3G

[bloodline]

Oliver wrote:
I can certainly see the value of the iPhone for someone who needs real mobile connectivity. I just don't. As Alex suggested, I am rarely far from a desktop machine. I certainly don't spend anything like that on my mobile contract.

@Bloodline I guess you do business on the move? I'm in an R&D department, and don't have much need to travel.

Ahh right, yeah! I'm pretty much on the move all the time... and probably more so, with my current work! I guess the iPhone won't be that useful for you...

How good are the personal organiser functions on the iPhone? Is it really convenient and fully featured? I haven't yet found anything I will use other than desktop apps for this. I only really derive schedules, appointments, meetings from project plans anyway. If it could perform that function well, that would be a lot more attractive to me. As it is, I only use my phone's organiser as a reminder service, synced to desktop apps.

As an organiser, the integrated Email/Kalender is brilliant, With my old HP iPAQ it had Wi-Fi (but the sercurity was always out of date) and it wouldn't live sync over the air, so I had to update using a teather back at home... that basicly kept my PDA one day behind at best and more if I couldn't get home... the iPhone is always up to date, it's always on line, live... great :-)

I can't wait for push and exchange support comming in July, that will make my life even easier... as many companies I work with, use M$ Exchange and the push support will be brillint!

I think I will not be really happy with a PDA until there is robust and convenient handwriting interpretation. So far, I am yet to be really impressed, though I haven't bothered looking in depth for some time.

My HP iPAQ had pretty damn good handwriting software, but I found that what I wanted to achive on the move was not best suited to hand writing... and the WindowsCE mobile interface sucks big time... The iPhone's interface is what really sets it apart... it's the first mobile device has a proper interface designed for mobile computing... I wouldn't want the iPhone interface on my Desktop though... :-)

JJ wrote:
Am I correct that genrally in America that you have to pay for the handset even on contract ?

All American cellphone companies have a few (5 or 6) model phones that they will provide for new customers "free", but generally those models are very basic phones (not "smart" phones).  

The most interesting is some of the smaller blackberry devices that -- after rebate -- run you about $99 USD, but those are for the blackberrys that don't have full keyboards, and for a messaging phone, a full keyboard is an absolute necessity.  

I couldn't imagine (for example) trying to send e-mail on a keypad which I had to use "phone speak" on (meaning click the number 2 3-times to get a letter "c", etc)

Wayne

[adolescent]

Wayne wrote:

That's a good question indeed. What happens if you loose this hi-tech-musthave-shiny-geek-phallus-symbol or if it gets stolen (not that unlikely in 24 months)?

Most phone companies provide you with insurance for like $5.00 per month or so.  Granted over 2 years, that's like $120 but it beats buying a replacement $200 phone -- regardless of who makes it (nokia, samsung, t-mobile, apple, etc).  Smart phones, like the iPhone all generally cost the same amount (not counting "please switch to xyz rebates"), so I'm not shocked at a $200 phone any more.

Not true.  AT&T doesn't offer insurance for the iphone.  You can get the Apple extended warranty, but that doesn't cover theft or loss.  You could put it on your homeowners insurance but I'm guessing your deductible is more than the iphone anyway.

adolescent wrote:
Not true.  AT&T doesn't offer insurance for the iphone.  You can get the Apple extended warranty, but that doesn't cover theft or loss.

Chalk that up to the "learn something new every day" quotient.  I can only guess, in a situation like this, that if something happens to your phone (any phone, not just an iphone) you back up and try something new, whether buying a replacement off of e-bay or from the manufacturer.  

I'd just say "be careful and don't drop the damned thing" but there are always circumstances in real life that you can't do anything about.  (spoken as a motorcycle rider)

All you can do is to be careful and maybe buy a protective pouch for it.   That, and don't lay it on the table at Burger King and forget about it.

Wayne

[adolescent]

Keep in mind that the AppleCare warranty doesn't cover accidental damage either.  So, you really need to be careful.  But, now at $200 it's a bit easier to swallow than $400 if something does go wrong.

My two remaining issues with the iPhone are the fact that there is no corporate discount for the plans (I get a 18% discount on any AT&T plan except for any iphone plans!? :crazy:), and the fact that to do a lot of the cool stuff you need to void the warranty.  I don't have $200 to gamble really.  Hopefully the new software and features will fix this.

[bloodline]

Wayne wrote:

adolescent wrote:
Not true.  AT&T doesn't offer insurance for the iphone.  You can get the Apple extended warranty, but that doesn't cover theft or loss.

Chalk that up to the "learn something new every day" quotient.  I can only guess, in a situation like this, that if something happens to your phone (any phone, not just an iphone) you back up and try something new, whether buying a replacement off of e-bay or from the manufacturer.  

We are lucky in the UK... Insurance comes as standard on the iPhone...

Cool thing about teh iPhone is that when you connect it to your Mac, it totally backs it up... so if you plug a new one, it "becomes" your old one :-)

I'd just say "be careful and don't drop the damned thing" but there are always circumstances in real life that you can't do anything about.  (spoken as a motorcycle rider)

All you can do is to be careful and maybe buy a protective pouch for it.   That, and don't lay it on the table at Burger King and forget about it.

