The Apple iPhone Thread (2 Viewers)

[Joe Bryant]

Dumb question about iphone and contacts and calendar: Does it work exactly the same as importing calendar and contacts onto an ipod?

As I keep saying, calendar, contacts and tasks are something I have to have on the phone. If I were to get an iphone, I'd have to figure that out. But thought I might play with how it works on my ipod of it was the same on an iphone.

Anyone know for sure?

Thanks.

J

Yes, the syncing of calendars and contacts should be like on the iPod, all done directly through iTunes. Here's on video on the activation and syncing process. I haven't watched it all the way through (the sync stuff is the second half), so I make no claims as to how helpful this will be. Hopefully it will give you an idea of how it all works.iPhone Activation and Syncing

Good luck!

Thanks Goon.I'll check that out. And play around with on my ipod to see if it'll work for what I need for my phone.

J

 

[One]

Can we get specific details on the "amazing" aspects of syncing and setting up the plan?

sure, I bought 2 iPhones, came home and put each into their own dock....iTunes opens and says it would like to activate the 1st iPhone.. -I have 4 choices (2 for current AT&T users, 2 for non AT&T users)I chose the one that says "Current AT&T customer that would like to add an iPhone to an existing account."-I'm then given 3 fields to enter:1.) Phone #2.) Zip Code3.) last 4 digits of my SS#then hit continue, pick a plan ... & "congratulations AT&T has activated your iPhone"rinse & repeat. activted 2 iPhones in under 4 minutes.

 

[One]

Syncing is SO easy and amazing

Setting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazing

This whole iphone thing has been worth it just for stuff like this. J

In theory, activating the phone is easy and amazing. In practice....we've been told it will take 24 hours to go through and in the meantime, the old cellphone is deactivated. Annoying. Sounds like it's just due to the number of people trying to activate at the same time. I would advise waiting a week or two to buy one.

i tried activating my iPhone last night and i'm still waiting some 20 hours later.

This is really annoying. My roommate was on AT+T already and his activated in like 2 mins. Since I was on Sprint and am trying to port a number over, it's taking FOREVER. Oh yeah, and the fact that AT+T's web and phone customer service are completely shut down makes me feel even better about this whole ordeal. Apple should have known better than to go into business with these idiots. Maybe this is why Verizon passed on it, maybe they saw the problems of so many people switching carriers would cause and decided they wanted nothing to do with it?

This is news to me. Just got home from the houseboat and have yet to hear of the problems. (no inernet) too bad. no problems here.

 

[One]

Syncing is SO easy and amazing

Setting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazing

This whole iphone thing has been worth it just for stuff like this. J

Thought about this for a minute. One's words above I think sum up pretty much exactly what I'm talking about here.

He is thrilled and amazed about the process of activating his phone.

Think about that.

I've had probably a half dozen cell phones over the years. The set up and activation process for every one of them has been:

"Thank you Mr. Bryant. Here is your phone all set up and activated."

It's the same way for all of you.

But apple is so much the jack daddy, that they can push this process (which obviously is not totally smooth for some) to the end user. And not just that, they can push it to the end user AND the end user will rave about it.

I to Apple for that kind of control.

Apple is reaching heights here few companies have ever seen. I love watching it.

J

I really can't imagine this launch going off at an AT&T store while activating on the spot. With the thousands of iPhones sold and the long lines around the sides of buildings, there is NO WAY you'd get anything close to good customer service. With lines 200+ deep, can you imagine? The Apple store was herding people in and out with their phones without any activation or plan hassle in-store. I have 6 friends with iPhones and not one had a problem activating at home. :(

EDIT:

Just got to Goonsquad's post.. he gets it.

No. I :X to Apple because instead of the customer being handed the phone already set up as normal, they tell the guy he has to set it up themselves AND not only does the guy accept that. He raves about it.

J

So you think it'd be better if Apple made each person wait in line while customer service in the Apple Store sets up each contract and phone for the 250+ people individually on launch day? Somehow if Apple did that I'd expect that you'd be here ripping them a new one for it.Plus, Apple isn't really pushing setup off on the customer. They are integrating the contract registration process into their user experience. If you buy a Blackberry to use on Verizon, I'm guessing you aren't registering your contract with Verizon through Blackberry's website or software. You'd be pushed to Verizon's website. The difference is that Apple is facilitating the setup of AT&T contracts through iTunes, thus making a seamless Apple user experience. They don't push you off to www.ATT.com to deal with it on your own. The setup process is part of the exact same software you'll be using to sync your phone with your computer and music. Seems like a smooth system.

also... check out this review on the toughness factor of the iPhone.

 

[One]

This phone talk reminds me of my old man..

He's wealthy and retired, yet refuses to buy a nice, expensive car. He'd rather stick to his Z71 pickup. When you ask him why he doesn't go for a Cadillac EXT (seems like a car for someone his age), he'll tell ya.. what do I need that for? What can it do that my ol' pickup can't? I've already got 4WD, XM radio, big wheels ect.. and I just shake my head and agree cause if he's happy, then heck, why bother?

The Caddy is probably way more expensive, doesn't off-road as well, not meant as a work truck, costs a fortune to repair and looks like a car for a stiff.

