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Full Review of the iPhone 2 On Launch Day
With the launch of Apple's brand-spanking-new 3G iPhone today, Engadget has a great review of the product and many of the prominent features. The review has quite a few good pictures and is not shy about technical details, but I guess they would know a fair bit about it, having ripped one apart yesterday. "The wireless industry is a notoriously tough nut to crack, and it's become pretty clear that the first iPhone wasn't about total domination so much as priming the market and making a good first impression with some very dissatisfied cellphone users. With the iPhone 3G, though, Apple's playing for keeps. Not only is this iPhone's Exchange enterprise support aiming straight for the heart of the business market, but the long-awaited 3rd party application support and App Store means it's no longer just a device, but a viable computing platform. And its 3G network compatibility finally makes the iPhone welcome the world over, especially after Cupertino decided to ditch its non-traditional carrier partnerships in favor of dropping the handset price dramatically. $200? We're still a little stunned." Update 17:17 GMT by SM: The guys over at Engadget also pointed out that Apple is having some severe problems with their iTunes servers and many customer are being sent home without their sync complete for new iPhones.
It actually becomes $160 more expensive over the life of the contract.
A friend of mine works for a company selling the iPhone 2. According to him if you lose your iPhone 2 you will 1. Have to pay full price to get a new one (not too surprising imo) and 2. Re-sign up for a 2 year contract... Also according to him the employees have been instructed specifically to not mention this fact to customers. Pretty screwy to me. Then again I am ignorant of how most cell phones work so I don't know if this is standard or not. I'm assuming based on his reaction its not.
This thing is catching up to the features already available on my BB.
It's more expensive over the life of the contract than the previous model!
It's not just a plain cell phone!
It doesn't run Linux!
As an 1st generation iPhone owner, I'm excited about the new Software, which will enable all the new features save for GPS. Staying with edge support only will even save me $15 month (3G is $10 more and doesn't include the 200 messages I can already send). I'll likely upgrade with the next generation.
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
On the meltdown of Apple's servers given international demand:
Quoth ABC News and others:
It's the iPocalypse!!!
The Apple revolution may be televised, but streaming is down at this time...
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
No LTE. Less space than a blue-ray disk. Lame.
Correction: the problems people are experiencing have to do with the activation servers, it doesn't have much to do with syncing. Although, one cannot sync their phone (or do anything with it, really) until they first activate it through itunes.
...at an AT&T Store. They told me I need to go home and connect to iTunes to finish the activation. It's not ideal but it's no biggie. I'm thinking Apple will have smoothed out any problems out by the time I get home this afternoon. Well, at least I can charge it here at work.
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
I'm on the Pacific timezone, so everyone out here got the short end of the stick. AT&T is selling the phones and setting up the contracts, but they can do little else besides make a token effort to activate the phone and then send people home to activate it later. I just sold my soul and gave $200 to AT&T, I'd really like to play with my iPhone.
For those breathless in anticipation, please accept this as a bit of anti-hype.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone
The iPhone is a cool toy but I can't quite justify paying what they want for the data service. From talking to people in the industry, the innovation with the iPhone isn't so much with the device itself, it's with the kind of deal Apple was able to cut. The mobile market is fragmented with too many handsets, too many crappy versions of Java that work inconsistently, and the carriers eat too much of the profits. With the iPhone, developers get 70% of the take, it's a uniform environment to develop for, and Apple has beaten up AT&T to get better terms on a few other parts as well.
So, here's looking forward to what the future holds for the iPhone. Any significant success should hopefully foster some imitation and innovation from other manufacturers.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
That's if you ever get past the line to even get a phone in the first place.
iPhone 3G lines make DMV look like baskin robins.
Maybe you shouldn't lose your expensive phone then.
I haven't read the fine print on my service recently but I'm wondering if this is standard. I think when you get a new phone for any reason, you'll have to activate it for a fee, but you stay with your original contract. Most companies I think will waive the fee if you simply sign up for a new contract.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
I am completely sick of hearing about this thing. everyfarkingwhere you turn it's 'iphone-iphone-iphone' arghhhh. of course I might be singing a different tune if 1) I had a job and the economy was doing ok so I could afford one 2) knew someone i could actually make a phone call to. but oh how I do want to hold it's shinyness in my filty little hands and multi-touch it's glassy goodness. Unfortunately I have to buy groceries this month and pine for the days when I had a decent credit score.
