Yeah AT&T's plain EDGE is pretty assy when you're not in the 3G coverage area. By comparison Sprint or Verizon's EV-DO is ridiculous.

Verizon just stepped up and went 100% Rev A on their side on Friday to fight make things even better, so now you get megabit+ speeds on a cell phone / berry / aircard.

 

Yeah I'm about to buy the Sprint Mogul and they'll be releasing RevA in August I believe he said. Either way, with my Treo now I can get bordering on 1mb/s surfing rates in the city and 4-500k when I'm not real close in. Its no comparison.

I will say, for cool factor, the Iphone is pretty neat. The Mogul is something though and for a full slideout QWERTY keyboard its pretty small - smaller than the Treo

 

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a76_1183278403

 

PWND!!!!

 

Sucks to be her! Idiots with money.

 

I have to admit, this is pretty cool:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/clips/vir...one-274473.php

 

I used a Palm Treo for about 3 years. I was very happy with it, and it was a cutting edge phone when I first go it. Unfortunately, it seems that Palm pretty much stopped "innovating" the Palm software, and Palm desktop was stuck at v4.x for what seems like many years. I was a fan of Plam, but it didn't seem to be getting improved much, and it took forever for newer Palm models to be available with my phone carrier (Cingular/AT&T). Its web browser wasn't that great either. It also never supported WiFi (not built-in, and newer models didn't support external WiFi SD cards).

Thus, after owning the Palm for a long time, I decided to get a Cingular 8125 that ran Windows Mobile software. When I first got it, I was pretty impressed. It had a nice keyboard that slid out from under the screen and it had a fancy Windows interface. However, after having it for a while (I had it for a year), I grew to dislike it for many reasons, including:

- First of all, although the keyboard was nice and big, the user interface was terribly designed, and switching keyboard modes (i.e. between numbers, upper/lowercase letters & special symbols) was problematic and confusing (you never were quite sure what "mode" you were in until you've typed an incorrect character). What made it worse was its backspace key behaved differently depending on what "mode" you were in. The keys had a nice tactile feedback, but its interface with the Windows Mobile OS was way too "clunky" (for a lack of better term) and resulted in many data entry errors.

- My Windows Mobile phone had a virtual keyboard (touch-screen based) for when you wanted to enter something without having to go through the trouble of sliding out the hard keyboard. However, its virtual keyboard was so small that you had to use a stylus. If you were going to go through the trouble of pulling out the stylus, you were better off opening the hard keyboard. But, it was always a pain to go through the trouble of sliding out the hard keyboard when you wanted to enter something quickly (like someone's name to call them up).

- The Windows Mobile OS was just too clunky an interface. It was, IMO, an overengineered, and less than desirable user interface. It had a Start menu like. Everything you did with it required two to three times more button presses than the Palm and iPhone.

I can go on and on about quirks of the Windows Mobile OS. I tried to like it (kept my phone for a year), but it was just too clunky (and slow). IMO, Palm was better. I've had other phones, such as Nokia, and the PC-based synch software was pretty bad and didn't support PIM features (though that was a long time ago, and I'm not up to date with other 3rd party proprietary PC-based phone software).

IMO, the iPhone is the best of phones that I've had by far. Things to like:

- Not only do you get cell phone functionality, but you get great iPod features. Yes, it's only 8GB. I ranked my songs from one to five stars, and I setup a Smart Playlist that automatically transfers songs of 3 or more stars to my iPhone. So, I get the best of my iTunes collection.

- You can play up to 24 hours worth of audio. 7 hours of video. 8 hours of talk time. 250 hours of standby. Can't beat that.

- The keyboard takes some getting used to, but after a few days, I've learned to really like it. When you type a key, the key actually gets larger dynamically, so when you enter, say a password, you have visual confirmation on the key that you entered. Having said that, I do like the Palm option that lets you optionally NOT mask the password so you can see what you actually typed in the password field (which IMO is a great Palm feature, assuming noone is looking over your shoulder as you type the keyboard, which should be true almost all the time [unlike in a PC with a big monitor]).

- Anyway, IMO, the iPhone keyboard is superior to my Cingular 8125 hard keys keyboard. I do like the fact that the iPhone keyboard is virtual, so you don't lose any screen real estate, and the size of the screen is maximized (great for videos and photos). In comparison, the Palm keyboard takes up a large part of the phone. As Apple has already mentioned, it takes about a week to get good with the iPhone keyboard. I've only had my iPhone for a few days, and I can type faster with it than my old Cingular 8125 which I had for a year (and for those folks who know, this phone had huge hard keys).

