Inside iPhone 2.0 review series: the new iPhone 3G hardware

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 49
    Kasper, I wish that were the case, but it just isn't, at least for me. I travel the *exact* same route on my commute every day, and spend most of that time on calls on my iPhone. I can stay on a call the entire trip when I turn off 3G on my new iPhone...no dropped calls ever. If I start the trip with 3G on and make a call, it always drops at the same 3 places every time. I have even stopped the car dead on the spot where the call drops and switched off 3G, and then I have good GSM reception, and can make calls. I have even gone to extreme of carrying my daughter's cheap Samsung slider with me at the same time, and have had two simultaneous calls going during the entire commute (one call on the iPhone with 3G, and one call on the Samsung). I bet you can guess what happens...the Samsung switches over to GSM and maintains the call throughout the commute, the iPhone 3G clings to 3G until the call drops. If this isn't the experience that others are having, then I guess I need to take my iPhone back and exchange it, but I'm afraid this is the norm.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kasper View Post


    At gimletmaker: The iPhone can handoff a call from 3G to GSM if the 3G signal becomes weak. Mine does all the time. If yours is failing to downgrade completely and dropping the call, that means you're passing through a dead zone where there is neither a 3G nor GSM signal present.



    Best,



    Kasper



  • Reply 22 of 49
    I don't understand why people are complaining so much about the drawbacks of 3G.



    At first all everyone kept saying is if it doesn't have 3G then I won't buy it.



    Now that it has it, they don't want to buy it because of power drain, dropped calls, lack of coverage.



    Please realize that you can turn 3G off. Yes, you can turn it off and not have to deal with any of the issues that it has.



    That is what I did, I bought the phone, realized that for the increase in speed it wasn't worth it for me to leave 3G turned on as it would drain my battery faster. So, I turned it off after about three days of 3G usage.



    I have been happily doing everything with Edge and still get my good battery life.
  • Reply 23 of 49
    galleygalley Posts: 971member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kasper View Post


    A US gov't issued bill weighs a gram:



    http://www.enchantedlearning.com/math/money/bills/one/




    I'm sure the two dollar bill also weighs one gram. Perhaps they meant two one dollar bills.
  • Reply 24 of 49
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    No matter how you feel about DED's slanting toward Apple products you'd be hard pressed to find tech articles that are more focused, thorough and in-depth than his. Well done.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kasper View Post


    Throw your iPhone into field test mode by dialing : *3001#12345#* and compare the reception values that replace the bars to those achieved by rival smart phones.



    If you've Jailbroken your original or 3G iPhone you can also install Poof from Cydia. Poof will let you un/hide Homescreen icons. From there you can unhide the Field Test app so it's an icon you can access easily. Although you can always save the number combo a a contact.
  • Reply 25 of 49
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member
    Quote:

    ...the hipster creamy white version...



    No. The hipster version would be Postal Service blue with splashes of magenta and argyle, with a hint of paisley. Then covered with a big, fat THREADLESS sticker.
  • Reply 26 of 49
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gimletmaker View Post


    Kasper, I wish that were the case, but it just isn't, at least for me. I travel the *exact* same route on my commute every day, and spend most of that time on calls on my iPhone. I can stay on a call the entire trip when I turn off 3G on my new iPhone...no dropped calls ever. If I start the trip with 3G on and make a call, it always drops at the same 3 places every time. I have even stopped the car dead on the spot where the call drops and switched off 3G, and then I have good GSM reception, and can make calls. I have even gone to extreme of carrying my daughter's cheap Samsung slider with me at the same time, and have had two simultaneous calls going during the entire commute (one call on the iPhone with 3G, and one call on the Samsung). I bet you can guess what happens...the Samsung switches over to GSM and maintains the call throughout the commute, the iPhone 3G clings to 3G until the call drops. If this isn't the experience that others are having, then I guess I need to take my iPhone back and exchange it, but I'm afraid this is the norm.



    Well in this case, I'm not sure why that's happening to you. Are there ever instances -- in different locations -- where your iPhone properly hands off a 3G call to GSM?



    K
  • Reply 27 of 49
    No, I've traveled through other areas and it has exhibited this same behavior. I've never seen it hand-off an active call from 3G to GSM, and I constantly watch my phone screen while in the car, because I use the earbuds w/mic (and I'm now hyper-sensitive to watching it). I have seen it switch from 3G to EDGE while traveling in the car, but never while I'm on an active call, and when it does switch, it does it slowly. Have you actually seen it switch during an active call? Maybe it's time to go see the Genius?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kasper View Post


    Well in this case, I'm not sure why that's happening to you. Are there ever instances -- in different locations -- where your iPhone properly hands off a 3G call to GSM?



    K



  • Reply 28 of 49
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gimletmaker View Post


    Maybe it's time to go see the Genius?



