Wednesday, August 5, 2009

iPhone 3G/3GS analysis...

Making the Switch to the iPhone

I recently purchased the iPhone 16GB 3G from a co-worker who upgraded to the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone was scratched up quite a bit and the the ringer on/off switch, sadly was broken off, though it would still work if you used an end of a pen cap and carefully moved what was left of the switch.

Still, because of my co-worker's asking price, the iPhone wound up being cheaper than getting an equivalent capacity refurbished model, plus I did not have to renew another 2 year contract with AT&T so that pretty much put the whole deal over the top.

Once I got the phone, I swapped the SIM card from my old HTC Touch Cruise onto the newly acquired iPhone 3G. It wasn't simple "swap the SIM and play" like my other GSM phones however. I was not able to use the iPhone or make calls, until I registered the iPhone and SIM through iTunes. Once I did that, the iPhone was phone call ready at least. One thing that I do really miss from the HTC Touch Cruise, and it is the reason I bought the device in the first place, was the full Turn by Turn GPS thanks to the Tom Tom software for Windows Mobile:

  • http://www.tomtom.com/products/category.php?ID=2

Tom Tom for the iPhone, however is just down the horizon and will hopefully be avilable sonner than later:

  • http://iphone.tomtom.com/

I was also subscribing to an unlimited "phone" data plan with AT&T, but apparently that "generic" data plan wasn't compatible with the iPhone, so I had to make a call to AT&T Customer service and change my data plan to the "iPhone Data Plan", which to my understanding only comes in the unlimited flavor for $30 per month, as opposed to my "regular" unlimited data plan, which was around $20 per month. I also got the 200 iPhone text messaging plan for an additional $5 per month. A 1500 text message plan and an Unlimited text message plan were also available for $15 and $20 respectively for the SMS fanatics out there.

I understand the price premium that is placed on Voice and Data, but SMS messages take little if any bandwidth. In fact, for many third world countries that have GSM wireless service available, SMS is the most cost-effective form of mobile communication costing the equivalent one to two pennies in US currency per text, which I suppose is on par with the post-paid plans, but if you don't subscribe to one of these plans expect to be gouged to the tune of 20 cents per message, so if you send/receive 150 texts within a month, that $30 right there, the price of an unlimited plan, making it prudent to, at the very least, get the cheapest text plan to "absorb" the cost of the texts that you are sure to send and receive. But enough about my text rate gouging rant.

I had the iPhone for almost a week and decided to go to the Apple Store the following weekend to see if they could replace the switch. One of the Techs at the Genius bar said that if it was still under warranty, the repair service would be free, otherwise the estimated it to be $150-$200?! I had them check my phone to see if it was still under warranty, and luckily it was.
Unfortunately, they also required an appointment since the Genius Bar staff, I assume, was booked for the rest of the day and could not take walk-ins.

I mentioned that the price was a bit steep to replace just a little switch. The Genius Bar tech gave some spiel about the cost of the iPhone not being the actual cost, etc. but it didn't really sink in until I went to my Genius Bar appointment the next weekend. A bit of weirdness happened here, because the Tech who checked my phone said the warranty on that phone recently expired, but since it was within a month of that expiration I was still eligible for service, which was weird because the last weekend they said I had until September. He then came back with a brand new 8GB model. I said whoa! I originally had a 16GB model.

Apparently he got the IMEI number from the SIM tray instead of the phone itself. Apparently my co-worker got the 8GB 3G model at launch, which was around July of 2008 and later upgraded to the 16GB model last September and handed the 8GB model down to his little brother (yes, he's a bit of an iPhone fanatic). I'm guessing that he swapped the entire SIM tray instead of just the SIM Cards.

So anyway I had the tech get the IMEI info from the phone itself instead of the SIM card tray, and everything was A-OK from there, with the small inconvenience that they did not provide any data backup service and unfortunately it had been a good few days since I did a solid synchronization. This also meant that they were going to replace the entire phone.

Considering the "well worn out" state the phone was in when I purchased it, I figured a few lost contacts and calendar entries was a small price to pay for a fully functional and practically brand-new phone, though I would have been much more impressed with the Genius Bar Service, if they did offer data transfer service.

Actually, I'm not quite sure if it was "brand new" or not, I know that the 16GB model of the regular 3G is no longer being sold, only the 8GB for their "low end" for $99 US with contract, while the 16GB and the 32GB models were available for the middle and high end offerings, for $199 US and $299 US respectively. Either they kept a stock of "brand new" models for warranty replacement or they had refurbished models with brand new screens and cases on hand.

Either way, the replacement 16GB 3G model, looked practically brand new and that made me infinitely happy all because of a little broken switch, not to mention that there was an additional 90 days on the warranty added onto the replacement and the option to extend that further by a year by purchasing the AppleCare Plan for an additional $69 US:

  • http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC004LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA2Mg&mco=NzU4NzA1Ng

Not a bad deal at all. In fact, having personally dealt with Apple's technical support, I would have to say that it is one of the best, if not the best in the industry.

