The iPhone Thread [R]

Discussion in 'Technology' started by dark knight, Jun 5, 2007.

  1. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Due out at the end of this month.

    Someone talk me out of buying this thing - I know you are supposed to wait and let the bugs get worked out, but I have a couple gift certificates and I really, really want it (assuming I could even manage to buy one which is a huge assumption).
     
  2. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    The Iphone is not 3g (HSDPA) so it's pretty much outdated already. It uses EDGE for mobile internet which is outdated and slow and it uses GSM for voice, when the newer cool phones use WCDMA/HSDPA which has better sound quality. It's on At&t and since it does not have 3g it can't access At&t's video features (called cellular video, formerly cingular video). Also it can't run slingbox (you need windows mobile). I give the Iphone a big thumbs down.

    edit: the samsung blackjack can do alot more than the iphone and it s 3g. You can stream internet radio stations, access mobitv (a mobile tv network that has like 20 channels including streaming MSNBC, Animal Planet and more) and Cellular Video as well as free video channels like zoovision.
     
  3. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Are there phones that do have windows mobile out there? I'm not sure I really need or care about that issues you describe.
     
  4. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    Yes, several PDA phones have windows mobile.

    What are you getting the Iphone for? To play mp3's? Many phones do that already and have better features for les money. There is a phone forum with phone geeks (I'll post the link if it's within the rules) and most of the phone geeks are not high on the Iphone. It's mostly an apple gimmick.

    As for voice, for some reason Apple did not make this a 3g phone. Many people swear the sound quality during a call on a 3g phone is superior to a GSM phone (iphone is gsm).
     
  5. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    By the way, at&t video shows MLS highlights the same night as the games are played. So you can view the goals if you're out at the bar or whatever on your phone, the picture quality is very good.

    As of now, the iphone would not be able to access this feature.
     
  6. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    It's fine to post the link. To be honest, I don't really need an IPod phone, although when I used to take public transportation I would have liked that a lot - because I get tired of carrying two devices. I used to carry 3 - palm, phone and ipod but now I have a palm phone.

    I just think it's web browsing interface, calendar, contacts, widgets, wifi, google maps, music, run OSX and synch with my mac - all in one sleek package - will be really cool - it's a little like the Ipod - there are clearly better sound quality options out there, but it's design is just much better. Can you point me to a phone that will do as much and be as easy to use/cool?
     
  7. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Seems strange that it can't access an AT&T service, wonder if this is something they will fix?
     
  8. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    It is because the Iphone is using Edge and you need 3g to use the streaming video, as edge is not really fast enough.

    in the early 2000's mobile phones used a technology called GPRS to connect to the internet. Then a new technology came out called EDGE which was much faster. Now there is hi-speed which is 3g (either UMTS or HSDPA technology are the specific name - look them up on Wiki for more info) which are comparable to DSL or even faster. At&t only allows 3g phones to acces it's video network. For whatever reason, Apple is using EDGE.

    HOWEVER, I forgot, the Iphone can access WIFI too, so I guess if you're near a wireless connection then all the other stuff is moot. If you're on the train or bus then you'll have to use EDGE and it's pretty slow. I can't imagine going back to EDGE after using 3g.

    the site is www.howardforums.com

    and I would look at the Samsung Blackjack which is also at&t/cingular. It's faster, it has more entertainment options and it's pretty nice looking. If you want to sync with OSX then Iphone is obviously the better choice.

    You can go to CNET and see a video review of the Blackjack.

    I have an At&t Motorola 3g Razr, which is the Razr with 3g so I watch tons of video and stream radio while at work. It plays Mp3's and has a Real player.

    It's al pretty confusing I guess, seeing as different phones use different technologies on the same network.
     
  9. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Thanks for the link - about 3G their FAQ in the Apple forum (some serious moderating it seems in that forum!) says:

    http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1086725
     
  10. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999

    After reading all that I thik the Iphone is even worse than I thought before. No video record? No games? No flash or Java?

