[Archived] New - Iphone 3gs

[Eddie]

Yes, but I've never known a friend with an iphone who has wanted to swap. I know plenty who had first generation iphones and who are now onto their second contracts.

[Ewood and I Would]

Yes, but I've never known a friend with an iphone who has wanted to swap. I know plenty who had first generation iphones and who are now onto their second contracts.

There are 220 'used' iPhones 3GSs on ebay (http://phones.shop.ebay.co.uk/Mobile-Phones-/3312/i.html?Condition=Used&_nkw=iphone&_dmpt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhones&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282).

[Eddie]

...so?

[Ewood and I Would]

...so?

So there are obviously people who want to get rid of it (even if you don't them). The number is also comparable to other phones released at the same time with a similar popularity

[tony gale's mic]

..or they could just be very popular with thieves...

[Ewood and I Would]

..or they could just be very popular with thieves...

You mean to tell me that there isn't an anti-theft app?

[BlueWhiteDynamite]

someone seems to have a very big problem with apple !!

ok i'll give my 2 pence worth...

I've had the 3gs for about 9 months now, so far its been the best phone i've ever had. i've never purchased an app, but use all the free ones. it provides hours of gaming whilst im travelling, the ipod function is great and the internet is pretty useful. The video playback is fantastic quality and the camera is pretty decent as well. ok so it doesnt have a flash, but if people are that bothered about taking photos they generally buy a real camera. the size is required for a large screen and many phones are very similar in size to the iphone, gone are the days of an 8310 size screen, that wouldn't work.

also we live in a world where customer service rules, and in my opinion Apples is fantastic. So far i've had two minor problems with apple products. the first was a battery issue, so i called up apple and explained my problem, they advised i went to my local apple store which i did. when i arrived the tech guys pulled up my notes ( from the call centre) checked my laptop for 2 mins and replaced my battery. off i went, laptop working. now that in coparison to taking your windows based HP back to PC world.... well!!

second slight issue was with my iphone. an error kept occuring. so when out shopping i stopped in the store, the guy explained what the problem was (dust!) he cleaned my phone and the error stopped. No hassle, no questions, just genuine helpful people willing to help you as much as they can.

Iphones and Macbooks all the way for me from now on, unless something better comes along.

[Ewood and I Would]

someone seems to have a very big problem with apple !!

ok i'll give my 2 pence worth...

I've had the 3gs for about 9 months now, so far its been the best phone i've ever had. i've never purchased an app, but use all the free ones. it provides hours of gaming whilst im travelling, the ipod function is great and the internet is pretty useful. The video playback is fantastic quality and the camera is pretty decent as well. ok so it doesnt have a flash, but if people are that bothered about taking photos they generally buy a real camera.

So you excuse the inferior camera on the basis that people could just buy a real camera but then say you love the games, internet and ipod functions as if ther are no alterntaives to those.

I could easily say if you wanna game buy a PSP, buy a lap top if you wanna browse the net (you'll even be able to use Flash sites) and get an ipod or Zune to play MP3s.

the size is required for a large screen and many phones are very similar in size to the iphone, gone are the days of an 8310 size screen, that wouldn't work.

I have the LG Arena (yes it is very crap and the iPhone is better but) it is much smaller but the screen size is fine. The HTC Desire also looka reasonable size. I'm not saying you could go back to tiny green screens but have you seen the size of the font on the iPhone? Unless you have sight problems I disagree the size is fundemental.

Also, the screen doesn't take up the whole front, you have at least a cm or more at the top and bottom where the speakers are.

also we live in a world where customer service rules, and in my opinion Apples is fantastic.

This confuses me, the common Apple line is that they just work and don't go wrong so why would Apple's customer service matter as you should never need to call them?

So far i've had two minor problems with apple products.

Oh so they do go wrong then...

the first was a battery issue, so i called up apple and explained my problem, they advised i went to my local apple store which i did. when i arrived the tech guys pulled up my notes ( from the call centre) checked my laptop for 2 mins and replaced my battery. off i went, laptop working. now that in coparison to taking your windows based HP back to PC world.... well!!

