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The Official iPhone Discussion thread


robbalvey

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I don't have an iPhone, just an iPod Touch (1 jailbroken, 1 normal). I just updated the non jb'd iPod to the new iOS 4 only to find out I have the butchered version as it's on a 2nd gen iPod. No wallpapers other than lock screen, no multi tasking. I can however organize my apps which is the only thing worth writing home about. Atleast I can do wallpapers on the jailbroken iPod...maybe in the future it can make 'folders.'

 

^Why does everyone care about the silly wallpaper thing? I myself would just like to keep my background looking as clean a possible, probably dark solid colors so I can actually read the names of my App's.

I noticed that on my jb'd iPod that a standard picture made it too hard to see. You pretty much need to darken it and probably desaturate it for your screen to not be so busy looking. So if there are any images, variation probably should be minimal. I'm currently using a background much like the default Mac desktop background (stars, nebula background).

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If done well, a wallpaper can add a lot to the experience IMO. However, I do believe that it's important to pick the right kind of picture so you aren't all cluttered. Android got the wallpaper system right. I really like the EVOs wallpaper system.

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Hey everyone!

 

We have just gotten our iPhone 4's and I'm curious to know if there are any little "hidden" features with the phone that anyone has found that you'd like to share.

 

It always seems like I'll get a new device, and then like months later see someone doing something with it and I'll be all "OMG! I had no idea you could do that!!!"

 

And yes, we all know about the reception problems, etc, etc, this is an actual honest question asking about other people who have the phone, had the time to play around with, and post their favorite new features or "hidden features" they have found.

 

So far, the obvious ones for me is that I LOVE the new screen (TPR Videos look GREAT on it!), the folders is so amazingly needed, and the new camera will help make TPR updates look that much better!

 

--Robb

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Some notes on today's press conference discussing the "problem" with the iPhone 4:

 

"Now when we look at this data, it's hard to escape the conclusion that there is a problem, but that problem is affecting a very small number of users. I get emails saying the phone works perfectly, and they can't understand what this is all about. So we think it's affecting a small batch, but it has to do with inherent problems in smartphones. But we want all of our users to be happy."

 

"We think this has been so blown out of proportion... it's fun to have a story, but it's not fun on the other side. So here's what we're going to do to make our users happy. The first part is the software update, that fixes the way the bars report and other bugs, that's out now. Second, people said the bumper fixes everything... 'why don't you give everybody a case'? Okay -- we'll give you a free case."

 

"And if you're not happy, you can bring the phone back. We'll give you a full refund within 30 days. No restocking fee. We want to make everyone happy, and if we can't make you happy we'll give you a full refund."

 

Very pleased with Steve Jobs' stance on iPhone 4 - I don't believe there is actually a problem with the iPhone 4 - just a bunch of fucking idiots that think there is. People just want something to bitch about, and when the masses of human dumbness complain about something that's not really a problem, and turn it into a problem, they get free cases. Which they should have on their $300 phones ANYWAY!!! Same stupid shit with the Wiimote condoms... Fucking morons.

Edited by robbalvey
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  • 2 weeks later...

FAR BE IT FROM ME to question your greatness and your vastly more robust experience with iPhones Robb <\preemptive butt kissing>, but as a fellow member of the I.T. industry, I think you can respect the fact that Jobs essentially chalked this problem up, without saying as much, to user error. This, I felt, was the same old arrogant, self-absorbed Apple that I've come to know in my years as a network engineer.

 

DISCLAIMER: Before I go any further, this is not meant to start a flame war. This is meant simply to engage in friendly discussion. To those of you that read this, I am P R O U D to call Robb a dear friend whom I respect very much. I felt that a disclaimer was needed because there have been a couple of isolated incidents of people reading HALF of the post on the board and causing an incident. Just because I disagree with someone does NOT mean that I like them or respect them any less as a person or as a friend. Am I the only one that thinks that it is epically sad that I had to add a disclaimer to a discussion thread?

 

In a statement released by Apple, they said this of the dreaded, "death grip."

 

'Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas.'
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

 

Below are pictures of what they are talking about....

iphone1.jpg.98f88265836caf83b0056f3182599621.jpg

iphone2.jpg.945be1690a329384528936e0ef10079c.jpg

 

The release continues with this....

 

'This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.'
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

 

This simply is not true. For a while now, I've owned a Blackberry. Now let me say right off the bat, that I am not defending some of the issues it has. It's got some obviously debilitating problems. The difference is that I knew what they were before I made the purchase, but I digress. My point with the Blackberry is the one GLARING difference between it and the iPhone; a metal case perimeter bezel which easily conducts bio-electric feedback. The antenna lead on an iPhone, in both the 3GS and 4 models, is located and physically attached to the lower right hand side bezel of the phone. If one is a right handed text-typist as depicted in the pictures above, the problem seems to be blown a bit out of proportion. BUT, enter a LEFT HANDED text-typist that places the meaty part of their hand RIGHT OVER THE LEAD to hold the phone, then forget it. Both right and left handers though unwittingly introduce bio-electric feedback to the antenna when they hold the phone. How the hell else would Mr. Jobs like me to hold the damn thing?

