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iPhone? Yes? No?
multimoog
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
There's a running list somewhere of all the ridiculous things I've done, and a new one was just added to it. Since part of my Christmas gifts was a bunch of cash, I just went ahead and bought a refurbished iPhone at 4 AM while in another state. It was on super-sale at the AT&T website, which meant with all the discounts and rebates, it cost $50.
Except I need to call a number to actually confirm the purchase and identify myself (so AT&T can be sure nobody stole my identity). I have until Jan. 3rd to do this, or the order is automagically cancelled. So, your challenge: convince me to make that call and accept iPhone into my life. I've heard that even if your iPhone service stops, or you cancel it, all the non-phone-related stuff on it still works? And a $50 iPod touch is still neat, right?
Except I need to call a number to actually confirm the purchase and identify myself (so AT&T can be sure nobody stole my identity). I have until Jan. 3rd to do this, or the order is automagically cancelled. So, your challenge: convince me to make that call and accept iPhone into my life. I've heard that even if your iPhone service stops, or you cancel it, all the non-phone-related stuff on it still works? And a $50 iPod touch is still neat, right?
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I only wish it had a phone in it.
If you jailbreak it, you will be in heaven.
There are a slew of awesome programs available with a jailbreak (like a hack, but legal). My favourite of which is mewseek. A p2p client for the iphone for music.
DEWIT.
Is 70 bucks a month for phone and mobile internet worth it?
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
I must say that I would drop another $10-$20 a month for what this damned this does. It is honestly impossible, when discussing the iPhone, to not break down and sound like the biggest Apple whore ever.
Actual reasoning here is: it changes how you do things. You will use the phone for things you never even considered using a phone for, the apps range from practical, to entertaining to just downright ridiculous.
Example: the other day I was helping my gf hang pictures, and we couldn't get the frame level (and we had no actual level on hand). Well guess what, the phone has a level app. Download and calibrate it to a level surface and all of a sudden your phone just served the purpose of a level.
Ebook reader (Stanza), graphing calculator, notetaker, portable Pandora machine. This isn't even getting into the portable features that really help when you're on the road somewhere (the unmatched maps, looking up place names for phone numbers/reservations) or the budding gaming community getting behind this thing.
Simply put I use my phone probably 80% for data/internet and 20% for calls. My girlfriend is waiting on her contract to expire so she can get one as well. Though the biggest statement about this thing I can make, is that it's one of the few gadgets I've ever purchased that has totally blown me away and never left me wanting anything (except nationwide wifi =/)
So yeah, highly recommended 8-)
I love my iPhone, I know the plans are much more reasonably priced then here, so make sure you get a data plan. Having totally ubiquitous internet is really really cool. I don't have a desk job, so I love having the net with me everywhere I am.
It's a fantastic device, and you really can't beat that price. Go for it.
But ever since I've gotten the phone, and straightened out my plan. I haven't spoken with them once, and the phone makes up for the month of hell.
Honest to god, I like it a lot. It has GPS. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me how very much I'd like having a GPS all the time. Also it will suggest restaurants and (when it works) Google voice search is great.
The killer feature that I haven't used yet is an app that lets you take picture of an item's cover and it finds it on Amazon and et cetera. Be great for price comparisons.
thats partly why i got the g1, 50 bucks a month gives me some texts, minutes, and unlimited data
and i can copy and paste text :-D
Before that I had a razor and it was 60$ a month. The upgrade was totally worth it.
AT&T BTW
I downloaded iFart.
This phone is all I need in a phone.
PSN: TheScrublet
I'm not sure how he got it for $50, but the refurbs went on sale for $100 for new customers only
if you're an existing customer it's $200 if you have an eligible upgrade, or $400 if you don't
It's really not bad for a smart phone, but still pretty expensive compared to your basic "I just want a phone" service.
Because it is awesome What's wrong with having a toy?
Oh, hey I'm making a game! Check it out: Dr. Weirdo!
Having unlimited texts and unlimited data? That fits my needs.
Nothing, it's just that you're paying so much to use it. $55 a month could buy you a new video game every month. Save a few months and you could buy a dedicated mp3 player or gps. Or use the money towards an MMO and still have some left over for a nice dinner every month.
That's $660 a year you're paying to play with an iphone! That's an expensive toy you're renting!
Yeah, but you're also on Sprint. I've been on Sprint. Sprint sucks. It sucks quite a lot.
Anyway, to counter your reasoning--"because we want to". For me, I like the iPhone because I carry three things in my pockets: My wallet, my keys, and my cell phone. I don't take anything else with me when I leave the house. It wouldn't be comfortable or practical for me.
Having all of those features you talked about in one device--MP3, GPS, and most importantly, being able to access the web and e-mail from anywhere, is pretty fucking awesome. Because then I actually have them. Whereas otherwise I would not.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
The problem with all-in-one devices is they're not especially good at anything. As an internet browser, it can't handle java or flash, the screen is small, and browsing the web is a lot slower than on a computer. As a mp3 player it doesn't have much storage so you can't carry a lot of music, and you're not free to listen to it as much as you want since if you drain your battery there goes your life line. And as a phone itself.. a friend of mine says he gets really shitty reception unless he's outside. My phone gets better reception than him.
