The Apple iPhone Thread (2 Viewers)

[massraider]

Bought mine earlier today. Love it. It's exceeded my expectations and thensome. Wifi is sweet.. I went into a restaurant and it gave me a message "Welcome to Centro Cocina Mexicana, ask your server for the password to join the WiFi network." I asked the bartender ...he said "Margarita!" ..entered the PW and BAM! ...I'm in.still need to do some playing with it to get more of an impression. EDGE Network is faster than what I had on my Black Berry 7100, but not very fast.. I was browsing my fantasy baseball live scoring on CBS Sportsline with ease.. (on EDGE & WiFi)I had about 6 people in the first hour come up and ask if they could see it. (was kinda funny) SMS messaging is great.. (All the nit-pickers saying there's no IM are frowning) You Tube is great.. watched Tenacious D's video "Tribute" at dinnerSyncing is SO easy and amazingSetting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazingUploaded Borat and all of my unwatched eps of The Office and they play GREAT ...it feels like a small HD plasmaOne of the girls said the iPhone feels like jewelry ..no joke Makes all other phones feel so cheap. There were about 12 others at our table (with all kinda of phones ...Treo, Q and BJ ...all were floored.)I've read all of the positive and negative reviews.. -Typing: is hard with 2 fingers so far.-Edge: is not super fast, but it does it's job well.-Battery: we'll see in a few months.-Price: well, that's all relative (best $1200 i've spent in a long time ...bought 2)If you need the enterprise network, special 3rd party aps, have gi-normous fingers, hate Apple (as there's a lot of you in iPhone denial) or are short on spending money iPhone is probably not the right option at this point, but stay open-minded and try your buddy's cause these will be all over soon. One

Nice report, guy. Thanks.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Bought mine earlier today. Love it.

It's exceeded my expectations and thensome.

Wifi is sweet.. I went into a restaurant and it gave me a message "Welcome to Centro Cocina Mexicana, ask your server for the password to join the WiFi network." I asked the bartender ...he said "Margarita!" ..entered the PW and BAM! ...I'm in.

still need to do some playing with it to get more of an impression. EDGE Network is faster than what I had on my Black Berry 7100, but not very fast..

I was browsing my fantasy baseball live scoring on CBS Sportsline with ease.. (on EDGE & WiFi)

I had about 6 people in the first hour come up and ask if they could see it. (was kinda funny)

SMS messaging is great.. (All the nit-pickers saying there's no IM are frowning)

You Tube is great.. watched Tenacious D's video "Tribute" at dinner

Syncing is SO easy and amazing

Setting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazing

Uploaded Borat and all of my unwatched eps of The Office and they play GREAT ...it feels like a small HD plasma

One of the girls said the iPhone feels like jewelry ..no joke Makes all other phones feel so cheap. There were about 12 others at our table (with all kinda of phones ...Treo, Q and BJ ...all were floored.)

I've read all of the positive and negative reviews..

-Typing: is hard with 2 fingers so far.

-Edge: is not super fast, but it does it's job well.

-Battery: we'll see in a few months.

-Price: well, that's all relative (best $1200 i've spent in a long time ...bought 2)

If you need the enterprise network, special 3rd party aps, have gi-normous fingers, hate Apple (as there's a lot of you in iPhone denial) or are short on spending money iPhone is probably not the right option at this point, but stay open-minded and try your buddy's cause these will be all over soon.

One

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

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

I'm not paying to get out of my verizon K, so I wont be getting one of these anytime soon though. Can somebody tell me what makes the iPhone better than say the Motorola Q? I know the screen is bigger and a touch screen and that it can connect to wifi - what else?

I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of bugs being that there usually are in a 1st run of a phone (a reason why verizon often doesnt get the brand new stuff right away) and that Apple never made a cell phone before.

 

[Usual21]

I'm not paying to get out of my verizon K, so I wont be getting one of these anytime soon though. Can somebody tell me what makes the iPhone better than say the Motorola Q? I know the screen is bigger and a touch screen and that it can connect to wifi - what else?

I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of bugs being that there usually are in a 1st run of a phone (a reason why verizon often doesnt get the brand new stuff right away) and that Apple never made a cell phone before.