Having been a former owner of the original iPhone 2G and comparing it with the latest 3.0 software, I can honestly say that the iPhone has come a long way. One of the reasons I did not get the iPhone 3G at launch was, that despite the launch of the nen new apple app store and the full 3G upgrade from 2G/EDGE, there were a multitude issues that remained unaddressed. These are basic features that even the simplest and most inexpensive phones perform, but the iPhone could not, such as the inability to send an SMS to multiple recipients, forward an SMS and send a picture/voice/video text message via MMS.

The iPhone 3G at launch was also lacking the many useful smartphone and/or advance feature phone capabilities such as
the ability to run applications naitively, though that was resolved with the subsequent launch of the iTunes App store, back in the early iPhone 2G days only web applications were available via Safari unless you were willing to "jailbreak" your phone and even after the launch of the App Store, you still could not run any of the non-bundled applications in the background, again unless you are willing to jailbreak your iPhone.

Aside from that, here is the "laundry list" of things I found lacking from the original iPhone 3G:

  • Cannot cut, copy and paste text (Added in the 3.0 Software Update)
  • No flash or autofocus on the camera (Autofocus added in the 3GS model, but still no flash)
  • No video recording capability (Video Recording added to the 3GS model, but unfortunately unavailabe to the earlier models)
  • Missing A2DP Bluetooth Stereo Output (Added in the 3.0 Update for both the 3G and the 3GS)
  • Missing a "Mass Storage" mode for USB file swapping
  • Missing Bluetooth Object Exchange for bluetooth file swapping
  • Missing a Horizontal keyboard mode for all applications except Safari, which meant you were forced to compose e-mails, notes, text messages, etc. using only the smaller half-sized vertical keyboard. This feature was thankfully added to the 3.0 software for text, e-mail and notes, but individual application developers are on their own in adding that feature to their apps.
  • Missing the ability to forward SMS messages (Fixed in the iPhone 3.0 update)
  • Missing the ability to send MMS picture/voice/video messages (Fix is supposed to be due by the end of summer)
Thankfully there was a recent 3.0 software update, which along with the features mentioned above, includes:
  • Browse and download movies, TV shows and audiobooks from the iTunes Store**
  • Stereo Bluetooth*
  • Shake to shuffle
  • New Voice Memos application*
  • Cut, Copy & Paste with shake to undo
  • Landscape keyboard in key applications
  • Added search feature in Music, Videos, Mail, Calendar and Notes
  • Spotlight search across iPod touch
  • Improvements to Safari
  • Performance
  • HTML 5 support
  • HTTP Streaming audio and video
  • Auto-fill usernames and passwords
  • Wi-Fi auto login
  • Sync Notes with a Mac or PC via iTunes
  • iTunes account creation and login**
  • YouTube account login and access to subscriptions, ratings and favorites**
  • More Parental Control options for Apps, Music, Movies and TV Shows
  • New languages, dictionaries, and keyboards
  • Enhanced Stocks application
  • Support for CalDAV and subscriptions in Calendar
  • Find my iPod touch and Remote Wipe via MobileMe (subscription required)**
  • 1,000 new developer APIs, including:
  • In App Purchases
  • Apple Push Notification Service
  • Accessories support
  • Peer to Peer Connectivity
  • Embedded Maps
  • iPod Library Access
  • Bug fixes
One thing I really missed was since way back in the iPhone 2G days, was the ability to play an MP3 as a ringtone. It has gotten a little better these days now that you can "create" a ringtone through iTunes, but only using music that was purchased through iTunes, so if your entire music collection has been ripped from CDs or downloaded though other sources such as Amazon Music or Napster, you are as they say "s.o.l.". If you are the "average consumer" you would basically have to buy the song you liked a second time, even if you already legitimately owned it.

There is of course a way around this. I'll leave out the step-by-step specifics because it's a bit outside the scope of this article, but for the tech savvy, basically you need to take the original MP3 file, cut it down to 30 seconds or less, then convert it to ACC format (.M4a). Once you have the 30 second .M4a file, rename the extension to .M4r and double click on it to play that .M4r file in iTunes. From there, it should be available as a Ringtone that can be added to your iPhone via Sync through iTunes.

Sharing those ringtones is another matter entirely. Practically every smartphone and unlocked feature phone I've ever owned had some sort of sharing capability from device to device, whether it be through old school Infrared "Beaming", Bluetooth Object Exchange, or even MMS Text Messaging. Even my very first unlocked phone, the venerable MotoRAZR V3 was a rockstar in that respect.
In the case of the iPhone, it is severely lacking in all respects. Perhaps there is a jailbroken application that will allow you to send theough Bluetooth, but for right now, I don't want to risk bricking the phone and having one of the best warranties in the industry invalidated, but someday, yes someday... ;)

The diehard gadget geeks may not like how the iPhone is "locked down", but that is what jailbreaking is for. I personally do not like how difficult it is to SIM Unlock the phone to use abroad. Yes it's possible to have your iPhone legitimately unlocked, but the moment you swap the SIM card, you have to re-register it with iTunes, ad nauseam...

Unlike other smartphones/pocket PCs such as Windows Mobile, you can also forget about synchronizing your iPhone
to two different computers (i.e. your home and work PC), particularly your iTunes Library (Ringtones, Music, Videos, Podcasts, Apps, Etc) . You may be able to get away with dual syncing your contacts, but really, not much else, so be prepared to put all your eggs in one basket.