    Yikes. Again, the Blackjack does alost everything and Iphone does and many more things the Iphone doesn't do.
     
  11. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    It's funny - there's also a thread called the "iphone killer" where very informed guys are talking about features and how there are already better phones on the market. It just comes across as techies not getting the fact that most sheep, I mean, folks like me aren't that focused on tech specs - and form/style/ease of use will trump a lot of that. And interfacing with Itunes is a big part of that.
     
  12. servotron

    servotron New Member

    Mar 4, 2004
    St Paul, MN
    You might... MIGHT want to wait until the first wave of recalls for [whatever problem they have that no one forsaw]. Easily scratched, phone reception is horrible, etc etc... not saying any of that WILL happen but could. Seriously, don't wait for gen 2... wait for gen 1.5
     
  13. Ringo

    Ringo Member

    Jun 10, 2002
    Rough and Ready
    Club:
    Yeovil Town FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd like to have one for no other reason than to have less crap to remember to take with me when I leave.
    but we're a verizon family, and if we left verizon our bill would go through the roof because everybody in our families and many of our friends are verizon and those calls are free.
    So I'm hoping in a few years they become available on every network.
     
  14. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    You can get a Motorola Q or a LG EnV for Verizon which can do tons of things (watch videos, play mp3's, play games, etc).

    Sprint is the coolest though, you can actually watch full length movies with Sprint and they stream the NFL network for free if you purchase a internet package.
     
  15. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    You know, it's been like 5 years since the iPod launched and techie people (and too many electronics manufactures) still don't get it. Regular folks hate feature creep. They want something that's elegant and well designed (that's design as in both form and function), and doesn't require reading a War and Peace-length manual.

    A few thoughts/questions:
    * I think there's a good reason for launching the iPhone on AT&T. They're essentially using the less developed US mobile market as testing grounds for the real test, Europe and Asia.
    *Lack of 3rd party software - Daring Fireball guesses that Jobs is intentionally murky on 3rd party apps because he plans to open it up, but wants to control what the "iPhone experience.
    *iChat on iPhone would be nice. I bet AT&T hates that though.
    *And they'd *really* hate it if Skype somehow makes it on to the iPhone.
    * iPhone supports random access voice mail, right? Does any other Americans phone support random access voice mail?
     
  16. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    I'm thinking the earliest you can use iPhone on Verizon or T-Mobile is when it comes out in Europe and they sell unlocked versions.
     
  17. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    An FYI, the Iphone was supposed to be for verizon first but verizon rejected the Iphone
    http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-01-28-verizon-iphone_x.htm


    Secondly, At&t is the U.S. most tech forward phone company (though I suppose Sprint might disagree) and the features they have are not too far behind what Europe has. Both N. America and Europe are far behind what Japan has as far as mobile technology though. I compared At&t with Vodaphone in England and found they both had many of the same phones and that At&t's 3g was faster and offered more 3g services.
     
  18. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    If reports about the list of folks who have joined a list of interested people, I may have no choice about that. Also, if as Microwave's Verizon article suggests, it isn't for sale at Best Buy where I have a gift card, I probably will have to hold off.
     
  19. Ringo

    Ringo Member

    Jun 10, 2002
    Rough and Ready
    Club:
    Yeovil Town FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I want the iPhone. I see what you're saying, but I'm not interested in those. Call me a sheep or whatever. but I is what I is.
     
  20. Smurfquake

    Smurfquake Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2000
    San Carlos, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Baa, baa.

    I expect to have an iPhone within a couple of months -- it won't fully replace my (10 GB, first generation, five year old) iPod (which is still going strong) but it will replace my aging, defective Palm Tungsten T3 and my aging Motorola phone, it's like three years old and I don't even know how to figure out what model it is, it is functional but not cool. I am excited about having all my stuff on one device, which works nicely with my Mac, and can also play some tunes (although it does not have enough space to completely replace my iPod).

    But here's a series of questions since I am kind of a cell phone dumbass.