Best iPod yet (except for hard drive size), full internet browser. First phone to offer the internet the way you would see it on a PC.

 

[noneother]

bought a second jawbone.... got it paired... THEN i tried the old one... it paired TOO...

so now i have two jawbones.. my friend who lost his offered me 100 for it.. net loss 30... figured i prolly could more on ebay.. add back listing fees, and good karma from friends... this is a better solution..

now time to case shop... I like this one...

http://goincase.com/products/detail/protective-cover-cl59019

 

[Wingnut]

I'm not paying to get out of my verizon K, so I wont be getting one of these anytime soon though. Can somebody tell me what makes the iPhone better than say the Motorola Q? I know the screen is bigger and a touch screen and that it can connect to wifi - what else?

I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of bugs being that there usually are in a 1st run of a phone (a reason why verizon often doesnt get the brand new stuff right away) and that Apple never made a cell phone before.

Best iPod yet (except for hard drive size), full internet browser. First phone to offer the internet the way you would see it on a PC.

I read the RAZR2 thats coming out this month also has a full html browser.In a few months, there will be tons of phones on the market that do this.

 

[noneother]

I'm not paying to get out of my verizon K, so I wont be getting one of these anytime soon though. Can somebody tell me what makes the iPhone better than say the Motorola Q? I know the screen is bigger and a touch screen and that it can connect to wifi - what else?

I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of bugs being that there usually are in a 1st run of a phone (a reason why verizon often doesnt get the brand new stuff right away) and that Apple never made a cell phone before.

Best iPod yet (except for hard drive size), full internet browser. First phone to offer the internet the way you would see it on a PC.

I read the RAZR2 thats coming out this month also has a full html browser.In a few months, there will be tons of phones on the market that do this.

no disagreement there, and a few months after that there will be full 3G, and after that replaceable batteries... that's the idea, every six months something will get better, ya got to jump in... i am pacing a new phone every 12 to 18 months... we'll see if the iphone holds me longer

 

[Wingnut]

how not to steal an iPhone

 

[Joe Bryant]

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

 

[Joe Bryant]

Bought mine earlier today. Love it.

It's exceeded my expectations and thensome.

Wifi is sweet.. I went into a restaurant and it gave me a message "Welcome to Centro Cocina Mexicana, ask your server for the password to join the WiFi network." I asked the bartender ...he said "Margarita!" ..entered the PW and BAM! ...I'm in.

still need to do some playing with it to get more of an impression. EDGE Network is faster than what I had on my Black Berry 7100, but not very fast..

I was browsing my fantasy baseball live scoring on CBS Sportsline with ease.. (on EDGE & WiFi)

I had about 6 people in the first hour come up and ask if they could see it. (was kinda funny)

SMS messaging is great.. (All the nit-pickers saying there's no IM are frowning)

You Tube is great.. watched Tenacious D's video "Tribute" at dinner

Syncing is SO easy and amazing

Setting up your plan/service is SO easy and amazing

Uploaded Borat and all of my unwatched eps of The Office and they play GREAT ...it feels like a small HD plasma

One of the girls said the iPhone feels like jewelry ..no joke Makes all other phones feel so cheap. There were about 12 others at our table (with all kinda of phones ...Treo, Q and BJ ...all were floored.)

I've read all of the positive and negative reviews..

-Typing: is hard with 2 fingers so far.

-Edge: is not super fast, but it does it's job well.

-Battery: we'll see in a few months.

-Price: well, that's all relative (best $1200 i've spent in a long time ...bought 2)

If you need the enterprise network, special 3rd party aps, have gi-normous fingers, hate Apple (as there's a lot of you in iPhone denial) or are short on spending money iPhone is probably not the right option at this point, but stay open-minded and try your buddy's cause these will be all over soon.

One

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

Yikes TG.I wrote my post above this one before reading your post. We may not agree on politics but in iphone, we're tight.

J

 

[ConstruxBoy]

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.