If you lose or break your cellphone, any cellphone out there, you are pretty much out of luck. If you bought into the seller's extended warranty or other such program, you can probably get a replacement. However, by and large, those types of services are a ripoff. Some credit cards have "insurance" for big ticket items like computers and appliances.
What could one expect - that after losing your cellphone, you would be given a replacement for free?
As for signing up for a new two-year contact, welcome to the insanity of the U.S. wireless market (and some international markets from what I hear). You might be able to haggle over that, however, and stick within your original contract. It depends on who you get and whether you can speak reasonably - yelling and screaming at them probably won't help you.
It should also be noted that current ATT customers apparently have to both pay the full price and sign up for a two year contract too, despite the fact that this isn't the case for any other phone ATT sells.
As a pro geek, my arsenal of electronic gadgets used to climb in number. In the past year or so, I've gotten down to 4 items I need and use daily:
1. iMate Ultimate 6150 (primary phone, T-Mobile, EDGE)
2. HTC Trinity P3600 (secondary phone, AT&T, 3G)
3. iPod Touch 16GB
4. TomTom GO 910 GPS
My Trinity has a great GPS built in, so the TomTom could go. The iPhone 2 would almost get rid of 3 devices, actually, except for one feature that is missing/disabled: tethering.
I travel, a lot, for my businesses. Nationally and internationally, I use my cell phone for email, phone calls, and basic billing. A notebook is not in my list of gadgets, even though I usually have 2 on me some of the time. Being able to tether to my Trinity is a huge need. On the Trinity I run a WiFiRouter app that lets me tether any WiFi device to the web at full 3G speeds. If I am with clients, employees or subcontractors, having a great WiFi wireless router is a huge gain. But Apple refuses to allow it.
I'm sure some third party hackers will eventually get tethering to work. If so, Apple will gain a customer or 15 (I'd give this option to any of my staff who uses wireless tethering regularly or even irregularly). So why did Apple not offer this feature? Battery life? AT&T telling them not to?
I'm using tethering right now, in fact. On the go. I have two notebooks booted up and online, and they're working great. But I'd love to downsize all my devices to one.
So I'm calling you out Apple. Add a tethering feature to the next ROM update!
I wouldnt mind picking one up if I can maintain my discounts as an AT&T premier customer.
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
Well I'm back from the local AT&T store empty-handed. Apparently they only had 30 phones to sell, and with the broken activation servers it took them hours to distribute them. I stopped by at 11:45 because the line was short, but the news came shortly thereafter that the phones were gone. The news came from frustrated customers leaving the store, not the AT&T staff.
Apple had over a year to correct the supply/activation fiasco of the initial iPhone launch, and so far it's going worse, not better. The new iPhone is also more expensive to own - Job's "half the cost" pitch is an outright lie. 3G (where available) simply provides the "user experience" that people expected from the original iPhone. I already had a bad experience with Edge, so I didn't waste my time with it.
They intentionally planned both an iTunes software upgrade and the release of 2.0 software for the original iPhone and iPod Touch for today, and they didn't plan for overloaded servers? I was fortunate enough to have gotten the iTunes update before the rush, but all day long, the "Buy Now" button on apple.com for the 2.0 upgrade (for my iTouch) is "temporarily unavailable".
By the way, It's $10 to "upgrade" the iTouch to accept the 2.0 software upgrade. This upgrade is needed to run 2.0, which is required if you want to install any additional apps from the Apple Apps store. An original iPhone and my iTouch both cost the same ($399), but if I had an iPhone, the software update to 2.0 would be free. Also, I made the mistake of buying the earlier $20 iTouch software upgrade. Turns out the 2.0 upgrade includes that upgrade as well, and already having it doesn't make the 2.0 upgrade any cheaper (or free, as it should be)
How much longer before the masses will finally see through the bad customer experiences with Apple (they go on and on - unreplaceable iPod batteries, rip-off price of the original iPhone (reduced shortly after release to really tick off the loyal early adopters), and now another botched product release. When will the loyal fans finally say "ENOUGH!"
First post!!1
I' so pumped up about these super pony fast 3g networks and the wireless coverage is spotle
Sent from my iPhone.
