Anyone considering getting an iphone?

[McDuck]

AT&T reveals iPhone 3G price plans

By Shaun Nichols
5 July 2008 06:30AM

AT&T has revealed a new pricing structure for the iPhone 3G in the US..

The company is making a few changes to its monthly plan, boosting rates and adding a separate charge for text messages.

Users will pay an extra $US10 for the upgrade from a slower Edge connection to the 3G network.

Prices will range from a US$69.99 monthly plan with 450 anytime minutes and 5,000 night and weekend minutes, to a US$129 plan with unlimited minutes. Each of the plans will include unlimited data transfers.

SMS will be separate, with prices ranging from US$5 per month for 200 messages to US$20 per month for unlimited messages.

AT&T also revealed a new pricing plan for the handsets. Customers signing a two-year contract can pick up the iPhone 3G for US$199 (8GB) or US$299 (16GB).

Customers not deemed eligible for an upgrade will have to pay US$399 and US$499 respectively for the iPhone 3G.

"We cannot wait to offer the iPhone 3G to our customers, and we want to make sure that the buying process is as easy as possible," said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive at AT&T's wireless unit.

"Considering all the great new features of the iPhone 3G, we think our pricing and monthly plans present a tremendous value for consumers and businesses alike."

AT&T said that it will also soon offer the iPhone without a contract for US$599 (8GB) and US$699 (16GB).

The handsets themselves will still be locked into the network, although the iPhone hacking community will no doubt be hard at work on another 'jailbreak' procedure.

Apple has long distanced itself from the efforts to remove the iPhone from its exclusive network.

The company has said that, while it does not deliberately cripple hacked iPhones, it will not be held responsible for the compatibility issues that often arise with firmware updates.

The iPhone 3G will go on sale on 11 July at 8.00am and will be available only at Apple and AT&T retail stores.

Copyright © 2008 vnunet.com

 

[McDuck]

No iPhone Tethering or Dial-Up for Laptop Users

Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 by Dieter Bohn

Boo! One of the most popular things to do with a 3G smartphone is to “tether” it, which is to attach it to your laptop and use it as a modem so you can get online anywhere your phone has service. Windows Mobile and Treos have multiple options for doing this — some even via some sneaky software that works in a kind of “proxy mode” so you can avoid paying the extra costs associated with a full-on “Phone as Modem” plan (which usually runs in the neighborhood of $50 a month). Sadly, AT&T has let the official word out — you won’t be able to do this with the iPhone 3G:

However according to AT&T spokesman, Mark A. Siegel, who spoke with iPhone Atlas earlier this week, AT&T will not be supporting a PAM plan for the iPhone 3G. The only available data plan for the iPhone will be the new $30 consumer unlimited data and visual voice mail plan and the $45 business data plan. The latter is charged when a person makes an enterprise type connection to Exchange or a Blackberry server for email or messaging. — [iPhone Atlas]

Of course, this has already been done for Jailbroken phones and we hope it will be done again — just don’t expect to be able to purchase something like this from the App Store when it rolls out.

 

[McDuck]

An iPhone User’s Guide to 3G

Apple’s latest iPhone adds 3G support—how will it affect you?
by Glenn Fleishman, Macworld.com
Jun 12, 2008

The iPhone 3G’s name immediately raises an obvious question, even to people who already own 3G phones: What the heck does 3G mean, beyond its abbreviation expansion to “third generation.”


A 3G cellular telephone network offers something akin to wired broadband while away from a wire, whether you’re anchored to a table, walking, or traveling at driving or train speeds. The 3G part refers to the evolution of the cell telephone network.

First-generation (1G) networks were all analog. If you’re too young to remember the giant bricks of phones—which at one point required shoulder-harness cases, even—you might laugh to think of minutes, not hours of talk time, poor reception, and very crackly speech. 1G networks could handle very low-speed data on a good day.

Second-generation (2G) networks were all digital, but were developed just early enough that the Internet wasn’t part of the thinking. 2G networks weren’t optimized to move data around, just to reduce the network capacity needed to carry voice packets. Squeezing analog voice into data allowed networks to carry an order of magnitude more calls, which meant much more money in the days before unlimited plans of any kind.

2G networks can carry data, though. The CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology that drives Sprint and Verizon Wireless’s networks—and which is used in few other countries—offers dial-up modem speeds with 1xRTT, the slowest CDMA data standard. GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) networks offer both GSM (data transfer speeds of 9,600 to 1,4400 bps) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services, up to dial-up modem speeds).

This brings us to 3G. (You may ask, what about 2.5G? I’ll touch on that soon.) 3G was designed to deliver data as part of its very nature. It’s optimized to carry bits that may or may not be voice bits. Verizon and Sprint chose a standard on the CDMA path called EVDO (Evolution Data Only). So far, it’s gone through two revisions, from Rev. 0 (zero) to Rev. A. Rev. A is deployed almost everywhere that has 3G service on both networks.

AT&T chose to stick with GSM, and picked HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), a faster flavor in harmony with GSM equipment and networks. HSPA comes in separately organized standards as downlink (HSDPA) and uplink (HSUPA) flavors that are paired for service. AT&T initially deployed HSDPA with a slow uplink, but will finish upgrading its HSPA network to full HSUPA service this month.

AT&T’s HSPA network is designed and enabled to allow simultaneous voice and data calls. Apple confirmed in a briefing with me that the iPhone 3G can browse the Web, retrieve e-mail, and find maps, all while you’re talking (via speakerphone or Bluetooth headset, presumably). While Verizon and Sprint’s EVDO Rev. A network can technically handle both tasks, too, the companies have focused on service-at-a-time: either data or voice, not both. A Verizon spokesperson said that the company is moving towards allowing both voice and data at once.