 

[AcerFC]

As an existing Cingular customer I have 1 question:

How much is the rate plan

Right now I have the T mobile Sidekick 2. I only use it for Internet, email, texting, Iming, calendar etc. I do not use it as a phone (I have a free Cingular phone for that). I pay 30 bucks a month for unlimited texts, unlimited data transfer, unlimited email and unlimited time on IM. How does the Iphone rates compare.

 

[Your Mother]

You Tube is great.. watched Tenacious D's video "Tribute" at dinner

 

[Loopdog]

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?

 

[Joe Bryant]

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.

I can see Jobs and Bill Gates playing backgammon last year.

Gates: How are they going to activate the phone?

Jobs: I'm going to make them activate themselves online.

Gates: Yeah right.

Jobs: I bet you a million dollars that not only can I make them do it. They will LIKE doing it.

Gates: You suck.

Job: You suck. But you know I rule these guys.

Gates: I know...

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

 

[derek19]

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.

I can see Jobs and Bill Gates playing backgammon last year.

Gates: How are they going to activate the phone?

Jobs: I'm going to make them activate themselves online.

Gates: Yeah right.

Jobs: I bet you a million dollars that not only can I make them do it. They will LIKE doing it.

Gates: You suck.

Job: You suck. But you know I rule these guys.

Gates: I know...

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

You to apple because they let the end user activate their phone online?

 

[hotdogcollars]

For all the new iPhone users out there...can you use the innerwebs and talk on the phone at the same time??? This is the single reason i have not yet purchased a web ready phone. I would have to do business on the web and phone at the same time.

As for Apple's cult like control JB, interesting yes. Rare? i have to disagree. Every new video game console to come out in the last 20 years has had essentially the same effect on their market. Granted a cell phone market is much larger than a game console. But, the effect is the same, everyone has to have it, loves everything about it that is essentially the same as the previous one. The Madden football games had this going for a few years too. i'm sure there are other markets, just too tired to think of them.

 

[Joe Bryant]

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.

I can see Jobs and Bill Gates playing backgammon last year.

Gates: How are they going to activate the phone?

Jobs: I'm going to make them activate themselves online.

Gates: Yeah right.

Jobs: I bet you a million dollars that not only can I make them do it. They will LIKE doing it.

Gates: You suck.

Job: You suck. But you know I rule these guys.

Gates: I know...

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

You to apple because they let the end user activate their phone online?

No. I 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

 

[hotdogcollars]

i think what we're dealing with here is a group of tech geeks (its ok, i am one of them) who have the latest and greatest gizmo AND they have to make it seem uber-cool so they seem uber-cool. Apple does seem to be really in tune with that market demo probably because they are that market demo

 

[derek19]

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.

I can see Jobs and Bill Gates playing backgammon last year.

Gates: How are they going to activate the phone?

Jobs: I'm going to make them activate themselves online.

Gates: Yeah right.

Jobs: I bet you a million dollars that not only can I make them do it. They will LIKE doing it.

Gates: You suck.

Job: You suck. But you know I rule these guys.

Gates: I know...

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

You to apple because they let the end user activate their phone online?

No. I 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

I'm with verizon and I know if you buy your phone online, you have the option of activating it online or through their automated phone service. Activating it online couldn't be any easier. Probably takes 5-10mins max. You can also switch online as well, through the same process. Meaning if someone you know buys a new phone and you want their old one, you can switch it online...I'm not sure if you can do that with the other phone companies.

 

[goonsquad]

No. I 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.

 

[AcerFC]

As an existing Cingular customer I have 1 question:How much is the rate planRight now I have the T mobile Sidekick 2. I only use it for Internet, email, texting, Iming, calendar etc. I do not use it as a phone (I have a free Cingular phone for that). I pay 30 bucks a month for unlimited texts, unlimited data transfer, unlimited email and unlimited time on IM. How does the Iphone rates compare.

ANYONE, ANYONE (In my best Ben Stein voice)

 

[Sundays Rule]

Iphone Plans

I dont like the 200 text messages limit...id go over that in no time.

An extra 20 bucks for unlimited text

 

[Ned]

You Tube is great.. watched Tenacious D's video "Tribute" at dinner

im sure your company at the table loved it too.