    My current phone service is with Verizon -- my wife and I have a family plan for two phones, two phone numbers, etc. My wife recently got a Blackberry through work which is on Cingular, but she kept her Verizon phone which is her primary cell phone number. Our contract with Verizon is up (as far as I know), we are just on month-to-month so cancelling that service will not be a problem.

    Will it be possible for me to get an iPhone and join it with my wife's Blackberry on a new Cingular family plan for two phones, etc.?

    Will it be possible for me to transfer my number from my existing Verizon phone to my new iPhone?

    And the big one -- will it be possible for my wife to transfer her number from her Verizon phone to her (already existing with its own phone number) Blackberry? Nobody calls her on the Blackberry, and she uses her cell phone a lot for work, so she wants to keep that number. Or will it be easier for her just to get a new Blackberry in order to keep the same number?

    I should probably post this in some forum other than "Technology" because it's not really a technology question, but I didn't see a "Cell Phone Service Plans" forum and we're alrealy talking iPhones here, so here we go.
     
  21. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    1. It might be better for you to start your own account fresh and benefit from new contract rebate towards new phone? I would think you could then join with hers on a family plan - but I'm just guessing.
    2. Yes - you should be able to transfer your number.
    3. You can definitely transfer a number, but I'm not sure about transferring it to an existing account. Maybe Microwave knows or you could post on his linked forum.
     
  22. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    :D


    Does your work pay for the blackberry or is it in her name? If it's in her name you can, and often at a discount for a business account (called a premier account). Call at&t (remember, cingular is now at&t) and tell them your situation and mention premier.

    As Dark Knight said, yes, you can port your number but it takes 2-8 hours for all the features to work. I ported and I could make calls with one phone but if someone called me it would ring on the other phone. It all worked later that night, so just keep in mind it doesn't work right away.


    It seems they should be able to do it but I think the best thing would be to call at&t and ask to make sure. 1-888-333-6651

    By the way, with at&t you use SIM cards which Verizon does not use. So you can swap phones and keep your numbers - you can swap all you want. The reason I mention it is because your wife would not need a new blackberry if she wanted a new account. She can keep the phone and just start a new account with a new sim card.

    I'm still not sure why people love the Iphone so much. 8gb of memory is cool and the screen is supposed to be very nice but eh, there are cooler phones out there. I know, I know, you guys don't care.

    Reminds me of the Motorola Razr when it first came out. The first Razr was a crap phone with almost no features and a crap camera. Yet EVERYONE bought one. Shameful. :confused:
     
  23. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Yeah - but the Razr is a crap phone. I checked out those phones you mentioned and they don't really seem that great to me. The whole voicemail set up of the iphone is almost enough to convince me - I hate voicemail.
     
  24. Microwave

    Microwave New Member

    Sep 22, 1999
    Which one? The Blackjack? Apart from the screen and memory, the black jack does a million more things than the Iphone. I guess if you don't care about those things it doesn't matter.

    Check out the ********** N75. It's awesome. But I think if they made a phone with a direct line to God, you would still want the Iphone. ;)

    I think the difference in the way I look at phones is that I have alot of down time at work so I watch streaming TV, I play mp3's, stream radio (you can stream many over-the-air stations too), play games, surf the net and check email.

    The Iphone can't do all those things, other phones can. You apparently don't need those features so maybe the Iphone is for you, though at $500 bucks I don't know why anyone would want it.


    EDIT: why did it filter out the work N-O-K-I-A ?
     
  25. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    You're looking at it the wrong way though - you're thinking in purely features-per-dollar term, and that's not how most people buy electronics. With the iPhone, people are buying the interface.

    Imagine if you were buying a car - you don't say "Why spend $5,000 more when this car has more doors and cargo space and a roof rack?" Features are certainly nice, but they're only secondary to the driving experience. Same thing here - people want the iPhone experience. All things equal, yeah, more features there are the better, but it's more about the "how" than the "what".
    Yet you can spell out "Siemens". Funny world.
     

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