iPhone 3G? No thanks

[bwana]

I wonder who is falling for the hype now? You could be correct, but then why do none of the review sites or simple web searches reveal the price is "conditional" on purchase of a contract?

.

What will I pay for iPhone 3G?
$199 for 8GB (black) and $299 for 16GB (black or white). Two-year contract required.

...

Can I activate iPhone 3G on GoPhone Prepaid service?
No. GoPhone Prepaid is not available for iPhone 3G at this time.

 

[d0b33]

Or you could just look at at&t:

Exactly lol

Using yahoo as a source is your first mistake.

 

[bwana]

Exactly lol

Using yahoo as a source is your first mistake.

Not really - in fact if you follow the Click here for more details and analysis on the iPhone 3G link at the bottom of that page

That said, AT&T just announced that the data plan for the iPhone 3G will run you $30 a month, a $10 premium over the original's EDGE-only plan, so keep that in mind while you're calculating your savings. And yes, you'll need to sign a new two-year contract with AT&T, even if you're a current subscriber.

 

[OverKill69]

I've had the previous generation HTC phones... the "iMates" before. Wnet through 2 generation before reverting back to Nokia.

I found the touchscreens go out of wack more often then they should if you use your phone alot, especially when they live in your pocket. I'd have to re-calibrate the touchscreen almost weekly... and they get FILTHY!
So I went back to a good ol' fashioned button operated phone.

I enjoyed the the full QWERTY keyboards they came with because I could smash out SMS's at warp speed and compose faxes and emails rather quickly when I wasn't in my office or in front of my PC. I honestly don't see how you could type faster with a touch screen... surely even predictive text on a num pad is better?

One of the other reason's why moved back to Nokia was sending data from phone to phone was ridiculous!
I'd have to MMS photo's or documents to people sitting right next to me! I believe HTC rectified this with their new generation smartphone/PDA's but I still have embarrassing memories of being the tool who is costing somebody else money to receive a word document from 2 meters away.

I can activate the bluetooth and send a file in NO TIME! And I can deactivate it even faster to prevent Bluetooth spam (or hide my presence if I need BT on for my car kit)

I haven't fiddled with an iPhone yet, but the thing is far too big to carry around in your pocket. I struggled with the HTC and the K-JAM i had before... and I think the iPhone is longer and wider (its slightly thinner). Practically, I can't see myself having car keys, wallet, (other random items: smokes, lighter, change, whatever) AND an iPhone in a pair of jeans or let alone normal pants.

If it does revolutionise how I browse the internet on my phone then I would want to try it... but I can't see how it will be a better PHONE without a num pad or a QWERTY keyboard... I've used touch screens in the past and found it took several minutes to type an SMS i could have composed much faster using predictive text.

No offense to you die-hard fans... but I'm more concerned with text/email than I am with pretty web interfaces.

There are other products out there that i feel are better PHONES. If you're buying it as a fashion statement, that's cool... but then know that you're paying a MASSIVE premium for a phone that will be cutting edge for a max life span of 6 months... (even sooner since the release was delayed in SA)

I honestly think that Apple made a wonderful marketing drive that has convinced the world that this is the best gadget to have in 2008... but is it one you SHOULD have?

Big ups to Apple, brilliant marketing... its fashionable and trendy.

Just not for me...

 

[LancelotSA]

nah sorry...I use a digital camera for pictures, my ipod for music, my e50 for sms,msn and emails and prefer using a map over a gps (helps me to memorize the locations of a place faster). So I'm quite content with my pockets full of tech, and just find it more appropriate to use a specialized peripheral for a specific task. And don't see the point of running around with a device that only does an "acceptable" job with each of these. In my opinion it's is little more than an ipod with crappier battery life than my nano. So yes, as far as I'm concerned not worth it for me.

I know you are arguing against getting an iPhone, and although I feel the same way, I feel you seem to be stuck in a time zone about 5 years ago when referring to the bold section above! It may be true of the iPhone but some of the modern multi media devices do all these functions as well as the specialised device. You really need to get your hands on one and try. I will mention the N95 as it is the phone I am familiar with but:

1. I have used a Garmin standalone unit of a business acquaintance while away and I use Garmin XT on my N95 at home. I cannot see the difference!

2. The N95 camera is as good as many point and shoot digital cameras on the market. Yes, it is not a professional photo shoot type camera but good on you if you lug you 10 inch lens and external flash unit with you wherever you go! My only complaint is not xenon flash, hence my imminent upgrade to the N82.

3. Now I may not have the right ears or may not be a professional DJ but I really cannot see what I will get out of an iPod that I can't out of my N95 with a decent set of headphones. Yes, if you did a technical analysis you may find the sound is slightly inferior on the N95 but will my human ears actually discern this? But then agian I do not have woofers, tweeters, blah blah in my car either so perhaps I am not enough of a connoisseur. Yes, you may argue that your iPod is smaller but you will want your phone on you anyway.

