iPhone - what's it like as a "phone"?

faceman

Im a heavy user and use the iPhone for everything its designed to do! The battery life sucks no question. Sometimes I have to charge it twice in the one day (if i have a day of heavy usage) However the great thing about it being an iPhone with regard to charging is you can charge it via your laptop and dont always have to use the plug etc.

The phone side of things is fine though, no real issues. I have had the original iPhone and the 3G model and i have noticed very little difference in phone reception quality.

I'd put a bet on now that within a week of getting the iPhone you will also get a data bundle add on!

luckat

cojomo2 wrote: »

could this be a legal thing? I think its against the law to record a conversation you are having with someone without their consent

I wouldn't do that. If I'm interviewing someone of course I say to them "I'm going to tape your answers for speed's sake" - and it was very handy in the Nokia to be able to do it. Not something I used often, but useful.

cojomo2

luckat wrote: »

I wouldn't do that. If I'm interviewing someone of course I say to them "I'm going to tape your answers for speed's sake" - and it was very handy in the Nokia to be able to do it. Not something I used often, but useful.

Thats ok then.

Victor_M

luckat wrote: »

I wouldn't do that. If I'm interviewing someone of course I say to them "I'm going to tape your answers for speed's sake" - and it was very handy in the Nokia to be able to do it. Not something I used often, but useful.

There may be an App available to do it, have a look on the App store via iTunes.

As for the battery, if you are using it as an iPod in Airplane mode it lasts a few days, I used it in san Francisco 2 weeks ago, I stood outside the Apple store logged onto their free WiFi and Skyped the wifes mobile phone, better sound quality than a normal mobile call, other phones have skype but not all of them have processors fast enough to allow for a decent conversation.

If roaming turn off Bluetooth, wifi (until you need it) and 3G and the battery lasts as long as any phone.

The main reason that the battery gets so much flak is that users finds themselves playing with the phone much more than any other device as it can do so much more than any other device (much to the disgust of non iPhone owners it would seem)

Mr Bloat

faceman wrote: »

Im a heavy user and use the iPhone for everything its designed to do! The battery life sucks no question. Sometimes I have to charge it twice in the one day (if i have a day of heavy usage) However the great thing about it being an iPhone with regard to charging is you can charge it via your laptop and dont always have to use the plug etc.

The phone side of things is fine though, no real issues. I have had the original iPhone and the 3G model and i have noticed very little difference in phone reception quality.

I'd put a bet on now that within a week of getting the iPhone you will also get a data bundle add on!

I hear ya, I have the standard charger at home, a usb charger in work and a car charger too! I'm happy on the days I *don't* have to charge it twice a day. Although as everyone else says, I use it far more than any other phone I've used. The battery is lasting longer on 3.0 than it ever did on 2.x but I haven't jailbroken 3.0 so that probably counts for that.
Someone above said that 3.0 is slower than 2.x? I can't say I've noticed that, to be fair and some apps have been quicker to launch, namely the sms and notes apps, which I always found extremely slow to launch.

w@ll3gurl

Victor_M wrote: »

There may be an App available to do it, have a look on the App store via iTunes.

The main reason that the battery gets so much flak is that users finds themselves playing with the phone much more than any other device as it can do so much more than any other device (much to the disgust of non iPhone owners it would seem)

I'm thinking of getting an iPhone for the first time and I agree with you Victor M about the battery. I'd say i'll put fierce pressure on it because i am just going to use it more than an existing phone. im thinking i'm not going to be using it so much as a phone - i dont heavily use my existing nokia. I would be a demon for the net though, and dont surf now because its too much hassle and too slow....

1 irritating little dark thought that keeps me doubting my iPhone purchase - the amount of talk on other forums about screens, backing coming away, cracks spontaneously appearing - is iPhone really that fragile or are they just putting it through too much rough and tumble?

mobius42

w@ll3gurl wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting an iPhone for the first time and I agree with you Victor M about the battery. I'd say i'll put fierce pressure on it because i am just going to use it more than an existing phone. im thinking i'm not going to be using it so much as a phone - i dont heavily use my existing nokia. I would be a demon for the net though, and dont surf now because its too much hassle and too slow....

1 irritating little dark thought that keeps me doubting my iPhone purchase - the amount of talk on other forums about screens, backing coming away, cracks spontaneously appearing - is iPhone really that fragile or are they just putting it through too much rough and tumble?

All smartphones will have much less battery life than regular phones due to their bigger screens, processors etc. Charging at least every second day comes with the package, I'm afraid. A lot of the complaints about battery life are also due to the fact that the iPhone is actually useable for surfing the net unlike some other phones. Because of this, people spend ages using them! Turning 3G and push email off is the biggest factor I've noticed when it comes to battery life.

