My iPhone 3G: 5 Weeks Later ...

It has been 5 weeks since I got my iPhone, and I am really enjoying it. At first I couldn't get used to the touch typing, even-though I used it last year. But after a day or so I was typing with very quick with one finger, and now I am typing with two thumbs with few errors. I thought I would just briefly give my thoughts on some of the features new iPhone 3G.

Battery Life

I find that I have to recharge my phone every two or so. I don't do a lot of talking on my phone because I mostly communicate via text messaging and email. When I do talk for long periods of time the battery lasts for about 6 hours. Even-though the phone uses at&t's 3G network, I still keep my phone on Edge network because the 3G drains too much battery life. I use 3G only when I catch get a wireless signal or when I get less than 3 bars the Edge network.

MobileMe

MobileMe has been a disaster since day one. I have no idea what Apple was thinking when decided to launch this service without fully testing it. In theory, the whole idea is great; but in practice it failed to live up to it's claim. The claim that all your devices would be synced up with "push" technology so when, for example, an email is received all you computers and iPhone connected to MobileMe would get the new message instantly. Yeah ... that didn't happen. Apple later admitted that this was true, and gave users a free month of service. They are still working the kinks out of the system, and hopefully things will be working as advertised in a month or so.

App Store

The App Store is pretty good. There are some good things you can, but right now it is mostly bad. I bought Sega's Super Monkey Ball, and got a couple App for free like Twinkle. I added a Twitter site to my blog and Twinkle allows me to update where ever I am. Like MobileMe, it still has to work out some of the bugs.

Email & Internet

It is very convenient that I can check my email accounts without being in front of a computer and have use of a full keyboard. Since most of my communication takes place via email, it really helps me stay in touch. The full Internet browser makes is easy to search websites. All this comes in handy when you need something right away.

I am glad I got my phone and I ended up getting one for my buddy SuperBlu superboy for his birthday because I liked it so much. I think he cried when I told him about his gift ... but I can't confirm that ... nor will he probably admit to it.

I just recently decided to update my phone to make it stand out more:


I got this M.C. Escher skin from a Canadian store called Gelaskin.com. It was easy to apply and it is removable with any damage to the phone in case I want to change it. I like it for now but eventually I will change for someone else.

Gadgetry: My iPhone 3G

This past Friday was the first day the Apple iPhone 3G went on sale. I thought I would go to the AT&T store a block away from my office around 7:45am to see the length of the line. The line was wrapped around the building with nearly 200 people. I wasn't going to wait so i headed to work.

While at work, I was reading some tech blogs saw some reports that people were waiting for hours because the iTunes server crashed and phones couldn't be activated. Some people were sent home with unactivated phones, and first generation phones were being disabled after upgrading to the 2.0 software. Needless to say, the first day was a mess.

After I finished with tennis I thought I would head to the Apple store on Knox Street in Highland Park, because I figured the line would have died down a bit. I got there around 9:30pm there were about 70 people in line. I was in line for about 10 minutes before a n employee at Apple store store announced to crowd that only the next 50 people were going to be served. He apologized to those waiting in line and those disappointed after waiting line for over two hours could come back tomorrow. I hadn't been there for too long so I didn't mind. I went to grab some food before heading home.

The next day I went to same Apple store around 6:45am and I was the 10th person in line. I brought my iBook and some other provisions to keep myself occupied while I waited for the doors to open at 8am. The people in line were really nice and we all talked about the all the issues that took place with the new iPhones the day before.

The doors opened and I was in the second wave of service. When I finally got in to get my phone I had to make a decision on which phone to get. I initially wanted the black 16gb version, but I changed my mind and got the white version of the same size. The white version didn't show smudges when touched and it looked more chic. I got my phone and was at the register ... and that's when I ran into problems.

I was one of many people at the store having issues with their existing AT&T account. I switched to AT&T 8 days prior and I an employee discount on my account and this cause problems. After talking to AT&T for nearly and hour they could not get my phone activated because of my employee discount. In order to get the iPhone at the $299 price, I would had to leave the store and head to an AT&T store and return my old phone and remove the discount. I was not leaving Apple store without an iPhone, so I asked the AT&T representative would I be able to get the phone if I added a new line to my account and canceled the old line at a later date. She said, "technically, that should work." I tried it out, and it worked and I got the phone for $299. I paid for the iPhone, and it was on to the next step ... activating it on iTunes. The process too about 2 minutes and I was out of there. I headed to AT&T store near my house to return my old phone but I was to forced to use the new number that was given to my iPhone instead of retained the number I received 8 days ago.

So, I got my iPhone and I am enjoying it. I already made a couple of ringtones for it just so I wouldn't have to use the default tones. I asked the Apple specialist if she is getting a free iPhone 3G for being an employee. I was told that she wasn't. I think all Apple employees and the AT&T reps deserve to get one for dealing with the needlessly complicated process.

Due to all of the restrictions, the Apple store I went to only sold about 400 iPhones on launch day. Last year, they probably sold that many iPhones in an hour. AT&T should allowed perspective iPhone owners to pre-register online, print out a receipt with a confirmation code or barcode, and bring it to store. You had to bring a Photo ID and give your Social Security Number, so the process would have seemed secured.

The process is flawed, but it worked out in the end. I will post my review of the phone next week.

iPhone: I Caved

After my post about not getting an iPhone, I ended up getting one this morning.

I saw that the iPhone was still available at my local Apple Store and they opened at 9 am today. I walked over at 8:50 and was the 8th person in line at 8:57. I got the phone in about 10 minutes.

I have to say that I am quite impressed with the iPhone thus far. I will test it out for 14 days and see whether I should keep it. I have 30 days to cancel the AT&T contract without penalty.I will do a full review when I get home later...maybe.

Sent from my iPhone

Apple iPhone: I Think I Will Wait

Until today, there was no information regarding the rate plans or the activation fees for the iPhone. Below are said fees:


I was really considering getting an iPhone this Friday when the product launches. My plan was to get the phone and test it out for a couple of weeks, and then return it if I didn't like it. I recently found out that there is a $175 termination fee to do this, so it's not cost effective to do this.

I really don't to switch from Sprint to AT&T because I've been hearing that their network (EDGE) is inferior to Sprint's network. Also, my Sprint bill roughly $35 per month and it took a call to sprint last year to get this deal, so I really don't want to lose it. AT&T called me a couple of months ago trying to get me to switch, but the new iPlan is firm and has not room for wiggle room.

Hopefully the Apple Store a couple of blocks from my apartment will get an iPhone that a potential buyer could actually touch and then determine whether or not it is the right device for them. Then, who knows? But more than likely I will wait for a year and let me Sprint contract run out and then see if the iPhone is for me.

I will save my money for the new iMac I'll buy when Mac OS X: Leopard comes out in October. I will probably get more use out of the iMac then the iPhone ... and the in the long run, the iMac is cheaper.

Who's getting an iPhone? Leave a comment.

Sources: Gizmondo.com, Apple.com