Apple iphone

[monstermick58]

So the old nokia 6110 is ready  to be retired, and I am looking at the Apple iphone 3GS.
From what I understand this is a step up from the 3G, has anyone got one or know of any problems with it ?

As I am with '3' and we used to lose the broardband signal and switch to 'roaming' when I was a couple of kays out of Campbelltown will I have any probs with the iphone switching over or do I have to do this manually?

What is start-up like or should I leave it on constantly like I do now with the Nokia.

And is the battery any good ?

Does the map apps work ok ?


                                 Mmick

[DucaChic]

I have had the iPhone 3GS since September (formerly a BlackBerry user) and I love it. Keying took a little time to get use to, but it is what I know now and I really do not see any downside at this point. Typing emails is not a problem, though for lengthy messages, I most likely turn on my laptop (typical). The phone operation is very intuitive. There were many helpful features that I didn't even realize until months later that now I take for granted. It truly is a very smart phone..

The AT&T Service in my area is pretty solid, so issues of dropped calls is infrequent. Switching between, 3G Networks, Analog networks, WiFi Networks, etc. is seamless. The only way I typically realize that a switch has occurred is when the web download speed slows (analog).

The Battery has never been an issue for me and I do use the phone frequently for Web Browsing and Apps (love the Apps). There are so many useful applications and customization of how the phone works best for you is easy. I recently added the Nike+ Transmitter (for walking/running) and found it works very well with the built-in receiver in the iPhone. The Nike+ App provides visual and/or spoken feedback during your workout (very cool).

The Map Apps, Google Earth and others, work very well. I have not used the GPS for a trip yet (have one in the car) but it is always spot on my location whenever I have turned it on. Apple uses a unique tracking that combines GPS with available WiFi and Cell networks. It uses all of this data for positioning (very cool).

You will not be disappointed moving to the iPhone.

[Mr.S2R]

Mmick,

The phone will switch between network automatically.  You don't actually lose 'broadband' coverage as such, it is just the speed.  You will never get the theoretical download speed of 7 mbs as that is a proprietary bandwidth owned by Telstra - NextG network. It does have wifi on it so if you are in a 'wifi hotspot' (normally a Maccas or such) you will get 'broadband' speeds by enabling that.  Plus wifi hotspots normally have free content so wont add to you network download quota on your phone service.

The phone is basically on all the time - you can shut it down but the start up time is pretty quick.  The iphone basically has a keylock and standby mode like any other mobile phone.

The battery is hard wired in to the phone - that is unlike a Nokia you cannot replace it.  So eventually down the line the phone battery life will decrease and it wont be like just buying a new battery - you will need to take it to an authorised apple agent to have the battery replaced.  Hopefully they don't do the same practice they used to do with the first iPods - if the battery died under warranty (in which they did have a reasonable failure rate) you sent your iPod in but got a 'refurbished' iPod back - so any music or content that was not backed up you lost.

Just a warning with apps as well - we have had people here at work get carried away with downloading apps on to their iPhone - and have had bills of up to $2k in the most extreme - that is because they were not on a set data plan.  Make sure you have an understanding of your data plan on 3!

Also the iPhone can be what they call 'jailbroken' - that is hacked.  This both has benefits and drawbacks.  Benefits is that you can put a heaps more apps on without have to purchase through the apple iTunes (I know there are free ones but the good ones cost). The drawback security wise is that if you lose the phone someone can easily hack them and get to any data on the phone - there are heaps of vids about this on YouTube - just type in jailbreak iPhone 3GS!!

Don't know about the maps apps but I guess they would be like any other phone out there on the market that has GPS.  The key factor here is having the ability to update the satellite locations - which makes the GPS work a little quicker.  The 3GS has A-GPS - which is assisted GPS.  Basically it uses the cellular network to assist in speed up times of location etc more useful link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS

Personally I am not a fan of them - Nokia used to be the leader but they have fallen behind with design - that being said they are still a robust phone.  The alternatives to iPhone are the crackberry (blackberry) which is IMO the best business phone - but not really a phone for everyday users.  The other minor market player is Windows Smartphone - they are good for watching content and stuff, but like a Windows powered computer, are subject to "hanging" and will need to be reset every couple of days - and the battery life is below average.

Hope this helps  - really comes down to personal choice.  Feel free to ask anymore questions!   

[mattyvas]

Hey Mmick,

    Excellent info in the above post.
Having had the iphone for the last year and a bit my experience is.
Battery is okay if you don't thrash the phone, i.e. email all day long, surf the web and play games.
You should get 1-2 days out of it most of the time, though having WiFi and Bluetooth turned on decreases battery life.

