iphone 3G

[electricmage]

has anyone seen or heard of the newest version of iphone?

And what do you think?

Are there any current users, and if so, how much are you rate/plans?

I'm most likely going to get one, but I'm wondering how much the monthly cost is. I'm hearing that it's going to be 30 dollars, on top of your current minutes plan, with the addition of 3G...

[Virginia]

Our contract comes up in June, and I plan to get a smart phone then. I've started researching the options. The Blackberry Curve seems to be the best fit for what I need, although since I am also due for a new iPod, I'm still considering an iPhone. We are currently with Verizon though, so we would have to switch carriers to make that work (Blackberry would work with Verizon).

Mashable just put out a really good article on how to choose a smart phone:

Mashable.com - How to Choose a Smart Phone

(Mashable is my favorite business related site; it's the place to go for info on mobile technology and social media).

[manderlyh]

^my old roommate works at T-Mobile. She said Blackberries are the best for smart phones. She keeps trying to get me to buy one (though I am not due for a free phone and cannot afford to just go out and buy one).

I've wondered about the iPhone, but it really pisses me off that only At&T carries them. I went through AT&T once, about ten years ago, and I got burned. I'm not feeling like repeating that again.

[Electrophile]

^my old roommate works at T-Mobile. She said Blackberries are the best for smart phones. She keeps trying to get me to buy one (though I am not due for a free phone and cannot afford to just go out and buy one).

I've wondered about the iPhone, but it really pisses me off that only At&T carries them. I went through AT&T once, about ten years ago, and I got burned. I'm not feeling like repeating that again.

I believe Verizon is going to be picking up the iPhone - it's why my sister wants one next year. Of course she can't afford it, but that won't stop her from wanting it.

[ninelives]

I have heard a lot of negative feedback on the Iphones. I know some people think they're the best thing going. I'm not one that is in favor of one piece of equipment that does a ton of stuff. I think it increases the chances of it breaking. Plus I find the touch screen really difficult to type on. I have a blackberry and I love it. Not had any problems in the 3 years I've owned it.

As far as the cost of the plan - the 20 bucks extra is standard I think for any phone that you have internet service on. That's what I pay. But the regular monthly plan is the same.

[manderlyh]

I think I pay $15 a month extra for the internet and unlimited data, etc. I have a texting phone that I hate--the Samsung Rant, (the camera in it sucks).

I know the Blackberries have great cameras in them. A few of my friends who have them take good pictures with them.

I kind of wish I could have ONE gadget for all. I hate carrying my phone, my iPod, my camera, etc. all with me. I fell like I have a purse full of electronic devices, and that's it.

FUNNY THING: as I'm typing about this, my phone starts ringing. I try to answer it MULTIPLE TIMES, and Dave does too, and it won't stop ringing. You would think it would go to voicemail, but NOOO. I had to pull the battery out of it to get it to shut up!

[ebk]

I love my Blackberry! I have a friend with an iPhone and he loves it because it has the Slingbox app... but to me, the BB functions just fine. I especially love the BBMessenger. I can chat with my friends who have BBs, and chat with my brother in Rome - all included!

[Dzldoc]

I have a first gen. iPhone so it uses the edge network for the internet so I can't really comment on the 3G or 3G models but I will tell you about my experience with mine.

First off you can't send text photos with this one just email, there's no video record only voice record and camera stills which are pretty decent.

I love the iPod part since I can load music and videos.

I had the first one for almost two years then had some pixel problems that weren't really covered under the apple care warranty but they gave me a new phone anyway so I'm good for awhile and don't plan to upgrade anytime soon.

The 3G network is faster on the internet side from what I understand. The safari browser sux on some sites like this one and there is no flash support so if you are looking at something in flash all you will see are a little blue block with a question mark

My plan is $65.55 tax included.

[Virginia]

I'm curious how well the iPhone substitues for a separate iPod. Specifically, I mainly use my iPod while running; does that work with an iPhone? (they seem too big for that)

[Dzldoc]

I'm curious how well the iPhone substitues for a separate iPod. Specifically, I mainly use my iPod while running; does that work with an iPhone? (they seem too big for that)

I've seen an arm band made for this reason, I have a regular case to protect the phone nothing needed for running

edited to say maybe an iPod touch is for you, I bouhgt one for my son and it does everything an iPhone does except make phone calls.

[Virginia]

I've seen an arm band made for this reason, I have a regular case to protect the phone nothing needed for running

Hmmm, well that could tip the scales since I'd otherwise need to buy a new iPod anyway...I still have 6 months to think about it.

