I just saw the subject line in my inbox: Introducing the next iPhone.
Dammit! I knew I should have waited.
I thought about it for a few seconds. No I shouldn't. What I should have done is bought the old model even sooner.
I resisted buying the iphone until I think Feb of this year. I'm a writer, money was/is tight, and I didn't think I could afford it. I really wanted one with me for my book tour in April, though. I was afraid a new model was around the corner, but didn't want to wait, so I plunged ahead.
Rarely have I fallen for a new gadget like this. My last tech love affair on this order was my tivo. Amazing device, that. The iphone, too.
Yeah, I wish it would go faster, and I will curse not having the new S version that supposedly goes twice as fast. And I'd like the compass, but and a few other small things, but can do without.
To get those four months with the older iphone, though, totally worth it. Time is my tightest commodity these days, and it has saved me massive amounts of time. It's the first cellphone big enough for me to actually process emails on it, and occasionally check websites I need to. I can finally use both thumbs to type at a half-decent rate. The phone quality is great with the headset and I can make calls hands-free in the car without driving all my friends and colleagues nuts.
And it has provided great joy, too.
Moral for me: When a really great new technology comes out, go ahead and adopt early. Sometimes, it really is worth it.
What I really want:
The killer app I really want is the one that keeps my headset cord untangled.
I am not alone. I go to the gym and a constant stream of people coming out of the locker rooms are untangling their cords before they put the ear buds in to listen to their Ipod.
The inventor of this app/device will be a wealthy woman or man.
Mine usually comes out in a tangled mess, somehow all wrapped inside itself. It tends to be less severe if I take the time to wrap the cord around the iphone before it goes into my pocket, but I'm never going to do that every time, especially since it often doesn't help.
Am I doing something wrong?
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Comments
Sure, some of them would have been tempted to upgrade with the 3G's release last summer, but in reality, the differences between the original and the 3G were mainly to do with AT&T finally getting its network together to support iPhone, and less to do with any hardware upgrades Apple made last summer.
The difference between the 3GS and the original though, are very significant. Yes, perhaps with speed, even possibly with the battery, but the camera upgrade alone makes the 3GS the new smartphone standard, let alone all the new apps that will come out in coming months to take advantage of push notification, true GPS, the compass and more.
A friend of mine lent me his extra original iPhone up until January of this year; when he needed it back I went ahead and got a 3G model and I do love it. I sure do wish I was in that original cohort though. I would now be eagerly awaiting June 19 when I could upgrade to the 3GS.
It's OK, though. At WWDC 2011, Apple will undoubtedly be announcing new mobile computing amazements and then it will be my turn to upgrade. Maybe I'll even be able to cast my disdain for wireless service providers onto a carrier other than AT&T.
Since one of the main draws for me personally is the gaming capability of the platform (one of the areas most likely to benefit from the new graphics engine), this is just another sign that I was smart to wait.
Now... if you don't care about gaming, or some of the more fancy visual applications, then yeah, it was fine to buy early (or to choose the old 3G model at a sexy $99 price). My boyfriend is leaning towards the 3G model, while I'm chomping at the bit for the 3GS.
I have seen pricing of $199/299 for new customers and $499/599 for 'upgrade' customers and a rumoured $599/699 for the non-contract price. I'm sorry that I waited so long too. I would really love the voice command feature. By the time I can get the 'good pricing', the next new iPhone will only be a month or two out...
Is AT&T the 'iPhone killer' or does Apple have their own hands on their throats. Oh, and plus tethering and MMS aren't going to be available for a while from AT&T either.
battery life has been annoying, but i spent the $20 for a phone charger, and learned that if i'm talking a lot, turn off the 3G, which drains the battery about three times as fast. (and on planes/airports, i can drain my laptop for a second charge. it's like a giant backup battery.) the apple stats on the link i provided looked like minimal improvement to the battery to me.
the voice recognition sounds great. there's already an app to do that, though--perhaps less smoothly. i couldn't get it to work, though i didn't try long, and a friend insists it's fine.
the app speed is the biggest drawback to me, and i was thrilled to see them supposedly double that.
i like lonnie's analysis: you can't get every upgrade, unless you're really rich, so i'll just have to wait out a few and get my next one in a year or two, if i can afford it. (is it 18 months, or 24?)
i'm happy i got it when i did, though. it was a little miracle.
Right now, the OpenGL ES 2.0 thing is the biggest concern for me. I'm a pretty big gamer, and I assume that the new apps that require that API will likely be the fancy games that will come out over the next year or so. I want to ensure that the thousandth copy of Tetris that I purchase is compatible with my new phone. :)
Do we all get a software upgrade, which will bring some of the new improvements to our old 3G phones? If the answer is "some," any idea on what the some will be?
Obviously the battery improvements are in the hardware, so I won't see any of those. I'm assuming the speed is in the hardware, too, but any chance some is in the SW?
