# Any iPhone owners here?



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Just wondering if there are any other iPhone owners here in DBSTalk land. I just picked up mine on Saturday. Being the gadget freak that I am, I just had to test the waters. 

After playing with it for a few days, I have come to actually like it. It's a pretty sleak little phone with a very easy to use interface. Buttons on the screen are large enough to accomodate my fat fingers which is something I really appreciate. 

A lot of forums are filled with users not happy with the bugs in the firmware. I have already found a few. Kind of annoying but I'm sure Apple will eventually iron them out. It's all part of being a semi-early adopter I guess.

I have also heard horror stories about the internet (Edge) network being slow. I wouldn't say it's real slow. Not lightning fast but very usable. When the iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi network though, internet browsing is pretty fast (for a mobile device that is).

The iPhone synced with my computer beautifully. As soon as I plugged it in to the USB port, the phone immediately found all of my Outlook contacts, e-mail accounts and IE favorites. I then imported them and all was good (I did have to re-enter a few of my POP3 account passwords but no biggy). It really doesn't get any easier.

I'm not a big Apple person and have never owned any of their devices until now. I must say though, the iPhone is a nice toy. It does everything I need as a PDA. I even don't need PDA mode for DBSTalk. It displays the site just as good as a regular computer or laptop.

If Apple fixes the bugs, this phone will definitely be a winner. 

P.S. - For those who hate Apple or hate the iPhone, might want to reserve judgment until you have actually used one. With all bias aside, it really is a nice little gadget.


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## deraz (Sep 25, 2004)

I went on vacation for a week in August with my brother who had just gotten his. I loved everything about it. Unfortunately I am under contract with Verizon until June 12th, 2008, but will be getting one on the 13th.

There are rumours of an ipod/Sirius receiver combo arriving in January. I would love to see an iphone/Sirius receiver by June.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

I really wanted an I phone when they came out, but could not justify the cost. I get a discount through my work and have a family plan, but AT&T would not honor it on the I- phone.

Since I was with Sprint, I upgraded to a Treo 755p because it could run slingplayer. It works great and I am glad I didn't get the I-Phone.

If it gets the slingplayer software I will rethink my decision.

I like Apple and have a MacBook Pro which I really like. I also have a PC running Vista that I hate. I may never buy another windows PC for home use!!


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

> P.S. - For those who hate Apple or hate the iPhone, might want to reserve judgment until you have actually used one. With all bias aside, it really is a nice little gadget.


I've played with them at the Apple store, other than being a gadget to impress I find no useful purpose to the iPhone. I need a phone that's ruggedized and built to withstand harsh conditions, and the iPhone is far from that. And as a firm believer is separate devices and a phone should be a phone, the iPhone or anything like it will never get my respect. I love my 30GB iPod, but I'll be keeping my i560 phone for years to come.


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## orinth (Aug 5, 2007)

Chris Blount said:


> I have also heard horror stories about the internet (Edge) network being slow. I wouldn't say it's real slow. Not lightning fast but very usable. When the iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi network though, internet browsing is pretty fast (for a mobile device that is).


EDGE really isn't that fast, although I heard ATT bumped up the speeds a bit for the iphone.

Personally, I thought it was a bunch of hype. I've played with one a couple of times, and do not see myself using the touchscreen to do lots of SMS's.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

deraz said:


> I went on vacation for a week in August with my brother who had just gotten his. I loved everything about it. Unfortunately I am under contract with Verizon until June 12th, 2008, but will be getting one on the 13th.
> 
> There are rumours of an ipod/Sirius receiver combo arriving in January. I would love to see an iphone/Sirius receiver by June.


You might want to do a Google search for sites like this: http://www.cellswapper.com/

I plan on using one to get my wife out of her contract with Sprint so she can come on board on my AT&T plan.


