Archive for iPhone 3G
by Ewan Spence
October 3, 2008 at 7:31 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Obama, Politics, Privacy, Social Networking, Software, iPhone, iPhone 3G
You have to hand it to the US Democrat campaign. Their recently released phone book application for the iPhone is a master-stroke for the Obama campaign. The message of change that he is promoting to the electorate now has a delightfully new mobile component.
Writing a new phonebook application is a popular past-time for developers on PDA platforms (just count the number of alternatives on the Palm Pilots), this app has a different message to deliver – Vote For Me. And it does it in a very effective way. By listing your friends in the order of importance in the campaign (ie those in states where the vote is close are listed to the top), it not only gives users the feeling of engagement in the political campaign, but it also ‘calls back’ to the campaign HQ and lets them know how many calls have been made (but not passing over any contact details).
It’s a lovely little idea, and one that seems to fit with the ‘fresh air’ that the Obama candidacy is trying to portray. This is one of the most social applications I’ve seen in a long time. It takes your own personal relationship with people, and then leverages that to help someone else. No matter where you are on the political spectrum this is a cute idea.
Why stop when you’ve made an impression on the voter. It also takes positioning info and points you to a local campaign organisation or events that are nearby. Sometimes it’s not the message that counts, it’s the delivery.
You can be sure that future campaigns around the world will use similar tools, especially when they are looking to do grass roots motivation, so the politicisation of the phone is now here. Whether any of them will make a practical difference to the result remains to be seen, but for now, hats off to the Democrats. Now if they would ship this for a phone that has a wider user base in the swing states…
Download the app yourself from the iPhone App Store.
by Tarek Abu-Esber
August 16, 2008 at 8:29 am · Filed under Apple, Devices, iPhone 3G
It has been a month since the iPhone 3G hit stores worldwide to an eagerly awaiting crowd. It was the second coming of the Jesus-Phone and this one was going to be the phone we deserved the first time round. New Firmware, GPS, the App Store and of course the 3G support all built into a more curvaceous body.
Things didn’t get off to a perfect start on launch day with O2s systems going down in the UK and Apple having problems with iTunes activation and the freshly launched Mobile Me. But despite these issues Apple still managed to sell over a million iPhone 3Gs in its first weekend of release.
So how does the Jesus-Phone 2.0 shape up?
The Hardware
The original iPhone was extremely well built with a metal back-plate and a solid glass front and the iPhone 3G maintains that pedigree. The metal back-plate has been replaced by a more curvy plastic one but the device still feels reassuringly heavy, solid and is more pocketable.
Sadly that is where the praise ends because the iPhone 3G has to have some of the worst Hardware I’ve ever used in a high-end phone. It fails at even the most basic tasks and a lot of the features didn’t seem to work at all.
Let me start with the most basic of features: Making voice calls. The iPhone 3G (I shall refer to it as the iFail for the remainder of this post) would regularly refuse to initiate a phone call sometimes requiring me to try 7-8 times before it decided it would let me call someone. That is something I’ve never experienced even in the early days when I had my first mobile phone.
Of course I would only be able to try and make that call if I was actually lucky enough to be in an area where I could pick up reception. The iFail seems to maintain an average reception level of 2 bars and will also drop service all together at random intervals. 3G reception is just as dodgy.
And before you even mention O2, I always carry 2 phones with me, both on the O2 network. Whenever I’ve had these problems on the iFail the other phone (usually a Nokia) has worked perfectly and has maintained full reception in most cases. Can’t blame O2 at all, it’s all down to the iFail hardware.
And reception isn’t the only hardware issue, GPS is just as problematic. The first iFail I used flat-out refused to connect to GPS at all even when out in the open on a perfect clear day. The device even failed to give me a rough location based on Cell-ID or WiFi hotspots, something that the built in Skyhook software should be able to do. The second iFail proved to be a bit better and would actually lock onto a GPS location, however it seemed to have a mind of its own and would only connect when it felt like it. Admittedly when GPS worked it was great but it’s lack of reliability meant that I couldn’t trust that it would work when I needed it to.
However both these problems are trumped by the iFails worst feature: Battery Life. The iFail has the worst battery life of any device I’ve ever used, including the first-generation N95. Sure it will last all day if you turn 3G and WiFi off and don’t check your email too often but I’m a person who actually uses his phone.
Let me try and put this into perspective: After 2.5 hours of using the iFail as I would any other phone I had 20% battery left from a full charge. What was I doing? Checking email, taking pictures and uploading them to Moblog, making a phone call or two and using the browser to check and update Twitter. I wasn’t even listening to music while doing all that. So even if the iFail had no faults and had the most compelling features in the mobile world, I wouldn’t be able to use them as I’d run out of charge before my day had even begun.