However.. it sure is sexy, smooth, rich in features, handles great and turns heads like it was nobody's business. ...For the right buyer it's a dream come true.

anyway.. that's what some of this iPhone debate reminds me of. If you don't like it, well heck.. get lost. It's a dream come true for some of us.

 

[noneother]

This phone talk reminds me of my old man.. He's wealthy and retired, yet refuses to buy a nice, expensive car. He'd rather stick to his Z71 pickup. When you ask him why he doesn't go for a Cadillac EXT (seems like a car for someone his age), he'll tell ya.. what do I need that for? What can it do that my ol' pickup can't? I've already got 4WD, XM radio, big wheels ect.. and I just shake my head and agree cause if he's happy, then heck, why bother?The Caddy is probably way more expensive, doesn't off-road as well, not meant as a work truck, costs a fortune to repair and looks like a car for a stiff.However.. it sure is sexy, smooth, rich in features, handles great and turns heads like it was nobody's business. ...For the right buyer it's a dream come true. anyway.. that's what some of this iPhone debate reminds me of. If you don't like it, well heck.. get lost. It's a dream come true for some of us.

for sure.. if you need a phone that can do what the iphone does, get the moto SLVR.. it does everything the iphone does, except video.. I had it for a year, got to my emails (gmail) all my web sites iGoogle and here is about it....it plays 100 odd songs, enough for short range traveling...and it has a small screenyet the iphone does all of it BETTER (except the phone, ringtone part )... if he needs a phone, he can do better.... but i lightened my load, by a good chunk...

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

Iphone already hackable. Here come your 3rd party apps

Linky

 

[TinHat]

Article in today's Daily News detailing how the 5th Avenue store had them available on Day 2, no waits, no shortages. Are people getting top dollar on eBay?

On Saturday there were roughly 1200 iphones on ebay selling anywhere from $800-$1500. I checked yesterday and it was close to 7000 iphones. I saw a couple of them get cancelled because the seller wasn't going to make a profit..

Point of concern might be an overestimation of the number of people willing to pay $700 for a phone PLUS the $300+ to break their current contract with existing carriers. Time will tell.

Typical scalpers. People made good cash off the PS2 and 360 due to low launch quantities, so they assume every hot product will go that way. Looks like Apple had plenty of units for their launch.I look forward to hearing release sales numbers.

ETA: While no official numbers have been released, analysts estimate that Apple has sold between 500,000 - 700,000 iPhones in the first two days.

There is no question sales are going to be through the roof. We'll never hear about all the returns though....wife was borderline ready to send hers back because of the crappy customer service she got and she's an incredibly patient person.

Please. If it's truely an issue, you'll hear about it. Reuters had already written about AT&T's activation issues and the AP is now reporting that the problems are clearing up. If there's a mass exodus to return them, the media will scoop it up. I'm guessing this will be a moot point, though. Fact is, most people are thrilled with the iPhone in spite of some difficulties. If your wife is fed up, by all means return it. No point in putting her through such trauma.

I don't think there will be a mass exodus at all. But I'd be willing to bet that 1-5% or so are returned...not because it's a faulty product, but because the customer service put the individual in a position to deal with getting it configured. As a matter of fact, my wife called about 45 minutes ago and said hers was going back. She can't justify the $700 price tag and half the web pages she wanted to get to don't work. Not sure which ones, but she's had enough. She's going back to her treo which does all the same stuff. Time will tell on the rest.

Good for her! My wife is almost to the end of her rope as well. Spent 4 hours, 4!, on the phone today with support and it still doesn't work and neither does her old RAZR. Unreal.

itchforksandtorches:

Seriously though: Is there anyone who knows anything about the cell phone market that thought most iPhone buyers would just want a brand new number? Not to mention that they were obviously thinking of buyers on other networks. It would be stupid for an existing AT&T customer to want/get a new number. And they were totally unprepared. It bothers me so much because it was an Anniversary gift for my wife and now I'm putting her through this hell of horrible support and not having a cell phone for a couple of days.

you should have gone with a #### in a box instead...

 

[Penguin]

GB not having a wife that wants a $700 phone

 

[tommyGunZ]

Can we get specific details on the "amazing" aspects of syncing and setting up the plan?

sure, I bought 2 iPhones, came home and put each into their own dock....iTunes opens and says it would like to activate the 1st iPhone.. -I have 4 choices (2 for current AT&T users, 2 for non AT&T users)I chose the one that says "Current AT&T customer that would like to add an iPhone to an existing account."-I'm then given 3 fields to enter:1.) Phone #2.) Zip Code3.) last 4 digits of my SS#then hit continue, pick a plan ... & "congratulations AT&T has activated your iPhone"rinse & repeat. activted 2 iPhones in under 4 minutes.

sounds almost exactly like my experience activating my motorola Q. ~ 2-3 minutes, and I was on the network.

 

[The Noid]

This phone talk reminds me of my old man..

He's wealthy and retired, yet refuses to buy a nice, expensive car. He'd rather stick to his Z71 pickup. When you ask him why he doesn't go for a Cadillac EXT (seems like a car for someone his age), he'll tell ya.. what do I need that for? What can it do that my ol' pickup can't? I've already got 4WD, XM radio, big wheels ect.. and I just shake my head and agree cause if he's happy, then heck, why bother?

The Caddy is probably way more expensive, doesn't off-road as well, not meant as a work truck, costs a fortune to repair and looks like a car for a stiff.

