Alright boyz, here we go! Apple iPhone released

[cartman]

To placate our Italian friend, here is the requested thread.

Earlier this week, the hard drive in my 30GB iPod finally gave up the ghost, and the battery in my RAZR is starting to lose its ability to recharge. Both of these items are about 3 years old.

So it was good timing that the iPhone was released. I can now just carry around one item, and not two. I first stopped by the Apple Store in the Domain in Austin, and there were over 300 people in line at 5pm. I stopped by the AT&T store a couple of miles away, and there were over 100 people in line there. There was one more store I knew of on the way home, so I decided to check it out. At a quarter to six, there were only about 40 people waiting. I got in line, and had picked up the phone by 6:30.

I haven't even unboxed it yet, I'll do that after some admin work I need to do with the FOFC-BBCF league. So if there are any questions you have on the gadget, or any info you are interested in about it, post them here and I'll check back in a bit.

[MikeVic]

Cool, interested to hear your thoughts.

[cartman]

I'm now getting around to unboxing it. Unlike any other phone I've ever gotten, it isn't activated at the store. I have to activate it using iTunes. This requires downloading the new 7.3 update, which I am doing right now.

First impressions visually:

The screen is fucking awesome. Bright and clear, the opening pic is of Earth from space.
The height and width of the phone is about the same as my hard drive based iPod, but only about 1/3rd as thick. Compared to a RAZR, it is just a bit taller than a closed RAZR, but about the same width and depth.
Not much comes in the box. The phone, a set of earbuds with a mic, and a couple of informational pamphlets. Evidently the manual is part of iTunes.

[cartman]

In reference to the other thread, I'm not sure where the paper you read got that pricing, LSG, but it is nowhere near $250 per month. I'm a current Cingular/AT&T wireless customer, and my bill is going to be $7 per month more, going from $52.99 to $59.99 per month. All of the plans for the iPhone come with unlimited data transfer. The higher priced plans give you more SMS messages or more talk time.

[cartman]

Have to reboot as part of the iTunes update. Back in a few.

[cartman]

The activation process was really painless. It asked if I was an existing customer, what my current account info was, and if I wanted to add any extra minutes or SMS messages to my plan.

It's now activated, and I'm synching my songs and playlists to it.

[Lorena]

Thx for the play-by-play cartman

[stevew]

How badly do you think the Screen will scratch? To me, it looks like it might be a nightmare to keep from getting goobered up.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by stevew

How badly do you think the Screen will scratch? To me, it looks like it might be a nightmare to keep from getting goobered up.

They changed the screen from plastic to tempered glass, so I'm guessing that it will be pretty durable. At first I thought I had a scratchwd up screen, but it was just a second thin film of protective plastic. My RAZR and iPod are both pretty scratched up from several years of use. It will be interesting to see how well this holds up.

No updates, it's still syncing my music files

[Ksyrup]

[DaddyTorgo]

there's a company i've used for screen protectors before...works amazing. They use the same stuff that the military uses to coat the rotar blades of helicoptors.

I believe it's called InvisibleShield...I'd be surprised if they don't already have an iPhone specific-sized protector out. a little pricey, but you can literally scratch it with a key and see no damage.

[Logan]

I'm forecasting a lot of hate in this thread.

Enjoy your new phone.

[cartman]

My songs are finally transferred, so I can play around with it a little more.

It is seamless picking up a WiFi connection. Google Maps works really well. I'm currently watching a Terry Tate, Office Linebacker YouTube video, and it looks really good, and the sound via the speaker isn't too bad either. But it appears that if you have a YouTube account, you can't login to it via the iPhone. I'll have to check that more later.

The "virtual" keyboard seems to work really well. I thought it would be more of a pain than it is. I fat-fingered a few times, but it picked up most of what I typed correctly.

The iPod piece works just like in the commercials. You can scan the album covers to find the song you want to play.

[jbmagic]

How was the reception during the calls?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

How was the reception during the calls?

You mean it is a phone as well???



No phone calls yet, but I'll address that tomorrow.

[Neuqua]

Originally Posted by cartman

You mean it is a phone as well???



No phone calls yet, but I'll address that tomorrow.

Why wait so long? Just post your phone number in this thread, I'm sure nothing bad will come of it.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Why wait so long? Just post your phone number in this thread, I'm sure nothing bad will come of it.

Against my better judgement, here goes:

911

[sjshaw]

If you need any assistance/info/tips/links, www.tuaw.com is a great resource for Mac/iPhone stuff.

forums.macrumors.com too.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by sjshaw

If you need any assistance/info/tips/links, www.tuaw.com is a great resource for Mac/iPhone stuff.

forums.macrumors.com too.

Thanks. That's good info to have. I'm eagerly awaiting for the first hacks to be announced. If I could install an SSH client or Skype, I'd be in heaven.

As for the phone part of it, it works like a champ. Nothing special to report on the calls themselves, which is the way it should be. The "visual voicemail" is really slick. I don't know how other people usually keep voice mails, but I'm a bit of a packrat. This allows you to keep VMs and only go back and listen to specific messages. Think of voice mail now working like your email inbox.