Software
When it came to Software I wasn’t expecting any problems. Apples UI is fantastic and intuitive and had just been updated. Unfortunately the new updates seem to have slowed down the UI and OS. Applications (both native and installed) freeze when being opened, Safari stutters when you scroll round a page and I’ve experienced my first crashes on an iPhone. In a word, it’s Buggy.
More annoying than these minor speed issues are the limitations the device has when compared to other phones on the market. We all know that the iPhone can’t send MMS and can’t record video, which is a bad start. There really is no excuse for these basic features to be missing and I’d assume these would be more important to the average user than GPS or even HSDPA.
However power-users who are used to having smartphones will notice more limitations like the absence of an option to copy/paste text and, crucially, the inability to run non-native apps in the background. Before you start shouting, yes I get that most users wouldn’t miss either of those features but in my opinion it’s features like this that are crucial to making a phone a truly multi-purpose device.
The lack of background apps is particularly annoying, something I’ve become used to after years of S60 (and even WinMo) use. The last.fm application is useless to me as I can’t play the music in the background while doing other things. Shozu is also effected because I have to leave it open while it uploads a photo and if I exit it by mistake the data sent will be posted as half an image.
Apple tell us that this limitation is to preserve the battery life, and I can believe them given how anemic the iFails battery is. There are promises that some Apps will eventually be allowed to run in the background so we’ll have to see what future software updates bring.
However it isn’t all doom-and-gloom in terms of Software. The addition of the App Store to the iPhone/iPod Touch platform is a real triumph. Never has it been so easy to browse, download and install apps from on the device itself. Nokias Download! app pales in comparison and makes you wonder why Nokia haven’t ever had something as compelling as the App Store on their S60 phones.
It certainly helps that the App Store is already full of various applications a good proportion of which are free to download. My only issue is that some larger applications (over 10Mb) can’t be downloaded over 3G and require a WiFi connection if you want to download it on the device. This is the same limitation that makes the iTunes app totally useless to me, an artificial limitation being imposed by Apple this time on a data tariff that is supposed to allow unlimited use.
My final Software issue is to do with Geo-Tagging. The thing that really made the iPhone 3g appealing was that it would have GPS which would let me dive into the world of LBS. I was especially looking forward to Geo-Tagging my images and mapping various journeys and events using Moblogs new LBS features. However after finally getting GPS working on my iFail I noticed that none of the images I’d been uploading had any location information attached to them.
It turned out that the iFail can Geo-Tag images but the location information isn’t available to non-native apps. This mean when I use Shozu to upload my photos Apple doesn’t send through the location information that is attached to that image. Another needless limitation that defies common sense.
The iFail Experience
Having used the original iPhone and the iPod Touch I really had high expectations for the iPhone 3G. I knew it would have limitations because Apple like to keep tight control of the user experience but I wasn’t prepared for the experience to be quite this bad.
The thing is with some minor tweaks Apple could make the iPhone platform far more compelling. However that would mean loosening their grip on the overall user experience and that’s something we know they aren’t willing to do.
But I’m really just playing devils advocate with this “review”. Some of the issues I’ve talked about wouldn’t affect a casual user and the basic iPhone user experience is still very, very good. The iPhone 3G is a great device, I just think it could have been so much more. Hopefully the next version will live up to my high expectations and really shake up the industry the way the original iPhone did. For now we have a mediocre upgrade to a great device which will still win a lot of hearts and minds for Apple.
by Paul Ruppert
July 12, 2008 at 8:42 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, iPhone, iPhone 3G
CURRENTLY China Represents 20% of the iPhone’s Market
Everyone is gaga about the iPhone–summer silly season–even in China where it is available only on the black market. Although Apple has no deal with a Chinese operator. Kevin Li, an analyst at In-Stat China estimates there are over 1 million of them in the middle kingdom. With 5.4 million iPhones sold since introduction, 19% of production is going to China–where the iPhone isn’t legally sold.
On February 3, 2008, I reported at my blog Mobile Point View that there was a revenue gap between Apple and ATT, and roughly 25% of iPhones were being hacked or hijacked to overseas markets–the consensus at the time was 400,000 iPhones were in China. That number has grown significantly. Notwithsanding the price. An IHT artilce reports that in Bangkok, Patpong’s vendors are selling the eight gigabyte iPhone for 29,000 baht, or US$ 860. In China, along Huaihai Road in Shanghai, at the Cybermart mall you can get an unlocked non-3g iPhone for 3,000 yuan, or $438. If you’re willing to go with the Chinese knock-off copy, only 1,000 yuan, or US$146.