- While Edge isn't the fastest network available, it's fine for most uses, and is much more ubiquitous than the faster network. I like the fact that I get unlimited data usage for only $20 more. I used to pay $5 for 5MB. So, net additional cost is $15 for unlimited, which is way better than other plans I've seen. What I really like about the iPhone is that it has built-in Wifi. It is smart enough to use WiFi automatically (and transparently) if WiFi is available. If not, it uses EDGE. My old Windows Mobile phone always wanted to default to the expensive phone network, even though it had built-in Wifi. It took what seemed to be a dozen or more button clicks to tell it explicitly that Wifi is available and NOT to use the phone network. It was such a pain to tell it to use WiFi that it was easier for me to disconnect it from using the phone network to force it to use Wifi (and also so I can rest assured that I won't be charged excorbitant data fees for using the phone network). It was always hard to be sure whether you were using WiFi or the phone network, and I had to go through a lot of trouble just to switch my Windows Mobile phone to tell it to use WiFi. Bottom line is that it's great iPhone is smart enough to use WiFi automatically if it is available, and use EDGE when there is no WiFi access. For most activities, EDGE is fine. For other tasks that require lots of web access, WiFi is great. Also, as many of you have seen, web access is great with the iPhone. Phones with faster phone network access is nice, but not with their little browser windows using browsers that can't handle regular (i.e. not built for cell phones) web pages.

- The iPhone's virtual keys are fine. Even just scrolling pages is a cinch (no more trying to move a teeny tiny scrollbar on the right of the screen). Again, it takes a bit of getting used to the virtual keys, but you need to give it a few days. After 4 days, I can use its keyboard faster than my old Cingular hard key keyboard, which I had for a year.

- iPhone does cost quite a bit more than other folks. But if you think about it, a good Smart phone probably costs about $300. An iPod nano costs $200+. So, if you combine these costs, you're in the ballpark range of an iPhone, and with the iPhone, you get great web browsing to boot.

I was skeptical at first, but after playing with one, have really appreciated what it was really capable of. I was much more impressed after actually playing with one in my hands than I was after just watching the TV commercials. It's not perfect (only EDGE), but I think it is far better than what's out there. Plus, it's easily software upgradeable, something that other companies don't support, or say they do, but don't really provide much improvements.

For skeptics, I suggest first going to an Apple or AT&T store and judge for yourself. Play with the various features (Internet access, contacts, music, videos, photos). It really is a pretty interesting & nice piece of technology, albeit a bit expensive.


One more thing... I found the following PC World iPhone stress test pretty interesting:

http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,545-...=synd_macworld

 

FWIW Sprint's EVDO network is $15/mo for unlimited data. I've ordered the Sprint Mogul (upgrading from the Palm 700wx) but will be keeping an eye on the Iphone to see if they can correct some of the initial complaints but unfortunately AT+T/Cingular has very lousy coverage in our area. But it is a great looking phone there is no doubt about that.

 

Sorry if this has already been answered elsewhere, but how well does the iphone bluetooth work with the 07 G35 system?

Do all of your contacts download, is caller ID displayed, does the connection consistently hold, does it sound OK etc.?

Thanks!

 

I'm surprised that AT&T/Cingular coverage in your area is not that great (especially being in Northern Virginia. I'm originally from the area but moved out many years ago). I guess one question for you is how important is it to you to have fast Internet access when you're not in range of WiFi. Can you live with a little slower access when you don't have WiFi access? Given that the iPhone has great web browsing capability (and can use regular web pages well), I find fast access even more important than other phones who do have faster cell phone network access, but don't have very good web browsing capabilities (ironically making the need for iPhone to have faster network access even more important). If you do have WiFi access, use of Edge isn't as critical. Also note that the newer, faster (than EDGE) protocols aren't necessarilly as commonly available. Finally, if you already are an iPod user, using an iPhone is even more tempting. If you aren't already an iPod user, you're missing out!
Anyway, no one phone is perfect. But, I suggest you at least drop by an Apple store (one in Tyson's Corner if you're nearby!) and actually play with one to ensure you're happy with your next phone upgrade.

 

iPhone pairs fine with the '07 G35. I haven't actually tried to upload the iPhone contacts to my G35, though. Not sure if it is possible, but haven't tried it.

With regards to your other questions, I haven't experimented enough with the iPhone yet. Maybe I'll have time this 4th of July.

 

I agree, you have to play with it first hand to really see what its about. Ive been playing with one since Friday (guy in my office bought 2 actually, 1 to sell) so I've seen it as much as I wanted to before ordering the Mogul. But like I said, its a great looking phone.

