The iPhone 5 thread (well, actually, iPhone 4S)

[cartman]

In 1987, Apple made a concept video regarding a touchscreen device that has interactive voice commands. The date in the video was Sept. 16, 2011. They were two weeks late.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I won't be upgrading to this one. I have an Iphone 4 and this just isn't worth the upgrade IMO. More power is always nice, but the rest of the features don't do anything for me.

I was wondering why Apple was going all patent lawsuit crazy against Samsung this summer, of all times... now I kinda realize why, because the iPhone 4S doesn't really bring much new to the table and the Samsung Galaxy SII may be a better phone experience already.

[RainMaker]

Does anyone know the price if you aren't in line for an upgrade? I still have a few months left but my Blackberry has gone to shit. $199 is nice but $500 would turn me off.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Does anyone know the price if you aren't in line for an upgrade? I still have a few months left but my Blackberry has gone to shit. $199 is nice but $500 would turn me off.

I believe the iPhone 4 prices started at $600 with no contract.

[wade moore]

I was eligible for an upgrade at the end of August. I was stalling for this announcement.

Since I have a dumb phone, this is a no-brainer for me - although I was really, really looking forward to a larger screen iPhone. Ohwell.

[Ksyrup]

I have a question...I have AT&T and a Blackberry Torch right now. Both me and my wife are considering upgrading/switching to an iPhone. I have the Torch, but she doesn't have a smartphone. So right now, I'm only paying for one phone's data plan.

The question is, how much are AT&T data plans for the iPhone, and what's the cost for 2 phones? Do they have a shared data plan, or are they separate? just trying to get a feel for costs going forward if we do this.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

So what's the alternative for people who aren't buying the 4S? SII? Nexus Prime?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I have a question...I have AT&T and a Blackberry Torch right now. Both me and my wife are considering upgrading/switching to an iPhone. I have the Torch, but she doesn't have a smartphone. So right now, I'm only paying for one phone's data plan.

The question is, how much are AT&T data plans for the iPhone, and what's the cost for 2 phones? Do they have a shared data plan, or are they separate? just trying to get a feel for costs going forward if we do this.

They have tiered data. If she is a stay at home mom, she can live on the 200MB plan and use wifi. I think that is $15/month Otherwise it is 30/month for a 2 gig plan. No shared data afaik.

[stevew]

Dola- My wife tops out at around 140MB a month, primarily using our in home wifi.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by cartman

In 1987, Apple made a concept video regarding a touchscreen device that has interactive voice commands. The date in the video was Sept. 16, 2011. They were two weeks late.

Alternatively if you consider Android phones and other devices have had this functionality for ages they missed it by at least a couple of years.

(although if you listen to the tech media as with the 'Video' functionality on the iPhone 4 apparently it didn't exist before Apple did it )

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I believe the iPhone 4 prices started at $600 with no contract.

It was $499 - I get most of my phones as non-contract purchases because I need them for development purposes.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by SnDvls

voice assistant seems pretty cool

Its like many 'Apple' things imho - it seems cool, but few people will actually use it in real-life (and it won't work as well as it sounds like it should) .....

Seriously how many people here use 'Face Time' frequently? (I don't think I've ever used it appart from with my wife who accidentally turns it on now and again and hates it because she doesn't want it showing a close up video of her ear while talking ).

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Its like many 'Apple' things imho - it seems cool, but few people will actually use it in real-life (and it won't work as well as it sounds like it should) .....

Seriously how many people here use 'Face Time' frequently? (I don't think I've ever used it appart from with my wife who accidentally turns it on now and again and hates it because she doesn't want it showing a close up video of her ear while talking ).

what does she want to show???

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

So what's the alternative for people who aren't buying the 4S? SII? Nexus Prime?

SII now, Nexus Prime if you can wait. Both better options, IMO, than the 4S.

[Ksyrup]

Why? I'm honestly curious, since I'm in the market.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

SII now, Nexus Prime if you can wait. Both better options, IMO, than the 4S.

I can wait. Will the Prime blow the SII out of the water?

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

what does she want to show???

She's never wanted it turned on at all - but she generally hates all apple user interfaces and finds them incredibly unintuitive ... if you ever meet Becca don't ask her what she thinks of an iPad for gods sake

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Why? I'm honestly curious, since I'm in the market.

I prefer the openness of Android for one. I haven't rooted my phone, but that option opens up the entire device to you. You are dealing with a super quick phone, with more RAM than the 4S, which is not locked down. And it, of course, works seemlessly with Google. I also think the Super AMOLED Plus screen is amazing, regardless of the smaller resolution due to the fact that it brightens up the subpixels. I have the HTC Thunderbolt, but I sometimes get jealous of the screen on the Droid Charge (it shames the Droid Bionic's screen, even though that one is qHD).

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

I can wait. Will the Prime blow the SII out of the water?