One of the access points for China’s iPhones is now Hong Kong, where Hutchison Telecommunications (3HK) has been overcome with requests from internet applications to become iPhone-istas. All mobile handsets are unlocked in Hong Kong–no subsidization there. So it will be a growing channel point for iPhones into mainland China. An unlocked iPhone costs 4,680 Hong Kong dollars, or US$600, but customers must sign up for a two-year contract, with the least-expensive monthly plan costing HK$ 188 dollars or US$ 24. No word on early deactiviation penalty. Given the travel flow between the mainland and HKSAR, Hong Kong in some form will become a main entry point.
iPhone Wi-Fi as China’s Great Firewall Killer?
If and when the iPhone comes to China, the Chinese government has a dilemma. iPhone’s wi-fi feature will have to be removed. Otherwise web surfers will be able to circumvent China’s restrictive internet access security. Moreover, China Mobile has it’s own full music download service which iTunes would be a head to head competitor of. iPhone with no wi-fi dimenishes the user experience, which may drive more iPhone wannabes to seek out the pirated version over an eventual CMCC version.
China Mobile now in new Talks with Apple: When will iPhone legally be Available in China?
Speculation abounds whether China Mobile (CMCC) will succomb to Apple’s shared revenue business model. According to Market Watch on July 9, China Mobile has re-entered talks with Apple. Supposedly Apple has dropped its requirement of revenue sharing of services and airtime.
At this point, my earlier prediction of no iPhone in China looks pretty good. Additional rumors in the Chinese internet are that now China Unicom (CUNC) has signed and will introduce the 3G iPhone in August. RIGHT. Don’t hold your breadth. From all my contacts there, everything from IT deals to just plain business meetings are being put off until “After the Olympics.”
Ox iPhone
Whether it is China Mobile or China Unicom, here’s a refined prediction for legal iPhone sales in China…look for the iPhone to enter China during the Chinese New Year in 2009, the year of the Ox-enduring prosperity and strength. A natural fit…gift giving, cash flowing, iPhone buying.
by Darla Mack
July 11, 2008 at 7:37 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, iPhone, iPhone 3G
Anyone who has children or can remember their youth on Christmas day can understand where I’m getting at with this.
On Christmas day the adrenaline is pumping. You eagerly get ready to tear apart those gifts. Nothing else matters… no breakfast, still in pj’s, making a mad dash to the Christmas tree to claim what’s yours and once you’ve unwrapped everything and sit in a huge pile of glittery paper admiring your treasures the high seems to die down. Why? Your task is accomplished. You play around with some of the items and then push them to the side to move onto the next one and so on and so on. Then the unexpected happens… you return to your room where your old toys are and begin to play with them. That my friends, is the Christmas affect. I’ve seen it happen, and I remember doing it myself.
I can see the same thing happening on Friday. You wait on that long line and share in the enthusiasm of your new found friends to the left and right of you (depending on how the line is formed). You share stories of last years iPhone triumphs and plan on the accessories that you will by and what you would like to see from the App store. Then it happens. The doors open. The flood rushes in. It’s your turn on line. You look at the sales rep in total excitement hoping to see a glimpse of the same in return. (Hey the guy/gal is just there to do his/her job)
You’ve picked your rate plan!!! You’ve made your purchase without any kinks during the process!!! You celebrate your new purchase by maybe buying an accessory. Then your off to examine your treasure!! You turn it on and begin to explore. If this is your very first iPhone your explore time will take longer than those existing users. You seem to grasp the hang of it a bit. You call your friends, family, other iPhone users. You HAVE to check out the video voicemail just to see how it works. Then suddenly things began to die down a bit.
You get home and start setting it up so that you can sync your info, download your music, etc. The adrenaline is wearing off. You try and get some sleep… but wait, the internet awaits you. You have to see how others experiences went. So that’s about another 2-3 hours of surfing, responding to message boards… blah blah blah.
A few days goes by and the excitement has worn off… your left thinking to yourself “what was all the excitement about”.
Notice any similarities to the Christmas affect?
by Darla Mack
June 22, 2008 at 9:54 pm · Filed under ATT, Apple, iPhone 3G
The truth has somewhat been revealed regarding AT&T’s pricing of the upcoming 3G iPhone. According to Gizmodo, ineligble customers won’t be able to benefit from the $199/$299 pricetag that was announced by Apple. Didn’t you kind of figure there was a catch of some sort?
The 3G iPhone pricing of $199/$299 with AT&T will only be for: A) Existing customers who qualify for an upgrade. B) New customers. C) Existing iPhone customers who purchase an new iPhone and extend their contract for 2 years.