However.. it sure is sexy, smooth, rich in features, handles great and turns heads like it was nobody's business. ...For the right buyer it's a dream come true.

anyway.. that's what some of this iPhone debate reminds me of. If you don't like it, well heck.. get lost. It's a dream come true for some of us.

Please tell me your dad is only 32. And by stiff you meant "cool 32 year-old."Otherwise, I'm a little offended

 

[The Commish]

Syncing is SO easy and amazing

Setting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazing

This whole iphone thing has been worth it just for stuff like this. J

In theory, activating the phone is easy and amazing. In practice....we've been told it will take 24 hours to go through and in the meantime, the old cellphone is deactivated. Annoying. Sounds like it's just due to the number of people trying to activate at the same time. I would advise waiting a week or two to buy one.

i tried activating my iPhone last night and i'm still waiting some 20 hours later.

This is really annoying. My roommate was on AT+T already and his activated in like 2 mins. Since I was on Sprint and am trying to port a number over, it's taking FOREVER. Oh yeah, and the fact that AT+T's web and phone customer service are completely shut down makes me feel even better about this whole ordeal. Apple should have known better than to go into business with these idiots. Maybe this is why Verizon passed on it, maybe they saw the problems of so many people switching carriers would cause and decided they wanted nothing to do with it?

This is news to me. Just got home from the houseboat and have yet to hear of the problems. (no inernet) too bad. no problems here.

You were an existing at&t customer right? I really hope there are no issues in that case. My wife was not and she wanted to keep her number. So she had to switch companies etc. NONE of that was facilitated by the people in store. She had to do it on her own. Got the phone Friday, it was finally activiated Sunday night and she took it back last night since half the pages she tried to use didn't work. She wasn't happy with it. The phone is really cool, no question, but their failure to plan for those converting and wanting to keep their own numbers was really surprising to me. I hear reports now that the problem is "clearing up" and it should be....it's four days in and I doubt the systems are stressed like they were this weekend. I don't believe the problem's gone away though. Unfortunate.

 

[One]

You were an existing at&t customer right? I really hope there are no issues in that case. My wife was not and she wanted to keep her number. So she had to switch companies etc. NONE of that was facilitated by the people in store. She had to do it on her own. Got the phone Friday, it was finally activiated Sunday night and she took it back last night since half the pages she tried to use didn't work. She wasn't happy with it. The phone is really cool, no question, but their failure to plan for those converting and wanting to keep their own numbers was really surprising to me. I hear reports now that the problem is "clearing up" and it should be....it's four days in and I doubt the systems are stressed like they were this weekend. I don't believe the problem's gone away though. Unfortunate.

correct. I'd be pretty upset myself if I had to sit and stare at the Slide for Emergency screen.

 

[One]

sounds almost exactly like my experience activating my motorola Q. ~ 2-3 minutes, and I was on the network.

this is great. I'm used to the in-store activation that usually takes the kid behind the counter a while as he answers phones and helps trainees.

 

[kupcho1]

Actually, after reading this discussion, Apple missed an opportunity to rake in even more cash. You've got people that are willing to spend an outrageous amount for a phone and service plan, right? And I'm sure many of them are clueless when it comes to technology (e.g., activation, perhaps even iTunes).

Apple should have offered a VIP plan where customers could pay extra ($200? $300) to have the phone set up for them in the store. Docking station, computer, a couple of geeks techs/AT&T rep, would be all it would have taken. Customer pays more but walks out of the store with a working phone.

:(

 

[Memphis Foundry]

Syncing is SO easy and amazing

Setting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazing

This whole iphone thing has been worth it just for stuff like this. J

In theory, activating the phone is easy and amazing. In practice....we've been told it will take 24 hours to go through and in the meantime, the old cellphone is deactivated. Annoying. Sounds like it's just due to the number of people trying to activate at the same time. I would advise waiting a week or two to buy one.

i tried activating my iPhone last night and i'm still waiting some 20 hours later.

This is really annoying. My roommate was on AT+T already and his activated in like 2 mins. Since I was on Sprint and am trying to port a number over, it's taking FOREVER. Oh yeah, and the fact that AT+T's web and phone customer service are completely shut down makes me feel even better about this whole ordeal. Apple should have known better than to go into business with these idiots. Maybe this is why Verizon passed on it, maybe they saw the problems of so many people switching carriers would cause and decided they wanted nothing to do with it?

This is news to me. Just got home from the houseboat and have yet to hear of the problems. (no inernet) too bad. no problems here.

You were an existing at&t customer right? I really hope there are no issues in that case. My wife was not and she wanted to keep her number. So she had to switch companies etc. NONE of that was facilitated by the people in store. She had to do it on her own. Got the phone Friday, it was finally activiated Sunday night and she took it back last night since half the pages she tried to use didn't work. She wasn't happy with it. The phone is really cool, no question, but their failure to plan for those converting and wanting to keep their own numbers was really surprising to me. I hear reports now that the problem is "clearing up" and it should be....it's four days in and I doubt the systems are stressed like they were this weekend. I don't believe the problem's gone away though. Unfortunate.