 

[AcerFC]

Iphone Plans

I dont like the 200 text messages limit...id go over that in no time.

An extra 20 bucks for unlimited text

Thanks. I am surprised by how inexpensive it would be for an existing customer. I would be paying the same exact amount I am for the sidekick plan.Now I will just wait until the price comes down because I cant fork out 600 bucks for a phone and I have the money to do it

 

[Loopdog]

36 hours and counting and my Sprint number still has not been ported over to my iPhone

 

[HellToupee]

36 hours and counting and my Sprint number still has not been ported over to my iPhone

Sprint could be busting them on you by holding the # back

 

[HellToupee]

I hope the supplies are plentiful after the initial rush .My wife wants an iPhone for her birthday in Aug , I'd love to get one but I tend to be very clumsy with my cells

 

[The Flying Turtle]

Iphone Plans

I dont like the 200 text messages limit...id go over that in no time.

An extra 20 bucks for unlimited text

Thanks. I am surprised by how inexpensive it would be for an existing customer. I would be paying the same exact amount I am for the sidekick plan.Now I will just wait until the price comes down because I cant fork out 600 bucks for a phone and I have the money to do it

Are the prices going to drop? The newer Ipods still haven't gone down and they have been out over a year.

 

[dpeease]

I picked up mine last night around 11 PM from the Apple Store.

I am an existing Cingular customer with a corporate account so I had to open a new account/phone number.

As of right now I cannot use my phone as the others in the below thread.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?t...49&tstart=0

For the heck of it, I popped open my old Cingular phone and opened up up the Iphone with a paper clip and tried to switch sim cards since my original phone is still activated. The Iphone doesn't recognize the any other sim card that didn't come with it.

updateI finally got my iphone activated by calling 1-877-800-3701. The tech rep was reluctantly able to restart my activation by having someone delete the original activation that wasn't going through. She was able to restart the activation from scratch for me and walked me through the process until it was complete. We finally got it working around midnight last night which is over 24+ hours from when I first started.

Pros:

Browsing the web while on a call. Awesome.

Touch screen. Its very quick and responsive.

Easy contact interface and calling. Syncs with Address book (and Safari) quickly.

Web surfing is as close to a PC as it gets on a phone. Navigation and the scaled surfing owns.

Ipod. The navigation is miles ahead of the regular Ipod.

Goople Maps is sweet. Finding places and dialing them without having to input a number? Wow.

Wifi.

Cons:

Activation nightmare!!

Speaker volume. Very very low.

No 3G.

No MS Office/Excel tool.

No IM application.

Ringtone choice is poo. Cant make mp3s ringtones either.

Very little to no customization of the home screen.

Text messaging is cool, but not great. Not sure if I like the bubbles yet.

 

[dpeease]

36 hours and counting and my Sprint number still has not been ported over to my iPhone

Call 1-877-800-3701 until you get someone on the phone. Ask them to delete your hung activation and start it from scratch. Good luck.

 

[Joe Bryant]

No. I 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.

Of course it would be better if they activated the phone for you in the store. I'd guess the people in this thread that are still waiting for activation to kick in after having problems would agree. "Ripping Apple a new one for setting my phone up for me?" Like every other phone I've ever bought? Hardly.But that's missing the point entirely. Whether the guy at the store sets the phone up for you or you have to do it yourself really isn't the point. Sure, it's better service if the guy does it for you. But most people can set up their phone by themselves ok. It's the idea that people are raving about AT&T pushing that off to them that is to me.

Hats off to Apple. It's a testament to the love they've built from their fans.

J

 

[Joe Bryant]

I picked up mine last night around 11 PM from the Apple Store.

I am an existing Cingular customer with a corporate account so I had to open a new account/phone number.

As of right now I cannot use my phone as the others in the below thread.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?t...49&tstart=0

For the heck of it, I popped open my old Cingular phone and opened up up the Iphone with a paper clip and tried to switch sim cards since my original phone is still activated. The Iphone doesn't recognize the any other sim card that didn't come with it.

updateI finally got my iphone activated by calling 1-877-800-3701. The tech rep was reluctantly able to restart my activation by having someone delete the original activation that wasn't going through. She was able to restart the activation from scratch for me and walked me through the process until it was complete. We finally got it working around midnight last night which is over 24+ hours from when I first started.

