iPhone 3G Bug Research

Since getting my iPhone 3G two weeks ago, I have found that there are a variety of problems with it. Many of these problems have been documented as individual issues with the new phone. They have included battery drain problems, especially with the 3G radio turned on; crashes of a variety of applications, but mainly with applications added from the Apple AppStore; and a variety of memory leak problems that lead to the operating system running slower and slower until the only way to fix it is to perform a hard reboot by pressing and holding the on/off and home buttons simultaneously.

I experienced all of these problems at one time or another. In many cases, I was having to perform the hard reboot multiple times a day (not to mention frequent battery recharging). Therefore, several days ago, I undertook a series of experiments with the iPhone by turning the various radios on and off under different circumstances to see if they had any impact on the identified problems. Since I don't use bluetooth, it has always been off. However, I have worked with the combination of 3G, EDGE, and Wi-Fi in various configurations.

The results indicate that the problems occur when the 3G is on. First, with 3G off, whether or not the Wi-Fi was on, I did not experience the frequency of crashes and memory leaks that were experienced when 3G was on. Indeed, I have had 3G off for a couple of days now and have now and have not had to perform a hard reboot once. While numerous application launches are slow, they are consistently slow--there is no degradation in performance. From this I conclude that the slow application response (lasting to five seconds or more in some cases) is a separate problem with the configuration of the OS.

Battery drain with 3G off seemed to be on a par with the 1.1.4 version on the generation 1 iPhone. While this is not surprising on the one hand, it is when I have had discussions with numerous people complaining that the 2.0 version on the generation 1 iPhone seemed to have faster battery drain. My suggestion is that unless 1) you are accessing complicated, non-iPhone optimized Web pages; or 2) you have a need to access the Internet and talk on the phone simultaneously, leave 3G off. Leave it off at least until Apple releases an update to 2.0.

To be sure, I still experience crashes--especially related to Safari--but they are much less frequent. This leads me to believe that the Safari crashes are due to a cause separate from the other application crashes. (Speculation is that the other application crashes may be due to the DRM used in the SDK.)

Another issue isolated by these experiments is the communications instability. With 3G on, the iPhone appears to have significant problems locking onto a "preferred" radio--EDGE, 3G, or Wi-Fi. As a result, the phone experiences numerous drop-outs, causing the phone to pick a back-up communication radio and re-establish communications. My research indicates that this happens when the phone has the screen turned-off for any extended period of time. It also occurs when the signal is marginal (not sure what marginal is as yet). When the situation occurs, the iPhone "thrashes" among the various available radios. However, it seems most pronounced when the 3G radio is on. When the 3G radio is off, it will still take a few seconds to lock onto either EDGE or Wi-Fi, but does not take that long. When 3G is on, it seems to take forever to lock on. Whether this is the radio, or the handshaking that goes on after lock to establish an Internet connection is unknown.

The result of all this is leave the 3G off if possible until Apple has had time to work through the various bugs in the OS. Your thoughts?

The iPhone 2.0 Paper Cut Edition

With a little more than a week's experience on both the iPhone OS X 2.0 upgrade and the iPhone 3G hardware, it's time to list the paper cuts that are driving me up a wall. Herewith the list:

1. Battery life sucks: From everything I see, the battery problem is more related to the 2.0 software than it is to 3G. This is based on the fact that numerous people have mentioned to me that their battery life has significantly decreased on their generation 1 phones. This is definitely true on the iPhone 3G. Could it be memory leaks, background applications, or simply poor power management? Apple help!
2. Crashes, crashes, and more crashes: As with the initial software version 1.0, the 2.0 upgrade is buggy to say the least. I find that Safari once again crashes regularly (at least a couple of times per day). I have had the calendar function crash. Needless to say, most every downloaded application has crashed at one time or another. Obviously, there are significant instability issues that need addressing. This brings us to a related problem...
3. Applications rendered unusable: It seems there is a corruption problem within the 2.0 software. For example, when I turned on the iPhone this morning, neither the Shazam nor the Remote application would launch. Instead, I received a message that the "Application Cannot Execute." Redownloading Shazam solved that application problem. Turning on and off the iPhone several times seems to have solved the Remote application problem. Generally, application stability and reliability are not where they should be.
4. Slow-motion application execution: Whether the iPhone generation 1 or the iPhone 3G, there are annoying lag problems when launching applications. For example, it sometimes takes the calendar application up to 7 seconds to launch and paint the screen. It's not consistent. Usually, doing a hard-reboot (holding the on/off and home keys down for several seconds and then turning on the iPhone again) will improve performance, again leading me to think there is some sort of memory leak where programs eat up memory that should be cleared when they are exited or put in the background.
5. Network switching lag: Apple has attempted to save battery life by switching off radios as appropriate. However, it would seem that this needs to be fine-tuned. For example, at home I am on a Wi-Fi network. With the phone on, if I turn it on with the home button and go to Safari, the phone will sometimes switch from Wi-Fi (the state it was in when last used) to 3G and then back to Wi-Fi. During this time, it seems Safari is doing handshake on Wi-Fi, then on 3G, and finally on Wi-Fi, causing annoying delays in accessing Internet information. It is also noticeable with the Mail application. In addition, the same situation will occur out in the field with the phone switching from 3G to EDGE, and then back to 3G, causing the same type of delay.
6. GPS locking delay: I suspect this problem is related to the network switching delay previously noted. It appears that locating the current position--even out in the open can take minutes sometimes. My guess is that the software accesses the cell tower proximity database before turning on the GPS to get an exact location. Since the proximity database comes over the Internet, the network switching delay mentioned earlier contributes to the extended location delay.

That's it for now. I assume that the in progress update to 2.0 will fix some of these, but I am worried that some of the issues point to more fundamental OS operating constraints. Only time will tell. Did I miss any problems that others have noticed? If so, feel free to post them.

Review: iPhone 3G

In my last post, I discussed only the iPhone OS X 2.0 software upgrade and the AppStore. This post is about the new iPhone 3G hardware only. As you will see, it is a short review.

First, why should you upgrade? The following are the only reasons I can think of:

1. You don't have an iPhone currently, are eligible for an AT&T upgrade and you have been lusting for the iPhone.
2. You currently have a generation 1 iPhone and are running out of memory (you have either a 4GB or 8GB model) and you are eligible for an AT&T upgrade.
3. You are on another wireless carrier and simply want an iPhone.

Now, why would you not upgrade?

1. You could care less about the iPhone.
2. You have an iPhone and it basically meets your current needs.
3. You have an iPhone, but you are not in the AT&T 3G coverage area (and this is quite a bit of the AT&T coverage area).
4. You think 3G is going to work miracle speeds on your email and browser.

With that background, the iPhone 3G is lighter and better shaped than the gen-1 model. However, browser speed improvement is a factor of both the 2.0 software (also available on gen-1 phones) and 3G. In my opinion, if you are accessing iPhone optimized Web sites, you are going to see little difference. If you are accessing normal Web sites, you might see a significant improvement, but remember the software upgrade is responsible for part of that. Also remember that loads on the site impacts speed; you can have the fastest Internet service in the world, but a Web site under heavy load or using a small server will be slow--whether on dial-up, 2G, 3G, or an OC3 line directly connected to your computer. Therefore, unless you are a heavy non-optimized Web site user, you may want to hold off buying the 3G.

The other key difference is the A-GPS. I find that it works great when it works. However, there are times when it can't seem to get a lock on my location. When it works, it is fun watching the little blue dot move as you move. In my case, it will actually move from the front to the back of my house which isn't bad.

With that said, I have to honestly say that if you are still lost using the gen-1 location services, then you probably should not be allowed out alone anyway. GPS is nice, but not a good reason to upgrade in my opinion.

The microphone and the speakers on the 3G both have been improved. However, not enough to justify an upgrade.

My net out. If you just want the 3G to have one, if you need extra space, or you just have $300 to burn, then go for it. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to justify the upgrade.

How about the rest of you who have upgraded? What are your thoughts?

iPhone OS 2.0 Review

Okay, it has been awhile since I last posted, primarily because there was nothing to report other than rumor. Now I have some useful information.

I bought the iPhone 3G 16 GB on Monday, July 14th (because I was traveling the previous week and in a location that did not have an Apple or AT&T store). Therefore, I have had a week of experience with it. In addition, I also upgraded my generation 1 iPhone to OS 2.0 so I had a good reference model with which to compare. With that background, here are my perspectives on the the operating system.