Complaints about the screen's fragility are unfounded IMO. It's incredibly scratch-resistant; I have never used a cover and just keep it in my pocket. The screen is still spotless. Besides, no phone bar those JCB ones will stand up well to being dropped and thrown around. You'll just have to be careful with it!

Victor_M

mobius42 wrote: »

All smartphones will have much less battery life than regular phones due to their bigger screens, processors etc. Charging at least every second day comes with the package, I'm afraid. A lot of the complaints about battery life are also due to the fact that the iPhone is actually useable for surfing the net unlike some other phones. Because of this, people spend ages using them! Turning 3G and push email off is the biggest factor I've noticed when it comes to battery life.

Complaints about the screen's fragility are unfounded IMO. It's incredibly scratch-resistant; I have never used a cover and just keep it in my pocket. The screen is still spotless. Besides, no phone bar those JCB ones will stand up well to being dropped and thrown around. You'll just have to be careful with it!

My screen still hasn't a mark on it, not even the slightest scratch, I've never had a phone for this long that hasn't been scratched to hell. apparently they will shatter if dropped the wrong way, the brittle vs soft trade off I suppose, I've dropped mine once or twice and as I've mentioned it still perfect.

The cases are/were prone to cracks forming, not sure why, i reckon it's a defect with earlier ones as i haven't heard of one in a while, regardless, even if one does appear Apple will replace the case or if necessary the phone under warranty.

w@ll3gurl

thanks victor_M and mobius42, good to hear feedback from iPhone users. As you said, just be careful. Its not any more fragile than anything else by the sounds of it.

that was really my only concern, but then i always over-think these gadget purchases and then when i get them, i forget all about it and get on with it! Can't wait to have proper surfing on the bus though!!!

MickH503

w@ll3gurl wrote: »

thanks victor_M and mobius42, good to hear feedback from iPhone users. As you said, just be careful. Its not any more fragile than anything else by the sounds of it.

Slightly off topic ... but would you iPhone owners recommend taking out insurance? And is the O2 insurance for €9 per month one of the better policies? Also, if a new iPhone is purchased from CPW, can O2 insurance be taken out afterwards on the web? I read in another thread that the CPW insurance is to be avoided?? Thanks ...

lalee17

Mine's great, I don't have a single scratch on it either. It's fairly easy to get used to the texting interface, etc too. Get one! It's well worth it.

ScabbyLeg

I was wondering if anyone can check and see if it's easy to change the language / dictionary for your outgoing texts?

Say you send a text in English and then you want to change to a foreign language dictionary for the predictive text, it'd be nice not to have to go searching through lots of menus only to have to do the same to change it back again!

osnola ibax

In terms of scratching / breaking, there is a large plethora of protective cases out there, I use one with a screen protector sticky film jobby and it's perfect. I would recommend the iPhone highly, right now I'm streaming the iPod to my stereo while posting this reply, how good is that?

Just wondering how many people use their iPhones to post on boards, I love the boards mobile interface, if anything it's easier to use and less cluttered than the full version.

padolicious

osnola ivax wrote: »

In terms of scratching / breaking, there is a large plethora of protective cases out there, I use one with a screen protector sticky film jobby and it's perfect. I would recommend the iPhone highly, right now I'm streaming the iPod to my stereo while posting this reply, how good is that?

Just wondering how many people use their iPhones to post on boards, I love the boards mobile interface, if anything it's easier to use and less cluttered than the full version.

Yeah I use it 2.... It's great. I'm on my iPhone at de mo!

mobius42

ScabbyLeg wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone can check and see if it's easy to change the language / dictionary for your outgoing texts?

Say you send a text in English and then you want to change to a foreign language dictionary for the predictive text, it'd be nice not to have to go searching through lots of menus only to have to do the same to change it back again!

It's simple to change the language, one of the advantages of a software keyboard. Have a look at the pictures I attached. The globe button in the bottom left lets you cycle through the various keyboards; you just enable the ones you want in the settings. I've shown the English and Russian keyboards as an example. You can see all the various languages supported here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

Also, the iPhone has a full qwerty keyboard, so there is no predictive text like other phones. It does have very good error correction, though.

bk

luckat wrote: »

You can't send a photo attached to a text. Sure, you can email it - but not everyone I know uses email on their phones. In fact, no one does.

