Apple iPhone and related items (cont.)

[Reno]

I don't have a digital camera at the moment and what tempts me about the iPhone 4 is that the camera is supposed to be really good. If the contract is £25 a month then that's not too bad as I probably use up £15-20 on my mobile phone anyway. That also includes unlimited wifi, right ? It doesn't seem such a bad deal.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Methinks you've already convinced yourself G'wan, go for it

 

[Vintage Paw]

Also, great blog to look at for all things relating to iphone photography: http://lifeinlofi.com/

 

[Reno]

Methinks you've already convinced yourself G'wan, go for it

I probably have and I'm having a major gadget craving.

Also, great blog to look at for all things relating to iphone photography: http://lifeinlofi.com/

Cheers !

 

[maldwyn]

...I'd go for the 3GS over the 3G, mainly because of the improved camera, and because you'll have better luck running iOS4 .

Apple have now discontinued the 3G.

I'm contract phobic and much prefer PAYG

If you have the cash to buy new from an Apple shop I'd go for the 16GB iP4 at £499 (compared to the 3GS at only 8GB for £419 )

Alternatively, there's loads of 2nd hand 3GS's floating about.

 

[editor]

I don't have a digital camera at the moment and what tempts me about the iPhone 4 is that the camera is supposed to be really good. If the contract is £25 a month then that's not too bad as I probably use up £15-20 on my mobile phone anyway. That also includes unlimited wifi, right ? It doesn't seem such a bad deal.

If you're hellbent on an iPhone, go for it, but you'll be able to get other handsets with cameras as good as - if not better - for a whole load less, and run near identical apps giving you the features you want.

But if you've taken a shine to the iPhone, then go for it.

On a related note, Google and Apple are at each other's throats again, with Google being miffed at Steve Jobs' "revisionist" take on the platform's history - http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/07/09/larry-page-jobs-is-rewriting-history/

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Competitors say nasty things about it each other shocker...no surprise really. With Android looking serious in the market place it was only time before Google started making some noises like this.

 

[editor]

Apple's cheesiest ever adverts?
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/34236/video-apples-cheesy-facetime-ads

Ad this looks a little, well, cult like, no?

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-07/10/c_13393451_3.htm

 

[Callum91]

Apple's cheesiest ever adverts?
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/34236/video-apples-cheesy-facetime-ads

Ad this looks a little, well, cult like, no?

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-07/10/c_13393451_3.htm

That advert is alittle...much.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Don't like the content much but like the style, more to the point the move away from the apple voice, iPhone and application adverts they usually do.

 

[Crispy]

Fuck me, that Shanghai store is epic.

 

[Sunray]

That advert is alittle...much.

They just need to ensure that everyone goes round it clockwise and have a shrine with a small stone version of um, dunno, Apple Newton or something that everyone kisses when they enter the store.

Tip: Do not go to the Apple shop on a Saturday afternoon. Stupid me forgot about that rule.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Who's gloating? I'm just saying the noise over this isn't proportionate to the reality. I'm sorry to hear you're having problems, I know you're a real tech guy but shouting bloody murder about it on the internet aint really going to do much for you is it?

fecking complaining to apple and o2 is going to do even less tbh...

their stock response is do you want a 3gs then or a new 4... not oh we've sold you summit which actually doesn't work would you like a refund and a phone which works?

They have also claimed they've not had any complaints or indeed heard of any issues ... which is patently a lie.

They also claim it'll be sorted with a software fix which is also a lie.

I'm currently wondering if the OFT will get involved... anyone with these phones who is having this issue in the uk would be covered under the un-merchantable goods legislation and would be entitled to a full refund or replacement. At present O2 are flat refusing refunds and only offering replacements like some shoddy phone version of dixsons...

 

[Sunray]

fecking complaining to apple and o2 is going to do even less tbh...

their stock response is do you want a 3gs then or a new 4... not oh we've sold you summit which actually doesn't work would you like a refund and a phone which works?

They have also claimed they've not had any complaints or indeed heard of any issues ... which is patently a lie.

They also claim it'll be sorted with a software fix which is also a lie.

I'm currently wondering if the OFT will get involved... anyone with these phones who is having this issue in the uk would be covered under the un-merchantable goods legislation and would be entitled to a full refund or replacement. At present O2 are flat refusing refunds and only offering replacements like some shoddy phone version of dixsons...