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## phat78boy (Sep 12, 2007)

I think the iPhone is nice, but I don't think I would call it a PDA. As many flaws as Windows Mobile and Palm devices have, I would still go with one of them over the iPhone. Only advantage iPhone has is functional built in browser from the start. This can be added 3rd party to any WM or Palm phone. I type much faster with a hard keyboard and data speeds are much faster on other networks. I like the ability to edit Word and Excel docs on the fly and that isn't possible with the iPhone. As apple always does, they lock 3rd party people out. While that makes for a very stable product, most the time, it takes away a lot of potential. iPhone is nice, but is truley just a large phone it seems.


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## HIPAR (May 15, 2005)

I stopped by the local Apple store to see one. Without my reading glasses, I literally can't see it. 

Does the display wash out in the sunlight?

--- CHAS


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## JM Anthony (Nov 16, 2003)

Thanks for the assessment, Chris. I'm usually an early adopter, but I couldn't quite make the numbers work on this one. At least not yet. We are on discounted rate plan for the whole family and AT&T won't provide the discount if we switched to an iPhone. Sounds pretty short-sighted to me, so I'll just wait until they get enlightened!

John


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

Apple has announced an SDK available after the first of the year. 3rd party apps are going to be fully supported.



phat78boy said:


> As apple always does, they lock 3rd party people out. While that makes for a very stable product, most the time, it takes away a lot of potential.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

I picked up mine about a month ago. 

My Verizon contract has been expired for almost a year waiting for the iphone. AT&T service is spotty out where I live but I seem to be right on the border for coverage at the house with good "partner" coverage all around. We went to Colorado for a vacation a few weeks back and using this phone was the most amazing experience. Mapped our route from the house to Vail, CO perfectly. Found us the nearest grocery stores , Walmart, Costco you name it. Want to make a dinner reservation, just google it and dial the number. Coming back in the middle of nowhere just ouside of Taos, NM I get an email wishing me a happy B day from family with attached pictures. This is more than a toy. Using this is like using a microwave oven for the first time. You wonder how the heck you lived without one real fast.

Chris what "bugs" are you experiencing? Record quarter for Apple announced just today!


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

ibglowin said:


> Chris what "bugs" are you experiencing? Record quarter for Apple announced just today!


I lose sound to the speakers (except for the ringer and speakerphone) everytime I turn on the phone and after I see a pop-up message saying "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone". Nothing else is plugged in. The only workaround is to plug in the charger and the earbuds and unplug them to get the sound back on the speakers. Sound through the earbuds work perfectly.

I did some googling and it seems to be a known issue.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

Interesting.

I have only been trying to charge the phone in the car with older chargers. I always get the same pop up which i dismiss as well. I will have to see what happens if I am playing some music.


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## Capmeister (Sep 16, 2003)

I'm waiting for the LG Voyager to come out, as I'm a Verizon user. My brother is deaf and text messages me a lot, so the Qwerty keyboard when you flip it open is a winner for me.


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## 4DThinker (Dec 17, 2006)

I've got the Ipod Touch and am loving it. Just picked up bluetooth connector so I could use my bluetooth earphone. It was on clearance for $8.49 at Best Buy.

I've also got a deaf brother living in the DC area but he doesn't message me since I don't have any messager device.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

I'm usually an early adopter of stuff like this too... But it was just a little too rich for my blood in the beginning... Then, my wife got one about about 2 months ago... Then next night, I was at the apple store getting mine... lol... 

There are a couple of 'basic' features which I believe are missing from the phone... there are a few bugs... and I can also think of a couple of enhancements that would be really cool... but overall, I am extremely satisfied with the iPhone and the switch to AT&T...


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## 4DThinker (Dec 17, 2006)

I'd have an iPhone instead of the iTouch except that there is no AT&T cell service in my town. You can't buy an iPhone anywhere since of course there is no way to use the phone unless you unlock it and set it up with another service.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

ibglowin said:


> This is more than a toy. Using this is like using a microwave oven for the first time. You wonder how the heck you lived without one real fast.


It's been over a week now and I must say the iPhone has become a part of my daily routine. I check my e-mails, review my calendar, take a look at DBSTalk, check the weather and use the real time traffic function to see if there are any traffic jams on my route to work. Very cool stuff.

