I have an opportunity to receive an I-Phone for free from someone who doesn't want theirs. I normally don't care for 'smart phones' but am curious to know what sort of gadgets on the smart phone would be cool to have while over there. I'm imagine there is roaming charges for calls and internet use, but what about the applications like a GPS thing where you can track all the places you went to? Does that work without getting charged for roaming? Is the camera as good as a digital camera? how many photos can you store> Anything else to consider?
You can set up international data roaming for $20/month, which will allow you to use all those apps under that umbrella.
Not for South Africa. AT&T's Int'l data roaming plans are valid only in select countries - South Africa is not one of those. So data roaming charges will be exorbitant. If you can unlock the iPhone and use it with a South African carrier, you might find it worthwhile. Though, if you are not used to using an iPhone, it will likely not worth the trouble. Note that all iPhones, even those running 3.1.3 on BB 05.12.01 should be unlockable sometime between June 7-10 so there is hope for those who have upgraded their software and are locked.
Ahh, I'm curious as to where you get June 7-10. BB 05.12.01 has been unlockable for quite sometime and why would someone bother to come out with an unlock now when 4.0 will be here by the end of June???? Anyway, I'm bringing my iPhone. Gonna pop in a local sim and have my family use Skype to call me. The incoming call will be free. Also, you'll likely want to make local calls to restaurants, taxi's or friends you've separated from. I've installed CoPilot South Africa for fun, but doubt I'll use it as it will drain battery too much. I'm likely just going to use wifi as data plans can get a little pricy. Checking scores, using Twitter and texting are also things I'll want to do on my iPhone. The camera is nice for sending quick photos, but the quality isn't as good as your digital camera. 3G is 2 megapixel and 3GS is 3 megapixel. Neither has flash or zoom. For iPhone, I highly suggest popping in a T-Mobile sim card to verify it's unlocked.
BB 05.12.01 is not unlockable. You can jailbreak it - but can't unlock it. I am using the June 7-10 dates based on what some of the lead iphone hackers have mentioned. They are prolly suspecting that 4.0 will come out then and will quickly have an unlock for it …
I agree the 4.0 JB and unlock will come fast, but the 4G iPhone likely won't even be out yet. Time will tell, but I'm very confident your June 10 date is a little optimistic. I think your statement is confusing, but bottom line 05.12.01 can not be unlocked.
Wouldn't a dumb phone cost about the same or less than paying someone to unlock a phone? I went to a few different phone service stores (AT&T, Sprint, TMobile, Verizon ... I love where I work!) and dumb phones ... that is, phones that are good for talking and texting only ... were about $30. And, the question of unlocking a phone that "shouldn't" be unlocked never enters the picture. NOTE: "shouldn't" only means the possibility of damaging the phone or voiding the warranty.
I would say you are correct if this is something you haven't done before. You shouldn't have to pay to have it done as there are tons of video step by step guides on YouTube. There are millions of people that have done this as its pretty simple. BTW, check out my iPhone theme I've been messing with to rock in SA [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIzdWDghMpY"]YouTube- USA & AO PogoPlank iPhone Theme & Case Giveaway[/ame]
Then why did you say that 05.12.01 has been "unlockable for quite some time?" When I said 4.0 - I was referring the iPhone software. I don't think anyone is expecting the 4G iPhone to drop before the software upgrade. When that software upgrade drops, the unlock will drop shortly there after. Again, i picked up the dates based on what I have seen posted on the interwebs by lead iPhone hackers. You may be right that June 10 is too soon, but one can hope.
My bad - typo - I meant 05.12.01 has been out for quite awhile and still you can't unlock it. No one is working on an unlock now as 4.0 is coming so soon.
ahh, right. I think the idea is that people have designed a way to unlock 05.12.01 but are not wasting the BB hack on the 3.1.3 operating system. In other words, i think the experts are thinking that either there won't be a baseband upgrade, or that there is no point in releasing the hack for the current baseband until 4.0 drops so you can upgrade the OS without upgrading the baseband - like when OS 3.1.2 came out.
back to the original question: Yes, an iPhone would be very useful. It will connect you to the internet, give you an alarm clock, keep track of time zone differences, tell you the weather, provide you with a source of music, movies or games for downtimes, will provide a functional but pretty basic camera, and take notes. Even without roaming, you can use wifi signals for all your data needs. Skype for example doesn't even work over cellular data networks, its wifi only. You will likely need to jailbreak it to get it to accept a South African sim, but once you do that you can check South African pay as you go rates for data if you still desire that service. I've been jailbreaking iPhones and iPod touches since they were released and if you PM me I can point you to some websites that will walk you through the process.
Some suggestions for useful iPhone apps: Air Sharing: $2.99, keep documents easily on the iPhone, ie all of your reservations for flights, hotel, etc. Evernote: free but need to sign up for free Evernote account, after installing the free desktop application you can also sync your travel docs, but in the iPhone app make sure you mark important docs as favorites or else it won't store them locally and you'll need a wifi/data signal to retrieve them Tripit: free but need to sign up for free Tripit account, keep entire itinerary, including flights, driving directions, hotel reservations, etc. in one place Skype: free but needs you to sign up for free skype account, use VOIP to call friends/family back in USA. Only works over wifi. Skype to skype is free, skype to landline will require you to purchase credit. Air Video: free lite version or $2.99, can stream your entire video collection on your home wifi-connected computer to your phone over wifi. Streamtome: 2.99, same as above but also works over 3g and with macs running OSX 10.5, no free version to test. Shazam: free, take a sample of any song you hear on your travels and it will look up via wifi or 3g the artist, title, album, and link to youtube, iTunes where you can buy it later. If you're not near a network will store the sample and look it up later when you have a data connection. or just poke around here for ideas: http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=best+iphone+travel+apps
One other thing to consider: I love love love my iPhone, but it's staying home in favor of a relatively disposable unlocked phone. I love my iPhone so much I can't afford to lose it, and therefore am not going to risk bringing it to South Africa, just like I didn't bring it to Costa Rica or Norway. Too much of a drag to replace it if it gets lost, stolen, or damaged while I'm overseas.
Generally I'd agree with that but for me the first order of business when I return to US is to buy and iPhone HD (or whatever they call the 4th generation iPhone coming this June).
Yeah, can't say as I'm gonna have the disposable income for a 4th gen this summer. Some sort of other expense in June, I think.
The wife, kids, and I have iPhones. But for SA were taking cheap used cell phones. We're getting local sim cards for our basic communication needs. Except at hotels, finding wi-fi hotspots will be hit or miss. I'm less worried about theft from the locals. AT&T rates will leave you fleeced.
I'm bringing my iPhone, but not for any voice/data service. I'm bringing it for the Wi-Fi only. The applications and some data that I store are useful even without the data service. You can still pull up some older emails for reference too. If you aren't either and just want the app/Wi-Fi too, make sure you set it to Airplane mode, and verify that Wi-Fi is enabled. I've spoken with ATT and you'll get charged for text messages you send/receive, calls you do/don't answer, voicemails, any data service....basically the point of the story is ATT is going to bend you over. So don't forget!
Oh, and set a passcode on your phone (not just iphones, but for any traveler with a phone). If it is lost, you don't want anyone placing any calls on your behalf!
Here's an article from Jack Bell that talks about World Cup-related iPhone apps. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/sports/soccer/01goal.html?ref=soccer I just got an Android and I've found a few good ones in the Android Market that give you schedules, team histories, and stadium information.