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iPhone 3G

Discussion in 'Community Broadband & Computers' started by dcdavis, Jun 8, 2008.

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  1. dcdavis

    dcdavis Ooops!!

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    Anyone else just bursting at the seams for the Steve Jobs' Keynote address tomorrow? I've been waiting for the 3G iPhone to come out, and now the rumors state the potential for:

    Video iChat
    Thinner than original
    Subsidized price (!!)

    Considering I have a 3rd generation iPod (read - 5 years old), I'm totally stoked about the new iPhone. Definitely will be checking live updates during tomorrow's main event.
     
    dcdavis, Jun 8, 2008
    #1
  2. joerig

    joerig New Member

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    Yeah, I've been looking at the fake pics and supposed features on the various forums..if half of what they say is true, should be awesome...I love my iPhone, but the Edge network is horrible when there's no wifi...will most likely upgrade for the 3G, especially if they subsidize it...
     
    joerig, Jun 8, 2008
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  3. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Believe it or not, my crappy Motorola Razr died about 7-10 days ago! Got approval from the "better-half" to get one of the new iPhones when they're released!

    So, yeah, I'm going nuts now waiting for Steve Jobs' keynote tomorrow!

    Anyone interested in hanging out in line at either an ATT store or an Apple store (whichever has best pricing considering subsidies)? We could make it a geek party of sorts ;)
     
    Mr. Linux, Jun 8, 2008
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  4. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    Lee, Jun 8, 2008
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  5. Kaosdad

    Kaosdad Will work for Rum

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    Well folks, mu iPhone just DIED this weekend. First it started telling me that "This device was not made to work with iPhone. Do you want to turn on airplane mode?" And there was NOTHING plugged in. Oh - this is a known problem. The fix? Replace the phone.

    Then, it refused to shut off. Nope - just glowed right along until the battery died and now it refuses to take a charge.

    This is EXACTLY why I do not use a Mac!
     
    Kaosdad, Jun 8, 2008
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  6. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    Lee, Jun 8, 2008
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  7. dcdavis

    dcdavis Ooops!!

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    I might be with you on this one. My wife and I (before we were married) stood in line for the opening of the Tyson's Apple Store - we studied for final exams while waiting in line. I can't believe she didn't ditch me then and there....
     
    dcdavis, Jun 8, 2008
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  8. joerig

    joerig New Member

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    Hmm, did you do the hard reset to see if that fixed it? I haven't had any issues, except when I accidentally left it on on a flight and it didnt accept calls until I reset it....

    I've been using a Mac since January at my new job, gotta say I love it and am a convert....no issues at all, while XP continues to give me problems...
     
    joerig, Jun 8, 2008
    #8
  9. joerig

    joerig New Member

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    joerig, Jun 9, 2008
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  10. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    Lee, Jun 9, 2008
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  11. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Ok, fellow geeks! Looks like July 11th is the day! I've already put in for vacation on that day so I'm ready to go!

    Anyone else interested in a 'group' campout at either the Tyson's Apple store or an official AT&T store? I vote for the Apple store, since in the previous rollout, they had the most 'stock'...
     
    Mr. Linux, Jun 9, 2008
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  12. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    big price drops.. so be glad you didn't buy last week :)
     
    flynnibus, Jun 9, 2008
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  13. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Buy last week? LOL! They've been out of stock on the old model for over 3-4 weeks now. Shareholders are MAD as hell... Stock price is down over $6 after Steve Jobs' keynote. Since the new model doesn't go on sale for another month, it will be over 60 days with NO iPhone sales. That's a lot of lost revenue... Sure, they'll make it up in volume when the new model ships, but shareholders tend to favor a regular revenue stream.

    At the new pricepoints ($199 for 8GB and $299 for 16GB model), these will sell like hotcakes and put a LOT of money into shareholders' hands.

    I'm sure glad I decided to wait when the first version went on sale; no way I could justify paying the old price. These new prices are definately in line with other phones.

    Oh, and if anyone was able to purchase a new iphone 2G in the past couple weeks, Apple will normally let you trade it in if it's been 14 days or less...

    UPDATE: YIKES! The time it took me to write this posting and submit, Apple stock is down over $8 now!
     
    Mr. Linux, Jun 9, 2008
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  14. boomertsfx

    boomertsfx Booyakasha!

