iPhone 4G?

[Feathers]

Does the expression 'Dream on...' have any resonance with you? ;)

Seconf hand value of a 16Gb 3G is about £175 at the moment. If that stands post release date then the up front cost of a '4' will be minimal (hopefully) with just the contract costs to bear.

We'll see.

[Jobydrone]

They've released more information about the tethering deal and it doesn't seem worth giving up the unlimited data plan to have to pay even more, for less data, just for tethering.  And they've said it wont work with the iPad so it's a no go for me since that is all I'd use it for.  I've seen that it's possible to jailbreak the phone and use it as a wifi hotspot, but I've also read that doing this drains the battery of the iPhone in literally minutes.  I don't completely understand the ramifications of a jailbreak anyway and I use my iPhone so much I'd freak out if I bricked it or something.  I will probably stay on the straight and narrow with my Apple devices.

edit:  Oh and I think I read that when model 4.0 comes out they are letting existing customers upgrade even if they aren't eligible yet, as long as their eligibility comes up within the year and they extend their contract for another 2 years.  So, BB, depending on your contract date, you may not have to wait.  I just got my 3GS in April so I am not eligible, nor would I really want to, although the new screen and flash camera seems pretty nice.  I will settle for the OS upgrade and be happy :)

[Rico]

I've always wondered how much people with phones with web data access like the iPhone really need the web part?  I'm just about always near a computer to access the web (at home or on the job).  If I was a salesguy on the road a lot that would be a different story.  Think I brought this up before.  I wonder how many jump on their iPhone with a computer right in front of them?  Anyway, just wondering.

[Jobydrone]

I do this all the time, at work, to bypass the blocks on certain websites our network imposes, and because I am not crazy about the fact that the city logs all my internet activity.  Also I really enjoy the mobile versions of some of my favorite websites, like Ars Technica, Engadget, Kotaku and Joystik, even more than their full featured versions, because you easily get to the meat of the content I really want without annoying ads, popups, animations, etc etc.

[billybob476]

Yeah, I use it on 3G at work to a certain degree. More for facebook/twitter stuff. That and bathroom surfing! :D

[Feathers]

I use it at work for Twitter etc and, since IT seems to be clamping down on what we can access, may be doing more of it in the future.

I pretty much rely on it at home now too except for the late evening where I  might actually be near an active computer. If I'm watching TV or something, I'd always rather turn to the phone than spend the time booting up a laptop or netbook.

It may bizarre but that's just me :)

[jedijeff]

The web stuff comes in Handy when out and about. I use it if I want to do some on the fly research on electronics or other things I might want to buy when in the store. I was at Costco once and used it to check reviews on a Blu-Ray player, as none of their demo computers had Internet access. The web access comes in nice, when out with friends and have bets on bits of trivia and things like that, or if have to wait somewhere, browsing helps pass the time.

[billybob476]

No i do the same, If I'm on the couch I use my phone. Fran's netbook is usually nearby if I need to do something more intensive, but for email, a quick IMDB or whatever it's iPhone on my wifi.

I use it at various stores as well, the best time was I used it at the grocery store to see whether or not cubanelle peppers were hot or not :)

[Rico]

Yeah, I can see all that.  The work thing here is actually driving to get some kind of 3G or 4G device.  The computers are old, slow, and it would be nice to have something better and quicker (and a bit more private).  But at home, I think I'd always prefer to get up and use a real computer.  Us geeks need that little bit of exercise.  ;)

[Feathers]

Yeah, I can see all that.  The work thing here is actually driving to get some kind of 3G or 4G device.  The computers are old, slow, and it would be nice to have something better and quicker (and a bit more private).  But at home, I think I'd always prefer to get up and use a real computer.  Us geeks need that little bit of exercise.  ;)

You'd better wait for the 4G network and devices to be created if you want one of those!

[Jobydrone]

The best use of my mobile web access was just recently when I bought a 1TB hard drive at Best Buy, and on my way out of the store, on a hunch, I checked out their online store and found that they offered the same drive I had just bought for ten dollars cheaper.  I turned around, went back in, and got ten bucks refunded to me on the spot.  Useful to have the access to check.

[Rico]

Seems like some folks are having some antenna/reception issues with their new iPhone version 4.

Apple's iPhone 4 signal problems have been the source of a barrage of complaints by customers complaining of a faulty antenna and now Steve Jobs has broken the silence. In an e-mail Jobs downplayed users' reception gripes as a "non-issue." Meanwhile, others within Apple are advising iPhone 4 users to avoid gripping the device from the lower left corner.

As the first batch of iPhone 4 smartphones reached the market on Thursday, several users reported that they are having poor reception issues with their new device when holding the phone by its metal sides in two opposite places.

The metal bands surrounding the sides of the iPhone 4 also acts as antennas for the device, and the signal drop problem seems to appear when a user touches both of the black lines on the phone's metal sides towards the bottom, according to corroborated users reports.

"Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone," reads an official Apple statement on Thursday.

"If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases," the statement concludes.

Jobs also replied to a few complaints sent to his e-mail inbox. One MacRumors reader asked Jobs what is going to be done about the signal dropping issue, and the Apple CEO replied in his typical brief manner: "Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way."

Spencer Webb, an antenna designer, explains on his blog that the iPhone 4 has two symmetrical slots in the metal frame, which when covered, will affect antenna performance. "There is no way around this, it's a design compromise that is forced by the requirements of the FCC, AT&T, Apple's marketing department and Apple's industrial designers, to name a few," Webb wrote.

Apple currently sells a $29 rubber "Bumper Case" for the iPhone 4 (pictured above), which covers only the sides of the device, something that made Mashable's Barb Dybwad ask whether this indicates that Apple already knew about the potential reception issues with the phone.

PCWorld also did its own tests of iPhone 4 signal and took the new phone for a spin in San Francisco alongside an iPhone 3GS. PCWorld was able to replicate the signal problems when covering the bottom left edge of the phone, something that did not occur when the phone was laid flat on a table with the antenna untouched.

source:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/199853/apple_responds_to_iphone_4_antenna_problem.html?tk=hp_pop

[billybob476]

Not a great issue to have considering this is primarily a phone.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Not a great issue to have considering this is primarily a phone.

.

Sarcasm billybob?  =P

Sounds to me there was nothing they could do about it. At least we can get a cheap case that easily solves the problem. N

[billybob476]

No not sarcasm really, I mean at the end of the day it's a phone, they didn't HAVE to design the antenna the way they did and you shouldn't be forced to purchase a case just to make the phone...make phone calls. I use my 3G "naked" and that is the way I intend to use my iPhone 4.

I still like the phone but at a certain point function has to take precedence over form. I don't feel that it's good enough for Jobs to say "Just don't hold it like that".