Overall, it does what I need it to do. Mike was right what he said above. I can't believe I went this long without one. Having real time traffic has already saved me time and money.

It's really funny though. I get two different reactions from people when they see it. One is "Wow, let me see". The other reaction is "Why did you buy that! What a waste of money". Of course, the latter have a 5 year old phone hanging on their belt.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

Was he carrying one of these?

I just set mine up to check my Gmail account as well as my Comcast home account. If it supported the flavor of VPN we use at work I could check that as well with my Cryptocard. Somehow I think it may be around the corner, lookout Blackberry!


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Chris Blount said:


> I lose sound to the speakers (except for the ringer and speakerphone) everytime I turn on the phone and after I see a pop-up message saying "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone". Nothing else is plugged in. The only workaround is to plug in the charger and the earbuds and unplug them to get the sound back on the speakers. Sound through the earbuds work perfectly.
> 
> I did some googling and it seems to be a known issue.





ibglowin said:


> Interesting.
> 
> I have only been trying to charge the phone in the car with older chargers. I always get the same pop up which i dismiss as well. I will have to see what happens if I am playing some music.


Mike,

I took my iPhone to the Apple store. It turns out that losing sound to the speakers and the constant pop-up message is not normal. Looks to be a hardware problem.

They gave me a new phone and it works perfectly.


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## Dish (Oct 24, 2007)

Oh I love Apple, I'm an iPod user for a long time... Now I want an iPhone! But not this time..I still spend money for that...:lol:


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

Mine did the same thing on my cheap car charger with the headphones.

Next time we head down to the big city (ABQ) I will have to pop in to the Apple store. I have an iPod adapter for my S2000 that plugs into the CD changer port and the iPhone worked flawlessly with that interface. (Have to admit that was way cool with the iPhone coverflow).

Wonder if I hold off until the supposed 16GB version is out if they would swap it for one of those!



Chris Blount said:


> Mike,
> 
> I took my iPhone to the Apple store. It turns out that losing sound to the speakers and the constant pop-up message is not normal. Looks to be a hardware problem.
> 
> They gave me a new phone and it works perfectly.


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## 3rdGenBruin (Oct 24, 2006)

I have two gripes, but other than that the phone is awesome.

Gripes:

1) with no physical keyboard, there is no quick speed dial. I had a 3G Razr before and I could just flip it open and hold down the three key to call my wife (30% of my calls). There is no equivalent on the iPhone. I have to slide/unlock it, go to the phone ap, go to favorites and dial.

2) Because of no physical keys it is hard/dangerous to use while driving. It has nice hands free options for talking (i.e. headset works well), but to dial someone is hard. This will be fixed if they ever enable voice commands, which I imagine they will.

Minor quibbles:

1) Ringtone selection is lacking

2) EDGE isn't great

3) No flash support

With all that said, some of the other features are revolutionary:

1) Full web browser that is easy to use. Magnifying is great. Just an unbelievable experience

2) Visual voicemail has changed the way I think about voicemail. I use to hate voicemail, but now I actually use it.

3) Mail is awesome. I can check my Gmail and work Exchange account with full mail support. 

4) iTunes - buy tunes anywhere

5) Maps - better than any other mobile solution short of a GPS

6) Phone ap - easy to use mute, speaker, conference functions, etc.

That's just off the top of my head. It is a great, great device that is worthy of Time's "Invention of the Year" award.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Out of curiosity, what is Visual Voicemail? I've heard someone mention and in the background heard of it on advertisements on TV, but what is it actually.


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## 3rdGenBruin (Oct 24, 2006)

Normally, when you want to listen to your voicemails, you have to dial in and listen to them. You don't know who they are from until they are played for you. You have to listen to them in order of oldest to most recent.

