That is VERY, VERY interesting and by golly, that is why I probably am having so much trouble at times with calls that normally perfect reception wise with my old Verizon Phone.
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Decided to return our iPhones today....
- Thread starter hevaKmaI
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That is VERY, VERY interesting and by golly, that is why I probably am having so much trouble at times with calls that normally perfect reception wise with my old Verizon Phone.
It's really frustrating how the level of discourse on this site occasionally dips below the middle-school marker. If you have something to contribute, please do, but your post adds nothing to the discussion.
Anyway, if you need the newest coolest gadgets or if you need a phone NOW and this revision has all the features you need, then this version is for you. Any marketing guru will tell you that early adopters will pay ANYTHING to have a hot commodity - regardless of drawbacks or lack of features. The more practical users only buy revision A if it truly fits their needs to a T and they need one at that exact point and time (why else pay first release market premium?). They usually wait for revision B which is sometimes cheaper, has been through 2 cycles of QA and an incredible amount of market and user scrutiny, and has been modified to reflect user-sentiment and research.
I swore up and down that I wouldn't buy rev A, got caught in the hype and ran out and bought one, changed my mind and returned it. I will wait patiently, which was my plan before Madison-Avenue and the media got hold of the impulse buy section of my brain. For most, the phone is fantastic; it truly is groundbreaking. But I will wait.
The flaw would be putting the attenna closer to your brain... personally I will give up a little reception for less soft tissue penetration.
SUCH a good point.
Especially for people who have switched networks.
Service varies, and how much you will enjoy the iPhone really depends on where you live.
By the way, I have hundreds of calls and not ONE dropped call and nothing but excellent reception.
You'd be surprised at how many phones put the antenna on the bottom.
Lottttssssssss.
But since most phones are made entirely of plastic, and don't have millions of people critiquing every last molecule of it, you never hear anything about it.
Well now this is just plain weird....
After reading this, I figured I would check it out. So.....I have 4-5 bars when I am *not* holding the base of the phone and 0-1 bars when I *am* holding the base of the phone. I've done this about 10 times with the same results every time. I know this is not a scientific experiment but it does look rather suspect.....
Really does not mean much as AT&T service is very hit or miss depending on location.
I get perfect reception across Atlanta yet terrible service in/around Houston/New Orleans.
well whoopie woo for you, you made a MAJOR breakthrough. I don't know how the engineers at apple ever decided to go through with production before consulting a genius such as yourself. I'll make sure steve contacts you before going forward on any other designs. Oh yeah, you're WRONG!
Nokia just designed their new 8800 series like that. There was an article in WSJ detailing that with an all metal frame, the base HAD to be plastic, in order to let the antennae function. It's hardly a "major design flaw". Let's all just avoid the hysteria.
~ CB
i think each one have your own problem..
funny my signal is ALWAYS 100%, EDGE is fast enough , and iphone run perfect with not problems at all. so thats funny compared with some people that make the iphone look like a 10 years old phone with bad signal, bad speakers , bad bad.. damn just return it and go back in time to a TREO .
funny my signal is ALWAYS 100%, EDGE is fast enough , and iphone run perfect with not problems at all. so thats funny compared with some people that make the iphone look like a 10 years old phone with bad signal, bad speakers , bad bad.. damn just return it and go back in time to a TREO .
I like my iPhone, it is just that Apple has made some things more difficult than they should be. Case in point I can email you or SMS you my mailing address. Now take that address and put it in your Contacts list. Cut/Copy & Paste sure would be nice right about then.
You do realize those signal bars on the iPhone are not entirely accurate. In fact, if you looked at the field test menu, you'll noticed the bars don't go down until your beyond -100dBm.
I respect the fact that you now choose to wait for a revision of the iPhone, but I also had a Treo and going back to it for any reason would NOT be an option for me!
I don't know what people's problem is on this site...they don't seem to realize that I'm trying to give a fair assessment of my experience with the iPhone....however as a starting RF engineer, even I know that ~10-12dB (based on what I've seen and tested from the field test menu) of loss just by putting your hand on the bottom of the phone where most people would put it seems like a lot, and is easily enough to drop a call in a marginal signal area. I'm glad that there are people who are mature enough to just see if the same holds true for them. Thanks skinnylegs.