You might wonder why I haven’t mentioned T-Mobile: the distant fourth among American carriers, T-Mobile didn’t own spectrum capable of 3G services until a relatively recent spectrum auction. The company has just started to roll out a slow 3G standard in New York City, and expects to offer HSPA in the near future more broadly.

Now as to 2.5G, that 200 Kbps to 400 Kbps flavor bridges between 2G and 3G networks—which is primarily represented by the EDGE network the current iPhone uses—and was developed to accelerate 2G networks to be faster without the new technology and spectrum required for 3G networks. Second-and-a-half-generation doesn’t make much sense grammatically, but it was a way for carriers to save money and have something faster when 3G deployments were delayed. (Future versions of EDGE are expected to be four times as fast through software updates to carrier base stations, although new chips are required for adapters and smartphones.)

The three 3G carriers claim their networks work in average ranges, where you would typically see somewhere in this range depending on a variety of factors. Verizon says its networks offers a range of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps downstream, and 500 to 800 Kbps upstream. Sprint cites the same downstream rate, but just 350 to 500 Kbps upstream.

While AT&T used to claim similar numbers, the HSUPA update for its network quietly contained a major downlink update as well. As of June 4, 2008, the company says that by the end of June its network will run at rates from 700 to 1.7 Mbps downstream and 500 to 1.2 Mbps upstream.

This is a big selling point for customers uploading photos or video from the field. (AT&T says that hardware with HSUPA built in is required; for phones, it’s certain that the iPhone 3G has this technology, and AT&T sells four models of mobile broadband adapters in USB, PC Card, and ExpressCard form factors that include HSUPA hardware.)

Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T now also claim low latency, which wasn’t the case with some of the first 3G standards. Latency is to bandwidth like water flow is to water pipes: just as the former measures how long it takes after you open a tap for the water to start flowing, the latter indicates how long it takes for data to start moving over a connection once opened. High latency makes video jitter, makes even quick Web page loads seem to take a long time before they show up, and disrupts voice calls and video chats.

The top rates of each of these networks isn’t precisely a cap. The HSPA network, for instance, has a nominal top speed of 3.6 Mbps, although that’s a raw rate and shared among users in a given cell area using the same set of frequencies. EVDO Rev. A has a nominal top rate of 3.1 Mbps. For both networks, you can see peak rates for sustained transfers that go far above the 1.4 Mbps or 1.7 Mbps top of the typical range. I’ve measured well over 2 Mbps in a recent test of Sprint’s network and gear.

In cities at peak usage times, you won’t see the peak speeds. And the carriers may lack fast enough connections at some of their 3G cell towers to handle the full capability of their 3G networks, too.

If you listened to Steve Jobs during his WWDC keynote, you’ll note that the 1.7 Mbps top downstream rate, about 8 times faster than the 200 Kbps or so top EDGE downstream rate, is nowhere near the 2 to 3 times improvement the Apple CEO cited for Web-page browsing and email attachment downloads. He also said that the iPhone’s 3G performance would be very close to Wi-Fi.

Stats comparing browser and attachment loading in 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi are sort of red herrings; not inaccurate, but not revealing. It’s the network processing speed and the iPhone 3G’s main and graphics processors that determine how fast data can be relayed and rendered on the device. You could stick gigabit Ethernet into an iPhone 3G, and it still might take 26 seconds to render the National Geographic home page that Jobs showed in his side-by-side comparison.

Likewise, the iPhone 3G should be able to communicate as fast as about 25 Mbps over an 802.11g Wi-Fi network, the fastest standard the phone supports. (The as-fast-as-100 Mbps Draft N or 802.11n Wi-Fi flavor isn’t available yet in chips small and low power enough for a compact phone.)

What Jobs was comparing 3G to was a typical Wi-Fi hotspot, which normally has about 1.5 Mbps of backhaul—bandwidth to the Internet—and is comparable to AT&T’s nearly upgraded network’s highest downstream rate. It’s increasingly the case that high-end hotspots in airports, cafes, and hotels are boosting their service well above 1.5 Mbps—San Jose’s airport just noted that it was adding 15 Mbps service at no cost in several terminals. And my home DSL gives me about 2.5 Mbps of real downstream service. While 3G is fast, Wi-Fi can be faster. Wi-Fi typically tethers you, and 3G does not.

The future of 3G is pretty grand, based on what’s already known about new and evolving standards. AT&T’s network will likely jump to 7.2 Mpbs in the not-too-distant future, and there are leaps to double and quadruple that on the current roadmap. AT&T plans to move to a fourth-generation network—all Internet protocol as opposed to today’s networks—using LTE (Long Term Evolution), which may offer 50 to 100 Mbps of downstream service as early as 2012. Verizon and T-Mobile are also on track for LTE, while Sprint is pursuing the near-term deployment of an incompatible standard (backed by Intel) called WiMax that might offer 5 to 15 Mbps downstream as early as late this year in certain markets in the U.S.

Apple’s move to 3G with the iPhone is part of a larger trend for wireless devices: giving those devices not just the freedom to move about, but the power of real broadband, extending their usefulness for downloading and streaming video, as well as providing a real alternative to a laptop.

[Glenn Fleishman writes daily about wireless networking at his site Wi-Fi Networking News. He also runs the Glenn Fleishman on Hardware blog at PC World.]

 

[James48843]

Have you seen the latest invention now in stores?

This is actually much more effective than the new 3G -

It's a new communications device, composed of a pair of ridged metallic compact cylinders, and connected not with a wireless radio signal, but rather with a new earth-friendly fiber device, called "string".