Well, it'll be a 1.5 Ghz Dual Core phone and have LTE, which the SII doesn't currently have. Also it is rumored to come preloaded with the Ice Cream Sandwich OS update instead of Gingerbread and be first in line for updates and Nexus phones are basically close as you can get to stock Android as possible.

Oh, and I just read that in addition to great screen due to subpixels, the Nexus Prime will have a "retina display" type screen as well (320 DPI).

[Ksyrup]

When is the Nexus Prime suppposed to come out?

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

It's rumored to be unveiled 10/11, and probably go on sale not too long after that.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

she generally hates all apple user interfaces and finds them incredibly unintuitive

I always love how Apples are "easier to use", then they explain how common functions are just "open-apple-M-click" or somesuch

[ISiddiqui]

The main issue with Android phones these days is that you get the latest and greatest and then 4 months later, your phone is being lapped by the new offerings. The speed of adding new stuff on Android phones is ridiculous.

I mean I bought my Thunderbolt in May, and that was the most advanced phone at the time (in the US), and there is a potential that in 6 months there is a phone released that absolutely whips it in processor (and not just in dual core), RAM, screen, etc.

[wade moore]

Actually, for me, the problem with Android is that it doesn't play as well with my existing devices/media/apps/etc as the iPhone does.

[Ksyrup]

Now that I've taken the plunge with Apple and iTunes (although it still freezes on me at least once every time I open it), I like the idea of consistency. Not needing to buy the same app twice, familiarity, etc. I'm leaning toward an iPhone. My mom is buyingthe 4S, so she's going to send us her old one, and I'm going to let my wife try it out for awhile to see if she really wants/needs a smartphone. I'll check it out then.

[cartman]

iPhone 4S: Where's the iPhone 5? - watch more funny videos

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Now that I've taken the plunge with Apple and iTunes (although it still freezes on me at least once every time I open it)...

I seriously think it has to be something with your computer.

[Ksyrup]

Maybe, although I don't know why. Did it last night, again. It freezes the first time I open it, I have to Cntrl-Alt-Del to shut it down, reopen it, and then it usually works OK after that. It has frozen up again when I've tried dragging songs to import to my ipod and I guess I put too many on there for it to handle or something. I just learned to stop at about 150 and it seems to handle that OK.

I've only got it on 1 computer, and it's a fairly new laptop. So I don't know what the problem could be.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Maybe, although I don't know why. Did it last night, again. It freezes the first time I open it, I have to Cntrl-Alt-Del to shut it down, reopen it, and then it usually works OK after that. It has frozen up again when I've tried dragging songs to import to my ipod and I guess I put too many on there for it to handle or something. I just learned to stop at about 150 and it seems to handle that OK.

I've only got it on 1 computer, and it's a fairly new laptop. So I don't know what the problem could be.

Yeah, I really don't have a productive suggestion, I just know that I've had it freeze maybe a handful of times and I've used it almost daily for years.

[ISiddiqui]

I dunno. iTunes has been really getting slow on me lately as well. I think its because it wants to do all this stuff like searching on Genius, etc.

[Ksyrup]

This isn't slow - this is a flat-out freeze. If I just leave it alone, eventually I'll get a "this program is not responding" message, just from doing something like trying to access my music, or go to itunes. Basically, whatever the first action I try to take is, it freezes there. Then once I restart it, it's generally OK.

[Ksyrup]

[Easy Mac]

Tried to order a 4s for my wife this morning. She has $50 off through Verizon's new every 2 (so $150 phone, yay!). We're on an old Alltel everything unlimited plan that was grandfathered in during the merger. It's about $60 cheaper than if we just went with verizon's plan.

So I'm ordering, and it tells me that to buy a 4s, I have to change data and text plans (neither of which are unlimited, like the current plan). It also says that we can call after we activate it, and they may be able to put our old plan back in.

I take that to mean they would give us the run around when we try to go back to the old plan. Needless to say, we're just going to wait until it actually hits the stores, then try to do it in person so they don't screw us over.

[-apoc-]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I have a question...I have AT&T and a Blackberry Torch right now. Both me and my wife are considering upgrading/switching to an iPhone. I have the Torch, but she doesn't have a smartphone. So right now, I'm only paying for one phone's data plan.

The question is, how much are AT&T data plans for the iPhone, and what's the cost for 2 phones? Do they have a shared data plan, or are they separate? just trying to get a feel for costs going forward if we do this.

They are $15 for 200 MB, $25 for 2 GB and $45 for 4 GB w/ tethering. The data plans are not shared and would be on a per line basis. If both your lines are eligible for an upgrade it would be $199 per phone for the 16 GB model, $299 for the 32 and $399 for the 64 GB.

[Ksyrup]

Thanks. I think my wife could probably get away with the 200MB plan. I get the $45 reimbursed from work, so that's a wash for my line.