Then of course there are all the functions you have not mentioned. And yes, call me a fan boy all you want but I have been through LGs, Samsungs, and Nokias so I have no allegiance to any make. I buy what I feel is best... and it is not currently the iPhoney.

 

[Rouxenator]

...looks more like it depends on how open the carrier is and willing to put up with Apples standards.

Some relevant points on support for the iPhone.

- The warranty is only 1 Year and not 2 years like with other mobiles.

- If your iPhone fails, it will get swapped out with a 'refurbished' unit and not repaired.

- The standard OOB failure procedure does not apply to iPhones. All failures are treated as 'in warranty' faults.

So the picture I am getting here is that these standards are lower than all other manufacturers? Or what are you trying to get at?

 

[OverKill69]

WRT the music quality in the iPod vs iPhone vs N95.

more to do with the encoding of the MP3 than anything else... MP3 encoded with LAME encoders (used by programes like Nero and the likes) are all pretty good quality depending on the bitrate. Its a 3rd party encoder that has pretty much perfected the art of compressing and removing inaudible audio ranges without compromising too much of the original WAV's volume at various frequencies... the hisses and pops are kept to a min and overall sounds acceptable next to the original sound source...

I find that the iTunes default encoder changes the way the track sounds... It amplifies bass frequencies and cuts too much of the high end frequencies to give a "louder and bass-ier" sound... and the default bittrate setting was 128kbs which is pretty crusty if you're concerned about quality...

So in a nutshell... N95 vs iStuff... the same. Nothing really in it when it comes to the hardware... unless you're talking about the headsets or docking stations... that's another story altogether.

A quote from wiki on iTunes:

File format support

iTunes 8 can currently read, write, and convert between MP3, AIFF, WAV, MPEG-4, AAC, and Apple Lossless.

iTunes can also play any audio files that QuickTime can play (as well as some video formats), including Protected AAC files from the iTunes Store and Audible.com audio books. There is limited support for Vorbis and FLAC enclosed in an Ogg container (files using the FLAC container format are not supported) or Speex codecs with the Xiph QuickTime Components - because tag editing and album art is done within iTunes and not Quicktime, these features will not work with these QuickTime components. iTunes currently will not play back HE-AAC/aacPlus audio streams correctly. HE-AAC/aacPlus format files will play back as 22 kHz AAC files (effectively having no high end over 11 kHz). HE-AAC streaming audio (which a number of Internet radio stations use) will not play back at all. The latest version of iTunes (Win/Mac) supports importing audio CDs with the default iTunes standard file format of AAC at 128 kbit/s. Users can choose to import CDs from 16 kbit/s to 320 kbit/s constant bit rates (CBR) in either AAC or MP3.

Importing of audio CDs into MP3 can also be accomplished using variable bitrate (VBR), however it has been noted in a double-blind experiment conducted in January 2004 of six MP3 encoders, where the iTunes encoder came last, that the quality of the files produced by iTunes was below par. These results were later refuted because the method of testing using in the experiment was questionable.[20]

The Windows version of iTunes can automatically transcode DRM-free WMA (including version 9) files to other audio formats, but it does not support playback of WMA files and will not transcode DRM protected WMA files. Telestream, Inc. provides free codecs for Mac users of QuickTime to enable playback of unprotected Windows Media files. These codecs are recommended by Microsoft.[21]

 

[d0b33]

WRT the music quality in the iPod vs iPhone vs N95.

more to do with the encoding of the MP3 than anything else... MP3 encoded with LAME encoders (used by programes like Nero and the likes) are all pretty good quality depending on the bitrate. Its a 3rd party encoder that has pretty much perfected the art of compressing and removing inaudible audio ranges without compromising too much of the original WAV's volume at various frequencies... the hisses and pops are kept to a min and overall sounds acceptable next to the original sound source...

I find that the iTunes default encoder changes the way the track sounds... It amplifies bass frequencies and cuts too much of the high end frequencies to give a "louder and bass-ier" sound... and the default bittrate setting was 128kbs which is pretty crusty if you're concerned about quality...

So in a nutshell... N95 vs iStuff... the same. Nothing really in it when it comes to the hardware... unless you're talking about the headsets or docking stations... that's another story altogether.

AFAIK, iTunes uses lame to encode MP3s as well.

I believe the iPhone uses a better quality DAC(wolfson) to playback tracks and this makes the real difference.

 

[marine1]

Sounds better than a standard warranty to me - your device is swapped out for a working device (complete with a new battery) then and there. This is the same thing they do with the iPod.

In 7 days it should be a brand new one not a refurbished one

 

[OverKill69]

You're not gonna hear the difference with a set of std headphones issued with the iPhone, iPod or N95.

You can set iTunes to use LAME but it uses something else as standard...

I've had HUGE arguments with friends over the years regarding the quality of music coming out of MP3 players... The end is always the same:

1) MP3's are not a good comparison. They just vary too much and are themselves flawed when it comes to quality.

2) ALL the MP3 playing DSP's and DAC's on protable media are more form than function... a sacrifice of price vs quality. High end HIFI products that play MP3's have extra DSP's to normalise and reduce noise etc etc... but they cost a packet and the difference can only be heard on a good quality system at very high volume.