View attachment 4211​

 

[hessian]

Hello Greg,
Appreciate your knowledge on subject.
I'm watching for it, but like the 1st iPhone - I will want to get actual user feedback. I didn't get the 1st version, because it didn't have features like gps, or other capabilities.

This "3G" version, while improved (& also having the gps), still, like you point out will not have the "tethering"/Phone-As-Modem capability - that sucks!
If the "Crackers" figure out a way to enable this, then - maybe I'd consider it... BUT, I still also have doubts about the AT&T network - coverage is I believe more limited than, say, Verizon's (not that I'm loyal to any carrier - its just whichever gives me best access & value).

Heard anything about Sprint's new WIMAX network? -and progress on it -how widespread will coverage area be. That's sounds like the best future prospect, more potential, and what I've bee waiting to hear about. Also Sprint's "business model" was said to be pushing for "Open" vs "Locked-Down" (e.g., any device [compatible] could be used on this network).
VR

 

[McDuck]

like you point out will not have the "tethering"/Phone-As-Modem capability - that sucks!

And it still would have the cut/paste feature between applications, which is unbelievable.

 

[Buster]

Hmmmm, WTF...seems a post of mine has beeen deleted..

I've had enough of this Liberal Sh!t..see ya folks



Buster, OUT!

 

[McDuck]

Hmmmm, WTF...seems a post of mine has beeen deleted..

I asked them to delete. I felt that it was posted with a bad attitude.

 

[McDuck]

Early iPhone adopter on fence about new one

By Glenn Fleishman
Special to The Seattle Times



My friends and family members have but one question of me these days: "Are you upgrading to an iPhone 3G?" And a follow-up: "Can I have your old one?"


The new model, due out on July 11 in 21 countries, including ours, may be spiffier, but I'm still on the fence.


My dad is particularly interested in my choice; he'd like a hand-me-down, and his birthday is coming up.


I was ambivalent about the 2G (second-generation) iPhone because I thought its high cost and low-speed cellular-data connection might not be worthwhile, as I travel so little and demand so much from my browser.


I was entirely wrong. Low-speed data (as fast as 200 kilobits per second) is actually fine for nearly everything I do when I'm not in an office.


The iPhone supports almost no multimedia in the built-in Safari browser. This might seem like a negative, but over a 2G network, not having to wait for Flash components to load and play makes some sites faster and avoids distracting advertisements.


On a recent trip with my older son to Port Townsend, I was able to leave a laptop behind. The iPhone gave me nearly everything I needed. Its 2G connection worked just fine on the peninsula in places where 3G (third generation) was likely not available. (The iPhone 3G will drop down to 2G or even slower speeds outside greater metropolitan areas.)


As a Seattleite, I am constantly consulting the iPhone for live traffic, traffic cameras and the location of Metro buses. I can even indirectly use the iPhone over 3G on some buses, which have Wi-Fi onboard and a 3G Internet connection.


What would the iPhone 3G buy me, then? While it can operate at the fastest rates offered by AT&T and other carriers worldwide — from three to eight times faster than the 2G network — Apple and AT&T are promising just twice the speed. With Wi-Fi available often at no cost wherever I'm sitting down, I can already get that speed.

This has something to do with the absolute speed at which the iPhone's processor drives the built-in browser to turn Web code into graphical pages, but it's a bit disappointing if that's all the speed bump they're promising. I expect they'll overdeliver.


The iPhone 3G features more precise location finding, too. It has a GPS radio built in to determine location by reading information from satellites fixed in orbit.


The first iPhone can pull approximate information by combining cellphone triangulation and a clever method of using the names and signal strength of nearby Wi-Fi networks to gain a fix on latitude and longitude in most cities.


This works reasonably well most of the times I've tested it, but the Maps program sometimes suggests I'm somewhere in the Puget Sound area, rather than, say, in downtown Tacoma. A GPS would provide fairly exact information using the Wi-Fi and cell-tower information for even finer matching.

Neither Apple nor AT&T has mentioned offering a key service that a GPS chip could take advantage of: turn-by-turn navigation. Many phones now offer this as a relatively cheap add-on option.


Then there's style: The iPhone 3G is definitely sleeker and designed to be more nick- and scratch-resistant than its predecessor. The new model also no longer has a recessed headphone jack. Apple CEO Steve Jobs received resounding applause when he mentioned this at the iPhone 3G's introduction.


However, all the software updates — including the ability to buy software via the iPhone from companies other than Apple — will be rolled out at no cost to all current iPhone users. The 3G speed and GPS chip require new hardware, but everything else will be included.


None of this has yet triggered my early-adopter credit-card-disgorging reflex.


For new buyers, the iPhone 3G will be the only phone available for purchase, although I can guarantee a hefty secondary market in 2G iPhones. AT&T is allowing customers with accounts in good standing to swap from their existing contract to a new two-year contract, and retain their first iPhone.


This means that there will be plenty of these deactivated phones for sale, or you can beg a relative. (Right, dad?)


AT&T said anyone who obtains a 2G phone will be able to sign up for current 2G iPhone plans. It currently charges $20 per month with a two-year contract for unlimited EDGE data, Visual Voicemail and 200 text messages (combined incoming and outgoing).


A new iPhone 3G will cost $199 for an 8G model and $299 for a 16 GB phone with a two-year plan. Data plans with Visual Voicemail add $30 on top of most AT&T call offerings; individual lines start at $70 per month, including voice and data, and a family plan with two lines starts at $130 per month.