1 - I am a heavy internet user and it is critical to have faster network speeds. With the Treo I can get 6-700 kb/s on a normal day when not on the EVDO network and if on their EVDO easily over 1MB. For sending documents for example thats a requirement. To me it makes *no sense* to have a phone with great web browsing capability or features if it takes forever for the web to actually load. My friend loaded showed me the Washington Post website on his Iphone and it is really cool that you can sort of pinch your fingers to zoom in and everything, yeah thats very, very cool. But loading the page was seemingly at dial up speed and clicking article links was the same. Since my Treo will load regular web pages being able to do that is not an issue for me.

2 - No WIFI access during any part of my commute (trains or highway) so network is all I have. While I think WIFI is fantastic and I wish the Treo had it (Mogul does) its only usable where you can find a free hotspot. Like I said during commuting times (2-3 hours a day) its useless.

3 - I'm a heavy Ipod user (shuffle and Video) and that part doesn't tempt me at all. 8GB is practically nothing in terms of video and audio storage where a TV show is 500+MB and a movie can run 2GB or more. My 80gb ipod is almost full between music, movies and tv shows so 8GB does nothing for me - and remember something like 10% of that is eaten up by the operating system.

4 - The battery is the biggest issue for me. Even if it runs a full day thats great but that means you will need to charge it every night. If you travel a lot and get used to (as I have) bringing high capacity (2400mh +) backup batteries with you this is a bizarre choice by Apple. It will get an estimated 300-400 charges out of it (per Apple) before needing to be sent back to Apple for an $86 (also per Apple: $79 + $7 shipping oh and they erase your whole phone to boot) replacement. So once a year I need to send it back and pay $86? I hate that and I hate it about both my Ipods too.

Anyway like I said, very cool looking phone with cool features that I imagine will get much better as the versions go on.

 

I just saw a web page about the Sprint Mogul. I see that it is made by HTC. It's the same company that made my Cingular 8125 Windows Mobile-based phone. The Sprint Mogul looks like it's a newer generation version of my old Cingular 8125. It's got a similar form factor as my 8125, and its hard keyboard slides out similarly. When I first got my Cingular 8125, I was very impressed. Nice sexy Windows interface (at least more aesthetically pleasing than my aging Palm Treo). Nice tactile keyboard. I can't speak for the Mogul, but I was initially impressed with the 8125, and got tired of waiting for the next generation Palm Treo to become available with Cingular/AT&T. So, I got the 8125. I liked it at first, but after having it for a while, it was just a bit too "quircky" for me. Everything from entering a phone number, finding a person in my contacts list, entering a calendar entry, etc. took longer. It seems like it took 3 times more effort (i.e. button presses) as compared to my old Palm Treo.

Unfortunately, it's hard to know how well you'll like a phone with only a couple of minutes of casually playing with it in the store. I suggest trying to play with any new phone for an extended period of time to make sure you like it. I was actually thinking of switching back to Treo, and upgrading to a new version of Treo when it came out after I got my 8125 (but before iPhone became available).

But, I decided to wait a little longer, and ultimately decided to get an iPhone. BTW, my understanding is that Palm Treo did a few nice customizations to the version of Windows Mobile that they ship with their Windows-based Treo, to make it easier to use than a regular Windows Mobile-based phone. I don't recall the little customizations that they did, but I believe it's little things like: if you are in a phone number field, it will automatically switch the keyboard to "numbers" mode, so you don't enter letters in a phone number field; it's these little things that Palm customized that I understand makes Windows Mobile more pleasant to use than the stock Windows Mobile (that shipped with my old Cingular 8125).

My one complaint so far with the iPhone is that its Notes database doesn't synch with Outlook notes. I hope that it's something that can be improved via software upgrade in the future. One promising thing about the iPhone is that Apple does come up with software improvements, and I suspect will be more proactive in coming out with new features as compared to other traditional phone companies (or phone companies that sell rebranded phones). At least, judging from Apple's record with the iPod, they do make improvements to existing products over a period of time.

 

See I loved Windows Mobile because it was an operating system you could do anything with. There are so many hacks and programs available for Windows Mobile I never had one complaint with it. If there was something I wanted to do chances are there was a registry tweak or $10 shareware program that would do it.

 

dcmidnight - 2 to 3 hours of commuting a day! I see. I now have a better appreciation of your concern for faster Internet access while commuting (on the other hand, maybe you can watch TV/movies while commuting instead, although that can add up with a daily commute :-) ...).