I'm an existing consumer (not business) Cingular/AT&T customer but still had numerous activation problems with the iPhone. I wasn't asking for anything fancy like converstion of my plan to FamilyTalk or transferring in a number or anything like that -- just wanted to add a new number to my existing account. I still don't know what the problems were but it seems like AT&T/Cingular may have had my account coded as a pre-paid account when it is actually a unified-bill account that posts on my Bellsouth bill. After a couple of aborted attempts I finally got it activated around 8:00 last night following a call to the activation line where I spent about 45 minutes on hold while the guy was trying to activate the phone. He said he still couldn't activate my SMS functionality for some reason he couldn't explain, so he said I should call back customer service later to get it activated. But 10 minutes after my iPhone was working, I got a "Welcome" SMS from AT&T.

More thoughts as I use the iPhone more, but I will say that the screen and the navigability of the phone is quite good. It's the first portable device (phone/PDA/Treo/Blackberry/etc.) I've ever used where surfing the normal, full-sized web is largely painless. Keyboarding on the iPhone seems quite a bit better to me than it is on my Blackberry 7130. (The 7130 does not have a full keyboard, though -- it's one of the slimmer models where most keys host two characters.) The WiFi/EDGE switching seems to happen pretty seamlessly and setting up the WiFi is trivial.

Overall, I think I will like the phone for what I bought it for -- an ultraportable internet device I can use on the go and a media player that I can easily carry in my pocket -- but with a few cool apps, this could be a very, very useful device.

 

[Gordo]

700,000 iPhones sold in week 1?

700,000 sold, $2million+ profit for Apple

After speculation earlier in the week that Apple had sold between 400-500,000 iPhones, the actual new sales figures for the iPhone are even wilder than earlier figures: Apple and AT&T moved 700,000 iPhones to the close of business Sunday.

According to MacNN, Apple is said to have sold out of iPhones in 95 of 164 stores and AT&T has nearly depleted its entire stock. The report quotes American Technology Research predicting that the iPhone would likely be AT&T’s fastest ever selling product and that the iPhone could rank among the fastest selling consumer electronics devices of all time.

Based on the cost of manufacturing an iPhone (see post July 2), Apple would have made a profit of between $200million and $266 million in 3 days (not including marketing costs), on sales somewhere between $350million and $420million, significantly more than earlier estimates of Apple having a $300million weekend.

Saying the iPhone has been successful at this point would be matter of stating the blatantly obvious.

Update: corrected reference to figures. The 700,000 figure may be another analyst figure according to a comment, although other places are reporting the 700,000 as the actual figure.

 

[Challenge Everything]

700,000 iPhones sold in week 1?

700,000 sold, $2million+ profit for Apple

This news makes that lady who tried to buy the whole stores stock even more funny.

 

[Otis]

I don't know. I played with this thing at the Apple store in the mall this week and was super impressed with it. The interface is awesome and so smooth, and the things you can do with it -- including mapping your way to all the nearest steak houses in your neighborhood with Google maps, complete with real-time traffic information, was just very cool.

There are absolutely things to complain about but, on the whole, this definitely seems to be to be a revolution in personal digital devices. I won't own one because my work provides a Blackberry 8800 at no cost to me, and I need to be hooked in to my work e-mail server. But, if I weren't in that situation, I'd probably buy one.

I understand there are some anti-Apple folks in here, but I don't understand how you can use this device and not be really, really impressed with both its design and utility.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

I don't know. I played with this thing at the Apple store in the mall this week and was super impressed with it. The interface is awesome and so smooth, and the things you can do with it -- including mapping your way to all the nearest steak houses in your neighborhood with Google maps, complete with real-time traffic information, was just very cool. There are absolutely things to complain about but, on the whole, this definitely seems to be to be a revolution in personal digital devices. I won't own one because my work provides a Blackberry 8800 at no cost to me, and I need to be hooked in to my work e-mail server. But, if I weren't in that situation, I'd probably buy one.I understand there are some anti-Apple folks in here, but I don't understand how you can use this device and not be really, really impressed with both its design and utility.

The iphone isn't a bizzness phone so it does me little good. However I did check them out to see what all they hype was about and I came away with the feeling that its one of those things thats cool at first but after a month or so the coolness just fizzles out. For a $600 phone I expected a lot more. I am not an Apple hater at all, I just think that sooo many people bought into the hype and that this phone has very little to offer anyone who actually needs a phone for their daily life. While its cool, the web browser is nice, you can spin it around etc etc, it just doesn't enough for me to get me excited. The fact that you cant add any apps to it really hurts it IMO. Look at whats available for a Treo, the iphone really needs to allow these sort of applications to make the phone actually useful to people. The one thing I do absolutely hate about it is the touch screen and the shiny black case. It has to be constantly cleaned or wiped down to keep it looking pretty.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

Overall, I think I will like the phone for what I bought it for -- an ultraportable internet device I can use on the go and a media player that I can easily carry in my pocket -- but with a few cool apps, this could be a very, very useful device.

Pretty much my thoughts as well.

 

[Usual21]

I'm loving every single minute of this phone. Screw the haters.

 

[GroveDiesel]

How's the actual phone functionality? PCMag basically said that the call quality was very mediocre.

 

[Usual21]

How's the actual phone functionality? PCMag basically said that the call quality was very mediocre.

The call quality is quite good. I'm sure that there are better phones for quality. What some people are complaining about is the volume of the ear speaker. I can hear it fine, but I can see why some might complain. Flash support is on it's way for the browser and things will just continue to get better. Do I wish it had 3G? Of course. But is EDGE ok for now? Sure is.

