Apple iPhone 3G S Discussion (2 Viewers)

[Brian W. Ralston]

(Ron will like this one)

Not a specific 3GS news. But, apparently the beta of the iPhone 3.1 software has been seeded to developers and using Voice Control over Bluetooth headsets is supported in the 3.1 OS. Yay!

http://www.redmondpie.com/iphone-3.1-is-now-available-to-developers-for-download/

 

[Sam Posten]

Beatcha to it in the other thread =)

 

[Gary Seven]

I was watching G4 the other day and it was mentioned that the new IPhone had overheating issues that caused a discoloration of the case in the back (particularly seen on the white cases). I don't think it's causing functional failure but this over heating concerns me as I am looking to join the IPhone club. Has anyone experienced this or knows more about it?

 

[Ted Todorov]

Originally Posted by Gary Seven

I was watching G4 the other day and it was mentioned that the new IPhone had overheating issues that caused a discoloration of the case in the back (particularly seen on the white cases). I don't think it's causing functional failure but this over heating concerns me as I am looking to join the IPhone club. Has anyone experienced this or knows more about it?

I've read the same stuff as you. I have seen no evidence of it. I have a white iPhone 3GS and not only is there no discoloration, but I see no evidence of it running hot. It felt mildly warm at the end of 10+ minutes of continuous video recording. That's about it.

 

[mattCR]

Well, I will never give up my blackberry (primarily because I hate all things touch screen) but thought this would be good for those that appreciate the iPhone:

http://www.ismashphone.com/2009/06/22-more-iphone-30-features-you-may-not-know.html

22 Features that don't get the pub...

 

[TonyD]

My white 32g iphone runs hot, s i'll keep an eye on the color.

has anyone posted pics of this yet anywhere?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

My white 3G S has been running nonstop while in my pocket. Not heating up at all.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Originally Posted by mattCR

Well, I will never give up my blackberry (primarily because I hate all things touch screen)

Matt, I trust you have had hands on an iPhone? If not, by all means try it -- cause I had the same attitude as you based on touch screen remotes, but the iPhone is a touch screen like no other.

 

[Gary Seven]

Thanks for the replies. It doesn't appear to be a rampant condition. If anyone encounters this issue, please keep us posted.
Edited by Gary Seven - 7/2/2009 at 07:06 pm GMT

 

[Ted Todorov]

Originally Posted by TonyD ">[/url]

My white 32g iphone runs hot, s i'll keep an eye on the color.

has anyone posted pics of this yet anywhere?[/QUOTE]

 

[Carlo_M]

An L.A. Times article about the low battery life (glad I'm not the only one experiencing this).

Basically if I do a significant amount of 3G surfing in a day, I have to recharge every day. Luckily at work I have the iPhone set to recognize the router, and there are plenty of Coffee Beans and Starbucks in the area that have free wi-fi, which allows me to use that instead of 3G. Even with moderate wi-fi usage I have to recharge every 1 1/2 to 2 days (and this means running the battery down to 10% or less).

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

I really do get a kick out of whiny stories like the Times' article. Apple's own specs call for only 5 hours of data use on 3G. Given those are Apple's own numbers, why would the Times or anyone else expect a lot more than that? I'm on my third generation of iPhone and every model I've had I've charged daily. It's a routine I have gotten used to...like taking my contacts out every night. If I want to extend the battery life I'll just turn off 3G. It's not like I need the extra speed when the phone is just sitting in my holster 80% of the time.

 

[Carlo_M]

Given those are Apple's own numbers, why would the Times or anyone else expect a lot more than that?

It's true that the most people's usage does come close to Apple's numbers. But when it competes with other smartphones like my old Blackberry 8310 which Blackberry advertises as having 4 hours of talk time, yet I find myself recharging that every 4 days, it's a cause for concern. I know the BB wasn't 3G but even given that, it's advertised usage was 4 hours and I found myself getting way more than that. I think most other people using non-iPhone smart phones are probably in the same boat. So perhaps we are used to companies being conservative about their battery time estimates, as I was likely getting 6-8 hours of talk time against an advertised 4 hours, yet I know I'm not getting 5 hours on Apple's advertised 5 hours. The other day I was using 3G browsing for an hour and dropped over 30% of my battery life, so I was on pace to get 3 hours (and I live in L.A. so I hope there are plenty of towers nearby).