So that means that there will be an unsubsidized price for those who don’t fall into that category, however, the price hasn’t been mentioned.
What I find odd is that before the iPhone left the shelves of AT&T, customers didn’t have an upgrade option… or so I was told by my local store. So why have one now?
Am I Eligible for an AT&T Cell Phone Upgrade?
Not all Cingular/AT&T customers may qualify for a cell phone upgrade. At this time, AT&T Mobility allows these customers to upgrade with no upgrade fee when they commit to a new 2-year contract:
* AT&T customers who have had 24 months of cell phone service since activation of their cell phone or since their last phone upgrade.
Certain AT&T customers may be eligible for a cell phone upgrade even if they have been in their current plan for less than two years (24 months), if they commit to a new 2-year contract and meet these eligibility requirements:
* Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing at least $68.99 a month but no more than $98.99 a month, and who has been in contract (and not had a phone upgrade) for 21 months or more,
or
* Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing $99 a month or more, and who has been in contract (and not upgraded) in the last 12 months.
A customer with a calling plan and data services of less than $69 who is 21 to 23 months into contract may upgrade for a fee and a commitment of an additional two-year service contract extension. No upgrade fee is assessed for any customers who are on a month-to-month agreement.
Note that AT&T upgrade eligibility may be further limited based on customer’s usage history, payment record, previous phone replacement, etc. Upgrade eligibility is solely determined by AT&T Mobility at its discretion. [via: Wirefly]
by Tarek Abu-Esber
June 9, 2008 at 9:56 pm · Filed under Apple, Devices, UK, iPhone 3G
Today we witnessed the announcement of the Jesus-phone 2.0 - the Apple iPhone 3G. So pencil in July 11th as the date of the second coming of the iPhone, only this time with 3G (HSDPA baby), GPS (assisted) and a sexier body.
Darla and Ewan have already covered the American numbers between them and Imran has covered the lust-factor, but what does the iPhone 3G mean to UK users?
First and foremost the new iPhone will be Free from O2 on an 18 month contract. This finally brings the iPhone in line with every other Smartphone on the market in the UK and is no doubt down to Apples re-vamped revenue model for the iPhone. You know, the one that’s replacing the “revolutionary” revenue share model that AT&T and so few other networks agreed to?
Current O2 customers aren’t left out and can pay £100 for the privilege of upgrading to the iPhone 3G. When you compare that to the price point that the iPhone started at in 2007, we’ve come a long way.
As O2 haven’t released details of the subscription packages that will be available for the new iPhone in the UK it isn’t clear if we’ll see large rises in the cost of data packages and call bundles like we’ve seen in the US. Assuming they’re the same as the current iPhone packaged, then it looks like Apple may have hit a home-run when it comes to the price point of the iPhone in the UK.
However price isn’t everything and the UK market is, in some ways, more tech-conscious than the USA. Apple have done the obvious and added 3G and GPS to the device, two major flaws in the original design but they seem to have ignored far more basic improvements like MMS, video recording, instant messaging and an improved camera. My money says those features are as important, if not more so, than 3G and GPS to an average user in the UK.
But perhaps I’ve been too optimistic here. As soon as I heard the $199 price point my immediate reaction was “They’re going for the mass market.” but I don’t think that’s true just yet. The iPhone 3G has been updated specifically to take full advantage of the high-end Smartphone market with its top-end features and software updates aimed at the enterprise market. I’ll leave it to you to decide if that is Apple being short-sighted or a stroke of genius.
by Imran Ali
June 9, 2008 at 7:43 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, iPhone, iPhone 3G
I love the return to the signature white plastic of the classic iPods, iBooks and Macbooks; the addition of GPS enables a new generation of locative media and of course the more accessible price points…but, like the crushed anticipation of a new Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie, I can’t help but feel a little unfulfilled by Apple’s iPhone 3G…
- Where’s iChat? Nevermind the lack of a forward-facing camera or videochat…how about basic instant messaging!
- Wah! I want a 32GB iPod touch! With the new lower price points for the iPhone 3G, there’s still room for a market-busting, high-end 32GB iPhone 3G. Maybe we’ll see another Valentine’s surprise from His Steveness.
- What’s with the antique 2-megapixel camera, lack of a flash and - for Pete’s sake - still no MMS?!
- Black & White? You know most of us are Brown or Yellow Steve
And yet she bewitches me…she’s crazy, dumb, expensive and maddening - but she makes me feel. She’s a bimbo, but each touch of her milky white skin is a revelatory, swooping journey into haptic insanity.
I want her.