 

[adonis]

Still loving mine.

No problems yet, still runs like a champ, get great use out of google maps, email on the go, ipod, phone of course, and web-surfing, even over edge. I'm very satisfied at this point, and when they start updating it with better features (could really use a to-do list, even if notes works ok) and I'm not getting good reminder notices with my calendar feature. dunno why.

Overall though, I am very pleased and anxious to see what new things are coming to the iphone. After all, its' not just a one time purchase, but a two year subscription to software updates from apple.

 

[One]

My last 4 phones have been Treos & Blackberrys and I have to say that I have never been this excited to take a device around with me.

Not only is it a personal phone/device, but I seem to be using it a LOT in groups. Wether it be to show a bunch of co-workers parts of a movie or TV show or flicking through a slideshow of pics with friends. My wife and I also got in bed & watched 2 episodes of Heroes on the houseboat last weekend. It's the closest thing to a pocket-plasma.

The interface is so clean and smooth to use and I don't feel like I'm using the same ol' clunky interface and OS i'm used to. Very refreshing.

If I only had a nickle for every time I heard "Is that an iPhone? ...can I try it?"

& once again.. multi-tabbed Fantasy Baseball Live Scoring is so .

SMS interface is fun (I never used to text). I like that I can keep all my conversations individually grouped.

Stocks & weather widgets are great.. I can't wait to see the apps & games on the horizon.

However I have a quick question...

• I'd like to know who and what other services are used in the business place that are unavailable for the iPhone.

(a lot I'd assume) I understand that enterprise server and an Office Suite would be needed, but which professions edit excel docs on the run? The only thing I can think of for my employees would be for them to adjust their bids on the run. Is there special proprietary software for phones on certain professions?

I hear a lot of people state that it's not a "business phone", but I just kinda shrug it off cause it fits all my business needs. I have to own a phone with e-mail and internet capabilities for my line of work, but beyond that, I don't need much else.

 

[Otis]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

 

[-jb-]

Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?

I want it to integrate with Exchange. Other than that, you're right...it's neat-o.

 

[Usual21]

I just rewatched Transformers on it

 

[Joe Bryant]

I'm sure I could find this out from the website but I know you guys will know the answer and it'll be quicker for me.

A few things I need in my phone. Does the iphone have these things?

#1. Voice memo recorder. I need the ability to record short memos while driving instead of writing it down. Treo and Palm and many phones have this.

#2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such.

#3. Vibrate / silent ring. I'm sure it has this but want to make sure.

#4. Screen lock. I see on the commercials how you unlock the screen on the iphone but how do you lock it. I often finish a call and quickly want to put the phone back in my pocket.

#5. The big thing I really need that I'm struggling with is the lack of a task list. I think I'm going to play with my ipod and see how contacts / calendars work there. I might be able to make do. But if I'm understanding correctly, iphone does not have a direct way to import tasks from Outlook, right?

Thanks for the help there.

J

 

[Usual21]

I'm sure I could find this out from the website but I know you guys will know the answer and it'll be quicker for me.A few things I need in my phone. Does the iphone have these things?#1. Voice memo recorder. I need the ability to record short memos while driving instead of writing it down. Treo and Palm and many phones have this. #2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such. #3. Vibrate / silent ring. I'm sure it has this but want to make sure. #4. Screen lock. I see on the commercials how you unlock the screen on the iphone but how do you lock it. I often finish a call and quickly want to put the phone back in my pocket.#5. The big thing I really need that I'm struggling with is the lack of a task list. I think I'm going to play with my ipod and see how contacts / calendars work there. I might be able to make do. But if I'm understanding correctly, iphone does not have a direct way to import tasks from Outlook, right?Thanks for the help there.J

Joe,#3 on the left side is a simple toggle switch. Silent ring off/on#4 On the top is a sleep buttonAs for the others, I really couldn't tell ya if it has since I really don't need em, so I haven't looked.

 

[Otis]

Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?

I want it to integrate with Exchange. Other than that, you're right...it's neat-o.

Absolutely agree -- this is my one and only complaint. This device is absolutely not intended to be a hardcore business device, and you won't see big business porting over from Treo or Blackberry to these anytime soon. That obviously wasn't Apple's intention. In my view, this is like complaning that my pickup truck won't do 0-16 in 4.2 seconds. Different task, different tool. This is the only reason I don't own one already.However, if they ever do begin supporting enterprise e-mail, I will shell out the cash for one.

 

[Memphis Foundry]

I'm sure I could find this out from the website but I know you guys will know the answer and it'll be quicker for me.A few things I need in my phone. Does the iphone have these things?#1. Voice memo recorder. I need the ability to record short memos while driving instead of writing it down. Treo and Palm and many phones have this. #2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such. #3. Vibrate / silent ring. I'm sure it has this but want to make sure. #4. Screen lock. I see on the commercials how you unlock the screen on the iphone but how do you lock it. I often finish a call and quickly want to put the phone back in my pocket.#5. The big thing I really need that I'm struggling with is the lack of a task list. I think I'm going to play with my ipod and see how contacts / calendars work there. I might be able to make do. But if I'm understanding correctly, iphone does not have a direct way to import tasks from Outlook, right?Thanks for the help there.J

