Crunch time. Should I buy an Iphone?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Crunch time. Should I buy an Iphone?

brownbox

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Master Geek

#20330 21-Mar-2008 20:44

Well, im checking pricespy, and I can get a fully unlocked 8Gb iphone for $855. This is the same as what I would get if I sold my ipod touch and my Razr v6 maxx.
So, should I get it? Heres some info which may help
1. I live out in the sticks which means no 3g coverage. Infact, the nearest 3g area is well over 40km away
2. Pretty much, all I use my phone for (which i think is by far, far too feature-filled for what I do) is txting, calling, and sometimes playing music with the speaker
3. Im bored
4. Its really annoying carrying an already large phone and an even bigger ipod touch around

Please please help. I cant decide on what I want to do.

Also, as far as I know, the iphone has a lot of potential, adn is still in its early days (with the SDK now released, it can only go uphill from here)

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tonyhughes

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#117945 21-Mar-2008 21:11

No built in speaker in the iPhone. [edit: yes I know the previous statement is incorrect :-) ] Other than that, it sounds like it might suit you well. Will you miss a real keypad? I didnt think I would with the OKTA Touch, but I did after a while.

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#117947 21-Mar-2008 21:19

tonyhughes: No built in speaker in the iPhone.

What???

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tonyhughes

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#117953 21-Mar-2008 21:25

OOPS

I knew that too. I have no idea what I was talking about.

brownbox

149 posts

Master Geek

#117954 21-Mar-2008 21:34

I have been reading and apparently the iphone has a recessed headphone jack? Could an adapter be made for this? (I have heaps of spare parts, and soldering skills)

So Im guessing it can play music with the speakers then?

Loving the thought of not having a stupid shiny back like ipods.

tonyhughes: Will you miss a real keypad? I didnt think I would with the OKTA Touch, but I did after a while.

Well, Ive only had my v6 (first cellphone) for a couple of weeks, so the keypad isnt instinct yet. Im guessing for txting, the iphone just has the usual onscreen qwerty keyboard, which i can use almost as fast as a normal pc keyboard (approx 3 times faster than I can write with a pen, approx 10 times faster than i can txt)

manhinli

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#117955 21-Mar-2008 21:41

brownbox: I have been reading and apparently the iphone has a recessed headphone jack? Could an adapter be made for this? (I have heaps of spare parts, and soldering skills)

Adapter has been made (by third parties like Belkin)

brownbox: So Im guessing it can play music with the speakers then?

Yep.

brownbox: Loving the thought of not having a stupid shiny back like ipods.

Exactly what's been happening to my iPod touch. Man, they should seriously think about their choice of metal backing.

brownbox:
tonyhughes: Will you miss a real keypad? I didnt think I would with the OKTA Touch, but I did after a while.

Well, Ive only had my v6 (first cellphone) for a couple of weeks, so the keypad isnt instinct yet. Im guessing for txting, the iphone just has the usual onscreen qwerty keyboard, which i can use almost as fast as a normal pc keyboard (approx 3 times faster than I can write with a pen, approx 10 times faster than i can txt)

Quite a lot of people actually like tactile feedback when typing (like me), so this is a good question to raise.

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brownbox

149 posts

Master Geek

#117958 21-Mar-2008 21:58

ive actually grown to quite like the touch screen interface of the ipod touch in the few months I have owned it, and have come to prefer it over buttons.

So just a couple of last checks
-I dont know if anyone would know, but is the Iphones recption pretty good? Seeing as its apple, Im guesing they wouldve put good quality receivers in, but remember I live out in the country, so good reception is paramount.
-It looks pretty big. Will this become an annoyance?
-If I buy a "Fully unlocked for vodafone" iphone, does that mean it will be completely working as soon as I take it out of the box? Just put in my sim card, adn it will go? I have read about some bad stories about NZ unlocked iphones, which did not work. Its not like it can be easily gotten rid of on trademe either.
-Bluetooth. Ive read that on the iphone, its a bit of a dud. Does this mean that I will not be able to recieve files from friends?
-Does the camera take videos?
-How do I get pictures off it onto the PC? Is it with Itunes?

Sorry if im asking too many questions, but I certainly have doubts when it comes to buying such expensive things.

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manhinli

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#117959 21-Mar-2008 22:05

brownbox: -I dont know if anyone would know, but is the Iphones recption pretty good? Seeing as its apple, Im guesing they wouldve put good quality receivers in, but remember I live out in the country, so good reception is paramount.

Don't know anything about that. Looking at the photo I placed from Apple, you can see the black thing at the bottom is the antenna. If Vodafone GSM coverage is shoddy, you may get coverage, but as I said before, no guarantees.

brownbox: -It looks pretty big. Will this become an annoyance?

You got an iPod touch. Now think of it only slightly taller and 1.5x as thick.

brownbox: -If I buy a "Fully unlocked for vodafone" iphone, does that mean it will be completely working as soon as I take it out of the box? Just put in my sim card, adn it will go? I have read about some bad stories about NZ unlocked iphones, which did not work. Its not like it can be easily gotten rid of on trademe either.

It should work fine, unless the seller has something to it.

brownbox: -Bluetooth. Ive read that on the iphone, its a bit of a dud. Does this mean that I will not be able to recieve files from friends?

That's correct. Only Bluetooth works with headsets. But - there is an app if I can remember which does share files between iPhones, but not sure how it does so (e.g. over which network?)

brownbox: -Does the camera take videos?

Nope.

brownbox: -How do I get pictures off it onto the PC? Is it with Itunes?

Yes, you can also send via. Mail.app.