3) The original iTunes encoder was EQ'ed to emphasise bass and mid frequencies and "sharpen" treble... giving the track a "headphone" friendly sound due to the increase in bass volume. LAME stuck to a 1 to 1 kind of copy mentality and is more true to the original track... which leaves MP3's sounding a bit more "tinny" or metallic on headphones.

It's really silly comparing sound quality of these portable MP3 players... rather compare how shiny they are.... coz there's less subjective arguments.

The miracle of the iPod and iPhone was revealed to me when i went to a recent party at this dudes house. He's got a pretty nifty Denon sound system with a 120w RMS amp and B&W speakers (mid range - about 50 sticks for the lot) but he's playing music through his iPod and its "Bose" docking station.

You can't reason with that amount of marketing bombardment! Apple has done a brilliant job of convincing people that its just not cool to have anything else. AND ITS AWESOME! I applaud them for it.

 

[vodacom3g]

That is ridiculous. So what you are saying then is that the Iphone does not have a warranty? That to me is not a warranty. You would expect being such a large profitable company, they would look after their customers...I suppose this is more of the "screw the customer" policy of big business.

The warranty policy is determined by Apple, not Vodacom.

 

[vodacom3g]

From the above ‘support’ list, it is clear that something is amiss. “refurbished” is just another way of saying “previously used/abused and now repaired”. Who would justifiably support using ‘refurbished’ products? Would you use refurbished tyres on your vehicle? I wouldn’t.

Regardless, I’ve tried following the local iPhone release since the announcement and launch on 11th July 2008 with eagerness but I have to admit that as a longtime Vodacom customer, I’m extremely displeased and disappointed.

The fact that just because ‘the market can bear it’ smells of the Telkom protected monopoly way of doing things and despite Vodacom holding distribution rights to the iPhone, it just does not justify expecting the public to spend more than 3 TIMES the cost for the iPhone, especially with limited out-of-box functionality!

Case in point: Rand/Dollar exchange rate today = R8-30/$1
iPhone 3G 8GB = $199 = R1,651-70
Vodacom “Promotion” Prepaid iPhone 8GB = R6,389-00
Difference in cost = R4,737-30 (and I find it IMPOSSIBLE to accept that Import/Customs/SP markup amounts to more than TWICE the actual cost of the phone) PER UNIT.

In fact, unless Vodacom realizes this monumental blunder and takes effort to correct it, I have a good mind to switch to MTN when my Vodacom contract expires in March next year or even spend R7,400 on a Samsung Omnia / HTC Touch Diamond out of sheer principal than get myself an iPhone at these ridiculous prices.

It would help your calculations immeasurably if you understand the packages before you put finger to calculator.

 

[marine1]

The warranty policy is determined by Apple, not Vodacom.

Did I say it was Vodacom? But what you are saying is that this is Apple policy worldwide? I doubt that this would be only applicable to SA. If this policy is not worldwide then I think Vodacom are responsible for that.

 

[vodacom3g]

So the picture I am getting here is that these standards are lower than all other manufacturers? Or what are you trying to get at?

Nothing really. Just stating the warranty policies being different to what most VC customers are used to. From Bwana's post (on iPod) it sounds to be standard Apple policy.

 

[marine1]

Apple will either (1) repair the hardware defect at no charge, using new parts
or parts equivalent to new in performance and reliability, (2) exchange the product with a
product that is new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability and is at least
functionally equivalent to the original product, or (3) refund the purchase price of the product.

Seems like we are getting screwed once again.
Does the SA warranty state that or just that it will be swapped for a refurb unit?

 

[vodacom3g]

Did I say it was Vodacom? But what you are saying is that this is Apple policy worldwide? I doubt that this would be only applicable to SA. If this policy is not worldwide then I think Vodacom are responsible for that.

I can't comment on Apple's worldwide policy. But I can tell you the policy in SA.

 

[LancelotSA]

I have made mention of the N82 on this thread, so it was interesting to see this thread on GSM Arena.... Pretty much sums up what I, and others, have been saying all along - Fashion or function?

http://www.gsmarena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=133609

 

[Pooky]

Hey vodacom3g why did the guys at the vodashop I bought my iPhone at tell me that it would only work with a vodacom simcard?

 

[vodacom3g]

Apple will either (1) repair the hardware defect at no charge, using new parts
or parts equivalent to new in performance and reliability, (2) exchange the product with a
product that is new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability and is at least
functionally equivalent to the original product, or (3) refund the purchase price of the product.

 

[d0b33]

I have made mention of the N82 on this thread, so it was interesting to see this thread on GSM Arena.... Pretty much sums up what I, and others, have been saying all along - Fashion or function?

http://www.gsmarena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=133609

The OP of that topic was comparing the n82 with the iPhone 2G, the 3G has GPS. That said I find the n82 keypad to be good for dialing numbers and nothing more it is crap... different strokes.