Text messages (SMS) are not included in this service, as they were with the original iPhone. AT&T now charges the ridiculous 20 cents per message for a la carte pricing; it cost them a fraction of a cent to deliver SMS.
For $5 per month, you can get 200 messages; $15 for 1,500; and $20 for unlimited ($30 total for up to five lines in a family plan).


AT&T said customers who don't qualify for a new plan can purchase the 8 GB and 16 GB models for $399 and $499, while "in the future" they'll sell iPhones with no contract for $599 and $699.


Because of the higher service-plan pricing, an iPhone 3G will cost slightly more over a two-year contract than the earlier model after the first model's price reduction, with AT&T recouping the extra expense through fees rather than the initial outlay.


I suppose, in the end, I'll wind up owning an iPhone 3G because it's tough writing about the fastest-selling smartphone without owning one. And my dad will get a nifty gift that keeps on taking: He'll be responsible for the monthly fees.

Glenn Fleishman writes the Practical Mac column for Personal Technology and about technology in general for The Seattle Times and other publications.


Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

 

[McDuck]

The disruptive potential of GPS on the iPhone 3G

By Charles Jade | Published: July 06, 2008 - 01:23PM CT

A recent survey showed nearly half of respondents rated GPS as a deciding factor in favoring an iPhone 3G, which should be good news for makers of GPS software and services. Or not. Forbes has an interesting article that suggests some developers are increasingly cautious the about iPhone 3G.

If you watched the WWDC Keynote, you saw the little blue dot weaving down Lombard Street, but you didn't see turn-by-turn directions demonstrated. Nonetheless, the iPhone web site explicitly advertises both tracking and turn-by-turn directions. That website also states that the iPhone 3G is a GPS receiver, but is also an A-GPS device, meaning the iPhone uses cellular towers and Wi-Fi networks for location services. This raises the issue of whether the iPhone 3G will be able to function as a stand-alone device. Finally, the iPhone SDK license agreement specifies that "applications may not be designed or marketed for real time route guidance." That would be a real problem for GPS players in the personal technology industry, unless they have already cut a deal.

TomTom announced back in June that it was finishing a version of its navigation software for sale and distribution through the iTunes Store. However, Forbes is now reporting that TomTom "has no plans" to release the software, needing "to look more closely [at] Apple's strategy." The other big name, Garmin, appears to also be waiting to see what Apple's strategy is too, and what might that strategy be?

GPS devices and services make the big money on a subscription basis, like Networks In Motion, also mentioned in the Forbes article. The company charges $9.99 per month or $2.99 a day for maps and directions, as does AT&T with its own Navigator service. While the iPhone 3G might do everything free that competing services charge for, it's also plausible that Apple might offer its own service. It would be an extension of the feature set that has currently been shown—like the ability to act as a standalone device with maps on the device—for a small monthly fee. Either way, GPS makers will no doubt be coming to the same realization that those selling MP3 players are now experiencing, and that PDA makers have been already been forced to deal with. Convergence is a bitch.

 

[McDuck]

Pros and Cons of the iPhone: one year later

by Joel Evans posted on July 1, 2008 1:35 pm

It all started on June 29, 2007. Well, technically it started months before that since that’s when the iPhone was first unveiled. What compelled me to wait in line from 11am to 6p (and palmsolo to camp out overnight) just to get my hands on the iPhone? Was it the tease of the iPhone or my need to always be among the first to have cool gadgets? Regardless, I waited, wrote up my impressions, and have had a love/hate relationship with the iPhone ever since.

Now I sit with it as my primary device one year later, after swearing that it wouldn’t be. Don’t get me wrong, there have been many phones that have tried to be my primary, including the Mogul, the BlackBerry Curve, the BlackJack II, and the HTC Touch Diamond, just to name a few.

So, why have they not succeeded in ripping the iPhone from my hands? Below is a quick list of what the iPhone does really well. To be fair, I’ve also included all of the things that I wish would be fixed, and marked them accordingly, if the new version of the iPhone’s hardware and/or software will finally fix them. By the way, even though my iPhone is jailbroken, that still doesn’t influence why it’s still my primary device more than a year later–I guess the iPhone just works for me.

What I like about the iPhone

Reading- I tend to use the iPhone for late night and early morning reading. Be it mobile-friendly webpages, Google Reader, or full-blown websites, I’m always ready to browse.

Watching movies and videos- I watch a fair amount of video on it, including YouTube, and Break.com. I also have an iPod Touch but nothing beats an integrated speaker.

E-mailing- I use Gmail as my primary and thankfully Google has continued to improve the Gmail interface for iPhone. I can also access Gmail through IMAP on the iPhone if I don’t want to work with the web-based interface.

Picture taking- I snap a bunch of pics with the iPhone, more so than any other camera phone. It just works effortlessly and very rarely blurs a shot. I also easily e-mail it off to someone listed in my Contacts or sync it up to my Mac at the end of the day.

Visual voicemail- I thought it was a gimmick when I first started using it but it’s a really great feature. I don’t skip over certain messages in favor of others, but I do use it for archiving messages for an extended period of time and it’s nice to be able to jump right to the archived message, without having to wade through the newer messages.

Weather- It sports a really nice weather application. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have extended forecast, but I’ll leave that to the “against iPhone” section.

iTunes on the phone- I find myself buying a few tracks a month on the iPhone directly. Most of the time I’m sitting around and I hear a song on the radio or on TV. I then pick up the iPhone, perform a quick search and seconds later I’m clicking the preview and then purchasing the track. I had forgotten that I used to enjoy buying 45’s and singles, and the ability to easily buy a track at a time is fantastic.

Google Maps- Even though it doesn’t offer integrated GPS (the iPhone 3G will), the integration of the maps with Contacts on the iPhone is perfect. Also, there are plenty of times where instead of calling information I’ve used Google Maps to find the information. You can’t beat that!