To the rest of you who seem to lack a certain sense of maturity, if you're going to post about the "book" I wrote in the first post, then please at least read it and realize that I'm not trying to rag on the iPhone, rather I'm pointing out things that need to be considered or fixed from a previous treo user's point of view. Steve Jobs did, afterall, compare it directly to a treo in his keynote by placing it side by side with the iPhone.
I hear 'ya.....
I found your assessment to be very balanced. Nothing inflammatory; simply your observations and experience. Mind you, I really like the iPhone and it gets the job done for me but there is certainly room for improvement.
Anyway.....regarding the signal strength issue, I made a quick video to document my findings. The video was thrown together pretty quickly ('kinda like Blair Witch meets iPhone) and I uploaded it as a large file so it would be clearer. If you're interested, you can check it out at http://web.mac.com/sjesser/iWeb/Site/Movie 1.html
I found your assessment to be very balanced. Nothing inflammatory; simply your observations and experience. Mind you, I really like the iPhone and it gets the job done for me but there is certainly room for improvement.
Anyway.....regarding the signal strength issue, I made a quick video to document my findings. The video was thrown together pretty quickly ('kinda like Blair Witch meets iPhone) and I uploaded it as a large file so it would be clearer. If you're interested, you can check it out at http://web.mac.com/sjesser/iWeb/Site/Movie 1.html
iphone is going to be better...
for those of us that needs to be on the cutting edge of technology... we probably love the iphone... but reading through this thread.. i want to point out some things...
1) how accurate are the bars on the other phones compared to the iphone?
2) 3G ain't all that if you got a crappy browser... ( i was in Japan with a 3G blackberry and even though it was fast... crappy internet web browser, so doesn't matter)
3) I am fine with EDGE, how many times are you planning to go out and spend most of your time surfing on your phone, who does that with their regular phone on 3G networks now? .. it's for those times in between waiting for doctor's appointment, or waiting for the bus etc.. so if EDGE is slow, it's okay, i got TV shows, Movies, Music and picture to keep me entertained...
4) But people have different needs, i for one travel a lot to many places. so i switched from a Blackberry to Cingular 8525 to Iphone, and will not go back.
Cingular had 3G.. but i had absolutely no use for it, except for SLINGBOX.. but technically i am not suppose to stream video over the network... oh well...
my point is iphone will get better.. so... for those who are returning.. good for you to wait for the technology/product to mature .. for those of us keeping it... great for us !!
for those of us that needs to be on the cutting edge of technology... we probably love the iphone... but reading through this thread.. i want to point out some things...
1) how accurate are the bars on the other phones compared to the iphone?
2) 3G ain't all that if you got a crappy browser... ( i was in Japan with a 3G blackberry and even though it was fast... crappy internet web browser, so doesn't matter)
3) I am fine with EDGE, how many times are you planning to go out and spend most of your time surfing on your phone, who does that with their regular phone on 3G networks now? .. it's for those times in between waiting for doctor's appointment, or waiting for the bus etc.. so if EDGE is slow, it's okay, i got TV shows, Movies, Music and picture to keep me entertained...
4) But people have different needs, i for one travel a lot to many places. so i switched from a Blackberry to Cingular 8525 to Iphone, and will not go back.
Cingular had 3G.. but i had absolutely no use for it, except for SLINGBOX.. but technically i am not suppose to stream video over the network... oh well...
my point is iphone will get better.. so... for those who are returning.. good for you to wait for the technology/product to mature .. for those of us keeping it... great for us !!
Great points, Hex and I'm right there with 'ya. I understand the shortcomings of the iPhone but, for me, the benefits far outweigh the things that need improvement. My single biggest gripe (if that's what you want to call it) is that EDGE is rather slow; so much so that many times I am unable to even send or receive email over the EDGE network.
I don't quite understand your sarcasm?
Not to worry. Most of those bashing your opinion are obviously kids, with no net manners, no technical knowledge, and incredibly naive about the world.
After a while, they're obvious to everyone.
In the old days, at least you could be assured that anyone on the Internet was of at least college age and intelligence. No longer. Now those of us with actual tech experience are lost in the swirl of fans claiming that everything can and will be fixed with a software update!