Have you had it replaced?

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Have you had it replaced?

what both of them doing identical things?

It's not going to be a bad batch as one is 3 weeks older than the other so are bound to be from different batches it's the phone.

also doing a like for like (3 3gs and 4) comparison on the same spots it's defo the 4 which is the issue. the older two are fine which knocks the software recalibration will fix it into a cocked hat really as they all have os4 on them...

it's either o2's signal or the phone or a combination of the two would like to see how a vodaphone or orange 4 behaved tho before giving up on it totally.

but replacement isn't going to cut it.

I love it as a gadget but as a phone it's soo shite...

 

[editor]

Seems little debate that the phone has an inherent fault now:

After initially saying that the iPhone 4's reception issues were no big deal, Consumer Reports has changed its tune, recognizing that the software fix won't help things, and retracting their recommendation. They just got around to testing it, you see.

Their engineers have apparently just completed testing of the phone and have discovered it has the reception issues everyone else has known about for weeks:

When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side-an easy thing, especially for lefties-the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal. Due to this problem, we can't recommend the iPhone 4.
​

In order to come to this conclusion, they performed what appear to be some pretty legit testing:

We reached this conclusion after testing all three of our iPhone 4s (purchased at three separate retailers in the New York area) in the controlled environment of CU's radio frequency (RF) isolation chamber. In this room, which is impervious to outside radio signals, our test engineers connected the phones to our base-station emulator, a device that simulates carrier cell towers. We also tested several other AT&T phones the same way, including the iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre. None of those phones had the signal-loss problems of the iPhone 4.
​

http://gizmodo.com/5584887/consumer-reports-changes-its-mind-retracts-iphone-4-recommendation-over-reception-issues

*edit: Engadget have done their own tests which also show that the signal strength issue affects all iPhones
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/12/consumer-reports-confirms-iphone-4-antenna-problems-and-so-do/

 

[Sunray]

I can reproduce the issue, but only if I hold it very awkwardly and the calls I've made and received have been crystal clear, so much better sounding than my old 3G and none has dropped.

Don't make that many calls on it so I am unsure that it will effect me at all.

I also think that there is a lot Apple could do to help with the problem in software, telling people that it cannot be fixed at all in software is somewhat lacking in imagination. With the engineering set up that Apple will have available to debug the issue will allow them to do all sorts of interesting things. Perhaps none will help but I remember that the 3G was a bit flaky with dropped calls when I got that. They fixed that pretty quickly.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Is it a really a serious fault if you have to artificially reproduce it and by artificially I mean hold it in a way you do not naturally hold the iPhone?

 

[grit]

I can reproduce the issue, but only if I hold it very awkwardly and the calls I've made and received have been crystal clear, so much better sounding than my old 3G and none has dropped.

Don't make that many calls on it so I am unsure that it will effect me at all.

I also think that there is a lot Apple could do to help with the problem in software, telling people that it cannot be fixed at all in software is somewhat lacking in imagination. With the engineering set up that Apple will have available to debug the issue will allow them to do all sorts of interesting things. Perhaps none will help but I remember that the 3G was a bit flaky with dropped calls when I got that. They fixed that pretty quickly.

Its a component placement issue, the software fix is essentially a smoke screen regarding the algo used to calculate the signal bars.

These guys did tests in a RF isolation chamber.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/el...m-issues-signal-strength-att-network-gsm.html

tl;dr its b0rked, bigtime.

 

[grit]

Is it a really a serious fault if you have to artificially reproduce it and by artificially I mean hold it in a way you do not naturally hold the iPhone?

You sure the word you mean is artificially, because nothing in your post is describing something artificial.

 

[Sunray]

Its a component placement issue, the software fix is essentially a smoke screen regarding the algo used to calculate the signal bars.

These guys did tests in a RF isolation chamber.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/el...m-issues-signal-strength-att-network-gsm.html

tl;dr its b0rked, bigtime.

You can do all the tests you like in an RF chamber but they are not sitting there with the full engineering development suite hooked up to the iPhone are they? I can imagine that is what is going on at Apple right now.

With that a suite like that can do is show every last value worth knowing and allow adjustment of those values to see their results.

 

[grit]

You can do all the tests you like in an RF chamber but they are not sitting there with the full engineering development suite hooked up to the iPhone are they? I can imagine that is what is going on at Apple right now.