Hey Joe -- not sure on some of these as I'm still learning but #3 and #4 the answer is yes. There are only a few physical buttons on the phone but two of them are a ring silencer that puts the phone into vibrate mode and the Sleep/Wake button that will lock the phone with a press.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I'm sure I could find this out from the website but I know you guys will know the answer and it'll be quicker for me.A few things I need in my phone. Does the iphone have these things?#1. Voice memo recorder. I need the ability to record short memos while driving instead of writing it down. Treo and Palm and many phones have this. #2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such. #3. Vibrate / silent ring. I'm sure it has this but want to make sure. #4. Screen lock. I see on the commercials how you unlock the screen on the iphone but how do you lock it. I often finish a call and quickly want to put the phone back in my pocket.#5. The big thing I really need that I'm struggling with is the lack of a task list. I think I'm going to play with my ipod and see how contacts / calendars work there. I might be able to make do. But if I'm understanding correctly, iphone does not have a direct way to import tasks from Outlook, right?Thanks for the help there.J

Joe,#3 on the left side is a simple toggle switch. Silent ring off/on#4 On the top is a sleep buttonAs for the others, I really couldn't tell ya if it has since I really don't need em, so I haven't looked.

Thanks usual and Keith. I'll keep looking on the others. I'm sure someone here will know. As goofy as it sounds, the voice recorder is a must have. I use it multiple times daily as I'm driving and don't want to go back to carrying a separate device for recording.I hear people talk about "notes" on the iphone. Maybe that's something that would work for the docs I need. How do you use notes?J

 

[Usual21]

notes is just basically you jotting down notes on what looks like a lined sticky note.

 

[the moops]

#2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such.

 

[One]

I'm sure I could find this out from the website but I know you guys will know the answer and it'll be quicker for me.A few things I need in my phone. Does the iphone have these things?#1. Voice memo recorder. I need the ability to record short memos while driving instead of writing it down. Treo and Palm and many phones have this. #2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such. #3. Vibrate / silent ring. I'm sure it has this but want to make sure. #4. Screen lock. I see on the commercials how you unlock the screen on the iphone but how do you lock it. I often finish a call and quickly want to put the phone back in my pocket.#5. The big thing I really need that I'm struggling with is the lack of a task list. I think I'm going to play with my ipod and see how contacts / calendars work there. I might be able to make do. But if I'm understanding correctly, iphone does not have a direct way to import tasks from Outlook, right?Thanks for the help there.J

I'm about 90% sure it doesn't do numbers 1 or 2 ...yet (software based, so you never know) you can view excel sheets, but not modify them. as for 5.. It's also software based option so it could be coming, but the notes feature is pretty bland and prolly not useful for what you need. yes on 3 & 4.

 

[Joe Bryant]

#2. A way to store text / word / excel documents. Documents to Go is extremely good on my treo. I have a dozen or so documents (nothing fancy - formatting is not important) that I store on my treo. Some excel sheets as well. It's simple stuff like checklists for certain trips and such.

Hi moops,What part are you confused about?

J

 

[Evilgrin 72]

I just watched pr0n on one.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

I am not saying the iphone sucks or that its not good at viewing the web. My point is for a $600.00 and a phone that was supposed to revolutionize phone/personal devices, it falls short. Here are a few things that I think the iphone should have or be able to do- No Java, Windows Media, Real, and Flash Video support - pretty sure that hurts the internet experience- you can open Word and Excel files on the iPhone, you can't edit them - this makes it usless for any business person- No instant message service - I use this far more then text messaging even though I know I am more then likely in the minority - You cannot remove its battery - well it is an ipod- It can’t send MMS picture messages - once again this is a major problem for me business wise- The camera has little or no options and is a major weak point on the phone- Ringtones - enough said- It only allows for a maximum of 1 picture to be attached to each e-mail you send- It doesn’t have a file browser/organizer - another downer for me- documents can only be viewed as attachments when they’re sent to your e-mail address, you cant save them - this is the 2nd biggest problem IMO- no voice dialing - thought this would be pretty much a given for a $600.00 phone- no sdk, no apps - the killer of all killers. The amount of applications one can get for the other high end phones is staggering. Apple approved ? Good luck- hows it work with your itunes ? - enough said- no gps - google maps is nice, but no where close to gps- works exclusively over Cingular's Edge data network, which is much slower than broadband, Treo 750 for Cingular's runs on a 3G network- gotta scroll through the entire address book instead of just touching the first letter of your contact. I currently have over 400 contacts in my treo - not funHopefully the iphone will have a 2nd generation and Apple will look at many of the things that are needed to make this a truely great phone. However for a person like myself, being able to browse the web and have a pretty interface just isnt enough for a user like me.

 

[One]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.

Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?

Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

I am not saying the iphone sucks or that its not good at viewing the web. My point is for a $600.00 and a phone that was supposed to revolutionize phone/personal devices, it falls short. Here are a few things that I think the iphone should have or be able to do- No Java, Windows Media, Real, and Flash Video support - pretty sure that hurts the internet experience

- you can open Word and Excel files on the iPhone, you can't edit them - this makes it usless for any business person

- No instant message service - I use this far more then text messaging even though I know I am more then likely in the minority

- You cannot remove its battery - well it is an ipod

- It can’t send MMS picture messages - once again this is a major problem for me business wise

- The camera has little or no options and is a major weak point on the phone

- Ringtones - enough said

- It only allows for a maximum of 1 picture to be attached to each e-mail you send

- It doesn’t have a file browser/organizer - another downer for me

- documents can only be viewed as attachments when they’re sent to your e-mail address, you cant save them - this is the 2nd biggest problem IMO

- no voice dialing - thought this would be pretty much a given for a $600.00 phone

- no sdk, no apps - the killer of all killers. The amount of applications one can get for the other high end phones is staggering. Apple approved ? Good luck

- hows it work with your itunes ? - enough said

- no gps - google maps is nice, but no where close to gps

- works exclusively over Cingular's Edge data network, which is much slower than broadband, Treo 750 for Cingular's runs on a 3G network

- gotta scroll through the entire address book instead of just touching the first letter of your contact. I currently have over 400 contacts in my treo - not fun

Hopefully the iphone will have a 2nd generation and Apple will look at many of the things that are needed to make this a truely great phone. However for a person like myself, being able to browse the web and have a pretty interface just isnt enough for a user like me.

I could care less about a single one of these. We get it, we get it .. you're a special agent that needs to utilize every facit of a Treo. (you're also in the 1%tile ..such nit-picking)

Have fun with your Treo.. Do you want my old one?

 

[ConstruxBoy]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.

Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?

Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

I am not saying the iphone sucks or that its not good at viewing the web. My point is for a $600.00 and a phone that was supposed to revolutionize phone/personal devices, it falls short. Here are a few things that I think the iphone should have or be able to do- No Java, Windows Media, Real, and Flash Video support - pretty sure that hurts the internet experience

- you can open Word and Excel files on the iPhone, you can't edit them - this makes it usless for any business person

- No instant message service - I use this far more then text messaging even though I know I am more then likely in the minority

- You cannot remove its battery - well it is an ipod

- It can’t send MMS picture messages - once again this is a major problem for me business wise

- The camera has little or no options and is a major weak point on the phone

- Ringtones - enough said

- It only allows for a maximum of 1 picture to be attached to each e-mail you send

- It doesn’t have a file browser/organizer - another downer for me

- documents can only be viewed as attachments when they’re sent to your e-mail address, you cant save them - this is the 2nd biggest problem IMO

- no voice dialing - thought this would be pretty much a given for a $600.00 phone

- no sdk, no apps - the killer of all killers. The amount of applications one can get for the other high end phones is staggering. Apple approved ? Good luck

- hows it work with your itunes ? - enough said

- no gps - google maps is nice, but no where close to gps

- works exclusively over Cingular's Edge data network, which is much slower than broadband, Treo 750 for Cingular's runs on a 3G network

- gotta scroll through the entire address book instead of just touching the first letter of your contact. I currently have over 400 contacts in my treo - not fun

Hopefully the iphone will have a 2nd generation and Apple will look at many of the things that are needed to make this a truely great phone. However for a person like myself, being able to browse the web and have a pretty interface just isnt enough for a user like me.

I could care less about a single one of these. We get it, we get it .. you're a special agent that needs to utilize every facit of a Treo. (you're also in the 1%tile ..such nit-picking)

Have fun with your Treo.. Do you want my old one?

And I'm pretty sure my wife showed me that you can type the first letter of a contact to get it.

 

[the moops]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

I am not saying the iphone sucks or that its not good at viewing the web. My point is for a $600.00 and a phone that was supposed to revolutionize phone/personal devices, it falls short. Here are a few things that I think the iphone should have or be able to do- No Java, Windows Media, Real, and Flash Video support - pretty sure that hurts the internet experience- you can open Word and Excel files on the iPhone, you can't edit them - this makes it usless for any business person- No instant message service - I use this far more then text messaging even though I know I am more then likely in the minority - You cannot remove its battery - well it is an ipod- It can’t send MMS picture messages - once again this is a major problem for me business wise- The camera has little or no options and is a major weak point on the phone- Ringtones - enough said- It only allows for a maximum of 1 picture to be attached to each e-mail you send- It doesn’t have a file browser/organizer - another downer for me- documents can only be viewed as attachments when they’re sent to your e-mail address, you cant save them - this is the 2nd biggest problem IMO- no voice dialing - thought this would be pretty much a given for a $600.00 phone- no sdk, no apps - the killer of all killers. The amount of applications one can get for the other high end phones is staggering. Apple approved ? Good luck- hows it work with your itunes ? - enough said- no gps - google maps is nice, but no where close to gps- works exclusively over Cingular's Edge data network, which is much slower than broadband, Treo 750 for Cingular's runs on a 3G network- gotta scroll through the entire address book instead of just touching the first letter of your contact. I currently have over 400 contacts in my treo - not funHopefully the iphone will have a 2nd generation and Apple will look at many of the things that are needed to make this a truely great phone. However for a person like myself, being able to browse the web and have a pretty interface just isnt enough for a user like me.

Man, people really need their freakin phone to do all that crap? I guess the better question is how important do you think you are?

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

As I said, I am a business person and yes, many of those things are needed. Now play nice children.

 

[Challenge Everything]

As I said, I am a business person and yes, many of those things are needed. Now play nice children.

How old are you? And, what did you do before the invention of cell phones and phones with what you are looking it to do for you?

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

As I said, I am a business person and yes, many of those things are needed. Now play nice children.

How old are you? And, what did you do before the invention of cell phones and phones with what you are looking it to do for you?

