solid around here. However, their selection of advanced phones seems anemic unless I want a Blackberry of some sort.

AT&T and T-Mobile (both with crappy local service) seem to be the two companies that get the nicest new phones with the neatest features. Pretty annoying.

Sprint has good coverage everywhere, but their customer service is the worst I've ever experienced.