With that a suite like that can do is show every last value worth knowing and allow adjustment of those values to see their results.

What? it doesn't matter if they dont have internal apple tools. The antenna is where it is, end of. You cant code away that fact.

This is something that was bound to happen at some stage with how the fashion of handsets moved away from an external antenna.

 

[editor]

Apple are really losing the plot on this one: they've now started deleting all mentions of the Consumer Reports article from their support forums:

Apple drops Consumer Reports/iPhone 4 discussion threads down memory hole

If you were looking for a message thread on Apple's support forums pointing to Consumer Reports' article 'not recommending' the iPhone 4, it's not there any more. Apple's support forum moderators deleted the thread. Bing cached it.

If it happened once, maybe you'd say it was a glitch. But what if it happened twice? Three times? Four times, five, six?

I'm not prone to hysterics or a subscriber to conspiracy theories, but it's fairly hard to imagine any good way to interpret this. Every post that I saw listed in a Google search of Apple's discussion boards lead to the same result: "Error: you do not have permission to view the requested forum or category."

Sadly, this isn't the first time we've heard about Apple deleting discussion board threads on topics which are unflattering to Apple's products. It's closer to the fiftieth time. In fact, we've heard so many reports about this happening that it seems safe to call this standard operating procedure for Apple's discussion boards. That's not to say that there are no negative threads on the discussion boards, but the ones that are there are the ones that Apple's moderators have decided to leave active.

It's hard to imagine what Apple hopes to gain by doing this. Instead of having one negative news story, now we have two: not only did Consumer Reports come out and say they don't recommend the iPhone 4, but now Apple seems to be trying to prevent people from talking about it on their support board.

Want some overwrought comparisons to Orwell's 1984? Apple seems to be begging for it.

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/12/apple-drops-consumer-reports-discussion-threads-down-memory-hole/

 

[stupid dogbot]

Seems little debate that the phone has an inherent fault now:

And little debate that the bulk of consumers don't give a toss.

 

[100% masahiko]

My iPhone 4 has a major problem.

Everytime I dial out or receive a call, the keypad screen blacks out.
Meaning I can't finish no calls or type in a number if I call automated switchboards (like calling the bank, BT).

Fuckin' taking this back to the shop over the w/end.
Just don't have time for this kinda shite...

http://www.ismashphone.com/2010/07/...problems-with-iphone-4s-proximity-sensor.html

 

[Sunray]

What? it doesn't matter if they dont have internal apple tools. The antenna is where it is, end of. You cant code away that fact.

This is something that was bound to happen at some stage with how the fashion of handsets moved away from an external antenna.

So what your saying is that its 100% certain not a bug with the phones software and cannot in anyway be improved by altering the settings and software of the phone?

Clearly a ridiculous position to take esp as I am having no issue with the phone and some other people are.

 

[fen_boy]

My iPhone 4 has a major problem.

Everytime I dial out or receive a call, the keypad screen blacks out.
Meaning I can't finish no calls or type in a number if I call automated switchboards (like calling the bank, BT).

Fuckin' taking this back to the shop over the w/end.
Just don't have time for this kinda shite...

http://www.ismashphone.com/2010/07/...problems-with-iphone-4s-proximity-sensor.html

Stupid question, does it come back on if you tap the screen?

 

[100% masahiko]

Stupid question, does it come back on if you tap the screen?

Nope.
It's black but the call is still active.
I tilt the screen and the screen comes back on for a split second before disappearing again.

Oh well, more queueing in the Apple Store for this w/end.

 

[stupid dogbot]

Perhaps you've found the magic Apple ticket handset!

You'll get a free tour of Stevie Jobs Chocolate phone factory!

 

[editor]

And little debate that the bulk of consumers don't give a toss.

Like I said before, a big spring could sporadically boing out the back and it would probably still sell by the bucketload, but it would be foolish to think that this problem is having zero adverse effect in the minds of consumers.

Having an independent magazine with 7.3 million subscribers tell people that they can't recommend Apple's flagship product because of a design fault can't be good business.

If only Jobs would just admit that there's a relatively small problem with the handset and give away free bumpers this PR disaster could have been nipped in the bud long ago.

Edit to add: even MacWorld is unimpressed - Apple's arrogance and the iPhone 4 antenna debacle
http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?olo=rss&NewsID=3230555