1. Mass email delete/move: iPhone OS 2.0 provides a number of additional features that make it worth the upgrade. Among those are mass delete of emails which was a pet peeve from the older version. The feature was implemented simply and elegantly using an "Edit" button which allows you to select multiple emails by tapping radio buttons. Then when finished with selections, you can choose either "Delete" or "Move."
2. Multiple calendar support: The calendar function now supports syncing multiple calendars between your Mac/PC and the iPhone. While this was not on my wish list for upgrades, I have found it useful for keeping personal and business todos and appointments separated.
3. Screen capture: An undocumented feature of the upgraded OS is the ability to capture the current iPhone screen by quickly pressing the home button and the on/off button simultaneously. The screen capture application on my jailbroken generation 1 phone was one of the most used applications I had. You would be surprised how often you want to show someone who is remote what your screen shows. This capability simply solves that problem. Once you have captured a screenshot, it can be found in the Camera Roll under the "Photos" icon.
   
4. Direct access to contacts: By default, the 2.0 OS places a contacts icon on the iPhone springboard. Again, it was one of the additions I used to have on my jailbroken iPhone that saw a lot of use. It reduces access to contacts by a keystroke and when you are in a hurry to get to the information, the improved access is noticeable.
5. Contacts searching: When you have a large number of contacts like I do, the contacts search can be a real productivity improvement. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have found the feature to be buggy. When first accessing the contacts application, a search line is provided at the top of the screen. The problem that I have found is that many times when you tap into the contact, the screen does not respond. After a few moments, the query field vanishes all together. However, when you tap the bar at the top of the screen, it will come back and works fine.
6. Save photos from email: Another nice feature is the ability to save photos sent to you in an email to your Camera Roll. This is particularly handy when you want fast access to the photo and don't have time to sync and then move the photo on your Mac/PC.
7. Save photos from Safari: Similar to saving a photo in email is the ability to save a photo from a Web page in Safari. While I don't have a frequent use for the feature, it is a nice touch none-the-less.
8. Multiple SMS addressees: While I don't have the occasion to use it all that often, it is a nice touch. My guess is it would be nicer if Apple provided MMS so photos could be sent. I could see myself using that more often.
9. Scientific calculator: By simply turning the iPhone horizontal, the simple calculator becomes a scientific calculator. While this is nice, I would like to see a financial calculator (which I have need of more often) as an alternative to the scientific calculator. However, the scientific calculator does provide a number of functions that can be useful.
10. The AppStore: At last! With the opening of the AppStore and the ability of OS X 2.0 to take advantage of these applications, I see little need to jailbreak a phone. To date, I have added some 46 applications and have kept 43 of them on the phone. Thus far, I have only selected free applications as I want the pay applications to mature a little before I start putting out hard cash. With that said, my favorite applications are: Twitterific ( a great, simple, and useful Twitter client--follow me on wwcasey on Twitter); Boxoffice (movie schedules and reviews from RottenTomatoes.com--easy to use); Jott for iPhone ( a great interface to the Web-based Jott application as well as a great voice recorder that will transcribe your recordings); Shazam (will "listen" to a music clip and return the name and artist--again, it works and I am surprised by how often I use it); Apple Remote (only because it is cool and allows me to scare my wife when I am out of the room...); SportsTap (provides sports scores and standings for virtually any sport you want); PhoneSaber (being a Star Wars fan, a must have); and iBeer (great little accelerometer game and graphics demonstration.
    

Now for the complaints. First, the upgrade is buggy. I find that many of the features regularly crash by dropping back to the home screen. Hopefully, these will be chased down and fixed in the next release (just as was done with version 1.0).

Second, as has been pointed out by virtually every blog and review to date, the OS 2.0 is still missing the copy/paste capability. I find this to be the biggest failing of the current release and would have placed the priority above virtually every feature mentioned above except perhaps the bulk email delete. There are numerous times where a phone number is embedded in a document, and it is not hyperlinked to phone application. A second situation is where you want to extract a sentence or paragraph from a Web page to email to someone, but you are currently forced to send a link to that page. As a result, you cause work for the reader to find the text you wanted them to see in the first place.

Third, even though html email uses the Safari engine to render, you can rotate the message to the horizontal so you can get more of it on the screen. I find this to continue to be a major annoyance.

As a result, of the top 10 issues I had with the generation 1.0 software, only the bulk email delete has been addressed. Not a really good track record.

What are your thoughts--good and bad--about the OS X 2.0 software?