Something to keep the headset cord from tangling!
I added it to the end of the post, with a bold heading.
Let me know if you've got ideas.
Tanks, as we say in the mother country. (I used to think that was a Chicago thing, and attributed it to my hometown. Then I went back to Dublin on my book tour last month, and discovered it comes from the Irish. Oh. How did I miss that on my first two trips to the island?)
i didn't realize the old ones went on sale immediately. (makes sense, of course.)
i would wait for the new one, but i like more stuff. knowing your needs is key.
New toys are fun...I'm trying to figure out how to do the upgrade from powerbook to macbookpro as well. Will wait and see how the book sales go.
As per usual, Lonnie is the go to guy for info on all things Apple.
Dave, I still use an iPod vid for all my music, it's an extra thing to carry, but it fits all my music files on it, so I don't have the same issues with the cord tangles. That would be a killer app though! :)
When? Well, stay tuned. I still love my Apple Bluetooth Borg clip on but am keeping one eye peeled for any news of this new 'killer' headphone/headset...
Obviously the battery improvements are in the hardware, so I won't see any of those. I'm assuming the speed is in the hardware, too, but any chance some is in the SW?"
You'll get the new iPhone OS 3.0, which means that you'll get most of those fancy new applications they showed off - the Tom Tom integration (for 3G owners only - 1st gen iPhones don't have the built in GPS), the "Find My Phone" application, etc. You'll get the spiffy new landscape keyboard, tethering (assuming AT&T ever turns it on), push notifications, etc.
More info here: http://gizmodo.com/5171796/iphone-30-os-guide-everything-you-need-to-know
To answer the question about speed, while the internet browser may feel faster, I'm pretty sure most of the speed increases are about the hardware in the new 3GS phone.
Oh, I forgot the most exciting thing in the new OS that you'll probably love: copy+paste! Yey!
The solution is for Apple to add A2DP BlueTooth support to the iPhone. Right now, if you want to listen to music and answer phone calls, then go back to music, you have to get an antenna-and-headset combination (from iMuffs), and then turn on the BlueTooth functionality on the iPhone. Since BlueTooth is a battery hog, *and* the antenna (which plugs in to the charging jack) uses the iPhone for power, it sucks up the battery pretty rapidly.
A2DP Bluetooth support, Apple. C'mon; how hard can it be?
The feature you want has already been invented, and it's on your iPhone. It's even on my old duct-taped Nokia that I'm about to replace with a 3GS. It's called Bluetooth.
i'm especially interested in the better keyboard, and maybe the "Find My Phone" application--whatever that is. though the phone is big enough and around me constantly enough that it's the one thing i rarely lose. (plus, i can just call it, except when the ringer is off.)
but can they invent that for my keys, and the freaking tv remote. and my wallet? someday they will have a button to find everything, and hairbrains like me will be much happier. but those are my big three.
And for those of you that don't have an I-phone...the beast hands free device for the car is the Blue Ant Supertooth 3 :
http://www.myblueant.com/s3_handsfree.htm
I got it for my wife's car...man is it amazing. And not as pricey as you would think. It's an Australian company, but has a north america presence. It just attaches to the visor...a voice comes on and lets you know you got a call...and who it is that's calling...then you can decide to take the call or not. You also get to pick the voice that's used...she has it set at a soothing english accented voice. I've been trying to figure out how to program it to tell my wife , "Don't forget to bring Glenn home Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough."
I'll get the new iPhone when my yearly anniversary hits in August, and let you know how well BlueTooth headphones work with it, if you're interested.
The iMuffs is stereo, but gad, $129 seems like a lot. I've also gotten really comfortable with the earbuds, and not sure I want to go back to those big things that go over my ears. I see some people using them in the gym and they seem clunky.
I use it a lot at gym, on my bike (and sometimes the dreaded treadmill, etc.), and size/weight are really important. The cord and earbud apple ships with the ipod really seem just about perfect in most ways--light, just the right amount of cord to go from my waistband to my ears without excess getting caught on things (just barely enough when I put the ipod around back to do curls and so forth). It's like someone measured my body and came up with the ideal length and weight. All ideal except the cord getting scrambled.
I also worry about the bluetooth having the signal that close to my brain. I don't know if that's a real concern or not, but we won't know for years, and I'm iffy on risking it.
That TuneTie thing seems like a possibility. Thanks for that, gonzoid. I'm not sure if it will work, or get in the way, but for ten bucks, it's probably worth a try.
I like that I only have to keep track of one headset cord. (I have two different ones, and at first thought
I feel fine. *Why am I drooling*
Honest, it's done nothing to the voices in my head *WHAT! SPEAK LOUDER!!!*
There is that occasional dry humping of dominant male legs. My doctor thinks the drugs will stop that...
We are Borg, prepare to be approximated.