Trolls are like broken clocks. They show the truth two times a day. The rest of the day they talk nonsense.
Damn you Nokia! Or is it Motorola?
iFixit did the ripping apart, not Engadget...
in already inside my Faraday cage, just in case.
I doubt having to buy a new contract would hold up very long in court.
Unless, they canceled your previous contract when you reported the phone lost. If it becomes an issue, get a lawyer.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
A friend of mine works for a company selling the iPhone 2. According to him if you lose your iPhone 2 you will 1. Have to pay full price to get a new one (not too surprising imo) and
This is true of all cell phones. Not only if you 'lose it', but if you damage it in ways that are not covered by warranty, or if you damage it out of warranty. (most cell phones have a 1 year warranty although you can often buy extended warranty.) however liquid damage and physical damage are never covered.
2. Re-sign up for a 2 year contract.
This really makes no sense.
There is -always- an early termination provision that can be exercised if the phone is lost, or you move out of country or whatever. Here in Canada on Rogers, for an iphone, it is the greater of $100 or $20 per month remaining in the contract, to a maximum of $400.
http://www.rogers.com/cms/html/iphone_vpterms.shtml
Based on that losing the iphone 2.5 years in, one could always payout $120 (20$x6 months), and then get a new one on a 3 year contract for $199... (or whatever they would be at that point.)
And that's 'worst case'. Usually if you have the intention of signing a new 3 year contract and your well into an existing contract the carrier will offer you a some sort of 'deal'.
Now suppose you lost an iphone on day 2 of your 3 year contract, typically, you'd simply have to replace it at full price, and you'd still be held to the terms of your original contract. Its absurd that they would tack on an extra 2 years (a 5 year contract on a cell phone?!), and even more absurd that you'd have your contract shortened.
And under this scenario, if you lost your iphone on the 2nd day, and they wanted to rope you into a 5 year contract, and charge you $600 replacement, you would simply exercise the early termination: $400. And then sign up to a new 3 year: $199. Same $600 bucks, but only a 3 year contract.
Nonsense. Your friend was lied to - all you have to do is buy a new phone and stick it on the old contract. It's basically a ploy to sell the phone shop's insurance.
Those using pirated Tinysoft signatures(TM) are a real threat to society and should all be thrown in jail.
So dont update right away. Apple needs to start behaving like a service provider of mission/life critical services. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=516811 http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1139 No official word from Apple yet.
I had a RAZR V3i replaced on warranty. It cost me about $50, but I did not have to sign up for a new plan. This was with Edge wireless, which has since been gobbled up by Ma Bell (with the ill communication)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Young people use curse words.
Sorry, I couldn't help my self. Possible becasue I just watched that episode last night...or I have some sort of illness.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Well if you want a new phone to be subsidized it'll probably hold up just fine in court. The contracts are basically loans. All those free and $50 phones people get cost a lot more than that. The cell company basically lends you the money for the phone, and you pay it back over time with your contract. If someone were to take them to court and win, I would guess the cell companies would just start making the loan explicit. In the end you'd be even more screwed when you lose your phone since you have an actual loan out for it and would still owe the money. Right now you sign a new contract and you're on your way.
One of our sales engineers ran back here crying about his iPhone being fucked. He tried to run the update iTunes told him to do - looks like it erased everything on the disk, then it tried to connect to the iTunes store for some completely fucked reason, timed out, and left his phone completely fucking useless.
We plugged it in to one of our macs to try and install the firmware from a local disk, but iTunes would draw a white screen with the word 'iPhone' and sit there while it tried to connect to the store.
We sent him off to the Apple store to pitch a fit about his phone being completely fucked. Maybe he'll come back with a freebie G3?
Thanks to some shockingly incompetent marketing by the local carrier (Rogers), I shall be ignoring the iPhone for the forseeable future.
Reading between the lines, Apple aren't amused either. Nevertheless, there were the usual legions of fanboys lining up to get them, only to find out that the available stock was ludicrously low and the entire national supply of iPhones sold out in an hour.
I'm still hoping, some day, to be able to build applications for my iPod Touch...