What I don’t like about the iPhone

No cut and paste- I still can’t believe that after a year this hasn’t been addressed. Even 2.0 doesn’t have it.

Can’t forward a text message- Same as above. At least if I could cut and paste I wouldn’t care as much about not being able to forward a text message.

Playing games- it doesn’t ship with ANY! What an oversight, in my opinion. Even a simple solitaire or something would have been great. I first Jailbroke my iPhone just to get games. This will be fixed with the App Store though.

Battery life- I’ve been using it for a year and I’m lucky if it can hold a charge for the full day. The new version is supposed to have improved battery life, but with 3G, it’s going to suck it dry, I’m sure.

Lack of 3G- The original version is slow on EDGE. It’s great on WiFi and thankfully the iPhone bounces between the two seamlessly, so most of the time you don’t even know when you’re moving from one to the other. As mentioned above, the new one will have 3G.

Signal- I’ve got a lot of phones and the iPhone seems to have the worst reception. I’ve tried holding it in a variety of different ways and it still doesn’t get the signal it should.

No Todo list- I guess Apple doesn’t think we need to keep track of our ToDos. We’ve had a bunch of software updates and even 2.0 won’t carry ToDos. Hopefully a developer will have added this functionality and made it available for free through the App Store.

No over-the-air sync- I’m so used to syncing with Hosted Exchange over-the-air. I’ve definitely missed this most, having to always remember to tether the iPhone. The iPhone 2.0 offers over-the-air ActiveSync and also MobileMe integration. Unfortunately, we’ll still have to tether to get our photos synced up.

Notes doesn’t sync- I’m using Missing Sync which backs up my Notes onto my Mac, but why not include that as part of the package by now?

Weather has to go online for extended forecast - Even the forecasters can’t get it right by the hour anymore, so seeing what the high is going to be is just not enough. You can go online for more but I don’t always want to go online. The App Store will no doubt fix this.

No RSS feed reader- Pretty self explanatory though I use Google Reader now and I’m sure they’ll have an offline component soon enough.

Calendar too basic- It’s not the most fluid interface for jotting down appointments on the fly. Again, I’m sure developers will add their own flare to this one.

As you can see above, the majority of my complaints should be fixed by hardware and/or software. Either Apple will fix with an update of the firmware or a developer will offer an application for free or for a price that will address my concerns. Regardless, it should only be a couple of months before the iPhone answers all of my needs. Here’s hoping, anyway.

As for who should buy the new iPhone, there are two different camps. If you already have the iPhone and it’s working for you, don’t buy the new one. 3G and integrated GPS isn’t worth the upgrade price, considering you’ll have to pay more for your mobile plan. The new software update comes without a price, so that will bring you all of the new functionality that you are hoping for. However, if you have yet to buy an iPhone, the new iPhone, with its starting price of $199, is definitely a compelling offering and one worth taking a solid look at.

 

[McDuck]

iPhone 3G : Get Out of T-Mo Free

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 2, 2008 by Rene Ritchie

T-Mobile SMS Hike = Contract Breech? Switch to iPhone!

Sister site WMExperts brings word that T-Mobile is raising the a la carte price of SMS text messages to an exorbitant $.20 per 160 characters (sadly, an industry average…) While they have their theories as to why tiny text qualifies for thousands of dollars per meg of data charges, others only really care about one thing:

A change in the terms of service may — just may — be a way for those of you stuck on contract with T-Mobile to get out of jail and into a sexay new iPhone 3G.

Whether T-Mobile lets you out or not will likely depend on who you talk to and how much you scream, but a chance is a chance. And could T-Mobile have had worse timing in providing that chance?

Nope.

2. CurroCJ Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 am

Here’s the trick to get out of your ETF (early termination fee):

1) You have to have incurred at least one SMS text message charge for $0.15 in the last three billing cycles before your next bill which will have the notice of the increase. 2) You have to either have no messaging plan or go over on your regular plan (400 or 1000) by at least one message and be charged. 3) If you have an unlimited plan, you will not have been charged for any text messages and this disqualifies you, however, if you cancel your unlimited plan before your next bill arrives, send or receive at least one text message and get charged $0.15, you are eligible for getting out of the ETF. So act fast before your next bill! 4) You MUST cancel within 30 days of receiving your next bill with the notice of the increase. 5) Do NOT cancel your service before you receive your bill, you must have received the bill to qualify for getting out out of your ETF.

 

[wwwtractor]

Consider the PPC6900 if you need Windows compatible. Look at some reviews. I have unlimited internet, bluetooth keyboard and mouse with my PPC6700 which is getting old now for $40 a month with EVDO service in CellularSouth area. Unlimited phone service is $60 which means for $100 a month I get everything unlimited. I also use it as a wireless modem when CableOne. nut goes down.

 

[Aviator_Guy]

I have three smartphones in my current cell plan and I have taken a very close look at the new Apple i-phone. I currently have the Apple i-touch which is very similar minus the phone capability. I need a phone that has full access to XLS / MS word files and I think the new Apple G3 i-phone can view them, but cant mod them?

Anyway, I think Apple hit a home run on their new phone. It has a really easy to use interface and the Wi-Fi rocks! Maybe they will upgrade the Treo line someday? Until then, I’m stuck using the Treo 755 and Centro models.

 

[McDuck]

Consider the PPC6900 if you need Windows compatible. Look at some reviews. I have unlimited internet, bluetooth keyboard and mouse with my PPC6700 which is getting old now for $40 a month with EVDO service in CellularSouth area. Unlimited phone service is $60 which means for $100 a month I get everything unlimited. I also use it as a wireless modem when CableOne. nut goes down.

