iPhone syndrome

Chewy509

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That's funny... (and also true from what I've seen).

My phone contract has expired, and 3 mobile have offered a 24mth renewal contract plus the "free" phone to go with it...

I did look at an iPhone, but since it can't make a video call (which is an absolute requirement for me, as it allows me to see/talk to my son when I'm away on a business trip), I had to pass on it...

I'm still undecided just to stay off-contract, or renew my current contract and get a new phone, as there is nothing wrong with my current Sony Ericsson K800i handset.
 

Handruin

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I just use the product. It works very well. It's sad people have to constantly point out reasons to dislike it simply because it's popular. Yes, some people (Uda) are fanatics and will make excuses anyway they can to protect a corporate image. I won't deny that happens. Make a list of all the complaints you want about the device, but in the end, the phone works well as a internet enabled device. The interesting thing is that the article says these 'things' undermine my life. As an iPhone user, none of those undermine my life.

Unrelated to the Stockholm theme; I happened to have cracked the case on my iPhone in the past month some how. The phone works fine and the crack is tiny, but I was in the mall and there happens to be an Apple store there. I stopped in to inquire about the crack in the back of the case. They gave me a business card and said make a quick appointment. All I had to do was backup my data and they'd give me a new phone at no cost. Does HTC, Motorola, RIM, Samsung, etc do that? I don't have any type of protection plan on my phone.
 

Handruin

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Cool, me too. However, in the rare event when your durable phone has an issue...will they give you a new one for free?
 

udaman

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If I was going to pay the outrageous data plan fees for a smartphone, I'd probably get a Samsung Moment. Not one of those BB or Pre's with keys designed for non-humanoid microscopic fingers. The Moment has the entire slide out bottom/rectangular left to right as opposed to top to bottom scrunched style like the Pre or BB's, of the candybar format phone with keys larger enough that most people could actually press.

Lol, U all 3.5in floppy disk holdover, cult of Balmer types :rofl: Winblows OS users make more excuses for all the failings of that OS than all others combined, and they are jealous as hell of the *worldwide* success of the iPod, then the iPhone...which rightfully have attained tech deity status :p

Video conferencing Chew? Come on, don't make excuses for the lack of buying your genius son a decent iSight built-in MacBook w/SSD, instead of some play toy laptop. iChat pioneered simple, inexpensive vid conferencing for the 'dummies'...that you Winblows crowd where ignorant of that is well...not at all unexpected :D

http://www.iphonebuzz.com/iphone-3gs-has-a-videoconferencing-kit-too-087553.php

Apple introduces the iPhone 3G S Videoconferencing Kit
WWDC SAN FRANCISCO-June 8, 2009-Apple® today unveiled the Apple Videoconferencing Kit®, the world's first videoconference accessory for the world's best phone, the iPhone 3G S. Using a unique silicon-based mirror material and natural bamboo wood for its handle and base, the Apple Videoconferencing Kit measures an unprecedented 0.5 inches at its thinnest point. Its low weight and unique shape—developed following strict Human Interface tests and anatomical studies—will allow the user to easily hold it in front of the iPhone 3G S camera, allowing face-to-face video communication with users all around the world.
"Yes, I know" said senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing and Apple's Cool Guy at Large Phil Schiller, "we did it again. With this kit all the whiners will be happy. I know. We kick ass." The Apple Videoconferencing Kit ultra-shiny surface allows for an extremely clear image, the best in its class, and can be easily customized using any kind of materials, from stickers to Crayola. It will be available in June 19 for $29.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
:D

Then there are the Winblows dSLR users here who haven't a clue who a 'real' photographer like Mac guru/legend Bill Atkinson is, correct?

Man, u guys just don't get it.

http://scobleizer.com/2007/06/29/report-from-the-line/

Why did I wait in line in Palo Alto and not the more sexy San Francisco? Easy, I knew there’d be more geeks in line here. And the line did not disappoint.
First of all, Bill Atkinson is in line here. He was Apple’s first software developer. He wrote Mac Paint. Hypercard. Did the windowing system. And much more. Most historians believe he’s one of the top software developers Silicon Valley has ever seen. And that’s no hype.
He’s been telling folks in line all sorts of old Macintosh stories (he was on the original Mac team). We streamed his conversation live and it really was incredible. Loren Heiny was watching our live stream tonight and said the conversation was awesome. Plus his photography (what he’s passionate about now) is stunning. We’re going to try to do a photo walking with him soon.
Steve Gillmor filmed the conversation and we’ll have it up on PodTech.
Anyway, I’m going to try to get some sleep and see ya in a few hours.
There’s 125 people in line at 3:36 a.m.
Also in line? The Quicken Mac Team. Zooomr. Smug Mug. TechMeme. Quite a few others.