I am 35, and before cell phones (luckily and didnt have to work long with out one) and pda's my business life was rather hectic. I can do quotes, review and edit proposals, email spread sheets etc etc etc quite easily from my treo. Does doing these things make me super important? Nope, its just part of my job and the treo makes its much easier. I also remember the days when I worked as a good and their weren't fax machines (or they were very rare) and I surely dont want to go back to those days. Talk to anyone in business that travels or does outside sales for a living and ask about the impact the cell phone/pda has had on their business life. I would love for a better product to come out, however one hasnt yet at this point and I had hopes it was going to be the iphone when I first heard about it.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

I just watched pr0n on one.

Sorry, but putting the phone on vibrate and watching the Steve Jobs demo doesn't count.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

We get it, we get it .. you're a special agent that needs to utilize every facit of a Treo. (you're also in the 1%tile ..such nit-picking)Have fun with your Treo.. Do you want my old one?

Man, people really need their freakin phone to do all that crap? I guess the better question is how important do you think you are?

Are you guys associated with Apple or something? That's an odd amount of defensiveness otherwise.I thought some legit shortcoming were being raised.

 

[Otis]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

I am not saying the iphone sucks or that its not good at viewing the web. My point is for a $600.00 and a phone that was supposed to revolutionize phone/personal devices, it falls short. Here are a few things that I think the iphone should have or be able to do- No Java, Windows Media, Real, and Flash Video support - pretty sure that hurts the internet experience- you can open Word and Excel files on the iPhone, you can't edit them - this makes it usless for any business person- No instant message service - I use this far more then text messaging even though I know I am more then likely in the minority - You cannot remove its battery - well it is an ipod- It can’t send MMS picture messages - once again this is a major problem for me business wise- The camera has little or no options and is a major weak point on the phone- Ringtones - enough said- It only allows for a maximum of 1 picture to be attached to each e-mail you send- It doesn’t have a file browser/organizer - another downer for me- documents can only be viewed as attachments when they’re sent to your e-mail address, you cant save them - this is the 2nd biggest problem IMO- no voice dialing - thought this would be pretty much a given for a $600.00 phone- no sdk, no apps - the killer of all killers. The amount of applications one can get for the other high end phones is staggering. Apple approved ? Good luck- hows it work with your itunes ? - enough said- no gps - google maps is nice, but no where close to gps- works exclusively over Cingular's Edge data network, which is much slower than broadband, Treo 750 for Cingular's runs on a 3G network- gotta scroll through the entire address book instead of just touching the first letter of your contact. I currently have over 400 contacts in my treo - not funHopefully the iphone will have a 2nd generation and Apple will look at many of the things that are needed to make this a truely great phone. However for a person like myself, being able to browse the web and have a pretty interface just isnt enough for a user like me.

Man, people really need their freakin phone to do all that crap? I guess the better question is how important do you think you are?

Seriously. This guy wants to do a lot of useless crap with his phone. My goodness.I wouldn't care to nor want to do almost every one of these things.

 

[Joe Bryant]

For a $600 phone I expected a lot more.

Comments like this absolutely baffle me. Do you want it to do your laundry for you?Seriously, I was amazed at everything you can do with this thing, and how it does them all well. With one device that is smaller and lighter than I Treo, I can watch movies, listen to all my music, do e-mail, browse the web (in a way that actually is a pleasure, which I can't say for my Treo), use Google maps to quickly and easily find directions, restaurants, and traffic information, get movie times, keep my contacts and schedule ... oh, and make phone calls.Precisely what else would you want out of such a device?Again, baffling. Half of the negative comments in here are obviously from people who have an agenda and are looking for reasons not to like this thing. I thought it was an awesome device.

I am not saying the iphone sucks or that its not good at viewing the web. My point is for a $600.00 and a phone that was supposed to revolutionize phone/personal devices, it falls short. Here are a few things that I think the iphone should have or be able to do- No Java, Windows Media, Real, and Flash Video support - pretty sure that hurts the internet experience- you can open Word and Excel files on the iPhone, you can't edit them - this makes it usless for any business person- No instant message service - I use this far more then text messaging even though I know I am more then likely in the minority - You cannot remove its battery - well it is an ipod- It can’t send MMS picture messages - once again this is a major problem for me business wise- The camera has little or no options and is a major weak point on the phone- Ringtones - enough said- It only allows for a maximum of 1 picture to be attached to each e-mail you send- It doesn’t have a file browser/organizer - another downer for me- documents can only be viewed as attachments when they’re sent to your e-mail address, you cant save them - this is the 2nd biggest problem IMO- no voice dialing - thought this would be pretty much a given for a $600.00 phone- no sdk, no apps - the killer of all killers. The amount of applications one can get for the other high end phones is staggering. Apple approved ? Good luck- hows it work with your itunes ? - enough said- no gps - google maps is nice, but no where close to gps- works exclusively over Cingular's Edge data network, which is much slower than broadband, Treo 750 for Cingular's runs on a 3G network- gotta scroll through the entire address book instead of just touching the first letter of your contact. I currently have over 400 contacts in my treo - not funHopefully the iphone will have a 2nd generation and Apple will look at many of the things that are needed to make this a truely great phone. However for a person like myself, being able to browse the web and have a pretty interface just isnt enough for a user like me.

Hater.J