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?

The Pixel Isn't Dead After All

I had written previously that I had discovered a dead pixel on my iPhone screen. In discussions with my son--who also happens to have an iPhone--we discovered that it is actually a speck of dust that has gotten underneath the screen's glass. When looked at from an angle, the speck moves in relation to the screen (a dead pixel would not do so) and if there is a light background, the bottom of the speck will actually glow from the screen's light.

This then brings up two additional questions: 1) how can the screen be sealed so as not to allow dust to accumulate beneath the glass; and 2) is there any way to remove the dust from underneath the screen short of taking the iPhone apart (which is sure to end up adding more dust instead of removing it--no electronic clean rooms at my house).

Any ideas anyone?

My First Dead Pixel

After attempting to remove a speck on my iPhone screen, it has become clear that I have a dead pixel. I have no idea how long it has been there, so it may have been there since I bought it last July. Unfortunately, my eye goes right to it now, so I notice it every time the iPhone is turned on.

With that said, now that I've notice it, I've inspected the whole screen and the one pixel appears to be the only one dead--it is in the lower left corner of the screen and most often appears in the applications controls bar. Therefore, it does not impede viewing in most applications. It is not even noticeable in the YouTube application.

Anyone else seen this? I seem to recall that the warranty allows for a certain percentage of dead pixels.

The Apple iPhone Software Roadmap

As you might guess, the blogs are buzzing with the news that the SDK along with a number of enterprise enhancements to the iPhone will be available in June. To recap, the iPhone will natively support Microsoft Exchange Push "everything" (mail, calendar, contacts). Also supporting the enterprise IT organization will be the capability to remotely configure iPhones to a standard enterprise template, the ability to securely communicate using Cisco's VPN, and the ability to remotely wipe the iPhone in case it is lost, stolen, or an employee should leave the company. Also buried in the presentation was the announcement that the June iPhone software update--iPhone 2.0-- will provide parental controls that can be set to restrict access applications such as the Safari browser. Finally, the SDK-developed applications will be available exclusively through a new AppStore that will enable the user to wirelessly download and install the applications.

Most of the buzz is about the enterprise and SDK features, operation, and availability. However, what I found to be the most interesting was a discussion by John Doerr of the venture capital organization Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) announcing the formation of "iFund" a $100 million investment fund for start-up organizations specifically focused on the development of iPhone applications. The iFund opens up a vast applications pipeline supporting the iPhone that will enable the iPhone to quickly capture market both from consumer applications such as games, but also commercial applications supporting a variety of enterprise needs. With the combination of the SDK being made available in beta to a large number of developers today; making the final SDK widely available in June; providing an application distribution approach mirroring the iTunes Store; engaging name companies including Electronic Arts, Sega, Salesforce.com, and others to develop enterprise and gaming content; and KPCB fronting $100 million in seed money for iPhone application development, the stage is set for the iPhone to challenge RIM, Palm, and the numerous Windows Mobile devices on both the enterprise and the consumer front.

This alone gives the existing iPhone legs well into the remainder of the year. However, I expect that on the heels of the SDK release in June, the next generation iPhone with 3G should be hitting the market. The 3G should have at least 32 MB of storage for all those new applications and locally stored content as well as an improved Internet experience. The combination will make the iPhone well positioned for the enterprise.

The Missing iPhones?

There is a lot of discussion among analysts and bloggers about the missing--some say up to 1 million--iPhones that cannot be accounted for through sales in the US, UK, Germany, and France. Explanations range from phones in the channel to phones that have been unlocked. I tend to think that most are primarily in the latter category. If you head over to The Apple Unofficial Web Site (TUAW) at http://www.tuaw.com/photos/iphones-around-the-world/, you will see 84 (at last count) of the iPhone being used around the world. For example, there are pictures of the iPhone on local wireless carriers in Russia, the Czech Republic, Iran, China, and Viet Nam, Brazil, and Mexico among many others. Of particular interest was one of the pictures from Viet Nam: You can count at least 30 iPhones on a wall in a wireless store. If this is any indication, a million iPhones could be spread across China alone.

With that said, I would think this creates a problem for Apple. They are missing out on recurring revenue from such unlocked phones. On the other hand, the carriers are getting they revenue, so they may be less likely to sign a restrictive deal with Apple. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

Jailbreak 1.1.3 -- Just Don't Do It

Over the last several days, I have used the "Nate True" soft upgrade to 1.1.3 and have attempted to upgrade using the "official dev team" upgrade. My experiences are as follows:

First, the Nate True soft upgrade worked as described. However, since I had a number of jailbreaked applications on my phone when I executed the upgrade, they all vanished from the summerboard. When I used installer, I could see the package logged as installed. Most of the packages could be uninstalled and then reinstalled and they appeared in the summerboard and worked as before the upgrade.

Unfortunately, there were several that would take a "script error" and would not delete (from memory, two were the Guitar and he HP21 Calculator). Since the installer thought they were installed, I would not reinstall them. It was for this reason that I decided to use the dev team's "official" upgrade.

Unfortunately, after a day of attempting to use the directions found on http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/01/27/guide-jailbreak-any-iphone-with-113-macwindows/, I did not succeed. On top of that, I have had to restore the phone and lost all contacts, calendar, stock, weather, and notes entries. While I can recover much of this information, I cannot recover all of it.

As a result, unless you simply want to hack the phone for the "fun" of it, I HIGHLY recommend that you leave the phone as Apple intended it. With each subsequent upgrade that Apple releases, the corresponding steps to jailbreak that phone become increasingly complicated and subject to numerous errors. My net out is that the effort is simply not worth it. If and until such time as a jailbreak method becomes MUCH simplified and provides the capability to recover previous data, I am sticking with what Apple has provided.