Why does Apple make a legend like Atkinson wait in line?

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Robert Scoble
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2 years ago

Fake: not sure. He seems like the kind of person who won't call and beg for one. He made a fake wood iPhone, though, as soon as he saw it just to "get an idea of what it'd feel like in his hand."


According to the SF paper, Woz will also be waiting in line for an iPhone -- because he wants to. It is telling that Robert and Fake Paul assume people are being tortured by Steve Jobs at the drop of a hat.

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dawn m. armfield
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2 years ago

His photographs are stunning. I can imagine this experience -- the people, the geekery, the comraderie, is a once-in-a-lifetime.


Woz is first in line at the Valley Fair store.


CNBC says that Woz would be able to get one next week, but he couldn't wait.

Bill Atkinson told me that he could have gotten a free one too, but he wanted to "be part of the scene." He said he missed Woodstock and wasn't about to miss iPhone launch.
 

LunarMist

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I have one of the old disposable, pay-as-you-go phones. It is fine for me, but the battery is dying so I will have to get something newer. iPhone would be way out of my price range and the batteries are not removable unless something has changed.
 

Mercutio

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Cool, me too. However, in the rare event when your durable phone has an issue...will they give you a new one for free?

My phone had a two year warranty, so... yeah.
And it's on a better network and it can run more than program at a time.
 

Pradeep

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I have one of the old disposable, pay-as-you-go phones. It is fine for me, but the battery is dying so I will have to get something newer. iPhone would be way out of my price range and the batteries are not removable unless something has changed.

Head to Walmart. They have a ton of no contract phones and minutes. If you need the Verizon network then they have ones where you pay a dollar a day and no charge for days you don't use it. About $15 or $20. If you lose it, no biggie.
 

Handruin

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My phone had a two year warranty, so... yeah.
And it's on a better network and it can run more than program at a time.

So they'll give you a whole new phone and not try to send it out to fix it?

That won't help me be more productive and I doubt it truly does for you too. That's also the Pre's claim to fame, but I'm not convinced it matters. I haven't seen a case where having more than one program running at the same time makes any significant difference. All it gives you is the ability to claim you can do it...

The better network is certainly debatable depending on where you live.
 

Mercutio

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I haven't seen a case where having more than one program running at the same time makes any significant difference. All it gives you is the ability to claim you can do it....

I can have Google Maps, my E-mail and a web browser with a couple tabs open, not unlike what I would do on a desktop machine. And I can copy and paste data between all those programs. It's quite handy.
 

Fushigi

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While Pandora is streaming, I can start the browser downloading & rendering a large page, run the update checker, and read some email or play a game. Meanwhile, my Facebook app is updating my live feed. Really, once you have smartphone multitasking you don't know why they don't all do it. I can pause the game to read an SMS then resume or just ignore the notification.
 

Handruin

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About the only one you mentioned that would be nice is having pandora run at the same time as any other application, but if I really want music running at the same time, I can play my internally stored music as an ipod source while doing just about anything. The iPhone does allow that to happen.

Starting the browser takes milliseconds on my phone, so leaving it running as a separate process doesn't much matter. All the states of everything are saved when switching around between applications so it's not like I'm starting from zero when switching around. Things like facebook updating while reading emails is something I can understand in concept, but in practicality, the time it takes to switch between them is so minute that I still can't see how it would be a huge difference. I can copy and paste from one thing and switch to something else to paste it in. The UI and interface work really well which makes it easy to get from app A to app B to copy and paste. Perhaps with a multitasking phone you can get there a 1/4 sec faster.

I understand conceptually why it makes sense and why it can and should be better, but in real life use, I don't think it holds as much weight as people like to advertise. I'd have to sit down next to you and compare usage habits and see real time how and why the multitasking on a tiny phone is dramatically better.