I did notice a bit of strange behavior when I hooked it up to the iPod connector in my car. If I don't put it into iPod mode before connecting, it locks up the iPhone. And, once everything is connected, I get a message that the accessory isn't designed to work with an iPhone, and to set the iPhone to airplane mode.

For those that send a lot of text messages, it keeps a history, much like sending IMs.

Google mail was easy enough to set up, and I was able to get connected pretty easily to work email. There are a couple of VPN options for folks that need to connect that way.

There are a few things I wish it could do (or I haven't figured out yet):

No custom ringtones
No custom backgrounds
No Skype client (like AT&T will ever allow that)
For some reason, they made the headphone jack recessed, so most headphones won't be able to plug in without an extension

[oliegirl]

For custom ringtones, can you change it through the contacts? That is how the ones I've used are set up...it always takes me a bit of time to figure out which option to go into, but I can't imagine a phone based on an iPod wouldn't have custom ringtones...

[FBPro]

If verizon ever has one I may get one if the price isn't insane.

[ISiddiqui]

It's Apple... of course the price will be insane .

[sjshaw]

AT&T and Apple are locked in together for 5 years, I believe, so you'll be waiting quite a while for a Verizon version.

[daedalus]

What did you have to shell out for it?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by daedalus

What did you have to shell out for it?

I got the 8GB version, so $599 plus tax. I paid $499 when the RAZR first came out three years ago, and (I hate to say it) $800 for a Sony Ericsson P800 five years ago when they first came out.

But balanced against replacing the failed hard drive in my iPod and getting a new battery for the RAZR, I'm putting the cost at $399.

[ThunderingHERD]

Originally Posted by cartman

I got the 8GB version, so $599 plus tax.

Does that price include installation of your new vagina?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by ThunderingHERD

Does that price include installation of your new vagina?

I think you have me confused with Mr./Ms. Garrison

[Buccaneer]

when they first came out

And that is the definitive phrase.

[Senator]

in before lock

[cartman]

I wish they would have shown the lady's reaction when they told her she could only buy one iPhone.

[MJ4H]

THAT WAS AWESOME

i cant stand the ebay hoarders.

[NoMyths]

"I think she got the short end of the stick there, America."

Classic.

[DaddyTorgo]

AHAHAHH

THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!!!


ebay hoarders can suck my ballz

[Logan]

On one of the boards I read, a guy decided to buy 2 and ebay them together.

He took a $25 loss after the taxes he paid and the ebay fees. Supply was high enough and apple.com will get them to you within a couple weeks. Any big money auctions you saw was probably from bidders that will never pay.

[jaygr]

You know, there are so many things in life that just don't work out or people getting away with crap. It is just so great to see instant karma like that

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by cartman

My songs are finally transferred, so I can play around with it a little more.

It is seamless picking up a WiFi connection. Google Maps works really well. I'm currently watching a Terry Tate, Office Linebacker YouTube video, and it looks really good, and the sound via the speaker isn't too bad either. But it appears that if you have a YouTube account, you can't login to it via the iPhone. I'll have to check that more later.

The "virtual" keyboard seems to work really well. I thought it would be more of a pain than it is. I fat-fingered a few times, but it picked up most of what I typed correctly.

The iPod piece works just like in the commercials. You can scan the album covers to find the song you want to play.

A couple of my coworkers bought them Friday and we were messing around with them at the bars, very cool. Although I will say that I "fat-fingered" the virtual keyboard myself numerous times, and I don't have fat fingers. That was the only thing that struck me as a potential real drawback though (other than the battery stuff, I do love that the bberry can go Friday morning to Monday night for me if I forget my charger on a weekend trip), but it was also annoying enough that it made me think twice about the iPhone ever being a good alternative for work emailing. If you spend a lot of time emailing from your phone I could see the virtual keyboard making you crazy, but that could just be a habit/comfort level thing, maybe you get used to it.

I did really like the web browsing though, it really is a whole world above the equivalent on other phones. Like the difference between websites in the late 90s and websites today, very very cool.

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah. The virtual keyboard fat-fingering is a total turnoff for me.

I'd rather stick with my PPC-6700 with the slide-out keyboard that I can 2-hand!

[cartman]

I'm starting to get the hang of the virtual keyboard, even to the point of using both thumbs like a Blackberry. The auto-correct feature works really well, it's just getting used to how it works. For example, if you type in birrhdsy, it will figure out that you wanted to type 'birthday', and if you hit the space bar, it will automatically make the correction for you. If you don't want to take the recommended spelling you don't have to.

For reference, I made this post from the iPhone, and it took about a minute to type all of this in.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by cartman

I'm starting to get the hang of the virtual keyboard, even to the point of using both thumbs like a Blackberry. The auto-correct feature works really well, it's just getting used to how it works. For example, if you type in birrhdsy, it will figure out that you wanted to type 'birthday', and if you hit the space bar, it will automatically make the correction for you. If you don't want to take the recommended spelling you don't have to.

