NEW iPhone 3G S

[Grim Reaper]

Ours will be here tomorrow. Finally cut the employees in on the fun. I was banned from buying the "s" till last Friday. Employees have to buy off a special site an not suppose to go into the stores.

Now one thing I need to figure out is the messaging. I hardly ever text but I do want to use stuff like face book and e-mail features. Will I need to add a text plan to cover some of these features or will it all work off the Internet features?

 

[eleblanc]

I got mine a few days ago. Seriously it is like having a cell phone all over again, something that works, that is simple and do NOT LAG...

So tell me all about the app you use and like?

 

[nwoods]

Ours will be here tomorrow. Finally cut the employees in on the fun. I was banned from buying the "s" till last Friday. Employees have to buy off a special site an not suppose to go into the stores.

Now one thing I need to figure out is the messaging. I hardly ever text but I do want to use stuff like face book and e-mail features. Will I need to add a text plan to cover some of these features or will it all work off the Internet features?

I am not on facebook, but all "internet" items, like email and facebook, myspace, ExPo, etc... are on the data plan, not text. Text is completely seperate. The data plan is unlimited amount of data. Hit as many web sites, google map searches, download as many apps, tunes, or movies, send as many emails, etc... as you want. There is no limit.

There are two levels of Text plans I think, one that is limited to a small number of messages (either 100 or 200, I forget) and one that is unlimited. I used the smaller plan for about 18 months, then I all of a sudden, my usage rapidly increased and I went with the unlimited text plan.

 

[nwoods]

So tell me all about the app you use and like?

Check out: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34134

 

[Root Moose]

The only thing uses the text plan is actual texting. Facebook is an internet application.

Download the Facebook app from the App Store. It is a more effective way to use FB compared to logging in using the web browser (Safari).

 

[gmookher]

Quagmire

Do I stay with ATT and get an iPhone 3gs or do I go back to the better coverage of VZW for Droid?

any droid owners? looking for a houshold that has both

 

[nwoods]

As a device, the Droid has lots of cool features. But, the Android OS is so rough compared to the iPhone experience. If I were only a Windows Mobile user, I'd think Android was great, and if only a Blackberry user, I'd welcome some of the new abilites Android promises (though I'd not be impressed with it's email client), but compared to the iPhone, they all pale in comparision, IMHO.

Just playing with the browser, and watching screens NOT fit, and having to scroll around was enough to turn me off.

I think the Droid device is good, I think Android OS has a year or more to be polished up. Until then, the iPhone is king. It will change your life. It is the single most useful, and pleasurable, device I've ever owned.

 

[ChuckB]

Quagmire

Do I stay with ATT and get an iPhone 3gs or do I go back to the better coverage of VZW for Droid?

any droid owners? looking for a houshold that has both

There is an article on Yahoo Finance today talking about how Verizon might pick up the iPhone within the next year. I may have purchased my iPhone too soon...but I still love it!!!

 

[haven]

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phones/refurb-phones.jsp

This is a link to the page on AT&T's web site where you can purchase refurbished iPhones. The phones have a 90 day warranty. To purchase, you must sign up for an ATT service contract.

Typically, the price of the refurb is 50% of the new phone. For example, a new 32GB iPhone 3GS would cost $300, while the refurb costs $150.

 

[mtnbike28]

3Gs and cameras?

OK I have searched for hours, and I know the answer is no, but...

I want to being able to get photos from my dSLR onto the iPhone without going through the laptop. If I can solve this, I can order 10 iPhones Monday : (

A. Tethering the iPhone and camera together? There used to be a Camera Connect thing for iPods, don't it is no longer availiable and the old one doesn't work with iPhones.

B. A card reader for the iPhone. Can't find one.

C. Eye-Fi SD card, iPhones don't support ad-hoc networks, so no luck there.

Am I missing something else?

 

[haven]

Here's one rather convoluted way to transfer photos from camera to iPhone
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/05/...-a-digital-camera-to-an-iphoneipod-touch.html

The method I prefer is as follows:

1. record the photos on an Eye-Fi, an SD card that has Wi-Fi capability.

2. configure the Eye-Fi to send the photos automatically to your favorite social networking or photo storage site online.

3. connect the Eye-Fi to the Internet using a "personal area network" wireless router and Internet gateway. Examples include the MiFi 2200 that Verizon and Sprint sell, or the Cradlepoint PHS300. These are battery powered and sit almost unnoticed in your pocket.

4. the photos will move automatically from the Eye-Fi to the Internet.
You can access them there via the iPhone or other computer.

 

[6Pins]

There is an article on Yahoo Finance today talking about how Verizon might pick up the iPhone within the next year. I may have purchased my iPhone too soon...but I still love it!!!

I'm more in agreement with this article from the Street.com http://www.thestreet.com/story/10634548/1/apple-iphone-may-go-to-t-mobile-next.html

Verizon is very concerned about control and its wireless network, and that is one of the main reasons talks broke down originally. Also, having a device that is going to take up huge amounts of bandwidth isn't attractive either. I wouldn't see T-Mobile being an exclusive carrier, though.

Apple wouldn't have to manufacture different iPhone hardware (they would have to make a new device specifically for Verizon) which won't be of much use to sell outside the U.S. anyway, because of different network standards.

 

[nwoods]

I don't think it would be a big deal to put a CDMA (or is it GSM) chip into the iPhone if there is the potential to sell another 20+ million units within the US.

However, AT&T has spent nearly 15 BILLION dollars upgrading its network in the past few years. That tells me two things: 1) Verizon would have to be willing to commit significant resources to accommodate the iPhone bandwidth consumption, and 2) AT&T is not going to give up the earning potential of all those iPhone users without a major fight. 15 Billion is a lot of risk. I doubt that investment wasn't made without certain contractual assurances having been in place first.

I honestly don't know what people don't like about AT&T. Unless they simply don't have service in your local area, what they do have has been pretty darn good, at least for me.

 

[haven]

In my limited experience with AT&T and iPhone, there are locations in urban areas where the service can be very poor.

Two examples:
the San Francisco/northern Peninsula area at any time of day, and
along the Las Vegas strip and convention center when a big convention is in town.

Issues include poor call quality, dropped calls, and extremely slow data service. Verizon works much better in these two areas.

AT&T is aware of these problems, and claims to be working hard to upgrade their service in these and similar locations. I have not seen any improvement so far.

 

[Grim Reaper]

In my limited experience with AT&T and iPhone, there are locations in urban areas where the service can be very poor.

Two examples:
the San Francisco/northern Peninsula area at any time of day, and
along the Las Vegas strip and convention center when a big convention is in town.

Issues include poor call quality, dropped calls, and extremely slow data service. Verizon works much better in these two areas.

AT&T is aware of these problems, and claims to be working hard to upgrade their service in these and similar locations. I have not seen any improvement so far.

I have seen some complaints like this resolved with switching the phone over to 2.5g.

The problem apparently is the phone is told to access the available system in a set order. 3G being the top of the list. If there is any 3G signal it will camp on it and if it is at capacity it still wont move. Forcing it to 2.5G in a bad area may make a dramatic difference.

Talked to a online friend that was unable to use her iPhone in her home on 3 G as soon as she forced it to 2.5 she had full signal.
Settings-General-Network and switch off 3G.