anyone got an iPhone?
vermooten
Posts: 2,697
I'm soooo going to get one tomorrow...
One problem with any technology is that there's always a better new model just a few months away - and who wants to be landed with a piece of junk? In the iPhone's case there is the promise of a 3G model possinbly for release in June. Currently the iPhone relies heavily on O2's EDGE network of GPRS which, I've read, is so slow that it makes you dream of dial-up internet access. two minutes to load Yahoo's homepage etc etc.
If it used 3G then it woudl be way faster.
OTOH I want it now. And most of my use would be either in places where there is wifi - I think. But it's an 18-month contract.
So is this EDGE thing really that bad?
Cheers,
Andy
One problem with any technology is that there's always a better new model just a few months away - and who wants to be landed with a piece of junk? In the iPhone's case there is the promise of a 3G model possinbly for release in June. Currently the iPhone relies heavily on O2's EDGE network of GPRS which, I've read, is so slow that it makes you dream of dial-up internet access. two minutes to load Yahoo's homepage etc etc.
If it used 3G then it woudl be way faster.
OTOH I want it now. And most of my use would be either in places where there is wifi - I think. But it's an 18-month contract.
So is this EDGE thing really that bad?
Cheers,
Andy
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Yes, in the sense that O2 didn't have an EDGE network until they won the UK contract for the iPhone so they've rolled it out only in the areas where they expect lots of iPhone users (read London and the South East here).vermooten wrote:So is this EDGE thing really that bad?
Wait, a 3G model will be along very soon and you'll get better coverage across the UK.0 -
doh! Thanks andyp and I know you're right... This supports the view that I should wait:When I bought my iPhone, like many others, I was assured that the rollout of EDGE was increasing all the time.
Interesting then, that O2 faces up to a £40m penalty from Oftel for not reaching its 3G rollout target, which has been partly blamed on the diversion of resources into EDGE upgrade work.
I assume this means that
1) There will be no more EDGE work as O2 will have to throw all hands on deck to meet the June 3G target and avoid the fine,
2) By the time they have completed this work, the 3G iPhone will be so close that further EDGE upgrades will scrapped as unjustifiable,
3) O2 will quietly stop mentioning EDGE in its promotional material(as it has already started doing) leaving it as nothing but a dream for those who had faith enough to buy their most expensive phone ?
But will access t the 3G network be included in the monthly price come June, or will they do a per-MB rate? Damn them to hell.0 -
Wait no 3 G means its a no no. As a Mac fan I would never buy first generation of any of Apples kit. Second incarnations tend to be so much better. Be patient or get a blackberry0
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Had one since last June!
Used to work in the States and bought one on the launch day! Am still amazed by it. Used it there as a full phone but use it here as a PDA as I havent been arsed to unlock it yet.
It is seriously seriously cool.
The fact that I have not rushed to unlock it may say something though....0 -
It goes against everything I believe in, but I'm gonna wait til the 3G ones come out. It'll be painful and I'll be looking for emotional support, but many years of buying gadgets tells me that this is the correct path.
On the other hand:
It seems that O2 mayallow current owners to upgrade to 3G: http://www.pocketpicks.co.uk/latest/ind ... one-early/
or rather, it is rumoured that...0 -
i bought one on Friday!
took it back on saturday - it's crap!
I am a big mac fan - (not the mcdonalds type - i prefer the quarterpounder with cheese) I use a macbook pro at home & work - i loved the look of the iphone but it was the single most dissapointing purchase I have made.
the toys on it are quite cool for about an hour - as are the pictures function and integration with iphoto - the text messaging system is awesome - very nice layout etc.
the workarounds to send pictures are impossible to live with unless you have blanket wi-fi coverage in your town (and we even have good edge coverage here in Blackpool for some reason). actually - most of the features are useless unless you are connected to wi-fi
also - lets face it - having to have a "workaround" for MMS is crap to begin with - i knew about this before I got it and kind of understand why it doesn't have it (yanks don't use MMS) - but it is very annoying.