Pros:

Browsing the web while on a call. Awesome.

Touch screen. Its very quick and responsive.

Easy contact interface and calling. Syncs with Address book (and Safari) quickly.

Web surfing is as close to a PC as it gets on a phone. Navigation and the scaled surfing owns.

Ipod. The navigation is miles ahead of the regular Ipod.

Goople Maps is sweet. Finding places and dialing them without having to input a number? Wow.

Wifi.

Cons:

Activation nightmare!!

Speaker volume. Very very low.

No 3G.

No MS Office/Excel tool.

No IM application.

Ringtone choice is poo. Cant make mp3s ringtones either.

Very little to no customization of the home screen.

Text messaging is cool, but not great. Not sure if I like the bubbles yet.

Hi dpease,Can you walk me through (or point me to links) about how it handles contacts and calendar and to do lists?

I'm not familiar at all with how Apple does this.

Thanks.

J

 

[Big Papi]

I picked up mine last night around 11 PM from the Apple Store.

I am an existing Cingular customer with a corporate account so I had to open a new account/phone number.

As of right now I cannot use my phone as the others in the below thread.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?t...49&tstart=0

For the heck of it, I popped open my old Cingular phone and opened up up the Iphone with a paper clip and tried to switch sim cards since my original phone is still activated. The Iphone doesn't recognize the any other sim card that didn't come with it.

updateI finally got my iphone activated by calling 1-877-800-3701. The tech rep was reluctantly able to restart my activation by having someone delete the original activation that wasn't going through. She was able to restart the activation from scratch for me and walked me through the process until it was complete. We finally got it working around midnight last night which is over 24+ hours from when I first started.

Pros:

Browsing the web while on a call. Awesome.

Touch screen. Its very quick and responsive.

Easy contact interface and calling. Syncs with Address book (and Safari) quickly.

Web surfing is as close to a PC as it gets on a phone. Navigation and the scaled surfing owns.

Ipod. The navigation is miles ahead of the regular Ipod.

Goople Maps is sweet. Finding places and dialing them without having to input a number? Wow.

Wifi.

Cons:

Activation nightmare!!

Speaker volume. Very very low.

No 3G.

No MS Office/Excel tool.

No IM application.

Ringtone choice is poo. Cant make mp3s ringtones either.

Very little to no customization of the home screen.

Text messaging is cool, but not great. Not sure if I like the bubbles yet.

You could just use Google's document and spreadsheet capability, right?

 

[dpeease]

I picked up mine last night around 11 PM from the Apple Store.

I am an existing Cingular customer with a corporate account so I had to open a new account/phone number.

As of right now I cannot use my phone as the others in the below thread.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?t...49&tstart=0

For the heck of it, I popped open my old Cingular phone and opened up up the Iphone with a paper clip and tried to switch sim cards since my original phone is still activated. The Iphone doesn't recognize the any other sim card that didn't come with it.

updateI finally got my iphone activated by calling 1-877-800-3701. The tech rep was reluctantly able to restart my activation by having someone delete the original activation that wasn't going through. She was able to restart the activation from scratch for me and walked me through the process until it was complete. We finally got it working around midnight last night which is over 24+ hours from when I first started.

Pros:

Browsing the web while on a call. Awesome.

Touch screen. Its very quick and responsive.

Easy contact interface and calling. Syncs with Address book (and Safari) quickly.

Web surfing is as close to a PC as it gets on a phone. Navigation and the scaled surfing owns.

Ipod. The navigation is miles ahead of the regular Ipod.

Goople Maps is sweet. Finding places and dialing them without having to input a number? Wow.

Wifi.

Cons:

Activation nightmare!!

Speaker volume. Very very low.

No 3G.

No MS Office/Excel tool.

No IM application.

Ringtone choice is poo. Cant make mp3s ringtones either.

Very little to no customization of the home screen.

Text messaging is cool, but not great. Not sure if I like the bubbles yet.

Hi dpease,Can you walk me through (or point me to links) about how it handles contacts and calendar and to do lists?