I decided not to hide my beautiful iPhone in a protective case... and I must confess to throwing the thing around like a rag doll... also throwing it accidentially across the Stamford Brook tube station... some how... the unit has survived and not a scratch on it (apart from the plastic bezel)... Glass and Aluminium are damn fine materials to make a phone from :-)

[Piru]

Tie-in phone deals only became legal in finland year or two ago, and they're only possible for 3G phones. That's why we did't have iPhone (officially) until now.

Speaking of which, technically iPhone 3G isn't really 3G (IIRC the spec demands a front camera). Ok that's nitpicking... :-)

[bloodline]

Piru wrote:
Tie-in phone deals only became legal in finland year or two ago, and they're only possible for 3G phones. That's why we did't have iPhone (officially) until now.

Speaking of which, technically iPhone 3G isn't really 3G (IIRC the spec demands a front camera). Ok that's nitpicking... :-)

And there you have hit upon my one gripe with the iPhone 3G... where is the front Camera? Ok, everyone I know... and I mean EVERYONE, never uses the front camera... A friend showed it to me, in use once, 4 years ago... but it was all jerky and crap... in fact I was speaking with a colegue and he didn't even realise he had a front camera... But I digress... I WANT A FRONT CAMERA ON MY iPHONE!!! :-D

[Oliver]

bloodline wrote:I WANT A FRONT CAMERA ON MY iPHONE!!! :-D

I've always had one, and never used one. I don't really see the point.

A friend got a pair of video phones to talk to his girlfriend in a more personal manner. She would only answer his video calls if she had a chance to get made up for the call (not very often, in practice).

If I am on a mobile, the last thing I want to look at is the phone, as I will generally use it when I am on the go.

bloodline wrote:
I WANT A FRONT CAMERA ON MY iPHONE!!! :-D

I could see the use for one, but never had one yet with it on it, so the fact the iPhone doesn't have one won't kill me.

Wayne

[alexh]

Videophones will never take off! I designed the hardware for a dogs-bollocks "smooth as" videophone chipset in 1998, which got canned shortly before it was finished due to a shift in demand.

Why? The vast majority of phone calls are made by women (it's true) and research had shown they just do not like videophones. Apparently they don't want to have to do their makeup and hair or something to answer / make a phone call.

[bloodline]

Sure the Video Phone is a solution for a problem that doesn't exist... Most phone calls I make are often no more than a minute in length... I almost always moving around or doing something else as well as the call, so even if I did have a video link, I wouldn't be able to look at the camera... And sometimes I don't someone to know where I am... or as mentioned, I might be looking like I've just been run over...

So granted, I would almost certainly never ever use a front camera... but that doesn't stop me wanting one... and even demanding one in the next iPhone ;-)

[uncharted]

alexh wrote:

motorollin wrote:
And get some clunky phone I don't really want? No thanks. I'd rather pay the extra and get an iPhone. It's worth paying for IMO and in my experience.

Another weak minded Jedi sucked in by the marketing of the Dark side ;-)

£35/month is too much to pay for any private mobile phone contract.

Indeed.  I don't get where these crazy figures are coming from.  

I pay £5 a month for unlimited (although in practical terms it's 1GB) 3G data usage, plus some extra free services such as MSN and Skype calls on top of that.  

In total, I pay £20 a month, that includes 300 minutes to the missus (and anyone else on the same network) and 300 minutes or texts to anyone else (1 text = 1 minute).  And I got a half decent free phone in the deal (18 month contract)

All in all I'm paying about the same as I was on pay-as-you-go but getting much more use out of the phone (especially as I was being charged £3 a meg for data!!!!!)

What is worse, you're a Londoner..

Now I've got a mental image of Bloodline dressed up as a Pearly King singing "Roll Out the Barrels"...  :-o

[uncharted]

bloodline wrote:
Sure the Video Phone is a solution for a problem that doesn't exist... Most phone calls I make are often no more than a minute in length... I almost always moving around or doing something else as well as the call, so even if I did have a video link, I wouldn't be able to look at the camera... And sometimes I don't someone to know where I am... or as mentioned, I might be looking like I've just been run over...

So granted, I would almost certainly never ever use a front camera... but that doesn't stop me wanting one... and even demanding one in the next iPhone ;-)

And they're good for taking pics of yourself for an avatar right?  ;-)

[bloodline]

uncharted wrote:

bloodline wrote:
Sure the Video Phone is a solution for a problem that doesn't exist... Most phone calls I make are often no more than a minute in length... I almost always moving around or doing something else as well as the call, so even if I did have a video link, I wouldn't be able to look at the camera... And sometimes I don't someone to know where I am... or as mentioned, I might be looking like I've just been run over...

So granted, I would almost certainly never ever use a front camera... but that doesn't stop me wanting one... and even demanding one in the next iPhone ;-)

And they're good for taking pics of yourself for an avatar right?  ;-)

Well, I have to find some use for the, ultimately pointless, built in 'webcam' that my MBP has... :-D

[bloodline]

uncharted wrote:

What is worse, you're a Londoner..

Now I've got a mental image of Bloodline dressed up as a Pearly King singing "Roll Out the Barrels"...  :-o

What?