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Decisions, Decisions...

P

pianos101

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 11, 2006
189
0
Philly Area
So... After a week and a half of constantly debating whether or not I should buy an iPhone I finally went out and purchased an 8gig one today. However, now that it's sitting in front of me (still wrapped) I'm still unsure of whether I should open it or not...

I currently have Verizon and where i live (outside New York City) their service is great and I'm not sure if I'm ready to lose that... I'm off contract with them, so activating my phone wouldn't hurt me there, and VZW is giving me 30 days to port my number back w/o activation fee should I decide to scrap ATT.

So, my issue is should I wait for RevB to come out (whenever that'll be). Reading the forums I'm seeing a lot of quite opposite views, mostly based on "missing" features. Do you guys think many of the "missing" features will be updated via software releases (i.e., so I don't have to buy a new phone, except for 3G or GPS)? I've been reading and reading and still can't make a decision... Anyone have some input?? Greatly appreciated! Thanks
 
The iPhone is the best device I've ever owned. I too switched from Verizon, and I even had to pay the early termination fee ($175). I say keep it, you'll love it.
 
Sit down and figure out what you need in a phone and go from there.

Phone?
iPod - Music/Moves
Text?
Email
Web?

If so I would go for it

If you need MMS or IM or Microsoft exchange..........well maybe not.

Just have to figure out your needs. If the iPhone fits.......then YES YES YES!

Has been the best phone I have owned.
 
1. Seconded, iPhone is the single most impressive and useful electronic device I've ever purchased, warts and all.

2. While software updates and upgrades will be trickling in (we all hope), I don't see a hardware revision any time soon. You might end up waiting a long time.
 
Yeah I have a 1G nano that i want to upgrade, and i don't pay verizon's outrageous $40 for data on my treo 650, so both of those are WELCOME additions. The mixed reviews of EDGE speed are also somewhat holding me back, though...
 
it depends on you, if you are like most of the ppl in this forum that can look the other away from its shortcomings (and pretend they dont exist or they never used them), then yes, open it and enjoy it. however if you need basic features and use them often like alot of people, return it and wait for at least a software update to add the features back in, this way you wont hate your device. spending half a grand (or more) on a device that you end up hating is the worst use of your money.
 
I might be horrible for saying this, but if you're still wondering if you should have bought it, perhaps you should return it. ASAP. All you're fiddling, hedging, and hesitation should have been done in the Apple store, before you purchased it.

Buying the phone should have been the triumph of your final decision, not the last leg of making the choice whether or not to switch. I'm sure that the store employees would have gladly answered all your questions. I think at this point, its a little weird that anyone should goad you into using the device you have a receipt for. For any significant doubt to remain doesn't seem to bode well for me, as one would assume you've already played with the display model.

I've honestly felt a bit nauseous from the trickle of people in this forum declaring that they're returning their phone, and listing a number of things they knew before buying it as reasons. It's weird to me.

I think you made the decision before you made the post. Life's too short not to enjoy something as basic as a phone. So... maybe you should wait. Wait for a software update from Apple. Wait a year for the next round if you need to. Wait 'til January for a sexy little Nano phone, maybe.

Read this article from Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/no-bs-iphone-review-276116.php
The real elephant in the room is the fact that I just spent $600 on my friggin' iPhone and it can't do some crucial functions that even $50 handsets can. I'm talking about MMS. Video recording. Custom ringtones. Mass storage. Fully functioning Bluetooth with stereo audio streaming. Voice dialing when you're using a car kit. Sending contact info to other people. Instant friggin' messenging. Sending an SMS to more than one recipient at a time.
Click to expand...

If nothing else, that should help you make your decision. Meanwhile, don't feel obligated to tell everyone you returned your iPhone. You shouldn't have picked it up to begin with. If someone asks if you've seen it, just say you played with one, and decided to wait... otherwise you're libel to run into some love-sick zealot who'll take the spurning of iPhone-love personally. No need for that kind of trouble. ;)

~ CB
 
mduser63 said:
The iPhone is the best device I've ever owned. I too switched from Verizon, and I even had to pay the early termination fee ($175). I say keep it, you'll love it.
Click to expand...

+1

I switched from Verizon, accepting the $175 fee with a smile on my face. This is the first phone I've seen where its actually fun to pull it out of your pocket and find ways to use it.

This morning I had to get some booklets bound in a hurry. I used google maps to search for the nearest Fedex Kinkos, selected it, and tapped the phone number to dial it to make sure they could do it right when i got there without waiting. Took all of 2 minutes start to finish.

Along with all its other capabilities, I'm thrilled that I bought it. Keep in mind that there are a lot of people on this forum who complain about features they want added to the phone and some of these same people have never used one. In reality, there are many times more people who are completely happy with their purchase and think it's refreshing to see such a sexy, easy-to-use phone with tons of wow factor.
 