Um, you are forgetting that it was Apple who gave you the unremoveable battery in the first place!! If you had another make you could simply buy a replacement from the net and bingo (that's if you haven't got a spare anyway)...

Besides I live in Oxford. Nearest PC World? About a mile or so.. Nearest Apple store? About 40-60 miles (London or Milton Keynes for me) so for me 'just poppping down the Apple shop' isn't that easy.

If Apple's customer service was that good they would train members of other phone/computer companies like the Carphone Warehouse or PC World so I could my iPhone/Mac there and not have to travel to another county to get support.

Basically, you are saying that a company that forces you to use their repair shops, of which there are only a handful dotted around the country is good customer service?

second slight issue was with my iphone. an error kept occuring. so when out shopping i stopped in the store, the guy explained what the problem was (dust!) he cleaned my phone and the error stopped. No hassle, no questions, just genuine helpful people willing to help you as much as they can.

Funny, my fist thought wouldn't have been "what a nice man", it would have been "I've just spent a fortune on a phone that canbe disabled by a bit of dust". Well at least you can console yourself that planes suffer from a similar issue.

But I would be very suprised if you didn't get exactly the same advice and service from another major phone store.

Here's my story of good customer services. I lost my phone and a drunken night out and told the guy in the Carphone Warehouse that (I was honest for a change). I had insurance but he said it wouldn't cover accidental loss so told me to go to the Police Station, say it had been nicked and then he'd replace it using the crime reference number. I did and had a new phone an hour later...

Now THAT is customer service!

[Paul]

Jeez some of the posts on here are astonishing. I've always had Nokias, like them a lot as they always work and the basis of the menu is the same on every model (or so it seems). Only complaint I really had with Nokia was synching with Outlook was a bit hit and miss, and this is a very important function to me.

Before getting an iPhone I looked at HTC but it appeared unneccessarily complicated, small screen and a bit fussy or at least that was my impression. I'm a bear of very little brain, I want to push a button have it work first time and every time. For e-mail, synching with Outlook, web surfing and phone calls the iPhone works, every time. It's also got BIG on-screen buttons which mean I don't need a magnifying glass to use it - had a Blackberry on trial for 7 days, great bit of kit but impossible to use as the buttons are designed for 8 year olds. I'm sure lots of other phones "just work" and that's what ordinary people want.

I don't understand why people get so excited about the iPhone, it's good but ultimately it's just a bit of kit that does the job, very well. There is a whole industry which has built up around the iPhone, great marketing etc, but all rubbish really - though I do have a nice little cover from Zagg to preserve the phones great looks........:blink:

[Stuart]

It should be noted though that the 3gs can be upgraded to os4. The 3g cannot. Something to consider.

How are people finding the signal strength compared to, say, Nokia or HTC?

Btw, isn't there a slight ethical issue in the way your carphone warehouse guy advised, Ewood? Your so moralistic in your Apple-hatred, yet you have just become a criminal!

[Guest Kamy100]

So there are obviously people who want to get rid of it (even if you don't them). The number is also comparable to other phones released at the same time with a similar popularity

Or people are selling them now when the price is still relatively high in antcipation of the new Iphone being released within the next 2 months.

Like Ricky, I looked at every alternative, i read reviews, tested different phones and then decided that the Iphone was the best option. It was not an decision made on impulse. I agree with Tris that there are many good phones on the market at the moment, it just depends what you want from the different model.

I am now looking for a new phone, I am going to wait until the new Iphone is released, then I will go through the same process look at alternatives, read reviews and then decide which one to buy.

[modes98]

I'm torn between the Iphone and the HTC desire. Having read the reviews on both I was sold on the HTC but the guy who sold me on it has now decided to get himself an Iphone. I have used an Iphone and find them very user friendly. Anyone have a HTC Desire here?

[Ricky]

Just for anyone who's interested in the new Iphone, it may be worth having a look at at engadget. They've got what is rumoured to be a test version of the New Iphone. It was left on a bar stool by an apple software dude. Think he'll be getting a call from Steve Jobs very shortly lol.