Thanks for the info. I had to look that one up. That's HTC PPC6900, eh?
I can only find it with Sprint.
Can you tether a laptop to it and use the cellular company internet without additional cost?

 

[TSPGold]

I have an iPhone and I love it. Best phone I"ve ever had...

 

[McDuck]

iPhone 3G review

by Ryan Block, posted Jul 11th 2008 at 2:45PM

It's hard to think of any other device that's enjoyed the level of exposure and hype that Apple found in the launch of the first iPhone. Who could forget it? Everyone got to be a gadget nerd for a day; even those completely disinterested in technology seemed to come down with iPhone fever. But the original device was still far from perfect: its limited capabilities (especially in the 3G department), high price of entry, and the small number of countries in which it was available kept many potential buyers sidelined. Until now -- or so Apple hopes.

The wireless industry is a notoriously tough nut to crack, and it's become pretty clear that the first iPhone wasn't about total domination so much as priming the market and making a good first impression with some very dissatisfied cellphone users. With the iPhone 3G, though, Apple's playing for keeps. Not only is this iPhone's Exchange enterprise support aiming straight for the heart of the business market, but the long-awaited 3rd party application support and App Store means it's no longer just a device, but a viable computing platform. And its 3G network compatibility finally makes the iPhone welcome the world over, especially after Cupertino decided to ditch its non-traditional carrier partnerships in favor of dropping the handset price dramatically. $200? We're still a little stunned.

So now that Apple finally stands poised for an all out war on cellphone-makers everywhere, will the iPhone 3G stand up to the competition -- and higher expectations than ever? Read on for our full review.

The hardware
No one will have any trouble recognizing the new device from its face -- it's essentially identical to the original iPhone. Thankfully, the bright, high quality, high resolution 480 x 320 3.5-inch display that's just so easy to love, hasn't been changed a bit. Unfortunately, it's still every bit as much a magnet for smudges and fingerprints -- in fact, even more so now that the rear of the device has dropped its chic matte aluminum in favor of black (or white, optional on the 16GB model) plastic. Hey, at least now it's more symmetrical.

The move to plastic seemed almost inevitable now that the iPhone has so many radios, frequencies, and antenna needs (GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS), but while we do prefer the original aluminum, the plastic does feel pretty solid and not at all flimsy, which is more than we can say for a hell of a lot of handsets. There's no doubt about the fact that we'd have preferred a matte or soft-touch finish to the glossy plastic, but that's all a matter of taste.

The body of the phone is slightly thicker at its center than its predecessor, although the edges are tapered and thinner than before, which is always a good way to make a device feel smaller than it actually is. (Palm learned this a long time ago.) There are a couple downsides to the body shape, though: first, when you're tapping off-center on a hard, flat surface, the phone wobbles (but only a little, oh well).

Second, the new shape means you won't be using it in your original device's dock. This really wouldn't be all that bad if Apple included a dock with the 3G like they did with the first iPhone, but now they want you to buy that separately. Did we mention they're asking $30 for it? Way lame. That absurdly small power adapter kind of makes up for it, but only a little.

One thing Apple was keen to talk up is the vastly improved call quality of the iPhone 3G. Those in the know understand that 3G call quality is often better than regular GSM -- but it turns out Apple made a huge improvement on both sides. iPhone 3G calls made over 3G and GSM both sounded significantly better than calls made on the original iPhone. If you're upgrading your device iPhone you may not necessarily notice it, but on a side by side it was pretty obvious.

Of course, call quality most often depends on coverage, and coverage varies between 3G and GSM networks depending on where you are. 3G calling also requires more battery power. Where are we going with this? Well, despite many of the painstaking measures Apple's taken to preserve battery power, the iPhone 3G doesn't do any real time signal detection to help determine whether you currently have better 3G or GSM voice coverage. If you suspect you might get better coverage either on or off 3G, it's up to you to dig down through a few settings menus to flip the switch. Not a deal breaker by any means, but it'd make for a welcome fix.

We're still working on our battery testing (which can take a number of days, so we'll post supplementally); Apple's numbers on the iPhone peg it at 10 / 5 hours talk on GSM / 3G (respectively), 5 hours 3G data, 6 hours WiFi, 24 hours music and 7 hours video. So far, though, we're guardedly underwhelmed.

Last year we raved over the original iPhone's "Herculean" ability to play video for up to 9-hours on a single charge. Repeating a near identical test from last year (and also mimicking Apple's own testing methods), we managed just 5 hours and 24 minutes of continuous playback of our 320 x 176, H.264 video encoded at 127kbps. (Our tests were conducted with the screen at half brightness, half volume, with Apple's stock headphones, WiFi on, but not connected, Bluetooth off, 3G and cellular radios on, and location services on -- pretty much all the defaults.)

Add our result to Mossy's disappointing battery test for 3G voice and we're already feeling nostalgic for our long-lasting first-generation friend. Granted, our battery might require some breaking in (it's been discharged and recharged fully only once) so we'll continue testing and get back to you on the quick with our full suite of results using multiple phones.

There have been a number of other fixes to better the device as well. For example, the phone now has two proximity sensors to better detect when it's held to your ear. We also found that while the camera was essentially identical, we were getting images that were ever so slightly sharper and crisper than the original iPhone on 1.1.4 (check it out below). Still, knowing that HTC's Touch Diamond -- which features a 3.2 megapixel sensor and mechanical autofocus -- could pack such a great camera in an even smaller form factor than the iPhone's left us pining for something a bit more than the same 2 megapixels from the first time around.

