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I am not an iPhone basher, nor am I an Apple basher. I've used Apple products since the early 1980s, when my dad got my sister and myself an Apple II Plus. To this day, my computers and MP3 players and operating systems are Apple.
But not my phone.
No, I am not in love with Windows Mobile, or the Palm OS, or Blackberry, or Symbian, or whatever strange operating system runs on my Samsung phone. I'm far from enamoured with Verizon or Sprint, although I did like TMobile a lot when I used them--but if today's iPhone was on TMobile, I still wouldn't have one.
Do I hate the iPhone? Far from it. I've used mobile phones for years and every one I've used has had an interface that was either years behind what the iPhone provides--or decades behind it. I think that visual voicemail is a great development and unlike every other phone (or PDA) I've had, the syncing just works. Mobile Safari is to the second best mobile browser out there, Opera Mini, as the Nikon D3 is to a camera using the Kodak Disc.
But when it came right down to it, I got an iPod touch rather than an iPhone.
Why?
Two terms: 3G and tethering.
I might have added to that list at various points in the iPhone's short history the lack of (Apple authorized) third party applications, but I hope that will be eliminated as a concern in the next week or so. I have a few third party applications installed on my Samsung. They are of varying quality; Google Maps is its usual remarkable self; GMail is useful even with the limited input possibilities of the keypad and five button pointer common on phones; Opera Mini is far better than the inbuilt browser; Twitlet (a Twitter client) is usable if bare bones and with the occasional issues related to the limited resolution of the display; and the IRC client is more like a dancing bear than anything else. Still, I am quite hopeful--particularly as one who dabbles in code--that useful iPhone applications will indeed exist from third parties.
I realize that 3G is not without its faults, including battery life decimation, but the speed that I get through my Sprint phone--and for perspective, I think Sprint is a horrible company to deal with and my Samsung A920 is one of the most bizarre examples of user interface in the history of many--is fast, fast, fast. Not as fast as my cable modem, but considerably faster than the low end DSL I encounter at my part time job's office. But for the handheld itself, I would really not have issues with EDGE, because if all that was available was EDGE, I think all I would be doing is checking email, which doesn't require a ton of bandwidth.
The bigger issue for me is tethering. Tethering, as used in this context, is to hook the phone up to a computer (typically the iBook I'm typing on right now) to use for data. I use this very often--several times a week. I'm not talking about just checking email; I'm talking about Web browsing, torrenting, accessing my VNC
server at home, downloading podcasts--just about the same way I use my cable modem at home. Given that my iBook's wireless card died this past week, I'm actually using tethering even in places with WiFi access and not regretting it. Sometimes I even use tethering in my truck if I need to desperately get a map or don't want to interrupt a huge torrent download. Right now I'm not just tethering my iBook, I'm using OS X's Internet Sharing and a mobile router to share the EVDO connection with several other users, and even with my iBook crippled due to a RAM failure (just 256 megabytes under its hood right now), it just ran a speed test at 664 Kb per second--through a cellular phone attached with a USB cable.
Aside from a hack that requires a jailbroken iPhone that allows another computer access to some Internet services through a SOCKS proxy via the iPhone's EDGE connection, there appears to be no current way to use the iPhone as a modem. Even if there is, the AT&T EDGE network is much slower than the EVDO network of Sprint. Sharing a connection with several other folks that originates with my Samsung EVDO phone is okay; sharing a connection using EDGE would be much more painful. The EVDO speed--remember, provided by a company I greatly dislike--is so fast that I'm considering getting a Cradlepoint router so I can share it without needing to tie up a USB port or two on my iBook. And interestingly, the device I'm most often sharing my EVDO connection with via WiFi is my iPod touch--almost making it what a 3G iPhone could be.