[Stuart]

Just for anyone who's interested in the new Iphone, it may be worth having a look at at engadget. They've got what is rumoured to be a test version of the New Iphone. It was left on a bar stool by an apple software dude. Think he'll be getting a call from Steve Jobs very shortly lol.

Sky news website ran that story on Monday. Said it was on the floor of a bar toilet in California I think. Also said Apple had reported it as stolen.

It wasn't you was it, Ewood? :-P

[Hughesy]

Yep - Gary Powell is either in trouble or it was a publicity stunt!?

If rumours are correct & the proto-type was genuine as apple have confirmed it...apparently gizmodo actually paid $5000 for the phone.

Rumours that the phone will contain the majority/ all of the following:

Better resolution screen

Multi-tasking

8m pixel camera, with flash, zoom & auto-focus

Front facing camera

Access to the battery

19% BIGGER battery - i.e. more life!

FM transmitter

Possibly up to 80gb of storage

Much faster processor

quad band

[BlueWhiteDynamite]

you can have issues with any piece of technology. before i had my iphone, i'd had a few motorolas,then a few nokias, then a few samsungs. Many had slight problems, like call dropping or just turning themselves off.

Also the battery issue was with my macbook, which 2 days after they had swapped the battery, i received an email from the support team informing me that the original battery just needed resetting (or something like that) with instruction on how to resolve the problem if it happens again.

when my contract runs out, of course i'll look at all the options, but the iphones just does everything well and cannot wait to see what the new OS is like.

[Ewood and I Would]

Here is a very funny (and accurate) view on the iPhone...

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone

Even iPhone owners should be able to laugh at it, but I fear not in most cases

This bit sums up the reality versus the consumer preception of the iPhone brilliantly...

He (Steve Jobs) claimed that the phone was three devices in one: an iPod, a phone, and an "Internet communications device." Oooh, an Internet communications device?! AWESOME!

It's not three devices in one any more than my laptop is you morons. Using Jobs' loose definition of what constitutes a separate device, technically my laptop can be considered 8 devices in one:

A clock

A calculator

An "Internet communications device"

A phone (I can make voice calls with my modem)

A pornographic media storage device

A video player

A word processor

And an "iPod" (see below)

There's no such thing as an iPod. The word "iPod" is a marketing tool for a hard drive with software that plays mp3s. Yeah, doesn't sound so sexy now, does it you chimps? And an "internet communications device" is officially the douche-baggiest way of saying "it has a browser." So actually it's just a phone that plays mp3s and has a browser. SNORE.

[Hughesy]

EIW - What phone do you have?

[Ewood and I Would]

EIW - What phone do you have?

As I said earlier, the LG Arena which is a god awful phone. If you want to slag it off, feel free...I hate it and am just waiting til I can upgrade....

[BlueWhiteDynamite]

the above brings an interesting comparison, but the data is based on the original iphone, you know, apples first ever proper mobile phone. and the last quote is quite true, except it misses out 2 vital points. it can play mp3s, has a browser and is a phone, but the apps make the phone. unlimted additional updates to keep you entertained. secondly, if the iphone is just a phone with an mp3 player and browser, then a laptop is just a harddrive, that can play mp3s and has a browser, but it's not is it?

it's very easy to say people who have moved to apple are bandwagon jumpers, pulled in by marketing etc, but have you ever considered that a lot of people are right and the minority that spout on about people who like apple and their products are wrong?

anyway each to their own really.

[only2garners]

I may be a bit old-fashioned but what I want from a phone is to make calls and send texts, nothing else. So I have a cheap Samsung which does the job. Now my wife and both my sons have iphones and love them.

After a career using PCs at work I now have an iMac at home, after being persuaded by my eldest son who has always used Macs from going to university. I can now not imagine going back to a PC and can't really understand why anyone would voluntarily choose a PC over a Mac, other than perhaps cost, although in the long run my expenditure has been a lot less overall, not to mention my blood pressure.