 

Another quote from the same news report...

 

Apple claims that using one of its 'bumpers' - which cost £25 each and clip over the iPhone to protect it - will stop the user's hand interfering with the signal.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

 

Now I've got a question for Apple. Why in the world should I have to pay 35 bucks US for something that is, quite obviously, a basic electrical engineering problem resulting from human bio-electric feedback? Yer darn tootin you're gonna give me the cockimamie case for free! Don't act like you're doing your customer base a favor. This is painfully reminiscent of when Apple withheld sales of licensing rights from American Megatrends in the 1980s in the name of "not wanting to license the architecture out because of the possibility of poor quality attached to the Apple name." In the end, that line of thinking priced Macintosh right out of the home computer market. Consequently, the decision drove Apple very nearly to the brink of bankruptcy with IBM hovering over them saying, "Well... we told you so."

 

 

Research In Motion, the manufacturer of the Blackberry line of smartphones had this to say:

 

"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM's customers don't need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple."
Source:http://crackberry.com

 

Now all of the above having been said, I will agree that MOST users of computer technology will piss and moan about what they don't understand and be quick to blame the product before they blame themselves. I hear it every day from catty physicians that think they know everything about anything ever contrived. I can say though, with that with all the problems that I've had with the Blackberry Curve 8330 and the Tour 9650, signal degradation because I "death clutched" my phone has never been one of them.

 

I think Apple would have been better served to say simply, "We set out to make a shiny toy and that is exactly what you got. A shiny toy with lots of pretty buttons that bounce around. We're truly sorry about the screw-up on the electrical engineering part and we'll gladly make it right. This won't happen again." Instead we got from Jobs, "'Just avoid holding it in that way. All phones have sensitive areas."

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All I know is there must be about 15 people that I see on a day-to-day basis that now all have iPhone 4's. None of us has had any of the problems that we've been told by the "masses" that we should be having. Some of have cases, some of us don't.

 

It's the same damn thing that happened with the Wii Remote straps. There wasn't anything wrong with them until someone released to the media that there was. And all they needed was some photos of a broken TV screen and a video of some guy going "Ooops! I threw the remote [like an idiot] and broke by $2,800 TV. You don't want that to happen to you, do you?"

 

And even though Nintendo said "Um, idiot, you're doing it wrong" the masses REFUSED to believe that "What, me? Doing something wrong? Of course not. YOU, big bad company, MUST be at fault! I'm an AMERICAN! I'm NEVER wrong."

 

And thus Nintendo had to give everyone a free case.

 

Flash Forward a few years later and the EXACT same scenario has happend to Apple.

 

I do not believe there is any problem with the phone at all. Nothing you can tell me or put in front of me to try to "prove" it will make me believe it because I cannot get it to happen, nor can any of the other people who I know have the phones, get it to happen.

 

What I believe is this - the people who claim they CAN get it to happen, just want a free case.

 

--Robb "Have you noticed the lack of talk about this problem now that people are getting something free out of it?" Alvey

Edited by robbalvey
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And I can't disprove that. I agree that the mass of dweebs, jerks, rednecks, morons, "something for nothings" and Bill O'Reily (yeah, I thought that was mildly funny) piss and moan and whine louder than most folks with the expectation of getting something for free. I'm guilty of it. I admit it. Time was when I was a poor, broke college student, I'd walk RIGHT INTO a Chik-fil-A and complain so that I'd get a free meal out of it. Not something I'm proud of now, but I did it. I suck.

 

The thing is that the engineering problem presented is absolutely plausible beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt. Metal is an excellent conductor electricity, even when organic in origin. My chief complaint is that Apple is but one more corporate juggernaut that decided that it was better to stand their ground in the sight of undeniable plausibility and pretty much tell the entire world that we were absolutely and undoubtedly full of runny horse crap. They then patted themselves on the back and called it "good PR."

 

Truth be told, because of the application problems that BB experiences with RIMs own in-house apps, I'd probably buy an iPhone tomorrow. BUT because AT&T sees the south as a red-headed bastard step cousin, the coverage here BLOWS unless you're in Atlanta. That was another fantastically arrogant decision on Apple's part. It''s almost as if they said, "Well, Verizon won't agree to our terms and BY GOD we're right all the time without question, so let's go with a 3rd rate, recycled POTS provider as our flagship carrier for this shiny new toy that we've made!"