...laura
As a current BlackBerry user who tried the iPhone for 4 days before returning it earlier this year. I have to say, I wish this thing had copy and paste! Its an essential feature for me at least. If it had c&p and video capabilities, I'd jump all over it as the uber phone everyone claims it to be. However, lacking these features that my [cheaper at the time] 8310 can deliver me is a turn off.
I was going to buy an iPhone 2 but my friend's mother's brother's cousin said that his kid knows someone who works for Apple and he said the iPhone 3 should be out by Christmas. So everyone buying the iPhone 2 is getting suckered.
1. Expose the full minimum costs (including taxes) for the deal over its life
2. Provide overnight replacement of defective phones, and have remote diagnostics to prove it
3. Bogus charges of moisture sensors should be grounds for no-fault contract termination
4. No charge for instant termination if your bill is paid on time
5. Full backup of user data services at no charge at the carrier on-line
6. No extra charges for text, data, or voice (they're all the same anyway)
7. User-selected least-call-cost routing
8. Users can put any app on their phone they want, so long as they take responsibility for it
9. No throttling of service by type; all user controlled.
10. User password-controlled kill switches to brick stolen phones
11. One single mini-USB jack for charging purposes and sub-mini audio plug standard on all phones
12. No charges for directly uploading and downloading any media or datafiles to the phone within its capacity
13. Destroy all 'deals' between phone vendors and carriers; reveal the true cost of using all services on each contract
14. Allow treble damages for carrier slamming
15. Mandate unbundled deals, so that true costs can be assessed by consumers
Cell phones need to leave the telco world and enter the computer world.
Ok. Whew. I'll get off my soapbox. Now for the barrage.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
https://www.wireless.att.com/business/authenticate/
for me its about 20% off service, but it varies with whatever organization you are assocaited with. If I can get 20% off the iphone service plan that would be a pretty nice deal.
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
Liquid damage?
You mean when they take your phone in the back to "check it", bring it back a few seconds later and show you a red dot under your batter cover?
They routinely put water on the dot (which is white) and bring it back to you saying "liquid damage, no warranty, buy a new one, get a new contract, too".
Same goes for laptops.
"Liquid damage" is the go-to scam.
Your friend is wrong. Even people not eligible for ugprade can get the iphone at the middle price ($400/500).
The subsidized price is available when you are eligible for an upgrade; just like any subsidized phone - if you lose it, you pay an unsubsidized price. AT&T has a freaky offer of a non-contract iphone at $600/700, but it makes no sense to buy it, since the ETF is the same or less than the cost differential.
I don't know about the US, but in Europe that's unheard of. Over here at least, your contract is seperate from your phone. As long as you keep your contract for the minimum number of months required, it doesn't matter what happens to the phone. You can lose your phone and let your insurance buy you a new one, and your contract will still cover it. My guess is iPhones are going to be ripped off massively ('idiot bauble' syndrome), and they're doing all they can to make it less appealing to "lose" one and get a replacement. Even so, pricey phones over here don't command such ridiculous caveats.
I mean seriously, you buy a phone and then you need to go home and activate it through some software?
What if I don't run Windows nor Mac?
I mean, Apple, cmmon ..
That means that obligates me to have a computer running the OS you choose. Or installing another OS just for activating it.
What's next?
Will I be obliged to have 4 gigs RAM to move my pics to the PC's hard disk?
P.S. I know I could just go to a friend and activate the phone, but will you just go to his house to use his computer and you have your own at home?
[insert lame sig here]
One reason the lines are long in the first place is the sync issues. The activation server is timing out (probably from load). If it was being prompt, people would be out the door in a fraction of the time.
Apple cannot even manage to get simple things like Bluetooth Stereo headsets to work and copy and paste. The masses turning into Apple fanboys - it's sickening...
Or you could just tell them you'll pay the early exit fee, cancel your service and find a new phone provider (no bluffing - must follow through). I did that once for a different situation and they backed down promptly. But YMMV.
You think your lot are shockingly incompetent, try our lot. Their authentication software is just a basic form filling thing, barely more than a web page, but it requires IE. Applestore staff are really enjoying having to cobble together an emulation solution today as nobody realised that IE for Mac was killed off years ago, especially when they found out that the back end software is as stable as a dizzy stiltwalker in a ball bearing factory.