With visual voicemail, you get a list on your iPhone with caller ID information displayed on your screen. You can listen to them in any order you like. It is like selecting a song from your iPod list. Additionally, I think they send the voice files to you via the data channel because you don't dial in. You simply hit play and they begin playing immediately.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Ahhh I guess that makes sense, I can see where it can come in handy. Both of my cell phones are left on 24/7 so any calls that get directed to voice mail will show up on the recent calls list. But I do like the idea of being able to listen to them in any order you wish.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

3rdGenBruin said:


> I have two gripes, but other than that the phone is awesome.
> 
> Gripes:
> 
> ...


Good observations. I think Flash support is coming. To buy music on iTunes, I think you have to be connected via Wi-Fi.

I agree, the web browsing, e-mail and visual voice mail are nice. EDGE network does feel like dialup but it's better than nothing when you are on the road.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

I don't think anyone else has mentioned this but I will throw this out. Does this thing have a nose for WiFi access points or what!? 

It can sniff an internet connection from a quarter mile away. Driving or walking through the neighborhood it can see every single wireless connection out there and MOST are not locked down.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

ibglowin said:


> I don't think anyone else has mentioned this but I will throw this out. Does this thing have a nose for WiFi access points or what!?
> 
> It can sniff an internet connection from a quarter mile away. Driving or walking through the neighborhood it can see every single wireless connection out there and MOST are not locked down.


Yes! Whenever I go walking it picks up my own network from several houses away. I also pickup several networks on my street many of which are unlocked.


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## F1 Fan (Aug 28, 2007)

I liked all the features of the iphone except the phone itself. The AT&T meant i would have to pay to change providers. The data rate is slower than my mobile broadband and it doesnt have direct push t0 my exchange server so I can control all emails and phone info.

I still considered getting one for all the non phone features and use my phone for the rest.

Until 3 weeks ago when i bought the 16Gb Ipod Touch!!

AWESOME!

It has the touch screen. does all the pics and music. it senses the rotate and moves the same way. Has built in wifi, Safari browser, and youtube button as well as online itunes store.

The video is great - nice big screen. The wifi and browser is awesome too, i like the way it rotates when i rotate the ipod and lets me zoom in with my fingers.

So I saved myself buying the phone and still get all the features i wanted. 

I still have to ask why no one thought of this user interaction before? It works every time so Kudos to whoever in Apple invented it and perfected it.


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## Ryanm86 (Oct 18, 2006)

4DThinker said:


> I've got the Ipod Touch and am loving it. Just picked up bluetooth connector so I could use my bluetooth earphone. It was on clearance for $8.49 at Best Buy.
> 
> I've also got a deaf brother living in the DC area but he doesn't message me since I don't have any messager device.


I just bought my wife an itouch and she loves it. I already put 10 of her favorite movies on there for her. Nice screen. I prefer to keep phones and media devices seperate because you will lose something somewhere when you combine them.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

I agree with you guys about the iPod Touch. Great thing if you don't need the phone. The show stopper for me was the fact that it didn't have a phone. No phone, means no internet or e-mail on demand. I need that to keep an eye on this place when I'm away from my computer.


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## jheda (Sep 19, 2006)

Based on some of the above i treated myself xmas to an iphone. Chris its amazing!! Could never go back to any other phone, and i had a samsung blackjack which was great. 
Im sure theyll come out with 3g sooner rather then later. Is Apple known to allow trade ins for upgrades?


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## Fiberoptic (Sep 24, 2007)

Chris Blount said:


> I lose sound to the speakers (except for the ringer and speakerphone) everytime I turn on the phone and after I see a pop-up message saying "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone". Nothing else is plugged in. The only workaround is to plug in the charger and the earbuds and unplug them to get the sound back on the speakers. Sound through the earbuds work perfectly.
> 
> I did some googling and it seems to be a known issue.


I had the same problem, I took it to an apple store and they replaced the entire phone free of charge. The problem seems to be around the use of other headphones. The one that comes with the phone is a little longer to incorporate the microphone and when you use other headphones and remove them later it still thinks the headphones are in and that is the reason for the message


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