[cartman]

Got mine ordered this morning. Was pleasantly surprised that I get to keep my $30/mo unlimited data plan on AT&T. Now I have to figure out how to get deep-frozen so I don't have to wait until next Friday!

[cartman]

It showed up this afternoon. Haven't had a chance to mess around with it much. Took a few tries to get it activated. Evidently the load is too much for the servers to handle. It is definitely quicker and much better screen than my iPhone 3GS. Now I'm waiting for the jailbreak to be announced.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

iOS 5.0 sucks serious ass.

I have an iPod Touch 4. "Upgraded" to 5.0 today. Now the standard music app crashed & won't launch without freezing & crashing again and several of the apps I bought appear to be lost forever. It also won't let me restore a backup from before this 5.0 was installed.

Jobs dies & the company turns into Sierra Sports in a month.

[stevew]

It's also possible you did it incorrectly. 5.0 works fine on my iPad and 2 different iPhone 5's.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by stevew

It's also possible you did it incorrectly. 5.0 works fine on my iPad and 2 different iPhone 5's.

I did it exactly as all previous updates. I noticed that things were slow immediately. I mostly use it for music, and when I started the music app it took several minutes to open my main playlist (which has about 28gb of music in it, but was never a problem before.) When it finally opened & I hit shuffle, it took over a minute to begin playing. No problem for a while, including a couple times where it was shut off. Then, it crashed. When I restarted the app it showed the previous song, then crashed again. Since then the app only shows a blank screen for about 30 seconds, then closes.

I did a restore, now I lost a bunch of apps.

Perhaps it is due to my not having a wifi connection here. Every damn thing it seems to want to do is about this whole fucking "cloud" bullshit.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Whew!

By deleting the HUGE playlist, then restoring (and deleting it again, then syncing) the music app is working again. I read that the music app is new in 5.0 (but seems the same as in 4.3.) Maybe it isn't set up for huge playlists... I'll find out when I put my music back on.

For my lost apps, I had to delete them out of my iTunes library, then go to the iTunes store & redownload them (for free) from the Purchases section.

[Mota]

One of my friends lost apps too on his iPhone 4. I have an iPad 1 and it converted fine.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Yeah... it definitively doesn't like large playlists. After all that, I put my 25gb playlist back on it. Took about a minute to open the playlist & nearly another to shuffle. Once I stopped it playing the app crashes when you try to open it again.

Is there any way to revert to 4.3.3?

[Peregrine]

Picked up my new iPhone 4S yesterday - pretty cool so far. I have had a lot of fun playing around with Siri - works quite well though sometimes it misunderstands what I say. The camera is so, so, much better than the one on my 3gs. I am having fun with the IOS 5 Trailers app as well

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Picked up my new iPhone 4S yesterday - pretty cool so far. I have had a lot of fun playing around with Siri - works quite well though sometimes it misunderstands what I say. The camera is so, so, much better than the one on my 3gs. I am having fun with the IOS 5 Trailers app as well

Siri probably doesn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of porn stars and sexual positions.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Siri probably doesn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of porn stars and sexual positions.

Yet, you mean. Hopefully Siri will learn over time.

[Chubby]

has anyone picked up a stratosphere? I'm in the keyboard camp and it seems my Verizon choices are this or the Droid 3. Will it be updatable to Ice Cream Sandwich when it releases (this would be my 1st droid phone)?

[bhlloy]

Seriously, fuck AT&T with a spoon. Updated my billing address prior to putting in a 4GS order, they shipped it to the old billing address, I spend 2+ days on hold with the fuckers finally to be told "we can't change the address, you'll have to have FedEx hold it when it finally ships or if you live close to your old address, just go and pick it up from there"

Problem is, FedEx won't hold it because AT&T have put a no hold on the order. So I have $800 worth of goods being shipped to the wrong address and nobody will do a god damn thing about it. Guess I'm down to stalking the people who live in my old apartment and hoping they aren't scumbags who will take my stuff and try to sell it on. Awesome.

[Raiders Army]

Siri is absolutely amazing. I have the below case on order and should arrive this week:

Vapor Pro Spectra iPhone Case - Silver

Although it's running about $145 (including overnight shipping, the Transit Kit Upgrade, and 10% off the first purchase), it's definitely worth it for a $400 phone. I'm also a dropper, so this will better protect it than anything else out there. I got to hold one of these last week and it feels amazing in your hand.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Siri is absolutely amazing. I have the below case on order and should arrive this week:

Vapor Pro Spectra iPhone Case - Silver

Although it's running about $145 (including overnight shipping, the Transit Kit Upgrade, and 10% off the first purchase), it's definitely worth it for a $400 phone. I'm also a dropper, so this will better protect it than anything else out there. I got to hold one of these last week and it feels amazing in your hand.

$145 for a case?!?!?!

[DaddyTorgo]

That's crazy.