Meanwhile I'm not even in an Apple store as O2 randomly decreed that existing customers can only upgrade at O2 stores. I should have been able to upgrade online and have the phone delivered, but despite sending me 3 mails saying I'd successfully ordered online, and debiting my credit card, O2 randomly decided I wasn't getting one, and the estimated delivery date was 'hopefully by the end of Summer'. The idea of reserving the a phone for me at the shop, or couriering one from the shop to me was for no readily apparent reason unthinkable, so I decided to queue at the shop. I was 11th in line. After making a grand total of 3 sales in the first hour after opening, the staff decided to switch to filling in the paperwork offline, which slowed them down to just 2 completed sales in the 2nd hour.
At about this point, they finally realised that some people in the 100 strong queue would not get one of the 30 phones they had in stock. They counted the 16Gb phones, and gave the first 12 people in the queue a yellow post it note that designated us as the lucky ones to get the big memory version. Then they took the 12th post it away, having discovered that their counting abilities matched their organisational abilities. Purple post its for the 8Gbs followed, and the back two thirds of the queue were told they were out of luck, and had waited over 2 hours for no reason.
Five minutes later, they noticed the *other* box of iPhones, and handed out more post-its to people who had only just arrived and joined the back of the queue (of course it didn't occur to staff to stop people joining the queue after the first batch of phones were all accounted for). After much arguing they finally stopped trying to allocate the newly found 16s to the newcomers and swapped purple post its for yellows. Several staff genuinely couldn't understand why people who had queued for hours and been told they could only have an 8 were angry that people who arrived 5 mins ago were getting first dibs on the second lot of 16s. One just kept repeating 'but you've been allocated an 8' over and over.
After nearly 3 hours, I was the 11th person to leave the store with a phone. I expect the store won't sell out today, because they had about 40 left, and only 9 hours before closing time.
My activation worked just fine though :-)
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
you will 1. Have to pay full price to get a new one (not too surprising imo) and 2. Re-sign up for a 2 year contract
I assume the same would apply if the iPhone 2 were dropped into the BlendTec?
Support the 30 Hour Work Week!!!
By my reckoning, the AT&T store at Keily & El Camino Real had fewer than 70 of the 160 GB model in each color.
The last launch went reasonably well - everyone who got in line before the actual launch (which started 20 minutes late) got the phone of their choice.
This time, I got there an hour and a half early and they ran out 6 people ahead of me.
I wouldn't have actually minded that if they'd have told us all that at the start instead of having us waste 3 hours of our lives waiting. They had to have known how many they had available last night. They couldn't have gone down the line at 8 and counted them off?
F this.
I have an iPhone 2G phone. I updated this morning and ever since it deactivated itself and I have been without a phone the entire day. The Apple store tells me they are too busy selling new phones to service existing customers.
WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THIS?
Hey, someone who has one or access to one - please tell me if my one dealbreaker issue is fixed.
Is dvorak one of the new available keyboard layouts?
note {
Yes, I know it's possible to hack an old-style
iPhone to use dvorak by messing with another
layout file. My question is whether it's
available WITHOUT having to jailbreak / hack it.
)
If not, it's really ironic that the only keyboards Apple makes that can't be easily re-arranged to your liking are software-based.
I've been looking to buy an iPhone, will this mean the original iPhone will start to go down in price?
So...
AT&T are screwing Americans, Rogers are screwing Canadians.
The iPhone 3G doesn't have cut & paste, MMS, replaceable battery or a physical keyboard.
The iPhone camera isn't as good as a number of other camera-phones. Some would say it's outright poor - I've not really ever used by k800i...
Is there anything new to say? Did anyone read the article and find out something new?
Personally, I'm miffed that the white 16GB iPhone aren't available in the UK yet. When they are, I'll get one. The O2 tariffs are not bad, not good. The product offers the best mobile internet experience on a phone that I've seen.
But it's just a phone, right?
A friend of mine works for a company selling the iPhone 2.
Give us a clue to which country this carrier is in. There are many more carriers this time round and they don't all smell the same.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
Funny, I had almost that exact experience at the San Jose Apple store - the guy took it into the back to "check it", and came back to the desk.
Then he said, "yes, it's broken" (it couldn't play H.264 video properly, everything else worked) and gave me a new one there and then. That one's worked perfectly since :)
Perhaps yours have had liquid damage ?
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
Never happened to mine.