I've heard that the iphone battery dies quickly too, and that people have to be careful about how much time they surf the web, play games, or listen to music, or they won't have a phone at the end of the day. Searching for real user's iphone battery life times, the first hit has:
•Browsing with 3G: approximately 3 hours
•Talking: approx 6 h
•Regular use, involving lots of phone calls, some browsing and some media usage: less than 6 h
Like you, I carry my wallet, keys, phone, but I also carry an mp3 player. My phone is not a brick like the iphone, allowing me to carry another device which allows me to listen to music as much as I want, and I won't drain it in a day.
I see your point that it's convenient to have all these devices in one, but do you see how limitations are introduced and now you have to meter your usage so you don't drain the battery? And when you think about it, do you really need internet access anywhere and a gps at all times? Why not simply a gps in your car? And stick to using the internet at home and work, or an internet cafe if you're desperate? Need to find a place to eat? Take a walk down the street and discover something new instead of looking down at your iphone and wasting time waiting for pages to load on a small screen.
for other people it is really useful
as far as battery life, try comparing those to other cell phones. 6 hours talk time is about what I get on my Pearl and what I got on my old Sony Ericsson. And that's 3G talk time on the iPhone (you should get about 9-10 hours on EDGE), which is somewhat unnecessary in the first place.
With less than 6 hours of battery life with regular use, you're not free to use it as you wish. You can't listen to music all day or surf the web for hours. As the day goes on and you see your battery falling below 50%, you have to stop and think if it's worth listening to music right now. That's not freedom! This device is holding you back. It's kind of like tying your balls to your ankle with no slack. You can only shuffle your feet to get around; you can't run and jump and roam free!
When you don't have enough battery life to do the things you want, I want you guys to imagine a string tied to your balls and Steve Jobs on the other end giving it a hard jerk. And then you hand him $55 and ask for more.
I personally have no complaints about the iPhone's battery life. I have never once had to conscientiously limit my usage to save battery power. Anecdotal evidence lol, I know, but that's no worse than "here's some numbers some dude gave me". And since it replaced my 4gb Nano, "not having enough space" isn't a complaint of mine. Hell, I prefer it over my old Nano since it has 8gb of space and what I consider to be a vastly improved interface.
You are allowed to not need or want a smartphone, but please don't automatically assume that a piece of hardware is lackluster simply because it is supposed to accomplish more than one task.
And seriously, stop this "$55" crap, you're comparing apples and oranges. Having an unlimited data plan costs $20 or $30 a month, depending on if you have an EDGE or 3G iPhone. Roughly half of the price difference you are citing comes from the fact that AT&T is more expensive than Sprint, mostly due to it having a higher level of entry for voice plans (I spent 5 minutes on the Sprint and AT&Ts websites: the cheapest basic new Sprint plan listed was $30/month for 200 minutes, the cheapest AT&T was $40 for 450). I was using AT&T back before I owned a smartphone, so I'm only paying $20 more now than I did before. For me personally, paying $20 per month to have the entire internet in my pocket is a hell of a deal, although I am able to understand that some people might not need or want the additional functionality that a smartphone provides.
If I wanted to sit around randomly surfing the web for hours at a time, I wouldn't be doing it in a place where I need to use my phone to do so. But, because it's available the rare times throughout the day or week that I do need it, my smartphone is really fucking useful
And, again, it's not six hours of regular use. Six hours talk time means six full hours that you are talking to your friends on your cell phone about how brilliant and wonderful you are for not buying an iPhone. I'm generally not on my phone for six hours every day, and if I am, I'll probably be at home or work for a period of time when I can just plug the damn thing in.
Not to mention listening to music is the least taxing thing you can do on your iPhone besides leaving it in your pocket, so I really don't think your battery life hitting 50% is going to dictate whether or not you listen to a couple of songs
However, once I got one for Christmas, I saw the error of my ways. My first act involved trolling the PA forums while shirt shopping with my girlfriend. My cognitive leaps told me I could also view porn from ANYWHERE, but I decided Nordstrom's after Christmas sale was probably not he best time or place.
I've been taxing the hell out of the damn thing and I really haven't seen it's battery drop that low. Honestly, I got two hours of talk time out of my Motorola Razr. I can get substantially more than that on my iPhone.
I can justify my iPhone like this: I am an adult with a job. I can spend my money the way I like. Nice things cost more money than okay things. I deserve a few nice things in my life.
I missed a rescheduled flight to JFK that almost made me miss a wedding to which I was the best man. Why you ask? Because I couldn't get to my email at the time. Had I my iPhone (or equivalent device), this would not have been an issue. It's not just nice, it can be quite practical. Also, I have a nasty track record of missing phone calls due to listening to my MP3 player. This problem is also ameliorated by the possession of my iPhone.
Though I will say this, iTunes is a horrible piece of poop from a butt.
Edit:
Sorry, more on point. As for the AT&T Run-around for the $50 iPhone. Of course they busted your balls, they were loosing money on that deal. If I had been in your shoes, and it might be too late, but can't hurt to try if you didn't tell them 'Oh, nevermind then', call them back and get someone with some managerial power on the horn. We managed to save $600 a year on our cell plan at the office just by refusing to accept that they couldn't do something. Turns out that megalithic corporations really don't know what the left hand is doing while they watch the right.