I'm not familiar at all with how Apple does this.

Thanks.

J

I am using the Mac Mail application on a Mac laptop so syncing is simple. You can edit contacts through Adress Book and after plugging in the iPhone and it auto syncs through iTunes. You can manually sync if you make edits to your contacts after the initial sync by going to the "file" tab then sync iPhone. I added some bookmarks to Safari that weren't on my mac and they were added to my laptop during the sync. I haven't played with the Calender yet but I am assuming it works the same way.

 

[goonsquad]

No. I 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.

Of course it would be better if they activated the phone for you in the store. I'd guess the people in this thread that are still waiting for activation to kick in after having problems would agree. "Ripping Apple a new one for setting my phone up for me?" Like every other phone I've ever bought? Hardly.But that's missing the point entirely. Whether the guy at the store sets the phone up for you or you have to do it yourself really isn't the point. Sure, it's better service if the guy does it for you. But most people can set up their phone by themselves ok. It's the idea that people are raving about AT&T pushing that off to them that is to me.

Hats off to Apple. It's a testament to the love they've built from their fans.

J

Yikes. Completely disagree on this one. No way would I want to wait around longer in line while they have to set up the contracts for everyone in front of me. That's crazy. It would have taken forever with the amount of people they were dealing with; discussing plans, tranferring numbers, setting up billing. It would have been a logistical and PR nightmare for a launch this big, and they would have been crucified in the press for it. I guess the rest is a matter of perception. You are obviously looking at a negative in what they didn't provide (hands-on customer service completeing the set up for you), and I'm seeing their solution as a positive (saving each customer tons of time in waiting in store). To be sure, Apple could have easily washed their hands of the contract mess completely and just pushed the user to www.ATT.com or a AT&T retail store to deal with it. That's what every other phone manufacturer would have done. At least by intergrating it into their software they've taken steps to make the process a seamless and Apple-like user experience, which is what Apple customers expect.

 

[noneother]

google docs didn't work on safari just tried. Not a bad gizmo. Best piece of consumer tech I have ever owned. Using it now. Cons size could be smaller . Memory could be bigger . Could be faster EDGE. Could have doc support. Pros size all this in one package . Awesome Internet device. EDGE is faster than I expected. Email is nice multiple Gmail accounts easy to manage. I love it. Positives far outweigh any downside.

 

[dpeease]

I picked up mine last night around 11 PM from the Apple Store.

I am an existing Cingular customer with a corporate account so I had to open a new account/phone number.

As of right now I cannot use my phone as the others in the below thread.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?t...49&tstart=0

For the heck of it, I popped open my old Cingular phone and opened up up the Iphone with a paper clip and tried to switch sim cards since my original phone is still activated. The Iphone doesn't recognize the any other sim card that didn't come with it.

updateI finally got my iphone activated by calling 1-877-800-3701. The tech rep was reluctantly able to restart my activation by having someone delete the original activation that wasn't going through. She was able to restart the activation from scratch for me and walked me through the process until it was complete. We finally got it working around midnight last night which is over 24+ hours from when I first started.

Pros:

Browsing the web while on a call. Awesome.

Touch screen. Its very quick and responsive.

Easy contact interface and calling. Syncs with Address book (and Safari) quickly.

Web surfing is as close to a PC as it gets on a phone. Navigation and the scaled surfing owns.

Ipod. The navigation is miles ahead of the regular Ipod.

Goople Maps is sweet. Finding places and dialing them without having to input a number? Wow.

Wifi.

Cons:

Activation nightmare!!

Speaker volume. Very very low.

No 3G.

No MS Office/Excel tool.

No IM application.

Ringtone choice is poo. Cant make mp3s ringtones either.

Very little to no customization of the home screen.

Text messaging is cool, but not great. Not sure if I like the bubbles yet.

You could just use Google's document and spreadsheet capability, right?

Nope, at least I haven't gotten it to work. You can open docs and excel files for viewing right in the mail application.

 

[noneother]

oh the phone functionality is an afterthought. A moto phone kicks its tail. No voice dial. No bt headset ringer.

 

[Serenity Now]

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.