It's a well known scam.
I downloaded an earlier version of the iPhone 2.0 software and installed it on my iPhone yesterday. Works great and I've spent a lot of time in the app store. Here are my observations:
1. AolRadio is an amazing offering. Within wifi zones, it offers a ton of digital radio stations that blow my Sirius satellite subscription out of the water- better music offerings and for free. It supposedly works to some extent over 3g, while not offering ALL stations. So it makes the iPhone a cool portable internet radio player.
2. eReader is an ebook reader that's free, but it only allows you to install books purchased from their website. For $9.99 you can purchase an app called 'bookshelf' that lets you install your own ebooks, and supports multiple formats. It doesn't currently support PDF, but I assume it will.
3. Most of the good games are not free or cheap. Super Monkey Ball is $9.99.
4. Weatherbug is an app similar to the original weather APP, but it offers radar views and current condition photos. The radar would be excellent, but it doesn't automatically zoom in to the city you are interested in. At least one other feature on it seems incomplete.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
I updated my iPhone around 11 and it was down right up till the time I had to go pick a friend up from the airport. I just tried right now and the activation step went through without a hitch.
So the iTunes storm seems to be over. I wonder if it was iTunes or iTunes-to-AT&T that was the problem. I seem to remember AT&T's systems was the bottleneck at the launch. I know the computers at the store I was at were crawling and barely able to keep up.
"Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs." -- Switchfoot, Ode to Chin
AT&T even sells other phones that can tether, but does a tethering-allowed data plan cost more? I believe it was technically not allowed on my old t-mobile account, even though I tethered my PowerBook to my Nokia 6600 on GPRS.
Yeah. Everyone knows it. It's one of those scams perpetrated by them. I know for sure, because I get on email on the internets that told me about a guy whose cousin knows this girl who has a friend that does exactly that every day.
Man I hate them.
Liquid damage?
You mean when they take your phone in the back to "check it", bring it back a few seconds later and show you a red dot under your batter cover?
A reputable dealer will flip it open and remove the battery cover right in front of you to check that dot with you.
The red dots in my experience with cellular has been a pretty accurate predictor. And in virtually every red dot case I've ever seen, when at the customers insistence that they've never been anywhere near moisture ever and at their expense we've had our service technicians open the unit -- significant corrosion was invariably plain to see.
A phone can be sopping without getting dunked. An unlucky drop or two on the ground, or not putting the battery cover on properly and the water proofing can easily be compromised. Once that's the case, water vapor and humitity from being left in a pocket on the counter while you take a hot shower, or on a windowsill at night... etc... and the inside of the phone will be full of condensation, which rapidly turns in it into a useless paperweight.
All that said, I wouldn't doubt a disreputable dealer might do what you describe.
If you genuinely suspect a scam, take the device someplace reputable, and have them check the actual electronics -- if they are bone dry and free of corrosion, you have a lawsuit on your hands.
But don't be surprised if the insides come back looking like they spent a week at the bottom of a lake.
so what prevents anyone from buying dozens of phones and sticking em under one contract after losing them once a day ?
1. buy iphone 2 with contract
2. lose it on ebay for $350
3. buy new iphone and stick it under same contract for $199
4. PROFIT !!!
It might be worthwhile to do that if you're going to another carrier. But AT&T's standard unlimited data plan is $40/mo. The regular iPhone's is cheaper.
If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
... to activate other phones.
So try again genius.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Why is that, do you think? There seems to be something about cities in Arizona that makes the residents, um, different. I've heard every big city around there described, in terms of culture, as "Los Angeles with none of the redeeming features".
Why is this not OT? Because in some ways the old joke really is true. California is the future. And if we're going to look at future demand for things like gadgets, then what y'all want is disproportionately important to help determine what users everywhere will want in ten years or so.
So, that having been said, please, can you explain to me why Arizona people are the way that they are?
It's all about the information. And what we do with it.
Yeah, but why do they design mobile phones so shittily? Isn't it a scam?
I could understand with the first generation, but by now, don'tcha think they ought to have figured out a way to get a waterproof seal over the battery when you close the lid??? I think it's pathetic.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
because I really like their business model. But I had Cricket and it really, really sucked. I never got more than 2 bars anywhere, text messaging would act just plain weird at times (would send the same message twice, would receive the same message twice, and sometimes it would take HOURS between when I sent a message and when the person I sent it to got it). Also, the phone I got thru them was a complete piece of garbage. I had sprint before
If you have had a good experience with them, please reply stating so. I don't want to bash them, this was just my experience with them.