Aside from the Pandora example, there hasn't been any frustration that I can think of which multitasking woould improve the iPhone's experience. If there was, I'd admit to it, but the way it works is fast, and usable.

Speaking of multitasking, how many of you with your better networks can be talking on your smart phone and look up something on the internet at the same time? I suspect most of you can't given the design of your network. This is something I've used and find useful. it's very easy to switch to speakerphone and then look up something while I continue to chat.

For whatever it's worth, none of my discussion is meant to even try and persuade anyone into buying an iPhone or switch to AT&T. I really don't care if anyone else gets one, but I really don't think it's as bad or terrible as it's all made to seem.
 

Fushigi

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It's true that CDMA as it stands does not do concurrent voice + data, however you can do voice + WiFi. Personally, my usage habits are such that I'm either at a PC if I need to look something up or it's data I've already got on my phone like contact info. If I'm driving I'm not going to look anything up while on a call regardless. So, similar to as you noted, the use case for me to need concurrent voice & data is for the most part just not there.

Of course, if there was a VOIP app you could do voice & data since the voice would just be more data.

How well does navigation integrate as a background service? I can stream Pandora or use the media player while driving using the nav system. Nav will pause the music, speak the directions, then the song will resume. Sprint, BTW, does not charge extra for nav; it's bundled into the less-expensive smartphone plans.

(And believe me, I'd as soon bite off my own tongue that switch to AT&T. No phone or service would ever be worthwhile enough to cause me to give them a single cent. If they were the only game in town I simply would not play. They, along with ShitiBank and a few other corporations, are on my lifetime ban list.)
 

timwhit

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I've been using a ShitiBank credit card for several years and have never had a problem. What did they do to make your ban list?
 

LunarMist

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Head to Walmart. They have a ton of no contract phones and minutes. If you need the Verizon network then they have ones where you pay a dollar a day and no charge for days you don't use it. About $15 or $20. If you lose it, no biggie.

I think I will be getting something for Christmas. :)
 

snowhiker

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iphone

The first thing my friend did when he lost his job was buy an iphone. He said it would help him find a job. 11 months later he's about to get another IT job, so I guess it helped him!?!?
 

Fushigi

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I've been using a ShitiBank credit card for several years and have never had a problem. What did they do to make your ban list?
I close off a credit card account. Shredded the card, got the "your account is closed" letter, etc. A few months later they reopened the account without my consent and applied a charge to it that I never authorized. I did dispute the charge and got it waived but a new charge should never ever be allowed on a closed account.

Be warned, they cannot be trusted.
 

Fushigi

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The first thing my friend did when he lost his job was buy an iphone. He said it would help him find a job. 11 months later he's about to get another IT job, so I guess it helped him!?!?
So once unemployed he got one of the more expensive phones on one of the most expensive networks? Interesting. I always thought when unemployed you had to manage your expenses.

It would be interesting to hear about it actually helping him get a job or at least to know how he thought it would help. I mean, there are free-after-rebate phones that can check email, surf, and do mobile social networking so I see no particular advantage to having an iPhone, Pre, or BlackBerry when it comes to job hunting (unless you were trying to get hired by Apple, Palm, or RIM). I mean, the better smartphones are more suited to those tasks but hardly necessary.
 

snowhiker

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I was trying to be funny and/or sarcastic and failed.

When my friend told me his iPhone would help him find a job, I thought that was the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard. I think the $1000 plus dollars he's spent on phone/monthly-fees has worsened his financial situation. But at least he has a semi-cool toy to play with. And check it out.....it's been jailbroken so that's extra coolness right there.

/facepalm

Now for my friend getting a job, Craigslist has actually gotten him responses and call-backs while Monster, Careerbuilder, etc, have yielded jack-squat.
 

LunarMist

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I think I will be getting something for Christmas. :)

I was gitted with a newer phone. Damn thing is excessively complicated and has horrible graphics background. Idiot designers and programmers have no options for pain backgrounds. :( attery life is good which was lacking in the old phone.
 

LunarMist

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I use whites from a jpeg where possible, but it is not always an option. All the modern high-tech stuff is just plain annoying. With any luck cell phone usage will remain about 6-8 hours per year.
 