For reference, I made this post from the iPhone, and it took about a minute to type all of this in.

you misspelled birthday the first time up there as birrhdsy

[nilodor]

[quote=cartman;1491318]They changed the screen from plastic to tempered glass, so I'm guessing that it will be pretty durable. At first I thought I had a scratchwd up screen, but it was just a second thin film of protective plastic. My RAZR and iPod are both pretty scratched up from several years of use. It will be interesting to see how well this holds up.

QUOTE]

You can get plastic screen protectors that are like tearaways race car drivers use. They are pretty cheap and really keep the screen in good condition.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by cartman

I wish they would have shown the lady's reaction when they told her she could only buy one iPhone.

Oh holy hell that was great! Stupid smug Highland Park bitch...

[Passacaglia]

My father-in-law bought apple stock a few months ago, because he read that the iPhone was coming out. Looking at stock prices, it looks like he probably made a killing, which enrages me so much, since it was such a random reason.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by oliegirl

For custom ringtones, can you change it through the contacts? That is how the ones I've used are set up...it always takes me a bit of time to figure out which option to go into, but I can't imagine a phone based on an iPod wouldn't have custom ringtones...

bump

[cartman]

Originally Posted by cartman

They changed the screen from plastic to tempered glass, so I'm guessing that it will be pretty durable. At first I thought I had a scratchwd up screen, but it was just a second thin film of protective plastic. My RAZR and iPod are both pretty scratched up from several years of use. It will be interesting to see how well this holds up.

Well, since this thread has been bumped...

After a little over a year, the screen is still perfect. No scratches or any other marks. The rest of the case, it is a different story. The grey back shows a lot of scuff marks, and the shiny silver plastic surround on the screen has noticeable scratches.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

bump

Custom ringtones are a pain in the ass. They are difficult to make yourself if you want because Apple wants to make money on you for almost everything you do with their phone...

But it is possible.

[INDalltheway]

This is the way I go about it.. (windows)
1. Listen to your MP3 and decide what part of the track you want as your ringtone (30 seconds maximum). Note the play time (for example, I would like to use 0:43 to 1:05 as my ringtone).

2. Right click on the MP3 in iTunes. Select "Get Info." Select the "Options" tab. Make sure the "Start Time" and "Stop Time" boxes are checked and enter the times you have selected for your ringtone. Click "OK."

3. Right click on the MP3 again, and select "Convert Selection to AAC." iTunes will create a second track with the same title.

4. Click and Drag the new track onto your desktop. Delete the track from iTunes.

5. On your desktop, right click on the track and select "Properties." If the filename has ".m4a" at the end, just change it to ".m4r", if it just has the track name, you will need to click "Cancel," open up "My Computer," select "Tools" and then "Folder Options." From there, you will select the "View" tab and uncheck the box next to "Hide extentions for known file types." Then go back to the beginning of this step and change ".m4a" to ".m4r"

6. Now the rest is simple. Back in iTunes, go to "File">"Add File to Library." Select the track from your desktop and click "Open." This will put the track in the Ringtones section of your library.

7. Go into the iPhone section of your iTunes and your newly created ringtone should be in the ringtones section ready to be synced! It will appear where the rest of the ringtones are in your phone.

[Rich1033]

Yeah, those are the instructions my buddy gave me. However me being the lazy SOB that I am, I just went out and found a program that does it for me. iRinger is what I ended up using. Its free(although you will have to put up with an ad), very quick, plus allows you to fade the ringer in and out. It even puts the ringer into iTunes for you.

On another topic, they say WinPwn 2.5 will be out very soon. That will allow you to easily jailbreak your phone. Im really looking forward to getting some of the new apps that allows as well as finally change the theme.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

This is the way I go about it.. (windows)
1. Listen to your MP3 and decide what part of the track you want as your ringtone (30 seconds maximum). Note the play time (for example, I would like to use 0:43 to 1:05 as my ringtone).

2. Right click on the MP3 in iTunes. Select "Get Info." Select the "Options" tab. Make sure the "Start Time" and "Stop Time" boxes are checked and enter the times you have selected for your ringtone. Click "OK."

3. Right click on the MP3 again, and select "Convert Selection to AAC." iTunes will create a second track with the same title.

4. Click and Drag the new track onto your desktop. Delete the track from iTunes.

5. On your desktop, right click on the track and select "Properties." If the filename has ".m4a" at the end, just change it to ".m4r", if it just has the track name, you will need to click "Cancel," open up "My Computer," select "Tools" and then "Folder Options." From there, you will select the "View" tab and uncheck the box next to "Hide extentions for known file types." Then go back to the beginning of this step and change ".m4a" to ".m4r"

6. Now the rest is simple. Back in iTunes, go to "File">"Add File to Library." Select the track from your desktop and click "Open." This will put the track in the Ringtones section of your library.

7. Go into the iPhone section of your iTunes and your newly created ringtone should be in the ringtones section ready to be synced! It will appear where the rest of the ringtones are in your phone.

Ah didn't know about that way. That's easier then the way I was doing it.

[Raiders Army]

I use Audacity to make ringtones. It's pretty easy and you don't have to remember your play times.

[digamma]

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