Perhaps the best thing about the iPhone is, because of its popularity, innovation and user friendly UI, the design control focus for phones in general has shifted from what was in the best interest the wireless carriers (to a large extent) and the established cellphone manufacturers (to a lesser extent) to what is in the best interest of the consumer. In other words, make a phone that is naturally intuitive to use (multitouch UI), throw on a crapload of popular multimedia features such as the ability to play music and video, and throw in one of the best "full" mobile browsers in the industry (you still can't get to everyehere, particularly full Flash based sites, but it's getting there, hopefully) and tack on iTunes with an App Store, arguably one of the best, albeit pricey (and limited to 10MB downloads straight to the device inless you are connected to WiFi) mobile content delivery systems in the industry, and you have yourself a "must have" smartphone that, at the moment people are flocking to get, even switching carriers and paying those dreaded early termination fees (ETFs) just for a piece of that sweet iPhone action.

Both wireless carriers and handset manufacturers alike have been scrambling ever since to come up with an "answer" to the iPhone. Blackberry has their very first touchscreen handset, the Blackberry Storm, which had a the entire screen setup as a large "button" and a touchscreen on top of that for "selection" purposes. That device has mixed reviews at best and I personally found it a bit difficult to type fast because the entire screen needed to be pushed down to register a keypad press. Perhaps there was/is a fix since then? But for right now, BB/RIMs core competency lies with their Corporate e-mail push solutions and this business-centric feature is the one major factor that has kept it ahead the iPhone, even with the iPhone's ability to have Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail pushed to it.

Nokia, who arguably has the best non-touchscreen OS in the market, the S60 platform, has also put out of thier thier very first mainstream touchscreen UIs the S60 Touch for the 5800 Express Music and thier latest Flagship, the N97. Windows Mobile is still seemingly far off from coming out with Windows Mobile 7, so Windows Mobile 6.5 is just on the horizon, which still supposedly make it much more "touch friendly" than the rapidly aging 6.1 version currently available.

There are also various "proprietary" touch screen offerings from manufacturers such as Samsung and LG. In my humble opinion, I would say that these are at best "interim" solutions and not a full-on challenge to the iPhone OS.

Then there is of course the Google Android platform, which although is still in it's embryonic stages, is definitely showing a lot of promise and is the "great hope" for many handset manufacturers, such as Motorola who is shifting practically their entire development effort on their own Moto customized "flavor" of the Android Platform, and HTC who will be dedicating at least half of their handset production to the android platform.

Palm's latest Touch Screen WebOS featured in the Palm Pre, is also worth mentioning and it's worth Keeping an eye on. I feel a bit mixed on the form factor, I like how the touch screen feels in the palm of your hand folded up, but I'm not exactly a fan of the vertical slide-out keyboard. With my thumbs, a width-wise horizontal keyboard is much more of my flavor, though I have to admit, it's better than no QWERTY at all. Ive read that the Palm has butted heads with Apple on several instances, such as some Touch gesture similarities (Apple still has the patent on Multi-Touch) and has blocked some of Palm's attempts at making the Pre compatible with iTunes.

  • http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/05/palm_uses_apples_usb_vendor_id/

Aside from the latest efforts of the competition, however, I'd say Apple is at least a year or two ahead of the competition, which is why it could afford to make a rather small incremental upgrade from the 3G model to the 3GS model. Still, other than some of the frustrating limitations mentioned above, the Apple iPhone, especially in it's 3.0 software incarnation and even more so with the latest 3GS model, has easily become THE smartphone for the masses, with its innovative and attractive multitouch UI, and one of the best, albeit pricey content delivery system in the form of iTunes and quite easily one of the best warranty service and replacement policies in the industry.

Granted, the iPhone is not for everybody, there are still the corporate types that need Blackberry Enterprise, and the gadget geeks that need the freedom of the Windows Mobile and/or the Android platforms, (or perhaps an iPhone Jailbreak), and there are of course the technophobes who still want just a simple basic phone to make calls, but damn if the iPhone isn't getting close, especially the former iPod die-hards who have transitioned into their first smartphone, thanks to the availability of the iPhone, and those who could not make the transition (because of contract obligations, corporate incompatibilities, etc), there is always the iPod Touch, or the "iPhone Gimped Edition" as I like to call it. ;)


But anyway to conclude my analysis, I won't go so far as to say that the iPhone is the perfect phone, I'm way too much of a handset/phone geek to make that conclusion. But with that said, the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS is definitely getting there, with the inclusion of features that arguably should never have been left out in the first place such as A2DP Stereo, cut, copy and paste, horizontal keyboard for text/email etc. and MMS messaging by the end of this summer. I am happy that the iPhone is going beyond it's snazzy UI and finally raising the bar on actual features (hopefully down the road they will also allow useful App Store applications to run in the background). And most importantly, I am hopeful that the competition will take note and raise the overall quality of their own handsets and will eventually some up with an "answer" to the iPhone that will blow us all away, hopefully someday soon...









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