    I'd wait for see if the first iPhone v2.0 SW revision helps.
  • Reply 29 of 49
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gimletmaker View Post


    It may be true that field test mode gives good numbers for 3G reception, but the fact is the iPhone 3G still drops calls ALL THE TIME when moving from an area of 3G reception to an area of "GSM only" reception. Why can't this phone switch over from 3G to GSM during a call?? Instead, it just drops the call when 3G gets too weak. My cheapo phones have no problems transitioning from 3G to GSM during a call. That's the real problem with this phone, and you mention it nowhere in the article. I don't know about you guys, but this is becoming a real deal-breaker for me.



    AT&T is notorious for dropped and static calls- check consumer reports. That's one main reason why people choose Verizon- and no I don't work for Verizon.

    In David Pogue's review in the NY Times he lost his signal 3 times along the west side of Manhattan. AT&T sucks.
  • Reply 30 of 49
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    - and no I don't work for Verizon.



    Just a marketing firm hired by Verizon? You did join the forum in October of 2007, right after the iPhone's 1st quarter sales results were out. Hmmmmm.
  • Reply 31 of 49
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Just a marketing firm hired by Verizon? You did join the forum in October of 2007, right after the iPhone's 1st quarter sales results were out. Hmmmmm.



    LOL- I thought i worked for microsh*t- what happened?
  • Reply 32 of 49
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Galley View Post


    I'm sure the two dollar bill also weighs one gram. Perhaps they meant two one dollar bills.



    I would assume it meant any two US dollar bills of any denomination.
  • Reply 33 of 49
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    I would assume it meant any two US dollar bills of any denomination.



    Perhaps they meant the one dollar coin.
  • Reply 34 of 49
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Perhaps they meant the one dollar coin.



    How so?
  • Reply 35 of 49
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    A dime weighs 2 grams- my mistake.
  • Reply 36 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cedric View Post


    That's a really interesing question. I guess it depends on the air humidity as well. Also gravity at the poles differs from gravity at the equator...



    A gram is a unit of mass, not weight (which is a force). So if a dollar is 1 gram at the North Pole, it is also 1 gram at the equator and on the moon.
  • Reply 37 of 49
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joshrob06 View Post


    A gram is a unit of mass, not weight (which is a force). So if a dollar is 1 gram at the North Pole, it is also 1 gram at the equator and on the moon.



    Not bad for a first post!
  • Reply 38 of 49
    gregalexandergregalexander Posts: 1,400member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    being ready with an add on battery pack (either using an iPod dock connector or generic packs that supply power over USB) makes a lot of sense. Apple also offers some suggestions on how to maximize battery life on the iPhone.



    In some ways, if Apple sold 2 docking stations with every iPhone, then most people would put a dock at home and work and the battery issue would disappear. My wife takes her usb cord with her and has just bought a 2nd power brick + cord.



    Anyway - in terms of saving power, I'd like to see the iPhone more intelligently power down unneeded technology. But perhaps it does that already?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    there's a different compromise I will opt for: doubling the battery life by using EDGE, and switching to 3G for certain tasks.



    Yeah I'd be happy for the phone to stay in 2G, and then switch on 3G when accessing the net. I don't think AT&T want that though - it's much better for AT&T to have phones on 3G than 2G.



    I'm also VERY interested in knowing what the standby times are for the iPhone (ie: when it's lying on my desk doing nothing). Is it the same standby time for 3G and 2G modes? If mail is set to update hourly or manually, does the iPhone's wifi power down or does switching off wifi help?



    ps. My ideal would be that when the iPhone data connects to my wifi network, the phone switches to 2G for my phone calls. My 3G calls are bad anyway (borderline reception), so this would improve my calls and save battery without any downside for me.
  • Reply 39 of 49
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GregAlexander View Post


    In some ways, if Apple sold 2 docking stations with every iPhone, then most people would put a dock at home and work and the battery issue would disappear.



    This wouldn't stop the complaining about the battery, but would increase the complaining of Apple including accessories they will never use. After all, it's not jsut an an extra dock, but an extra cable too. I prefer not having the dock included as i have never used for my iPhone.



    Quote:

    ps. My ideal would be that when the iPhone data connects to my wifi network, the phone switches to 2G for my phone calls. My 3G calls are bad anyway (borderline reception), so this would improve my calls and save battery without any downside for me.



    If your 3G is borderline just turn it off and you'll have your GSM calls and WiFi internet when at home.
  • Reply 40 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    This wouldn't stop the complaining about the battery, but would increase the complaining of Apple including accessories they will never use. After all, it's not jsut an an extra dock, but an extra cable too. I prefer not having the dock included as i have never used for my iPhone.





    If your 3G is borderline just turn it off and you'll have your GSM calls and WiFi internet when at home.



    Consider the life of the battery with the constant re-charging multiple times a day.



    Remember the battery has to be replaced by Apple. If Apple had a removable battery; than I could just swap out my battery when I ran into a low battery situation like I have with every other phone I?ve owned.



    It's a bad design & has been since first Gen iPhone. I love my iPhone but what was Apple smoking when they put out a 2nd Gen phone and kept the same battery design that an end user can?t swap out on the fly in a 3G Phone?



    They knew through testing that this would be the situation. With all of the firmware problems, Me.com problems, poor reception problems and NOW iTunes problems I?m quickly loosing respect for Apple.
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