I guess they will when they're genuinely unhappy with Apple's products and services. Despite missteps and mistakes on Apple's part, it doesn't appear that the vast majority of their customers are anywhere close to unhappy with either.
And out of curiosity, why would you say that the price of the original iPhone was a rip-off? People who spent the $600 didn't have guns pressed to their temples, and obviously it was worth it to them or they wouldn't have bought them. The only early adopters I've heard bitching about the price drop were the ones who had bought a bunch of them in order to resell them, and saw their money-making venture evaporate (I personally know several). Those who found the device useful just shrugged their shoulders, joked about Early Adopters Syndrome, and happily continued using it (I personally know many).
If you think the iPhone is such a rip-off, why are you so upset that you couldn't get one on launch day? Couldn't you have foreseen the possibility of the very problems that you encountered, and put off your purchase until next week, when the bugs were ironed out? Seems to me that you're really upset about the inconveniences you suffered and decided to vent by launching into a rant fest. What does the iPod battery, iPod Touch upgrade fees, and Edge performance have to do with the fact that you didn't get your iPhone today? Your post makes you sound like a frustrated fanboy, lashing out at Apple because you didn't get your toy like Unca Steve promised. There, there, it's not the end of the world.
Yeah, but why do they design mobile phones so shittily? Isn't it a scam?
I could understand with the first generation, but by now, don'tcha think they ought to have figured out a way to get a waterproof seal over the battery when you close the lid??? I think it's pathetic.
Actually back in the old days I saw a Motorola 2-way unit sitting in a fishbowl at a tradeshow. People could come up use it, and then put it back in the fishbowl. Its not that they can't make them waterproof... its that they can't make them water proof, feature rich, light, 4 millimeters thick, stays cool while you use it, and on top of all that cheap.
Most cellphones are actually quite water reistant, and I've seen countless survive drink spills, and even falls into sinks and worse. But the engineering tradeoffs mean most are still fairly vulnerable. You -can- get waterproof phones though... manufacturers do make units designed to survive immersion... Sony, LG, Fujitsu and others have all released waterproof models. And for the rest, there is a thriving market for waterproof cases.
And its not just the battery cover... the keypad, buttons, charging port, along with the hinges and slides of phones that do that -- are all potential entrances. There are membranes and coatings in place - and the better devices -are- fairly resistant, but if you want water 'proof' you'll have to make some tradeoffs, and the market despite its moaning about liquid damage doesn't exactly snap up the water proof options that are available.
The iPhone 2 is for sale in Belgium for 525EUR afor the 8GB nd 615EUR for the 16GB version.
At this moment it is forbidden by law to sell them locked and with a contract. This means that Apple has pumped up the price a bit, so it can show how good it would be to have it locked and so on like in other countries.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
A friend of mine works for a company selling the iPhone 2. According to him if you lose your iPhone 2 you will 1. Have to pay full price to get a new one (not too surprising imo) and 2. Re-sign up for a 2 year contract... Also according to him the employees have been instructed specifically to not mention this fact to customers. Pretty screwy to me. Then again I am ignorant of how most cell phones work so I don't know if this is standard or not. I'm assuming based on his reaction its not.
Well, it sucks, but it's also the way it's worked with every single cell phone I've had for the last 11 years. Contract + Phone == subsidy to lower the cost. Unless you have your phone insured, you're going to have to pay the full price of the phone or subsidize it with a new contract.
I'm not complaining about you in particular, but I am finding these sorts of 'red flags' to be a little annoying. Okay, the iPhone is overhyped. The substance isn't being overpowered by the flash. I think this is understood, afterall, that's why lots of people are coming forward and saying "Hmm.. this sounds better than it really is." And ya know what? They're right. But what's getting annoying (again, I'm not picking on you in particular because I'm not sensing malice in your tone.) is all these alarms are going off about things that really need to be filed under D for Duh. Here are some examples:
- The phone's only $199, but you're stuck with a 2 year contract, so it really costs over $1500! ... etc.