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brownbox

149 posts

Master Geek

#117962 21-Mar-2008 22:16

Well, I did a quick google search, and it seems trusty hackers have rescued again, and it does record videos. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Regarding reception
My V6 is sitting here on my computer desk next to the window which faces the direction of the nearest vodafone tower, and i get 5 bars. Move back 3 metres and im down to 2 bars. Back another 3 metres, and im down to "Searching for networks". I tried with a Panasonic phone, and it gets no bars anywhere in my house. Guess the answer is unknown?

brownbox

149 posts

Master Geek

#118094 22-Mar-2008 20:14

Well, i wasted a whole day deciding on whether or not to get an iphone, and i really cannot work it out!
It all seems like an easy choise (sell RAZR, sel itouch and get an iphone), until I see that thers no video recording, no bluetooth file sharing etc. I dont use these things every day, but i can certainly see where this will come in annoying.
I can spend up to $600 for a really good phone, or up to 800 for a phone and ipod alternative. I researched some of the best alternatives (HTC Touch, Nokia N95, LG Viewty and Prada), and in all of the reviews, the iphone came out on top.

Any help on what to pick would be appreciated

sproyd

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Master Geek

#118343 24-Mar-2008 10:43

iPhone is awesome and you will not regret it if you purchase it. It has that really clean, quality, intuitive feel that all Apple products do that you just don't get with a Nokia or the like.

Upsides for me:
Slim, fits nicely in a pocket
Decent battery life given the screen brightness
Heaps of features and 3rd party apps
All-In-One device i.e. Movies, MP3s, Phone, Internet Browsing (which is actually done very well), podcasts, good email client, good for notes etc.

Downsides:
Keyboard is ok but you have to concentrate to text/email - this can be a pain when driving or trying to be discreet
Camera is pretty blurry unless you hold the iPhone really still, imagine video would be similar
Recessed headphone jack is a pain in the a$$ but an adaptor solves this
Not 3G (if you care)

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stevenz

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#118346 24-Mar-2008 11:04

The black antennae on the phone is for the WiFi only afaik, the cell antenna is internal. Reception seems to be pretty good, comparable to my Sony Ericsson W900. I live in a bit of a cell-tower grey area and reception comes and goes, but the iPhone seems to work pretty well.

It can send/recenve MMS/PXT messages ok using the SwirlyMMS app although it's very rudimentary.

The internal speaker works quite well for watching videos with.

The recessed jack isn't too much of an issue, you can either buy a short adaptor, or just trim some of the rubber from around your headphone plug, works fine.

Unless you're some kind of crazy freak, there's no way you can type blindly, you have to pay attention to the keyboard the whole time and if you've got fairly stubby fingers it can be a bit of a pain at times. Its predictive dictionary works pretty reliably though.

Battery life is surprisingly good, especially if you turn the brightness down and disable WiFi and Edge/GPRS (Only useful for using with the MMS app). Using WiFi and having the screen on most of the time drains the battery pretty heavily unsurprisingly, but it'll still get me through an 8-hour work day sitting there running the MSN app connected to the Telecom WiFi next door.

You should be able to get an iPhone for a fair bit less than $855 off either eBay or Zillion. The last 8GB one I got in cost me about NZ$730 landed. I've also got one in for about $695, and another which got picked up by customs for about $780. If you're lucky you should be able to get a 16GB one for under $855. The one I use now is a 16GB and iirc was NZ$820 landed.

If the phone has been unlocked, then it'll work fine with Vodafone just by sticking the SIM in. You'll probably want to install some of the mods from www.kiwi-ise.co.nz to make it more Vodafone friendly though, but it works fine without them.

Bare in mind that the 2nd gen model _probably_ isn't all that far off.

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manhinli

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#118347 24-Mar-2008 11:09

stevenz: Bare in mind that the 2nd gen model _probably_ isn't all that far off.

That's what everyone's been talking about... 3G just has to come to the iPhone!

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brownbox

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Master Geek

#118363 24-Mar-2008 12:37

I have the Itouch, and I can touch type with no worries... on the horizontal keyboard. The vertical keyboard is just a pain in the ____ and I cant stand it. I like the iphone/ipod touchs GUI, and its very quick and responsive. Really love the touch screen. But remember, I still go to school, which means I need the following crucial things
-Bluetooth file sharing! Useful for those long long english periods where everyone is just sharing their songs and pictures via bluetooth
-MMS- I dont usually use this, but I can certainly imagine times when this would be really annoying
-Video camera- For the times when your mates are mucking around at school, its useful to be able to capture the moment
-3G- This isnt really necessary, as a poor student like me doesnt have spare limbs to pay vodafone for 3G services.
-Relatively small size- Face it, the iphone is pretty massive
-A normal headphone jack- Cant imagine life without hooking up my phone to some speakers. Dont really want to start hacking up things just to get something which I could get on most other phones without doing anything

-Something new-Ive already got an ipod touch and its gone boring... been there, done that

Ofcourse, the jailbreak apps are very handy, and with the SDK now released, the iphone will only get better. But many other platforms are already there!

Because of this, I have decided to go for the Nokia N95 8GB. Its a bit of a chunky thing itself, but my god, it sounds like fun to play with , and no one really seems to have anything bad to say about it in the reviews.

stevenz

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#118461 25-Mar-2008 06:48

Just be aware that the N95 has amazingly bad battery life. Admittedly I had the earlier version which only had a 900mAh battery versus the 1100mAh one they now come with (I think the numbers are right) but I had to recharge it every night or it wouldn't make it through the following day.

Cool phones though.

brownbox

149 posts

Master Geek

#118469 25-Mar-2008 07:50

Im not sure about the original but the 8gb has 1200mAH i beleive. I dont live in a 3g area, so this will help the battery life. How much do you use it to get such short life?