iPhone: coping with the frantic phone calls
No, I didn’t get one. I think they’re cool, and I’m sure the new UI will play well into whatever Apple releases in the future to compete with Microsoft’s UMPC format for subnotebook devices with full-PC power. But I can’t buy an iPhone.
[For information from some folks who actually HAVE an iPhone, read http://iphone.macworld.com/.]
Though I absolutely HATE Sprint Customer (dis)Service, I like their wireless service the best of all the carriers I’ve tried (YMMV).
And I’ve talked to a lot of Sprint customers who are ecstatic over their 3G modem cards; that would not be something I’d be willing to live without just because I have a contract to fulfill with a carrier that cannot provide the same speed.
I’d love to have a product that would allow me to use it as a 1) phone, 2) wireless handheld internet device, and 3) a Bluetooth modem for my MacBook. THEN you’ll have my attention.
I know of nearly a hundred business users (and some personal ones) who carry multiple outboard devices for wireless network access (WiFi), cellular wireless network access, handheld wireless internet access, and a wireless phone (or some combination thereof). While I can see a practical reason for wanting to keep your handheld internet device separate from your mobile phone, having two different ones for your handheld and your laptop’s cellular needs is just silly. But carrier marketing and device placement are often forcing users to make those hard choices. (Does the iPhone let you use it as a modem for your laptop? Haven’t heard as much…)
I’ll be sticking to my $8 phone from eBay.
For those who have enough fun-money to afford things like $300 iPods, 17″ MacBook Pros, and 400-inch Apple displays: more power to ya.
But I’d rather feed my kids…
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BTW, all the complaining about how long it takes to activate an iPhone when moving your phone number from another carrier may be nothing but the most shallow of whiners — keep in mind that since at least three factors are in play (the new device, your old carrier not eager to rush through the process of handing the routing of your old phone number to a competing carrier, and AT&T dealing with a bunch of weepy fan-boys that can’t grasp the fact that all those new customers are at the mercy of the vendor — not the other way around). Take a pill, folks; just because you dropped half a grand on a piece of plastic does not mean that one or two multinational wireless carriers are planning to drop everything and cater to your every wish.
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It has been reported that those who do not qualify for credit are being allowed to activate their new iPhone on a prepaid-minutes basis, thus avoiding the snare of a two-year wireless carrier contract. The reason for a contract is normally justified by the fact that the carrier (usually) pays for a good portion of your new phone — but in the case of the Apple iPhone, the customer is paying for the full $499/$599 themselves. Anybody want to let us know how easy it is to get this deal if your credit is OK (not that ours is…)? [UPDATE: See TUAW.com]
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Speed Boost? There are reports that Cingular/ATT&T’s EDGE network ‘sucks less’ than it did last week. Can I get a witness?
“…we’ve been shocked to find a number of runs over 200kbps. True, these kinds of speeds are theoretically possible (actually, little known fact, the ITU technically defines EDGE as a 3G standard), but we’d never expect to see them in practice.” (engadget.com)“An AT&T employee who works on Operations tells us that the carrier ordered a last-minute beefing up of its EDGE throughput, latency and coverage in anticipation of the iPhone. The operation, internally referenced as ‘Fine Edge’ will continue until June 15th, and has been going on for as many as 6 weeks.
EDGE is slow, but at least at AT&T, the implementation isn’t limited by the protocol itself. Rather, the limiting factor is, according to our source, the data backend and the way the towers are configured to allocate bandwidth to data and calls. And according to an internal doc, they’re dropping in more T-1s in their poorest performing towers, hoping to get that paltry 40kbps performance to a new minimum of 80kpbs. (EDGE’s real world max is about 200kbps.) That’s still painfully slow, but we’re not ones to look a gift WWAN upgrade in the mouth.” (gizmodo.com)
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If you weren’t a rabid fan of the iPhone from the start, Sara Myers (with some friends) steps it up with a ‘Sara Goes Wild’ to keep the crowd in an even frenzy (video works even better if extracted and played as a loop in QuickTime). This is indeed what Apple has been lacking in their still-popular marketing campaigns! 
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Test your iPhone’s connect speed at http://dslreports.com/mspeed .
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Download the iPhone manual from Apple [PDF]
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The root password for all iPhones is now known (alpine). So is the password for the “mobile” user account (dottie).
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Via TUAW.com, via ArsTechnica.com: If your company frowns upon (OK, if they prohibit) cameras on-site, you may have skipped on buying an iPhone. But iResQ will perform a camera-ectomy on your iPhone, rendering it ‘less creepy’ to paranoiacs and security personnel alike. (I wonder if they can do the same for MacBooks and MacBook Pros?) But I’m thinking, how many of the average security-guard types would be OK with an iPhone just because you swear up and down that the camera is no longer there (‘really, I paid a hundred dollars to have it done!’)?
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Multi-network chat addicts can try Meebo, the iPhone’s current best-of-class web-based client. It’s not perfect; but it works (sort of).
Somebody suggested that iPhone users try AIMonPSP.com, as it works really well on their Sony Playstation Portable (that’s what a ‘PSP’ is, folks…). Anybody tried this yet?
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Apple’s excuse for a dev kit (for web) is posted at http://developer.apple.com/iphone/designingcontent.html .
Check device availability at your local store
Haven’t decided who to best carry your iTool? Belt buckle, anyone?
BLaugh.com: Apple iPhone – Most Ripped Gadget Ever?
Pointing out FakeiPhones.com…
You know you want to… become another rabid fan of DBD!
David Pogue sings another iDitty.