What we're probably the most excited about, though, is that two of our biggest hardware-related gripes from the original device have finally been addressed: first, the headphone jack is now flush, which means any standard (3.5mm) headphones will work in the iPhone without the need for an adapter. The new jack has a solid, confidence-inspiring feel that won't leave you worrying about damaging the device or your headphones. To this day we still have no clue why Apple pushed the jack in -- it was kind of funny hearing Steve pitch the flush jack as a feature at WWDC. It's the simple things, you know?

Second, the speaker volume has been jacked up significantly, giving your calls (or music) a much more workable volume level if you're not blessed with superhuman hearing. It's not the loudest speaker we've ever heard on a device, and unlike many Nokia Nseries phones, it's still mono. But it's definitely a step up compared to the first iPhone, which was not only quiet, but also seemed to distort at much lower volumes.

Speed and location
At the end of the day, it's the 3G data that's important enough to become part of the new iPhone's namesake. Speed testing the iPhone 3G hasn't been disappointing in the slightest. We've seen speeds between 300 - 500Kbps in the US (roughly equivalent of other HSDPA devices we've tested), and in networks abroad where the data rates are even faster, we've gotten consistent data rates of over 700-800Kbps. It's pretty clear the iPhone 3G isn't hitting hardware limits right now, so much of what you can prepare to see in terms of speed in the US will depend directly on reception with AT&T's network -- which doesn't have the most outstanding reputation, nor the broadest 3G rollout.

Interestingly, in one test, our iPhone 3G had worse reception on AT&T than a Nokia N78, yet managed speeds of over 100Kbps faster. So ultimately, where 3G coverage is decent, you should be seeing speeds that will no longer have you tearing your eyes out, as was so often the case with little mister sometimes-takes-minutes-to-load-a-small-page first-gen iPhone.

GPS acquisition has also been surprisingly fast for a cellphone. AGPS devices use traditional GPS receivers, but help speed up location acquisition and accuracy by using cellphone towers to triangulate. As far as we know, the iPhone 3G is the only device out right now that not only has AGPS, but takes advantage of Skyhook's proprietary WiFi-based location system, giving it a total of three ways to help find where you're at. We were able to acquire GPS in as little as a second or two, although depending on your location and reception, you might see that take longer. It's important to note, though, that the iPhone's was clearly intended to be a location-aware smartphone -- not a dedicated GPS device. There's a big difference.

 

[McDuck]

That said, there's an enormous amount of interest by people hoping they can add one more to the pile of devices their iPhone has taken over for. It's pretty clear why people might want the iPhone 3G to replace their car's dedicated GPS nav, too. It's not just a location-aware device with a large, bright screen -- it's also connected (with service you're already paying for), thus able to get traffic updates, routing information, and so on. The Google Maps app doesn't provide turn by turn route guidance, though, so while it does provide directions, you can only use it as a stand-in -- and not as a full replacement -- for a proper GPS device. This problem might be solved later by some intrepid 3rd party developer (like, say, TomTom or Telenav), but there's been some confusion as to whether this might actually happen, and what Apple's official stance on GPS nav actually is. And even if this GPS software does eventually come out, the speaker on the iPhone 3G simply won't be loud enough to be heard over most road noise, so you'd also have to make use of a line-out. In other words, don't sell your GPS device just yet, okay?

The software
Anyone that's used the original iPhone knows what a delight the device can be to use -- except when using the old mail app -- but the hardware is only one part of that. An accurate capacitive touchscreen and well optimized mobile processors form the basis of that experience, but the iPhone continues to derives its real power in usability. The iPhone 3G and the second release of mobile OS X have given the device numerous useful new features while keeping in line with expectations that they not slow down the experience, nor overwhelm new or experienced users. So far, so good.

Easily the most significant addition to the iPhone 3G (as well as the original iPhone and iPod touch) is the App Store, which finally enables users to trick out their phone with whatever programs make it through Apple's rigorous developer screening and software testing process. We've got as many mixed feelings about that closed-but-open model as we do about many of the programs that launched with the device -- especially the AIM client, which we were most excited about, but that kind of flopped. (Disclosure: Engadget is owned by AOL / TimeWarner. Sorry gang!)

Although the App Store isn't open to any developer, it's worth noting that Apple's implementation wrests all control from its carrier partners, which typically expect 3rd party applications to be either side-loaded (i.e. more for the power user set), or simply want complete control of sales through their own walled garden. It's easy to argue that the App Store just trades one walled garden for another, but what the hell, we'll happily Apple's over AT&T's.

The applications themselves vary in price, and are purchased after you've logged in with your iTunes account. (Yeah, you'll need one even if you're only downloading free programs.) Apps under 10MB download over the air, and are immediately deposited in your first available slot, where they can be moved (or removed) as you see fit. As new versions of the apps become available, the App Store notifies you of updates and manages the downloads. Yes, it's a new kind of walled garden, but the App Store is also a category-redefining experience. We've already heard a radically open version will be making its way to Android, and we hope it will eventually find its way to platforms like Windows Mobile and Symbian as well.

Another new addition is character recognition support for logographic-based languages, such as Traditional Chinese, as well as localized keyboards for nearly two dozen languages and markets worldwide. But the touchscreen keyboard can still be a major sticking point for some -- ourselves enthusiastically included -- and Apple hasn't given any more of its default programs (like SMS) the increased ease of typing that comes with using the keyboard in landscape mode. There's simply no question that in terms of efficiency, on an iPhone we're nowhere close to where we can get on a spacious (or even not so spacious) QWERTY keypad. To their credit, though, Apple's made a few tweaks over the last year that have made typing a little faster and easier (like letting you pre-type the next letter before your first finger has lifted). But the fact is this defining feature of the iPhone remains one of its biggest drawbacks.