- Data service isn't available everywhere!
- Some people will have to plunk down a deposit!
Seriously, it's not like the vast majority of people getting an iPhone have never had a cell phone before. Let's at least keep the drawbacks that affect any other cellphone on the market to a minimum.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Oh I know the red dots work.
They're often too sensitive, though.
(The shower situation you described often sets them off, when very little if any damage to the actual electronics has occurred.)
But I am literally talking about taking your phone in because it's a buggy piece of crap, handing it to the sales rep, the rep going to "check" it, coming back 1 minute later, and lo and behold that white dot you walked in with is now completely red.
Specific example (not my phone): The Verizon store in the Paseo Nuevo shopping center in Santa Barbara, CA.
Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.
It's just one more avenue they have to screw you.
If you ever have a buggy ass piece of crap phone, and you take it in to be replaced, watch out for this shit.
Show them up front that the water-damage indicator has not been tripped.
Borderline scam, at least, as they're honest about it.
I was riding into Manhattan today on my bicycle and thought I'd swing by a couple of AT&T stores on the way to see if any lines were short enough to get myself an iPhone (never had a 1st gen). The one on the Fulton Street Mall had a line out the door but not too long - I should've stayed there, as they were out of stock by my trip home.
I went by the one on Montague street in Brooklyn Heights - only a few people in line. An AT&T rep came out and said that their stock was running low (this was at noon) and that they would only sell their remaining phones 'at full price' - with no guarantee that AT&T would credit you the difference, even if you then signed a 2 year contract.
Not one person stayed in the store. It's certainly their right to sell them however they wanted, but I'll never go back to that store - seems like a pretty dumb business decision.
Don't get me wrong I think the iPhone is a great device and very well thought out but the iTunes + Service + On-line + Apple Services lock-in makes me very nervous. You just need one level as we are seeing now to fail and you are stuck with an very expensive brick. When I look at the iPhone the image of a very well made and gold (gilded) cage comes to mind and I really don't want to step into it.
Only if they are not eligible for an upgrade. This is the case with any phone AT&T sells. If you are not eligible for an upgrade, you do not get the subsidized price.
That's right - keep burning up your mod points on ACs, faggot. Your mother still gives lousy blowjobs.
http://stuff.co.nz/4610626a18335.html If you want an iphone down here in New Zealand then be prepared to pay out big. Vodafone is selling Apple's 8 gigabyte iPhone 3G from $199NZ, but to get this price customers must sign up to a 24-month plan charging $250NZ per month. The plan includes voice calls, SMS and 1GB of data per month. Other plans charge $80NZ or $130NZ per month for 250MB and 500MB respectively, with the 8GB handset costing $549NZ or $449NZ respectively. The 16GB iPhone models cost $150NZ more in each case. The iPhone in New Zealand will cost from $2469NZ to $6199NZ over two years, depending on the plan and how much is paid up front.
If one isn't eligible for an upgrade, one can buy a phone from AT&T without renewing the contract, apparently, which makes sense. The iPhone for non-eligible customers is full price and requires a renewed contract. Considering the price difference, it could well be cheaper for me to cancel my service and pay the early termination fee in order to buy an iPhone at the subsidized price.
That many of the highly modded pro-Apple posts all in the 2415* UID range? Looks like Slashdot may be succumbing to sneaky advertising tactics.
On the offchance that you're serious... Tethering is the ability to connect your device to your laptop/workstation and use its wireless for internet connectivity. That, low battery consumption, replaceable batteries, push from BES, and a tactile keyboard is what makes Blackberries better corporate devices.
It just works.....
I'm not eligible for an upgrade until next august, and the sales rep tells me I will have to pay $400 for an iphone no matter what. I thought about trying to save money by paying $175 to terminate my current plan, but then I would get screwed by the activation fee again.
It seems pretty lame that they tricked me into getting a crappy razr for free a year ago, and now the screen doesn't even come on anymore and they tell me to suck it up or give them more money. It seems I should get the subsidized price by agreeing to extend my contract, but they just don't seem to care about their own customers at all once they get you to sign that contract. Hooray for broken capitalism!
If you do the upgrade, you are forced to get a new number. Only full price buyers get to keep their old numbers.
absolutely. - Metro Elite Mortgage
guess ill be waiting for Android :)