[BUCK'EYE' DOC]

My oldest son got an iPhone in October. His other phone kept turning off on him for no reason for a period of several months. He uses his phone for his alarm, and it shut off overnight once and caused him to oversleep and be late for his first ever midterm in Ohio State's Optometry school. (He was 40 minutes late for the test, but he took it in the 10 minutes of the remaining time and still got an 80% on it!) That necessitated getting a new phone quickly so it wouldn't happen again (Optometry school is hard enough and missing or being late for exams is not acceptable). I couldn't convince him to use an alarm clock, LOL. Most phones now are smart phones, so you need the extra service for them. They had a special price for the iPhone 3G that week, so that's what he got. He likes the phone alot, likes all the Apps available. They even have a Metallica App!

We have a family plan for $50 per month plus $9.99 per month each for the second and third phone. Then we have unlimited texting for $30 per month for all phones, and then the service for the internet just for the iPhone costs another extra $30 per month. I think that it is outrageous how much it costs, but what can you do. You almost can't live without a cell phone anymore.

My husband's phone is paid for by the company that he works for, but he has AT&T like we do, so he is in our network. That helps out a little on the cost.

[Dzldoc]

I use my phone too but have an electric one with a battery back-up and ole trusty here incase all else fails

[BUCK'EYE' DOC]

I use my phone too but have an electric one with a battery back-up and ole trusty here incase all else fails

I think that now he does use a conventional alarm clock on days of his exams. And my husband and I call him up at 7AM on exam days to make sure that he is awake. In undergrad school, he only scheduled classes that started at 10 AM or later. And he has worked night shift at his summer job for the past three summers. So he is not used to getting up early. The classes in Optometry school begin at 8 AM, and he will have to deal with getting up early for them for the next four years of school, so he better get used to it, lol.

[manderlyh]

^LOL

I know a LOT of people, even ones who are well into their 30's who don't use regular alarm clocks now. I don't like the lack of a snooze button and the fact that if you wake up and roll over, wanting to know what time it is, you have to grope around for your phone to check the time. It also doesn't help that I can't see a damned thing when I'm in bed because I don't have my corrective lenses in, which brings me to the next point: my 2" alarm clock numbers that I can't see in bed are much bigger than the ones on my phone.

Virginia: iTouches are pretty cool. I'm holding out for one that has a bigger capacity than 64 GB though. I want to start loading movies onto them too, because that's a wonderfully handy little feature, especially when you have kids fighting in the backseat in on a car trip, (not that I need to worry about that at the moment, but still).

[MisterMcLov1n]

I have an iPhone 3G. I got it with a sizable amount cut off the price tag since I've been due for an upgrade for years. The phone itself is excellent. The variety of apps is astounding and the general solid presentation is sweet. However, the service blows holy balls. If Verizon ever comes to the iPhone, I will switch immediately.

[Dzldoc]

You can thank the church of Steve Jobs for that! AT&T made a deal with the devil. However having said that, when they first came out you didn't have to sign a contract to actually buy the phones and I made a butt load of money off of buying them and re-selling them to the europeans (mostly Germany) at a nice profit and paid off the bill pocketed a nice knot and kept a free phone for myself

[Virginia]

In case it's helpful to anyone else, here are several of the articles I read comparing Blackberry Curve and iPhone:

Blackberry Curve vs iPhone

Why T-Mobile's Blackberry Curve 8900 is Worth Buying

and comparing the Blackberry Curve 8330 vs 8900:

Compare Blackberry Curve 8330 to 8900

If we switch carriers, I would prefer the Blackberry Curve 8900, but if we stick with Verizon I guess I would get the 8330. I just noticed there's a free app for Blackberry that allows you to synch with your iTunes, which could solve the iPod issue.

[Zepulon]

I don't have an iPhone, but I do have an iPod Touch which, like another poster said, does everything an iPhone does except make phone calls. However, it's possible to make calls on the iPod touch if you download the Skype app. So it's like having an iPhone without the steep monthly plan! The only thing that stinks is that you have to rely on Wi-Fi to connect to Skype, so you're more limited on where to make calls.

[Virginia]

I'll definitely want to rely on whatever I get for phone service, because we're probably going to ditch the land line in the next year. I'm still leaning toward the Blackberry Curve, although I did read somewhere recently that Verizon *might* be getting iPhones in the second half of 2010. Which dovetails nicely with when our current contract is up...

[Uncle Bill]

I'll definitely want to rely on whatever I get for phone service, because we're probably going to ditch the land line in the next year. I'm still leaning toward the Blackberry Curve, although I did read somewhere recently that Verizon *might* be getting iPhones in the second half of 2010. Which dovetails nicely with when our current contract is up...

You may want to rethink that plan. Apparently it's the iphone that's causing the problems not AT&T's network. I'm very happy w/ AT&T and my iphone btw. I had nothing but trouble when I had verizon. YMMV

Article from the Times

"I LOVE my iPhone. I just wish it were matched with Verizon Wireless, the carrier with the most envied reputation as fast, ubiquitous, reliable, nigh perfect.