anyway - on friday night I was thinking "what have I done with this thing" - lets face it, it isn't cheap at £269 for the handset (makes it better if you consider than it's only £70 more than an ipod touch) - and for me it was a £15 / month hike on the monthly tarriff - imo - it isn't worth it.
noticed on the o2 website that their returns policy is that if you are not fully satisfied you can take it back within 14 days - so i did...
it's still a very desirable gadget right enough - but it's not that great in use..0 -
Was it just the inability to send MMS that made you take it back? Did you try out the EDGE networking?0
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no - not just MMS - the general usage and the fact that, at the end of the day, most of the features are just toys
toys that don't function away from the wifi connection.
edge is ok - but is just as it says - enhanced GPRS - it's still not a fast connection.
actually - i just realised that when i tried it at my friends house away from the wifi it would have been using the edge network and was still pretty slow.
funnily enough one of the E&Y consultants working for us got one the other week and said he was disapointed by it - I remember thinking "whats he on about - its gorgeous" - when I was fondling it in my office - but he was right.
he also pointed out that most of the 'toys' are available on the ipod touch but the phone is disapointing - he may have a point with that too..
from a cycling point of view - it is enormous and heavy - plus looks far to precious to shove in a saddle bag or even in your back pocket where it could get soaked!0 -
Yes I would never ever take such a delightful beast on a ride - got a little disposable Nokia for that.
Thanks for the feedback - you're right, maybe I just need an iPod touch instead. Off I go back to Apple's site.0 -
i'm being very negative here..
it wil get better - i think the release of the SDK wil mean it will flourish as a mobile OSX platform (as will the touch) - it might mean the creation of an MMS application (will that be supportd by o2 though??) and the firmware might allow us to be trusted with a more mature bluetooth setup (it is locked to just pairing with a headset at the moment).
it comes with a roaming contract on "the cloud" and "BT openzone" wifi hotspots which will be useful - in particularly in the city if thats where you live.
good point in the recent macworld magazing though - why are the tarriffs so damned high? - OK so they made the £35 one better value recently ( it was outrageous on launch - no wonder they were struggling to sell them!) - but "why isn't there a £25 with less minutes / texts - we're not all teenagers sending dozens of texts per day"0 -
It's useful that you pointed out that O2 have a 14-day money back policy - it means I could try it and if I don't like it then I just take it back, end of. Was it easy to get your refund?
Two recent pieces give more info. The 3G version is more likely to be shipped towards the end of the year now according to this.
That Digg fellow talks about the "iPhone Pro" which will be more expensive and will have 3G and two cameras "in a few months".0 -
vermooten wrote:I'm soooo going to get one tomorrow...
One problem with any technology is that there's always a better new model just a few months away - and who wants to be landed with a piece of junk? In the iPhone's case there is the promise of a 3G model possinbly for release in June. Currently the iPhone relies heavily on O2's EDGE network of GPRS which, I've read, is so slow that it makes you dream of dial-up internet access. two minutes to load Yahoo's homepage etc etc.
If it used 3G then it woudl be way faster.
OTOH I want it now. And most of my use would be either in places where there is wifi - I think. But it's an 18-month contract.
So is this EDGE thing really that bad?
Save you money and spend it on your bike.
If you want a camera, get one, the iphone has rubbish camera. It is basicaly an ipod with a rubbish camera that makes phone calls and has VVM and slow internet.
If you want internet on the go, use a laptop with a 3g card
Cheers,
Andy0 -
vermooten wrote:It's useful that you pointed out that O2 have a 14-day money back policy - it means I could try it and if I don't like it then I just take it back, end of. Was it easy to get your refund?
Two recent pieces give more info. The 3G version is more likely to be shipped towards the end of the year now according to this.