I can see Jobs and Bill Gates playing backgammon last year.

Gates: How are they going to activate the phone?

Jobs: I'm going to make them activate themselves online.

Gates: Yeah right.

Jobs: I bet you a million dollars that not only can I make them do it. They will LIKE doing it.

Gates: You suck.

Job: You suck. But you know I rule these guys.

Gates: I know...

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

You to apple because they let the end user activate their phone online?

No. I 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

I'm with verizon and I know if you buy your phone online, you have the option of activating it online or through their automated phone service. Activating it online couldn't be any easier. Probably takes 5-10mins max. You can also switch online as well, through the same process. Meaning if someone you know buys a new phone and you want their old one, you can switch it online...I'm not sure if you can do that with the other phone companies.

I've always activated my phones online through Verizon. But then, I tend to order them through the website, too. I hate dealing with phone store people.

 

[Tiger Fan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhbb5tisdWU...ser&search=

Here's a great review from Kyge Ramsey of youtube news

 

[Ned]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhbb5tisdWU...ser&search=

Here's a great review from Kyge Ramsey of youtube news

he gets it.

 

[goonsquad]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhbb5tisdWU...ser&search=

Here's a great review from Kyge Ramsey of youtube news

he gets it.

 

[adonis]

I wonder if Joe or any of the other doubters have test-driven the iphone? If not, go to the nearest AT&T store and test it out, there should be a few on display. Have one of the techs come over and give you an introduction, as they should all be well-prepared to do this. See what you think and report here after you've used it.

Everyone I've shown it to has said it's one of the most amazing things they've seen. And that wasn't with me hyping it, or saying how awesome apple is, and it wasn't from "Tech geeks" or people who have even heard the hype. These are ordinary people with their typical LG free phones who pick it up and can use most of its functions within 5-10 minutes who say it's amazing.

I'll admit that I'm an apple fan, but the testimonials from people who aren't, who don't know much about technology, who haven't been saturated with information, to see how much they think of the phone is pretty good evidence that my impressions of the device aren't totally swayed by my "fanboy" love for apple.

I've been using it for a few days, and I have been disappointed in a few areas:

1. They wouldn't allow me to keep the discount on my AT&T account and made me agree to get rid of it before upgrading to the $60 iphone plan. This sucked.

2. The way that iphone syncs with your computer (win XP for me) is through itunes and there is no simple "drag and drop" way of moving songs/movies from my hard drive onto the phone. You have to choose one computer as a dedicated syncing host, and from that computer alone can you move files back and forth. If you decide to use another computer, syncing with the new one will delete files you had on your phone that were synced with your old computer. I suspect this will be changed in future software upgrades, but for now it totally blows. My ipod was much easier to deal with in terms of adding/managing my music collection.

3. The notes feature on the phone is pretty useless. Calculator and clock are also equally of little value. They should've been grouped under one icon called "stuff you'll rarely ever use".

4. A few websites I go to won't load properly in safari on the iphone. I imagine it's because the types of webpages they are have unsupported features like flash or something else, but it sucks not to be able to view the ENTIRE WEB, but only the apple-approved web. I'd gladly sacrifice battery life to be able to view websites I'm interested in. there should be a feature to either allow or disallow non-standard safari websites.

5. The dern iPhone regularly beeps or buzzes for apparently no known reason. It just did it a minute ago while it was docked and charging. I've received no message, no email, no phone call, but it beeped. Not sure what it's all about.

But these negatives are only like 5% of my total iphone impression. The remaining 95% is almost pure joy. I have been using the ipod features almost non-stop, surfing the web with ease (apple-approved websites only though), and have used the earbuds with the clicker function to answer calls while I'm listening to music where my music stops, I click the earbuds once to answer the call, talk, and then the music picks back up where I left it. The sensors on the phone are good too, screen shuts off when you hold it to your head, the intensity of the screen auto-adjusts based on amount of ambient light, and the sensor regarding landscape and portrait mode is very useful, not only with pictures, but in viewing webpages.