You can in the new 3.0 OS.

luckat wrote: »

No cut-and-paste - though this is appearing in the new OS. Apparently the new OS is much slower, which doesn't matter if you're using the new phone that's coming out now - but I won't be buying that new phone, too dear, so I'll just end up with a slow OS.

Not true, it is the same or very slightly faster.

What you are getting mixed up with is that some of the Beta versions of the 3.0 OS had debugging turned on, so that developers could test and debug it. Debugging always causes apps to run slower. Obviously the production release has debugging turned off.

luckat wrote: »

You can't record calls as you make them - something I would occasionally want to do if I was doing an interview with someone who was in a big hurry.

Interesting workarounds to allow you to record calls here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=346430&page=2

Also with all the new API's in the 3.0 OS, we might see an official app to do this.

ScabbyLeg

mobius42 wrote: »

Also, the iPhone has a full qwerty keyboard, so there is no predictive text like other phones. It does have very good error correction, though.

Ah that's great, thanks mobius!
Yes, the error correction is what I'm after! As my German isn't perfect, it's nice to have a spell checker to help along when you're fumbling about with spellings

Blisterman

MickH503 wrote: »

Slightly off topic ... but would you iPhone owners recommend taking out insurance? And is the O2 insurance for €9 per month one of the better policies? Also, if a new iPhone is purchased from CPW, can O2 insurance be taken out afterwards on the web? I read in another thread that the CPW insurance is to be avoided?? Thanks ...

Mobile phone insurance is very overpriced.
€9 a month is over €100 a year.

Generally household insurance policies will cover your mobile phone for a very small bit extra, if you have one.

Also, some bank accounts give you free mobile phone insurance, so its worth checking if yours does.

keith_d99

This is something I have wondered about - will house insurance cover a new iPhone or do they account for depeciation etc.

For instance, you lose your iPhone after 6 months - will they pay out enough to pay for a new iPhone????

Anybody know if AIB have free mobile insurance?

Blisterman wrote: »

Mobile phone insurance is very overpriced.
€9 a month is over €100 a year.

Generally household insurance policies will cover your mobile phone for a very small bit extra, if you have one.

Also, some bank accounts give you free mobile phone insurance, so its worth checking if yours does.

ROS123

in repsonse to the original question, I have use all kinds of Nokias and didn't persevere with any of them. I have been using Iphone since Christmas a record for me in staying with a phone.

Where does one get the 'boards mobile interface'

JoeA3

Blisterman wrote: »

Mobile phone insurance is very overpriced.
€9 a month is over €100 a year.

Generally household insurance policies will cover your mobile phone for a very small bit extra, if you have one.

Also, some bank accounts give you free mobile phone insurance, so its worth checking if yours does.

Agreed. I personally think €9 per month is outrageous, but I'm extremely cynical towards insurance policies like this, in much the same way as the likes of Curry's try to push extra unnecessary warranties on people.

I have my entire house and contents insured, including named expensive items such as engagement ring, TV, laptops, etc for about €350 per annum. I'm pretty sure it would also cover phone loss / theft, I will be checking!

mobius42

ROS123 wrote: »

in repsonse to the original question, I have use all kinds of Nokias and didn't persevere with any of them. I have been using Iphone since Christmas a record for me in staying with a phone.

Where does one get the 'boards mobile interface'

Go to m.boards.ie

parka

Stupid Question, but I'm sure someone will give the answer quick:

I travel a lot and sometimes it's hard enough to get a o2 network coverage let alone wi-fi. I do I get e-mail etc on an iphone if I have no wi-fi access (Is this where the 1gb free download service comes in?)

Thanks

mobius42

parka wrote: »

Stupid Question, but I'm sure someone will give the answer quick:

I travel a lot and sometimes it's hard enough to get a o2 network coverage let alone wi-fi. I do I get e-mail etc on an iphone if I have no wi-fi access (Is this where the 1gb free download service comes in?)

Thanks

I there's no wifi, it uses the mobile network which is where the 1GB limit applies. If there's neither Wifi nor mobile reception, you won't be able to receive anything.

Dades

JoeA3 wrote: »

I have my entire house and contents insured, including named expensive items such as engagement ring, TV, laptops, etc for about €350 per annum. I'm pretty sure it would also cover phone loss / theft, I will be checking!

Definitely check first before assuming it would be covered. I'd say they must have a specific policy on 'mobile phones' - and are unlikely to fork out €600 for one.

parka

mobius42 wrote: »

I there's no wifi, it uses the mobile network which is where the 1GB limit applies. If there's neither Wifi nor mobile reception, you won't be able to receive anything.

Thanks, oh well my own fault for being stuck in the bog end of nowhere!!