[Hughesy]

As I said earlier, the LG Arena which is a god awful phone. If you want to slag it off, feel free...I hate it and am just waiting til I can upgrade....

So whats your beef with the iphone? Is it the size that you hate?

I must admit that was my 1 concern prior to getting the phone - however I dont see it as too big now, as most smart phones are similar size!

[Flopsy]

I use Gorrillacam for my iPhone pictures, it's very good

[Ewood and I Would]

the above brings an interesting comparison, but the data is based on the original iphone, you know, apples first ever proper mobile phone.

Yes I know but seeing as the latest iPhone is always a year or two behind other phones in terms of what they give you (see Hughesey' post about the next model and most of the features have been on other phones for ages) it is still pretty relevant and funny.

and the last quote is quite true, except it misses out 2 vital points. it can play mp3s, has a browser and is a phone, but the apps make the phone.

apps, you mean those things that have been available for free for years on the Symbian OS? Are you aware of the Ovistore (used to have a different name) which is basically the Apple app store for Nokias.

See this post from way back in 2008 (http://gamers-underground.com/tech-chat/28327-top-10-best-nokia-n95-symbian-s60v3-applications.html#post337211) which lists the top tn apps for the N95 (I had a few of them myself).

In short, Apple didn't invent apps and they're not the only company to provide them now. The real difference is other companies let anyone develop apps and they WERE all free.

I say 'were' because before Ovistore came along Nokia used to have a site with hundreds of apps on and all of them were free. I wonder who gave them the idea of setting up a "store" and charging for them???

unlimted additional updates to keep you entertained.

All phones give you free updates.

secondly, if the iphone is just a phone with an mp3 player and browser, then a laptop is just a harddrive, that can play mp3s and has a browser, but it's not is it?

Um, wasn't that his point????

it's very easy to say people who have moved to apple are bandwagon jumpers, pulled in by marketing etc

The reason it is easy to say something is generally because it's true.

but have you ever considered that a lot of people are right and the minority that spout on about people who like apple and their products are wrong?

Yep and that theory doesn't hold water. Firstly, I presume you are talking about the phone market as Macs are certainly the minority when it comes to computers.

I would accept your notion in relation to the iPhone if..

* Apple's marketing machine wasn't so brutal. When the iPhone came out it must have been the most advertised unit in history, stick the latest Jo Whiley Live Lounge track on there and show lots of pretty (but attention grabbing) colours and shove it down our throats every ad break. Bottom line, if the iPhone was really as good as people think it is, why the need top advertise so much? Surely it would have sold itself. Take the old Nokia 3210 (an it's variants, remember snake?) I can't remember much, if any, adevrts for that and yet it sold milions and millions..because it was simply a good phone (at the time).

* There would be no need to lie - if Apple said "you know all those things on your phone you never use because it's too complicated? Well Apple have made it 'fun' and easy top use now, isn't that great" I would have said fair play. However, their first advert for iPhone 1 strongly suggested that the Internet was only available on the iPhone which was false. They did exactly the same thing with apps. Again if the iPhone is great on it's own and is better at doing this stuff than other phones, why not be honest and say that instead of pretending certain feature are "unique" to Apple?

* The amount of pointless apps that use the oscillator (movement sensor) just because they can, many of which my friends have and tell me they are cool. Like a colleague who wasted 5 minutes of my life showing how he could his iPhone into a "lighter" (it was just a onscreen flame that moved as you tilted the handset) but to him this was the pinnacle of human invention. Thinking an app that has no practical function is cool, jut shows what mentality some people have.

don't get me wrong, there are people on here (Kamy100 and Paul) whose posts tell me that they did buy the phone for the right reasons but there are far more iPhone owners who make excuses for the iPhones downside (i.e who needs a decent camera when you can buy one etc) but the rave on about it's good points.

anyway each to their own really.

If only when it came to Apple that was true.

[bellamy11]

EIW - Why are you dedicating so much time and effort to criticising the iPhone (or indeed any phone)? If people are happy with what they have then good! Who really cares if there's supposedly better stuff that's out there that people seem ignorant of?