Chewy509

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Video conferencing Chew? Come on, don't make excuses for the lack of buying your genius son a decent iSight built-in MacBook w/SSD, instead of some play toy laptop. iChat pioneered simple, inexpensive vid conferencing for the 'dummies'...that you Winblows crowd where ignorant of that is well...not at all unexpected :D

Ummm... I really don't know to respond to this...

So what you are saying is, that I should purchase my 2yr son a AU$1300+ laptop just to get video conferencing? So how would that help me, when I'm away from home (with no WiFi access), and that laptop is at home with my son?

I think you missed the point on my previous questions... The laptop question was a comparison of the not-so-cheap toy laptop that primary function is education, vs a full scale laptop or netbook... (which we went the full laptop option, with additional software such as gcompris ).

The phone comment, was about the lack of a feature, which for me is critical to any handset that I may carry around. Why would one purchase a handset (which is one of the most expensive on the market) that lacks a feature, that a substantially cheaper phone has? While you may say that I can get an add-on for iPhone, but at what cost in both form/function/price?

While I can see that the iPhone has some considerable merit in it's form and function, people must remember that it is NOT the be-all and end-all of all mobile phones/communication devices. That one must clearly define what they use the phone for, before getting a new handset. As for the comment in the quote "World's best phone", may I ask for whom? As it's not the "world's best phone" for me... (f&*king PR drones).
 

Chewy509

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I was gitted with a newer phone.

What did you get?

My wife and I both got new phones as well. We both got a Sony Ericsson W705a each (mine in grey/black, her's in pink). The plan we got was cheaper than our old plan and includes more call credits to boot. (12mth contract only).

Having a SE K800i in the past, the phone is a little quicker on the interface, the video conferencing image/quality is superior and the updated JavaME version means better apps, including OpenGL ES support for gaming. The menu setup is no different, and the software on the PC is the same, so it was easy to migrate data off my old phone to my new one.
 

Handruin

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While I can see that the iPhone has some considerable merit in it's form and function, people must remember that it is NOT the be-all and end-all of all mobile phones/communication devices. That one must clearly define what they use the phone for, before getting a new handset. As for the comment in the quote "World's best phone", may I ask for whom? As it's not the "world's best phone" for me... (f&*king PR drones).

I agree; well said. The iPhone is not the worlds best phone. It met my needs, but I can understand how it won't for many others.
 

Chewy509

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2 year olds need video conferencing? WTF?

It's mainly that he can see me each day before he goes to bed at night... It's a way that he knows that I'm still there, even though it's only on a phone. (He sleeps better at night). One of the joys of having a gifted child.

Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely proud of having a gifted child, but when you live in a society that favours the average or underprivileged, and makes no allowances for the bright/gifted it becomes hard. We can't place him in a normal child-care center or get general child care, unless we subscribe to an in-house nanny service, we've been advised by the education board that it would be undesirable to place him in the public system as his needs couldn't be meet, etc. It's easier having an average child or even one with disabilities than it is having a gifted child in some scenarios.

Elin and I have even read multiple books and case studios on raising gifted children (in the psychological nature) as there is so much to know about how to handle such a child. (Think of it this way, imagine having near adult cognitive abilities but with the body/physical ability of a toddler, whilst not having the life experience to cope with the challenges that the above entitles).

PS. The average IQ for serial murders is 123, with the top examples having IQs over 180. Recent studies on gifted individuals show that the higher IQ/RQ an individual has, the harder it is for them to integrate into normal society (either to due to culture or other environmental factors), thus leading to more anti-social behavior from them. Something Elin and I both wish to avoid.
 

LunarMist

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I don't really understand the article, much less the devices. Is it a variation of this theory?
 

Handruin

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I don't get the point of the article either. I thought there would be useful (or any) information about google's phone. Out of this entire article, 9/10s of it were to waste reader's time. As expected, it was just one more author who hates the iPhone and couldn't resist bashing a device that the masses have accepted. Not to mention this person is making up propaganda.

And, when they're not talking about it, they reference it in email and text, if only to tell you, ''I'm writing this from my iPhone''. Other than to explain poor spelling and staccato punctuation, there can be no rationale in telling me this.