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    I bet they will find a way to charge for GPS..... 8)
     
    boomertsfx, Jun 9, 2008
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  15. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I'd like to find a writeup on this cell tower triangulation... sounds like BS to me. If it were so simple and accurate - why aren't other vendors doing this from the start? It probably isn't very accurate or something. Someone do the legwork for me on the tech analysis :)
     
    flynnibus, Jun 9, 2008
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  16. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Ok, this is from what I've read over the past few weeks...

    The whole cell tower triangulation thing is based on a huge data-mining effort that happens all the time. Say you have a cellphone with GPS enabled and you use Google Maps. Anonymous data is sent back upstream to Google (if you permitted that function) with the cell tower(s) information, your gps location at the time, etc. Over time, they build this huge database that they can use to give your approximate location. Depending on the amount of data they have, the 'circle' gets smaller and more precise. For example, when I'm at home, the circle is about 1700-2400 feet. When I'm in Ballston, the circle gets very tight and very precise, I assume because they have more 'readings' and better data. On the tollroad going home, the circle is pretty small also and the location is quite accurate, once again I presume because lots of people use their cellphones on the tollroad.

    Google has an entry in their FAQ that gives you more info:

    http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=81873&topic=12595

    Now, what Google/Apple are doing is they're adding 'wifi' readings to the mix. I can't remember the name of the company they're licensing the data from, but basically, all they do is ride around the country taking wifi readings and storing the data. That gives Google Maps an extra level of accuracy; more data to use means a more accurate location.

    Now, when the new iPhones come out, this 'database' will grow very quickly as more folks start using the map feature, thus providing more data to pinpoint locations without GPS, and narrowing that 'circle' of where you are on the map.

    I can tell you from using the feature on my iTouch that it's surprisingly accurate, as long as you're in areas of high cellphone usage, such as main roads and urban/city areas. As you go out towards the suburbs, the accuracy decreases. I assume that over time though, as the data points increase, the accuracy in the suburbs will slowly get better and better.
     
    Mr. Linux, Jun 9, 2008
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  17. Twriter

    Twriter Get a Mac!

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    Two more data points:
    1) If you have purchased a 2.5G iPhone on or after May 27, then you can swap it for a 3G iPhone when they come out. Interesting offer, considering that both Apple and A&T have been largely sold out of them AND anyone who did buy one had to spend the current prices ($399 and $599) to get them.

    2) AT&T has increased the price of the unlimited data part of the plan. Current users pay $20 a month, new 3G users will pay $30 a month. This raises the total plan price. Currently the least expensive iPhone voice/data plan is $59.99, that will increase to $69.99. No word yet on how that affects current users.

    Our current T-Mobile plan has expired, my wife's phone is nearly dead. I think we'll just get an AT&T family plan and get free phones for now. Then, when the new iPhones come out we'll upgrade our plan for $30 per iPhone a month.
    --- John B.
     
    Twriter, Jun 9, 2008
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  18. dcdavis

    dcdavis Ooops!!

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    Intriguingly missing from any discussion is whether Apple has fixed the lack of MMS txt messages. I'm not really into that (at least yet), but supposedly it's a big deal for a lot of people. With a company like Apple, you think they'd address that.

    Maybe MobileMe will have more capabilities than we are initially told?
     
    dcdavis, Jun 9, 2008
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  19. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    John, where did you see the mention of the new price plans?
     
    Mr. Linux, Jun 10, 2008
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  20. Twriter

    Twriter Get a Mac!

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    I found it at:
    http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080609/apple_iphone.html?.v=8

    I noticed they have updated some of the information. The section on replacing iPhones now reads:
    "Current iPhone owners who buy a new model and sign up for a new AT&T contract won't have to pay any penalties to get out of their current contract, AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said. And anyone who bought an iPhone in an AT&T store after May 26 can return it before Aug. 1 for full credit against a new one -- less a 10 percent restocking fee."

    The way I see it is if you bought a higher-priced phone you can pay 10% of that phone's price and get the new phone, along with the new, more expensive contract. The benefit is you get 3G service. Unless you use the data service a lot, you're probably better off with your current plan.

    The new software features of the 3G iPhone will be available to existing iPhone users. The update will be available for download on July 20. It is a free upgrade for existing iPhone users, but iPod Touch users will have to pay $20 for their version.

    --- John B.
     
    Twriter, Jun 10, 2008
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