Well I know for a fact that when the iPhone was developed it was developed on its own private cell tower. I imagine that the reception was fine being that close to the tower with the antenna on the bottom, and the problems didn't show up until after the FCC testing that gave it release clearance. At that point, you can't modify the antenna without resubmitting, so I imagine the reception thing will either be fixed later or just be a feature of the iPhone hardware.
Reception does go down if your hand is in the way. If your signal was excessively strong to begin with, it might not reduce your signal measure drop any, but if you were on the edge of strong service and you block the antenna with a hunk of flesh and bone, your reception will decrease.
This was the first thing I noticed when I saw the iPhone at the keynote. I said "what's that black thing?" and the engineer said "it covers the antenna."
And for whomever was so afraid of radiation that they think moving the antenna south two inches will make a difference...you probably shouldn't be using a cell phone if you're that concerned, it might interfere with your tinfoil hat and the aliens might get you.
Reception does go down if your hand is in the way. If your signal was excessively strong to begin with, it might not reduce your signal measure drop any, but if you were on the edge of strong service and you block the antenna with a hunk of flesh and bone, your reception will decrease.
This was the first thing I noticed when I saw the iPhone at the keynote. I said "what's that black thing?" and the engineer said "it covers the antenna."
And for whomever was so afraid of radiation that they think moving the antenna south two inches will make a difference...you probably shouldn't be using a cell phone if you're that concerned, it might interfere with your tinfoil hat and the aliens might get you.
My .02
Well I have used the phone from day one, and I really want to say terrible things about it, all it's short comings, and go straight back to my Treo 700wx.
The only problem is that I can't. It is a phone that does what Mr. Jobs says it would do. It is a first attempt as well, but still succeeds. What I don't understand is what the nay sayers have to say. If you are not happy and so so so disappointed simply return the phone, pay your restocking fee and head back to your Treos, Blackberrys, etc. Why try to ruin the experience of everyone else that loves the phone. Nobody twists your arm to keep the iPhone. Gracefully go, live happily, and allow the rest that wish to keep the phone to enjoy it. Good luck.
Well I have used the phone from day one, and I really want to say terrible things about it, all it's short comings, and go straight back to my Treo 700wx.
The only problem is that I can't. It is a phone that does what Mr. Jobs says it would do. It is a first attempt as well, but still succeeds. What I don't understand is what the nay sayers have to say. If you are not happy and so so so disappointed simply return the phone, pay your restocking fee and head back to your Treos, Blackberrys, etc. Why try to ruin the experience of everyone else that loves the phone. Nobody twists your arm to keep the iPhone. Gracefully go, live happily, and allow the rest that wish to keep the phone to enjoy it. Good luck.
You aren't to only one lost in the hype. If not for my wife (a much stronger-willed person than I), I would have broken my promise never to buy Rev. A. I don't even think I'd mind buying this rendition 3 or 4 months into the product cycle, but right now there is still too much that is unknown for me to feel comfortable going all in.
Stay strong, my brother.
I have an aversion to rev a products myself.
I decided I wouldn't buy it, then I read respected reviews that all basically said the same thing:
It has some flaws but it's probably the best mobile phone ever made overall when you take all of its features into account (yeah yeah I'm sure some of you will argue that to your last breath.).
Anyway, when I heard that, it being a rev a didn't bother me so much anymore.
But hey, to each his own.
I decided I wouldn't buy it, then I read respected reviews that all basically said the same thing:
It has some flaws but it's probably the best mobile phone ever made overall when you take all of its features into account (yeah yeah I'm sure some of you will argue that to your last breath.).
Anyway, when I heard that, it being a rev a didn't bother me so much anymore.
But hey, to each his own.
I know this is from a few pages back but to answer your 3G questions: 3G chips need to be registered with the FCC. Part of why the iphone was announced so far in advance was so all the hype didn't leak out during the FCC filing (presumably). If Apple had any intentions of activating 3G we would have known about it because it would be listed as being WCDMA 850, which i believe is the frequency ATT uses for their 3G services. Since the FCC filing on the iphone does not list compatibility with that frequency, this version of the iphone will never support 3G. End of story.
To Merlyn3D: I've seen you over on TC's boards too...I thought your review was very fair!