So, yes, I love the iPhone interface, as well as Apple itself, but unless and until a 3G iPhone with the ability to tether is unveiled, I'll be sticking to my iPod touch and my hated Samsung using hated Sprint--who has the fast data that I desire. So, Apple, I love you, I love the iPod touch, and I'd love to have an iPhone--with a couple of additions. Until then, sorry, there's no iPhone for me.
We know there are a few of you out there that have iBricks ever since the iPhone 1.1.1 udpate. We feel your pain! That's why we've decided to give away a brand new, unopened 4GB iPhone! That's right! It's our first contest and you could win a FREE 4GB iPhone... and it's pretty easy to enter.A survey taken over at wirelessinfo.com shows that the problem of the iPhone battery not showing that it's fully charged is widespread: "over 60% of those who responded told us that their battery indicator did not show a fully charged battery."
Wirelessinfo contacted Apple, and this is what they had to say:
"Your battery is fully charged, but the UI (User Interface) is just not correctly reflecting this. We expect to fix this in a software update."
There was no indication as to when the software update would be coming, but just know that it is. We're sure Apple will also fix a whole slew of other problems with the iPhone and maybe even add a few more apps.
The other day I overheard some people talking about the iPhone. It almost sounded like a religious experience of some sort. In a way, I suppose it could be.
The iPhone seems to be the most anticipated thing in recent memory. I don't think that I've been waiting eagerly for something like this since the announcement of a sequel to the original Star Wars way back in 1978.
Not to mock anything, but I wouldn't be surprised to see people with bumper stickers or t-shirts claiming that the "iPhone is coming soon..."
Hopefully we'll get one the day it comes out! While we wait release of Apple's iPhone, we've been planning our attack to get first dibs on one. While we haven't found a fool proof strategy, meaning one that would get it in our paws guaranteed... we think there are a few things you can do to ensure that you get one the day it's released.
- Plan to miss work the day the iPhone is set to be released. Depending on the day the iPhone comes out, just plan to miss work because you'll be waiting in line or sleeping in the parking lot of one of the Apple Store locations or AT&T / Cingular locations.
- Call in advance to be sure the location you plan to purchase one will have stock. While there are no guarantees that the location will even KNOW how many they'll have, it's worth a shot. If the store has a low number, your chances are slimmer than a store with a large stock.
- Make friends at one of the locations. Go into a AT&T store today and start chatting it up with a sales rep. Be chummy and make friends. Tell him that you're waiting for an iPhone and make sure he knows you want one and that you'll switch from your existing provider to AT&T if he keeps you in the loop. Making friends with a rep is almost a sure fire way to get your foot in the door when the first batch of iPhones come in.
These are just our suggestions, strategies to getting an iPhone. We're sure you have more suggestions than that, so please send them our way!
It was incredible! I stood in line for 2 hours but it was worth it to get my hands on Apple Inc.'s latest and greatest product! It was so beautifully slick I could barely keep myself from smiling ear to ear like an idiot... As I played with each feature, I could hear myself talking and then chuckling with each menu screen!
Then I woke up.
We can hardly wait for Apple's iPhone to come out! A bunch of us here at iPhoneNewsBlog have been discussing exactly how Apple will sell the iPhone and how much the plans will cost. Also some of us will actually have to call in sick for work that day in order to get in line to purchase it the day it comes out.
June 15th... the supposed release date of the iPhone, is coming soon... but not soon enough!
We'd love to see what makes the iPhone tick, so we're anxious to see what's on the inside of that shiny little device!
While most will cradle and gently handle their iPhone, we'll probably take that sucker apart unless someone does it before us. If we do take apart the iphone, we'll be sure to take a ton of photos and post them here so you won't have to. The tech heads will want to know what processor is being used, if it's socketed, if the memory is upgradable etc. Someones gonna hack this thing in no time.
A few iPhoneNewsBlog staffers have been taking bets on whats inside Apple Inc's iPhone, but we'll all know soon enough!
Man! Who knew the iPhone could do so many things! Funny stuff from Conan!