Maps work okay but remember this is not a dedicated GPS device so it does have some lag when running.
I know you use your Nokia for getting about from time to time, the iphone should handle this.

What are you looking for though?
The iphone is basically a mini computer/email device/web browser that just happens to be a phone.
Basically saying that in mine the telephone side of things can be a little up and down. But mine is not the 3Gs version.

Do you need a phone that does all the things an iphone does are you just looking for something that does maps as well as being a phone? I ask because the iphone really works best when running in conjunction with a computer and being backed up using iTunes.

cheers
Matty...

[loony888]

i just bought one, now, i'm a mac user, in fact i have NEVER owned a windows based pooter. that said, i get very pissed at not being able to use it like a nokia. like music ring tones? yeah, so did i, i have 32g of make the beast with two backsing music and i have to BUY a portion of music i already have to use it as a ring tone! WTF? i can't upload my own tones for text alerts either. the apps are great, the phone is easy to use and i love how it bubbles all texts from one contact together, the camera/video works great and everything is easy to find/use, but i'm used to how a mac works, your mileage may differ. (can't remember who i stole that from) it shits me that there's jailbreak software for something i own, and if i use it it's bye bye warranty. mine is set up to automatically use my airport express when home so my download limit doesn't get hammered, which is good too, so overall a few minor niggles transitioning from a nokia but it's a very impressive piece of kit.

paul.

[DosVerde]

Hey Loony,

I use this to make my own ring tones for my iPhone. Works a treat. But it can't help with alerts, you're stuck with the Apple ones.

http://www.iringer.net/

I'm a PC.

[DucaChic]

i get very pissed at not being able to use it like a nokia. like music ring tones? yeah, so did i, i have 32g of make the beast with two backsing music and i have to BUY a portion of music i already have to use it as a ring tone! WTF? i can't upload my own tones for text alerts either.

paul.

Hey Paul, If you are a Mac user, you can use the iLife Garage Band application to create a ring tone from any Audio file. It is simple to do, simply drag the desired audio file into garage band, edit it to the desired length, then select share as ring tone. The file will appear under ring tones in the iTunes App and be ready for transfer to your iPhone.

[748s]

+1 for Garageband. You can edit and export them as m4r files.

[Vinnnn]

mmick Ill keep it short.
First, I work for the Fone Zone Telstra dealer in Mac Square, so if you have any other questions or want to have a play with one, come and see me (I promise I wont try to sell you, haha).
With 3, if you are in roaming you'll get charged $2 per megabyte. The iPhone turns off data roaming by default. Not trying to sell myself here, but if you think youll be using a lot of data outside campbelltown then 3 isnt the way to go.

Battery life is pretty awful... Mine lasts less than 24 hours now.. On the whole its a great phone though.

GPS: Not great. You can get a TomTom app thats $99 or something that gives you turn by turn directions (left in 100 meters kinda thing), and you can play music over the top of it which is good for those of us who use headphones on the bike.

Also, leave the phone on constantly, rather than turning it off.

Like I said Monstermick, Im right next door to 3 and work every day except friday and saturday. If you get it from 3 come in and Ill give you cases and junk, haha.

-Vin

[mattyvas]

Good info Vinn,

    Leaving it on all the time though will slow down it's running.
It is a mini computer, so like your home system the longer you leave it on the slower it will get.

Turning it off once or twice a week will always give it new life.

[monstermick58]

Thanks for all that useful info everyone, '3' now tell me that they do not have any of these phones available for at least a week, and Vinn I WILL pop into your shop and (at least) say g'day.







                                   Mmick

[mattyvas]

They are only just getting them because they have been battling Apple to get them to sell on the 3 network.
Apple were not happy to give them the phones because 3's network is not as advanced as the others
and would dis-advantage the phone user causing people to think the phone is crap which it's not.

My further advice would be to not run it on there network but again it depends on how much you will use all of it's features,
as in mobile email, internet etc... If you are just looking for a flash phone that does these things as a bonus then
you might be buying it for the wrong reasons.

But really look at where you are, on a forum where many of us have useless things (on our bikes) that just look really
pretty and we have them because we can.
So go get an iphone Mmick and join the masses.

[Mr.S2R]

Love your work Mattyvas!  Couldn't of summed it up better!! 

I haven't joined the masses and purchased an iPhone - then again I don't have bling on my bike either!! 

[loony888]

thanks for the link dosverde, and thanks very much for the garageband tip ducachic, much appreciated. it's a shame it's not published, though i guess it is somewhere, just not easy to find.
again, thanks guys.

paul.

[loony888]

ok, i get e-mails on my iPhone and the ones with videos attached show a quicktime icon but i can't get it to play, any ideas??

paul.