Cleverboy said:
The real elephant in the room is the fact that I just spent $600 on my friggin' iPhone and it can't do some crucial functions that even $50 handsets can.
Click to expand...

And then there's another elephant next to it - all the crucial functions iPhone can do that no other phone can. I'm talking syncing with iTunes. A gorgeous 160-ppi screen. A real web browser. Multi-touch for extremely fast and enjoyable scrolling and zooming. A phenomenal iPod.
 
Cleverboy said:
I might be horrible for saying this, but if you're still wondering if you should have bought it, perhaps you should return it. ASAP. All you're fiddling, hedging, and hesitation should have been done in the Apple store, before you purchased it.

Buying the phone should have been the triumph of your final decision, not the last leg of making the choice whether or not to switch. I'm sure that the store employees would have gladly answered all your questions. I think at this point, its a little weird that anyone should goad you into using the device you have a receipt for. For any significant doubt to remain doesn't seem to bode well for me, as one would assume you've already played with the display model.

I've honestly felt a bit nauseous from the trickle of people in this forum declaring that they're returning their phone, and listing a number of things they knew before buying it as reasons. It's weird to me.

I think you made the decision before you made the post. Life's too short not to enjoy something as basic as a phone. So... maybe you should wait. Wait for a software update from Apple. Wait a year for the next round if you need to. Wait 'til January for a sexy little Nano phone, maybe.

Read this article from Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/no-bs-iphone-review-276116.php


If nothing else, that should help you make your decision. Meanwhile, don't feel obligated to tell everyone you returned your iPhone. You shouldn't have picked it up to begin with. If someone asks if you've seen it, just say you played with one, and decided to wait... otherwise you're libel to run into some love-sick zealot who'll take the spurning of iPhone-love personally. No need for that kind of trouble. ;)

~ CB
Click to expand...

best iphone post i've read all day. it's a good gizmodo article, too. read it.
 
Everyone is different.

I love my iPhone. I switched from Verizon and am VERY HAPPY I did it.

With that said, others that I know switched and are not happy and are returning their phones so they can go back to their Blackberry type phones.

It's different for everyone.
 
Cleverboy: you make a good point, but my post here was definitely not to "complain" about a lack of features that i know are not present. I think my biggest question, before i activate the phone, is if many of the "missing" features can/will be updated via simple software updates (except for 3G and gps). If that's the case, there's really no reason to return the phone and wait, I think...
 
You should mail it to someone who ordered one online over two weeks ago and is still waiting for a shipment notice.
 
Here is my take on it Pianos. I purchased the iPhone on July 4th and LOVE every aspect of the phone. I, like you switched from Verizon (inducing the 175$ fee) and am thinking of switching back. I am amazed everytime I use the phone, the only thing holding me back from keeping it is ATT.

Im also slightly outside of NYC (Poughkeepsie) and the service is marginal. My real complain is that I am always on partner towers and EDGE is sub par. Most of the time is doesnt even work(in my smaller home town).

If it was only like this everywhere i would keep the phone. The real problem for me is the lack of service in my house. Im only 30% sure that i can actually recieve/dial calls. This to me is unacceptable.

So if you are sure that ATT has good coverage with their own towers i would say open that bad boy up and start using it. The phone is so amazing that even without service in my house i am thinking about keeping it...

In the end i think i will return it and IF they get better coverage around me, or i move i will buy one ASAP.

Good Luck, hopefully that helped somewhat
Dave
 
We have good AT&T coverage but our ONE store got just 30 phones. If they got more then all went to their friends (which is pretty typical here).

I ordered Saturday morning on day 2 and my shipping date is the 13th. It is really pissing me off to hear that APPLE stores are getting constant supplies of new phones while they ignore the mail order backlog.
 
pianos101 said:
Cleverboy: you make a good point, but my post here was definitely not to "complain" about a lack of features that i know are not present. I think my biggest question, before i activate the phone, is if many of the "missing" features can/will be updated via simple software updates (except for 3G and gps). If that's the case, there's really no reason to return the phone and wait, I think...
Click to expand...
Hopefully I don't come off too crotchety sounding. Even what you're saying here seems worrisome to me though. A friend of mine who was planning to get an iPhone with me (before he realized he wouldn't have enough money) has now said he's going to wait until an update comes before deciding to get one. I agreed with his decision. My exact words earlier today, "If you're only buying an iPhone now, for what they MIGHT do in the future, you're buying for the WRONG reasons." I think that's a HUGE point to make. For people like myself, I expect updates, I'll be unhappy if they're weak updates, but if Apple only fixes bugs from here on out, I'll still be happy with my purchase.

~ CB
 
What missing features are making you not want to use the phone?

My biggest concern was a lack of AIM.

With jivetalk I can do that now, even if it isn't perfect yet.

That's what...11 days after launch?

I think that speaks pretty well for what is possible.
 
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