 

Yeah, perhaps I need to go to an Al-Anon meeting and work a 4th step based on my DEEP resentment of Apple and everything they stand for. I know that most every corporation does business the same way Apple does. Truth of the matter is that Apple has been WAY more smug about their stance than anyone (BP being the exception) that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

In the words of Judge Judy, "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining..."

 

AND NOW that I've dragged this completely off topic, I'll shut up.

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^ Why is it bad if you hate Apple? No-one's forcing you to get an iPhone (well, at least I hope they're not - otherwise you need new friends ).

 

Anyway the iPhone antenna thing is very analogous to the "aren't you scared you'll die at an amusement park" nonsense that I'm sure we've all had to hear from our less informed friends. Yes, since the dawn of time there have been people who have been injured at amusement parks, but it's a tiny tiny tiny number .. However it makes for great news (the commercial media is pretty disgraceful), so it's sensationalized to the level that most people think there are daily deaths at every park. Steve's comments weren't so much "you're holding it wrong" as they were "dear media, go stick your head in a pig". And really, who doesn't already think that about the media on a daily basis?! So where you see "Apple is blatantly lying about a hideous problem", I see "I can't believe Apple has the balls to finally tell the media to STFU". More companies need to do that..

 

Cameron.

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Even more proof the whole thing is ridiculous...

Last weekend we went down to San Diego for Comic Con. Every year I'm down there, cell phone reception is notoriously horrible. With so many people with phones jammed into a relatively small area, it's pretty much one of those situations where you simply won't get a properly working phone. In years past, I've had texts that wouldn't send, 20 failed calls in a row just to get one to connect, etc.

 

Well this year, I didn't have a single problem. In fact, signal was so consistent enough where I was able to use Twitter and Facebook, browse sites, even upload a freaking movie to Youtube! One of our friends still has a regular 3G and she kept having problems all weekend, whereas the three of us with 4's were doing everything with relative ease.

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  • 1 year later...

Candace is getting the 4s in November, but she had a 3gs before so it will be a decent upgrade for her.

 

What is everyone's thoughts on the iOS5 update. Besides some problems getting it to upload on my phone, I really like it so far. Favorite features so far is iMessage and the fact that iCloud put all of your past iTunes/App purchases in one easy to find place.

 

Also, it was pretty cool creating a calendar event and having it immediately show up on my iPhone without syncing.

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5.0 finally installed after about 8 tries. Thankfully I was prepared for it having seen your Facebook post

 

I really like the notifications. The hourly weather is nice, but I still will use the weather.com app because of the radar. Besides that I haven't seen much of a change personally. I did not like having to rearrange all my apps but I think that may have been a complication due to just doing a new install of iTunes after wiping my hard drive.

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I like iOS 5, nothing mindblowing but it's cool. My favorite feature is Wifi Sync, it's nice to not have to plug it into the computer to sync new music and stuff. I've been having random issues with me @me email coming through since I upgraded, but I imagine the servers are getting hammered and things will smooth out soon.

I really hope the Jailbreak is released soon, I had gotten used to the awesomeness of the Quick Reply that BiteSMS has, and the default Messages app is lacking in the features that made Bite so great.

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I'll probably upgrade to iOS5 this evening, my friends who have had it for a few months/days have been raving about it but I've never been too quick on the uptake (I'm still on Snow Leopard!).

 

I'm giving the iPhone 4S a miss as I've still got 6 months on my contract so I'll wait another 6 months and get a 4G device.

 

Dave

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I'll most likely be purchasing a standard iPhone 4 now that the price has gone down. I don't need or particularly want the voice control or the upgraded camera. All I want is an iPhone that can run iCloud well, and the 4 is it.

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I might be hopping onto the iPhone bandwagon as well, after finding out that my sister was getting the 4s. I had hopes of her selling her iPhone 4 to me but she has plans on getting a bit more cash than I'd be willing to pay, better off heading to the store and snag one. With this said, I'm going to attempt to get a 4s after work tomorrow (Not going to take the day off just to wait in line for a phone). How successful I will be is another story. If all else fails, I may just stick with the iPhone 4 since I read it has 100 hours more of battery life in standby mode.

 

Currently, I'm using a Samsung Impression in which now my keys like to stick when typing, writing out sentences that make no sense like "Lets. Goooo to. Great. Aaamerica today." Yes, it drives me nuts! Also, every once in a while I have to reboot my phone as when I send a text, my phone gets stuck in 'limbo' attempting to send it. Should be a nice upgrade. The Impression however does take good pictures for what it is, and can take panoramic photos.

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I'm not getting an iPhone because I'm not currently a "smart phone person" (although I do think the benefits they offer are pretty extensive). My dad will not be upgrading from the iPhone 4, but he did get iOS5. He likes it fine so far but isn't that fond of the cloud service.

 

Anyone else intrigued by Siri? I know it's not new but it sounds like it will be more versatile on the 4s.

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