Consumer Reports has just released its annual survey of cellphone service, and its respondents collectively agree with me about the rankings: AT&T occupies the bottom and Verizon, the top.

My sense of Verizon’s superiority is confirmed every time I see a “there’s a map for that” Verizon commercial, graphically showing how far more extensive Verizon’s 3G network coverage is in less populated areas. And it is reinforced when AT&T executives publicly confess — as Ralph de la Vega, the chief executive and president of AT&T mobility and consumer markets, did last week at an industry conference — that the company’s wireless service in New York and San Francisco was “below our standards.”

When I set about looking for independent data, however, to confirm the superior performance of Verizon’s network, I was astonished to discover that I had managed to get things exactly wrong. Despite the well-publicized problems in New York and San Francisco, AT&T seems to have the superior network nationwide.

And the iPhone itself may not be so great after all. Its design is contributing to performance problems.

Roger Entner, senior vice president for telecommunications research at Nielsen, said the iPhone’s “air interface,” the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, had shortcomings that “affect both voice and data.” He said that in the eyes of the consumer, “the iPhone has the nimbus of infallibility, ergo, it’s AT&T’s fault.” AT&T does not publicly defend itself because it will not criticize Apple under any circumstances, he said. AT&T and Apple both declined to comment on Mr. Entner’s assessments.

Neither AT&T nor Verizon was willing to reveal its internal data on performance. But Global Wireless Solutions, one of the third-party services that run network tests for the major carriers, shared some of its current findings. The service dispatches drivers across the country with phones and laptops equipped with data cards. They have covered more than three million miles of roads this year, while running almost two million wireless data sessions and placing more than three million voice calls, said Paul Carter, the president.

The results place AT&T’s data network not just on top, but well ahead of everyone else. “AT&T’s data throughput is 40 to 50 percent higher than the competition, including Verizon,” Mr. Carter said. AT&T is a client and Verizon is not, he added.

More evidence that AT&T’s data network is head-and-shoulders above Verizon’s comes from Root Wireless, a start-up in Bellevue, Wash., that is developing software for consumers to install on their smartphones to do continuous network tests. This generates empirical data for consumers who “today are buried under opinions and advertising slogans,” said Paul Griff, the chief executive. Root Wireless has no business relationship with any carrier.

This year, Root Wireless ran 4.7 million tests on smartphones for each of the four major carriers, spread across seven metropolitan areas: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles/Orange County, New York, Seattle/Tacoma, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington. In every market, AT&T had faster average download speeds and had signal strength of 75 percent or better more frequently than did Verizon. (A Verizon spokesman declined to comment about these test results or those of Global Wireless Solutions.)

I asked Ron Dicklin, chief technology officer at Root Wireless, how these results, showing AT&T as the clear leader, could be reconciled with the negative appraisal of Consumer Reports’ respondents. He explained that his company’s tests of AT&T’s data network were done with handsets other than the iPhone, which does not allow non-Apple programs like his to run in the background.

AT&T’s besting of Verizon in these tests is all the more remarkable considering the sudden jump in the volume of mobile data that its network has had to handle with the introduction of the iPhone 3G in 2008: approximately 4,000 percent.

Chetan Sharma, a telecommunications consultant whose clients have included AT&T and Verizon, said that when the network and the handset were improved, customers “just used it all the more.” AT&T didn’t anticipate the rate of growth and didn’t upgrade fast enough in some markets, he said. “Other operators have the luxury of watching and learning from AT&T,” he said, “which has the most number of next-generation smartphones, with full browsers and built-in video players.”

The data seem incontrovertible: AT&T, while meeting 4,000 percent growth in data use, has acquitted itself quite nicely. But the company is saddled with an awful public image as the perennial laggard.

AT&T and Apple could both gain by swapping talent.

Apple, send your marketing wizards to lend your partner a hand. It sorely needs help.

AT&T, send some engineers to redesign the iPhone to make better use of the country’s fastest wireless network."

[slagfarmer]

I have a Blackberry bold 9000. The main reason I went to BB is that I can tag it to my computer and use it as a modem for high speed Internet. To my knowledge you cant do this with a IPhone. I cannot get high speed Internet in my area so this was a no brainer for me. That said my crack berry is a fantastic phone!

[Virginia]

This would be great!

iPhone May Leave AT&T Exclusivity Wednesday (Rumor)

[manderlyh]

This would be great!

iPhone May Leave AT&T Exclusivity Wednesday (Rumor)

...which is making me afraid to go out and get a new phone. I can get a new Blackberry Curve from Sprint for $49.99.

I've been holding out though.

[Virginia]

...which is making me afraid to go out and get a new phone. I can get a new Blackberry Curve from Sprint for $49.99.

I've been holding out though.

I know; hopefully the dust will settle before our plan is up in June. Otherwise it'll probably be the BB for me too!