I do not tell people, ''I am writing this from my ageing no-name PC built for me by my girlfriend's father''. For, unlike iPhone users, I do not believe that the medium is the message. I believe that the medium is, in this case, an expensive, wildly overrated piece of chic. Moreover, it has given people licence to rudely suspend conversation at lunch as they type, ''I'm writing this from my iPhone''.

The rationale is that this author is shouldn't be writing technology articles. The message is set by default in the phone settings and people probably don't bother to change it. I've changed mine to read "sent from my mobile" because I don't like it actually saying iPhone in the message. I use it as a fair-warning indication that I'm either not in the office or that my access to work-related systems is limited. Almost everyone I know who has a smart phone does this at my work and I find it very useful.

This is also not a phenomenon that exists only for the iPhone. There are numerous emails I get at work that say "sent from the blackberry" or " sent from the berry". Clearly this couldn't be mentioned in the article as it would steal the thunder from the rant.

This person obviously has little experience with the iPhone (and likely other smart mobile devices) because no one actually types out the words "sent from my mobile".

My response has nothing to do with defending the iPhone...but reading rubbish articles from die hard iphone haters is rather tiring. The only way they can try to help themselves is to make it seem like people actually spend time to correct the author, they're now been labeled apple zealots.

If people don't like the phone, don't buy it.
 

LunarMist

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This is also not a phenomenon that exists only for the iPhone. There are numerous emails I get at work that say "sent from the blackberry" or " sent from the berry". Clearly this couldn't be mentioned in the article as it would steal the thunder from the rant.

:) That is how it is with my corporate Blackberry. I think the line is there so that one can get away with a few more typos and less well-written e-mails. I would not mention the brand of a personal communication device - not that I have one.
 

Handruin

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I would not mention the brand of a personal communication device - not that I have one.

Exactly...I felt the same way, which is why I removed the device name. I don't have an issue with increased typos or shortened grammar when replying to messages of my mobile. The phone works very well in landscape mode for typing long messages.
 

MaxBurn

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I think I have mine set to say sent from mobile, takes the branding out of it.
 

Handruin

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Something I just thought of today while using my phone. I think the iPhone does have multitasking capabilities, but they just aren't ever brought to light. Let me give you an example of some different things I do all the time. The first example is writing a txt message and then hitting the send button. Normally it takes a few seconds (1-5 depending on signal strength) to actually send. Usually I'm too impatient to wait for it to send because I want to go back to whatever it was I was previously doing. I'll write the txt message, hit send, and immediately press the black button which brings you to the desktop to switch back to something like email. The txt message processing continues while I do this. I get an audible noise when it has been sent.

This same example is true for things like email. I can write a message, hit send and then immediately switch to something else while its processing to send. I realize this isn't exactly the same as a phone like the Pre which can have multiple apps running at the exact same time, but it at least shows that processes on the iPhone are capable of running at the same time. Similar to using the phone for music which doing other tasks.
 

timwhit

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Something I just thought of today while using my phone. I think the iPhone does have multitasking capabilities, but they just aren't ever brought to light. Let me give you an example of some different things I do all the time. The first example is writing a txt message and then hitting the send button. Normally it takes a few seconds (1-5 depending on signal strength) to actually send. Usually I'm too impatient to wait for it to send because I want to go back to whatever it was I was previously doing. I'll write the txt message, hit send, and immediately press the black button which brings you to the desktop to switch back to something like email. The txt message processing continues while I do this. I get an audible noise when it has been sent.

This same example is true for things like email. I can write a message, hit send and then immediately switch to something else while its processing to send. I realize this isn't exactly the same as a phone like the Pre which can have multiple apps running at the exact same time, but it at least shows that processes on the iPhone are capable of running at the same time. Similar to using the phone for music which doing other tasks.

Built in applications were always allowed to run at the same time. It was the 3rd party applications that weren't allowed to.
 

LunarMist

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Exactly...I felt the same way, which is why I removed the device name. I don't have an issue with increased typos or shortened grammar when replying to messages of my mobile. The phone works very well in landscape mode for typing long messages.

That is for personal use I assume. How can you all justify the initial and ongoing cost for such a cell phone/device?
 
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