That Digg fellow talks about the "iPhone Pro" which will be more expensive and will have 3G and two cameras "in a few months".
all this stuff about the "3g" iphone is all just guesswork!
at the end of the day it is an american product - and 3g coverage is non-existant in the states!
there may never be a 3g iphone!
on the refund front - yes it was no problem. I just said i wasnt happy with it and couldn't live with it, i'd like a refund please. the store manager said - sure - do you have the card you bought it with and a receipt. = all done in two minutes.
getting my old o2 accout restored was more difficutl.
you don't do any setup or contract work in the store - they just give you the box with an iphone and you pay the £269 (8Gb model) - all the setup is online via itunes. you get the chance to identify yourself as an o2 customer (if you are) and it transfers your account details across to an iphone tarriff.0 -
I've got an iPod touch that I use to browse the web around the house over WiFi. It works pretty well at that and as a MP3 player but I don't use it for anything else.vermooten wrote:Thanks for the feedback - you're right, maybe I just need an iPod touch instead. Off I go back to Apple's site.
I'd be wary of Apple's promises on 3G as the availability of 3G signaling stacks for mobile phones is limited, they cost a lot and are notoriously hard to integrate so it'll take them a while to iron out the bugs in whichever one they've chosen (and my guess would be Qualcomm).
I think the launch of the iPhone SDK has been a PR disaster as far as the developer community goes, i.e. slow roll out and a lack of multitasking which will mean any third party application will be shutdown when the user switches tasks, i.e. to answer a phone call. That'll annoy the hell out of most users I'd imagine.0 -
Friend had one and took it back as it sounded horrible.
Was just in Egypt and some poor guy had one to take pictures with, didn't get any where enough the quality he wished for. He ended up buying a disposable camera 0 -
Pal has one, and it is very cool - very easy to use - but as you say - 2Megapixel camera.
My Nokia N95 has 5Mb, with 3g, wireless connectivity and inbuilt GPS. Could be useful if you get lost on the bike !0 -
I love all things Apple and have been Mac user for 15 years but I wouldn't buy one for the simple reason it's on 02, the worst provider out there.0
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why not look at one of the many smart phone PDA solutions out there?
I use one of these for work http://www.glofiish.com/index3.htm?no=m800 which is a very good piece of kit. Although I don't use it as a phone at the moment, but will be in the next couple of weeks. I'll have to wait to see how I get on with it as a phone.
I wouldn;t touch anything on an o2 network, I don't live in the absolute wilds, but could never get a signal on my old phone in my house!0 -
The Glofiish website caught me in some infinite recursive loop, just managed to get out of it.
Indeed there are many alternatives out there. I had some kind of PDA from O2 (yes it is the worst company of all time, boy do they hate their customers) which promised a lot and delivered somewhat less.0 -
hm - I have to say I have always found o2 to be ok - must be in a minority there.
As for alternatives - well I have a palm treo PDA for work with push email / calendar etc - it's a great work tool but you wouldn't want to be seen dead with it down the pub would you?
you kind of either want an iPhone or you don't - I did, but was disapointed with it when I got it0 -
So guess what I just bought from the Apple Store, and just activated through iTunes.
Anyone?0 -
Blackberry 8100, EDGE, T Mobile, no problems, great desktop/laptop software. Plays video but doesn't record it. Posted this from it.0
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it's ace! This reply is being typed on it!0
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he he - glad you like it!
the toys are cool on it - only you know if the cost is worth it to you or not!
Funnliy enough - the guy from E&Y was in today and had his iPhone - even though I know I don't want one, i still felt a little envious when he got his iPhone out!0 -
I've always managed to get a signal on O2, and simplicity is really good pricing options. In Buxton i never used to be able to get a signal from my Dad's house, and I can now on O2, and I had a signal at the base of Tryfan and Snowdon and part way up (i think).0
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I'm waiting for the iPhone shuffle.
It has no display and randomly dials your phonebook."A recent study has found that, at the current rate of usage, the word 'sustainable' will be worn out by the year 2015"0 -
Im enjoying it right now! It's all good, even the EDGE network is much faster than I expected.0
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I love mine unconditionally. And with the SDK and promise of 3G things will get better. As a Mac user I love the ability to just synch everything and living in London I can access WiFi nearly all the time, plus the actual air/text package is great value.
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