Activation for me was a breeze. Within 5 minutes of being home and setting it up, I had my iphone activated and could send and receive calls. It wasn't an "amazing" experience, but it fits with the concept of AT&T simply being a distributor of apple stuff, and with the users dealing directly with apple - this is part of the reason why Verizon turned apple down. The process was entirely painless, and all users dealt directly with apple through itunes, which is good for me because I"m not a big fan of Cingular/AT&T.

Finally, I just want to stress again to people who haven't gotten their hands on one of these and taken a test drive yet...don't dismiss it as hype until you've tried it. If you try it and still feel that way, so be it, but at least give it a go. One of the things I was most convinced about before even using the iphone was that while many other phones offered similar features...some offering more, and some less, some better too, that the way apple implemented their features would be superior to almost all others. I was right, and it's apparent from doing simple things like assigning pictures to contacts, making calls from google maps while having the directions to the place you're going to on screen, answering calls while listening to music, browsing while chatting (via wifi only though), sms messaging has a nice chat layout, email is great, and so on. I've had smartphones before, and I must say that while they had similar features, their implementation was such that using the features was labor intensive, to the degree that using them became not worth it. Apple has made it such that most all of their features are so basically accessible that using them all regularly is effortless.

I look forward to future software revisions, with iTunes as well as just the iPhone. And again, to all doubters out there, just go to AT&T stores and pick up one of these and play with it. THere should at least be 2 on display. See what you think before mocking people who love the way apple does stuff.

 

[goonsquad]

But I highly disagree with your repeated use of "Apple-approved" websites. You make it sound like Apple is intentionally censoring the web, which feeds into the "Apple as big-brother" stigma that is unfairly promoted due to Apple's closed hardware/software system and a general misunderstanding of how the iPod and iTunes works. I highly doubt Apple is cataloging the internet and deciding which websites they will allow you to go to, as you make it sound.

As you stated, it is most likely that A) Safari is not compatible with some sites due to their use of proprietary technology or just lack of testing for Mac, and B) iPhone doesn't support Flash and Java. I'm assuming the sites you are referring to are failing due to one of the above issues.

Great reviews, though! Enjoy your iPhone!

 

[hotdogcollars]

Hello? Beuller? Can anyone tell me if you can use the web and phone at the same time?

 

[HellToupee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhbb5tisdWU...ser&search=

Here's a great review from Kyge Ramsey of youtube news

he gets it.

I'm glad he weighed in on the matter

 

[TitusIII]

So, the bees are pretty much ####ed?

 

[Joe Bryant]

How much flexibility and how detailed can you go with Contacts? I downloaded the 9 mb pdf owners manual and it doesn't have much info on contacts.

How does the iphone handle a Tasks list that I can sync with Outlook?

J

 

[tommyGunZ]

No. I 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.

Of course it would be better if they activated the phone for you in the store. I'd guess the people in this thread that are still waiting for activation to kick in after having problems would agree. "Ripping Apple a new one for setting my phone up for me?" Like every other phone I've ever bought? Hardly.But that's missing the point entirely. Whether the guy at the store sets the phone up for you or you have to do it yourself really isn't the point. Sure, it's better service if the guy does it for you. But most people can set up their phone by themselves ok. It's the idea that people are raving about AT&T pushing that off to them that is to me.

Hats off to Apple. It's a testament to the love they've built from their fans.

J

Yikes. Completely disagree on this one. No way would I want to wait around longer in line while they have to set up the contracts for everyone in front of me. That's crazy. It would have taken forever with the amount of people they were dealing with; discussing plans, tranferring numbers, setting up billing. It would have been a logistical and PR nightmare for a launch this big, and they would have been crucified in the press for it. I guess the rest is a matter of perception. You are obviously looking at a negative in what they didn't provide (hands-on customer service completeing the set up for you), and I'm seeing their solution as a positive (saving each customer tons of time in waiting in store). To be sure, Apple could have easily washed their hands of the contract mess completely and just pushed the user to www.ATT.com or a AT&T retail store to deal with it. That's what every other phone manufacturer would have done. At least by intergrating it into their software they've taken steps to make the process a seamless and Apple-like user experience, which is what Apple customers expect.

Cool. But would you describe the setup process as "SO amazing"?