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

I previously had a Treo on Sprint's EVDO network, which is vastly superior to AT&T's 3G. I could get several days out of a charge using e-mail and light web usage. Thing was...that's really all I used it for. I probably have fifty different things that I do regularly with the iPhone and given the superior user experience on the iPhone (think games and richer Internet browsing), I am a lot more forgiving of the battery's shortcomings than if it was just another Treo retread. I view it as a mini computer. I have to recharge my laptop battery if I'm surfing the web for hours at a stretch and it doesn't seem all that unusual to have to do the same thing with the iPhone.

 

[Carlo_M]

No argument that the iPhone does more.

However, when comparing like-for-like tasks, the battery life is disappointing. With the same web surfing and calling, people get way more time on a Treo or Blackberry than they do on an iPhone. I think that's what is at the heart of the battery disappointment.

I agree if I'm doing a lot of "PC-type apps" and gaming, I absolutely should get hammered on battery life. But when just regular browsing and calling go through the battery much faster than other smartphones, that's what I think is the source of discontent.

The thing about charging every day (which I on the surface have no problem with) is that Li-ion batteries tend to go to about 300 charges before starting to show ill effects (i.e. holding only 80% of the original charge, and then further declination after that). If you're charging every day, that is less than a year before your iPhone battery is holding an 80% charge, and who knows how much lower that will go in the second year of ownership. If you're one of those who are constantly upgrading when your contract is up, that might be fine because in two years you're going to buy an iPhone 4G (or whatever). But for those who would like the phone to last 3-5 years, this may become a real problem. Time will tell.

 

[PatH]

First of all, I'll reply to a question about the3GS and Bluetooth. Apparently, it doesn't support voice commands through the wireless earpiece yet (Boo!), but I will say that the connection with my Jawbone II is remarkably consistent and stable, much more so than with my RAZR.

That being said, this is my first iPhone and I'm very pleased. AT&T transferred my contact list (twice, in fact--I had to remove the dupes) but not my ringtones or personal wallpaper. I've already replaced that, quite easily in fact, but the two ringtones are more problematic. I received a message saying I could only make ringtones from songs downloaded from the iTunes store, but I don't believe that, especially since later in the docs it says I can use something called Garage Band to make my own. So, what is this Garage Band and is it for the Mac only, which would freeze my PC butt out. And why can't I use Audacity or any of the other tools I have and have used in the past? Thanks! PatH

 

[Ronald Epstein]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]First of all, I'll reply to a question about the3GS and Bluetooth. Apparently, it doesn't support voice commands through the wireless earpiece yet (Boo!)[/COLOR]

It will very shortly. Here are the reported enhancements on the way:


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Video editing on iPhone 3GS wont overwrite the clip over the original when you are editing a clip.[/COLOR]

1. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]iPhone vibrates when moving icons[/COLOR]
2. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]“Fraud Protection” toggle has been added to settings under Safari.[/COLOR]
3. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]iPhone boot time is now faster.[/COLOR]
4. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Voice Control now works over Bluetooth.[/COLOR]
5. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]New APIs to enable third party apps to access videos and edit them.[/COLOR]
6. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Updated AT&T profile to 4.2[/COLOR]
7. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Updated modem firmware to 5.08.01[/COLOR]
8. [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz.[/COLOR]

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by PatH
I received a message saying I could only make ringtones from songs downloaded from the iTunes store, but I don't believe that, especially since later in the docs it says I can use something called Garage Band to make my own. So, what is this Garage Band and is it for the Mac only, which would freeze my PC butt out. And why can't I use Audacity or any of the other tools I have and have used in the past? Thanks! PatH

You can buy and setup ringtones through the iTunes store. See the "Ringtones" paragraph here.

You can make a ringtone on the Mac with GarageBand.

There is a (non-free) Mac application to make ringtones, iToner.

....And I see you don't have a Mac. Sorry, don't know anything about Windows-based tools for the iPhone.

 

[Carlo_M]

Holy crap that GarageBand method is way easy! Thanks Dave!

 

[TonyD]

yep and here is the instructions.

http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=465