Although we've been unable to extensively test MobileMe (namely due to the fact that the service has been more or less completely offline since they flipped the switch this week), we have found the Exchange support to be simple enough to set up and use that you may not have to bug your IT dude. Some hardcore enterprise users will miss the full Exchange suite, including synced notes and tasks, but the core functionality (email, calendar, contacts) work very well.

Our biggest gripe with Exchange isn't small, though: the system is unable to let enterprise contacts and calendars coexist on the same device with personal contacts and calendars. (Personal and corp email get along just fine, though.) When you turn on Exchange-synced contacts and calendars, you're notified that it's a one or the other kind of a situation, and your personal data will be removed from the phone. Though that data isn't purged from your host machine, of course, you do immediately lose the ability to change contact or calendar sync settings. This effectively means that your device can only serve as an enterprise device OR a personal device, but not both at once. Kind of defeats the purpose of convincing your boss to get you an iPhone in the first place, you know?

Some other new and noteworthy features:

* As mentioned, Google Maps now shows a pinging blue locator that can track your movement. As of right now there's no way to convert this to KML or anything usable for geocaching.
* The camera will also now ask you permission to use GPS to geotag photos with your current location. Once you grant that permission, it will add the necessary standard EXIF data to your photos. Trés useful, but you can't refer back to those geotags to bring up a location in Google Maps.
* Side note: there's now an option to reset location notifications, if you accidentally granted permission to an app you don't want knowing where you are.
* The iPhone can now read PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. It's still incapable of editing or creating new documents, however, and outside of sending yourself these files via email, there's no accessible file storage.
* You can now save images from the web to your camera roll by tapping and holding.
* The calculator goes into scientific mode when the device is tilted sideways.
* Entering passwords is a little easier -- the last character you entered is temporarily shown at the end of the string. Keeps things safe but makes sure you know if you mistyped.
* One of the very first things we ever requested the iPhone see fixed is finally fixed: calendar colors are now supported, meaning you can finally visually tell your appointments apart based on calendar.
* You can now control email, contact, and calendar fetching from system settings, giving you granular control over push and pull data on your various accounts.
* You can also enable parental controls if you got the device for your kids. Or you just want to curb temptation to constantly watch Charlie the Unicorn on YouTube or buy Lil Wayne tracks on the WiFi Store, weirdo.
* Screen captures can be taken by holding home, then pressing sleep. They're dropped in the camera roll.
* Doing a hard reset now fully purges the device's memory, thereby making it much more difficult to recover the kind of data you don't want someone else recovering. (More on that here.)

We'd also be remiss if we didn't namecheck a few of the things missing from the device, some likely to be inconveniences, others outright dealbreakers:

* Easily-replaceable battery -- especially being that 3G is much more demanding on battery power than EDGE data. We haven't popped the back off, but even if replacing the battery were as simple as unscrewing the two screws at the bottom (and it's not), that's still not what we'd call easily replaceable.
* Copy / paste. As if we even needed to mention this.
* MMS. Ditto.
* Expandable memory still isn't in the cards (har). 8 and 16GB capacities are very decent, but the ability to go further with microSDHC would be welcomed by many. As would be a 32GB model.
* A2DP (stereo Bluetooth). If this was an unlikely addition before, it's all but written off now. A2DP is a notorious battery hog on devices like cellphones, and the iPhone is already pushing the limits on power conservation and efficiency. It pains us to say it, but we just don't see A2DP happening any time soon.
* Push Gmail. Hey, if Helio can have it on the Ocean, and Samsung on the Instinct, why is Apple stuck with only push Yahoo mail?
* Service-independent device to machine wireless syncing. Exchange and MobileMe are nice, but even nicer would be a way to easily sync data directly to your machine without having to pay or have some kind of service.
* Tethered data. Hey, you're paying $30 a month for data (likely more if you're using it outside the US), your laptop should be able to use some of it too.
* No way to open a link in a new tab in mobile Safari. We also wish the browser was still a bit better about caching data, too -- it'd be nice not to have to do so many reloads when switching between tabs or moving back and forward through history.

 

[McDuck]

Wrap-up
If you're an avid Symbian, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile / Exchange user, chances are you might think the iPhone 3G is Apple playing catch-up -- and you're not wrong. 3G, GPS, third party apps, enterprise messaging, these are all old hat. But even the would-be iPhone killers being churned out weekly haven't yet found a way to counter the iPhone's usability and seamless integration of service and software, desktop and mobile, and media and internet.

There are always things that could be improved, features to be added, fixes that should be applied -- but from first to second gen, from year one to year two, Apple has proven itself a relentless upstart in the mobile space, and is showing no signs of slowing down. All those new features give the iPhone even more appeal than ever, but the price is what really seals the deal.

For our money, you're going to have a hard time finding a better device for two hundred bucks -- or maybe even for any price. But that doesn't mean you ought to toss your original iPhone, either. With the release of iPhone 2.0, Apple's given early adopters every possible new feature for free, meaning the iPhone 3G's biggest roadblock to adoption in the US may be its still very worthy predecessor. But as Steve says, "If anybody is going to cannibalize us, I want it to be us." As for the rest of the world? Things are about to get interesting.

 

[McDuck]

I went and looked at the iphone this weekend. You can't get insurance on it thru ATT. I called my State Farm Agent, he said they no longer add a personel property rider on the iphone. Therefore if I lose it or break it, it will cost $599 to get a new one. The $199 price is just to get you to sign the 2-year contract.

That is way too much $$$$$$$$ for me.