Iphone
- Thread starter kbuchan
- Start date
snowdance
Member
The only hesitation I would have is getting it right away. Usually with any new model, there will be bugs. May be good to wait a bit. Otherwise I don't see how you could regret. I don't know what I'd do with my iPhone. I have the 4s and love it, had the 3 before that. I'm sure i'll be getting the 5 in due time.
Long ago I learned the price of being on the 'cutting edge' of technology, so I held off on getting an iPhone until the iPhone 4 came out, then snatched one up immediately. It still serves my purposes quite well, and see no need to upgrade any time soon.
Consider all the additional gadgets you'll have to upgrade as well: Since the iPhone 5 is thinner taller, and has a different — 80% smaller — Lightning dock connector, replacing the 30-pin dock connector. (The Lightning connector is reversible, so it means that there’s no wrong way to plug in the cable!)
All this means you'll likely have to shell out some coin for a bunch o' additional items as well: new protective case, perhaps a new belt carrier, perhaps additional Lightning chargers, or a Lightning to USB cable ($19), a Lightning to 30-pin dock connector (It allows you to connect your iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod touch and 7th generation iPod nano to 30-pin accessories such as speakers, car chargers etc. It supports for analog audio output, USB audio, as well as syncing and charging. It does not support video output ($29), or a (0.2m) Lightning to 30-pin dock connector — it's similar to the one above, just that this one comes with a 0.2m cable. It does not support video output ($39), etc. etc.
Lastly, if you don't already have one, don't think of this as a "smart phone" it is really just a very versatile micro-computer in your pocket that conveniently includes camera and phone features, including "Face Time" capability (i.e. the video phone that Ma Bell never gave us).
It is really this very well integrated bundle that gives you so much bang for the buck. (Stay tuned, more on that to follow.)
But if you don't need to be on the 'cutting edge' you can get quite a deal on a tried and true iPhone 4 that will give you perhaps 90% of the iPhone 5's features.
Consider all the additional gadgets you'll have to upgrade as well: Since the iPhone 5 is thinner taller, and has a different — 80% smaller — Lightning dock connector, replacing the 30-pin dock connector. (The Lightning connector is reversible, so it means that there’s no wrong way to plug in the cable!)
All this means you'll likely have to shell out some coin for a bunch o' additional items as well: new protective case, perhaps a new belt carrier, perhaps additional Lightning chargers, or a Lightning to USB cable ($19), a Lightning to 30-pin dock connector (It allows you to connect your iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod touch and 7th generation iPod nano to 30-pin accessories such as speakers, car chargers etc. It supports for analog audio output, USB audio, as well as syncing and charging. It does not support video output ($29), or a (0.2m) Lightning to 30-pin dock connector — it's similar to the one above, just that this one comes with a 0.2m cable. It does not support video output ($39), etc. etc.
Lastly, if you don't already have one, don't think of this as a "smart phone" it is really just a very versatile micro-computer in your pocket that conveniently includes camera and phone features, including "Face Time" capability (i.e. the video phone that Ma Bell never gave us).
It is really this very well integrated bundle that gives you so much bang for the buck. (Stay tuned, more on that to follow.)
But if you don't need to be on the 'cutting edge' you can get quite a deal on a tried and true iPhone 4 that will give you perhaps 90% of the iPhone 5's features.
iPhone/"Smart Phone" benefits (part 1 of 2)
I was somewhat surprised to find that the greatest value I obtained from my iPhone 4 were from features other than its "phone" capabilities.
I have a fellow gadget freak and close friend of long standing, living in New Orleans. We keep in touch on almost a daily basis. Not so much by phone, but via text messages, yes 'texting'! Why?
(1) I never was fond of playing telephone tag. I just plain hate it!
(2) You never can be sure when is a convenient/inconvenient time for a phone conversation.
(3) A telephone conversation is so ethereal, especially any specific details; perhaps I just have a poor verbal memory. I just prefer having a record of important details in text form.
(4) I have always preferred asynchronous communications, in written form (not voice mail!) such as email or text messaging (the latter being perhaps a bit more immediate); allowing each party to read and respond at their convenience.
While my friend was accompanying his dad from New Orleans to MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston for an appointment, I was following them via the (click →) Glympse iPhone application (real-time tracking). When they arrived at the hospital, I thought it quite odd that after a brief stop, the tracking 'bug' apparently departed the hospital and proceeded onto the freeway.
My friend soon called me, in a minor state of panic, using his dad's cell phone — he had left his own iPhone in the cab, but didn't remember what cab number or even which cab company, although he did recall the driver's name!
I continued to watch the Glympse tracking 'bug' on my iPhone until it finally came to a stop. A quick reference to that location on Google Maps street view (on the iPhone, of course) revealed it to be a Yellow Cab facility. A call to Houston Yellow Cab customer service with the cab driver's name and the last known location of the Glympse tracking 'bug', and we found the phone, still in the cab; the driver had not turned in the missing phone, so you have to wonder what his intentions were, but the iPhone was reunited with its owner in fairly short order, due to a couple of gadget freaks' iPhones and a bit of detective work, at a distance of 900 miles from the "scene of the crime"!
I was somewhat surprised to find that the greatest value I obtained from my iPhone 4 were from features other than its "phone" capabilities.
I have a fellow gadget freak and close friend of long standing, living in New Orleans. We keep in touch on almost a daily basis. Not so much by phone, but via text messages, yes 'texting'! Why?
(1) I never was fond of playing telephone tag. I just plain hate it!
(2) You never can be sure when is a convenient/inconvenient time for a phone conversation.
(3) A telephone conversation is so ethereal, especially any specific details; perhaps I just have a poor verbal memory. I just prefer having a record of important details in text form.
(4) I have always preferred asynchronous communications, in written form (not voice mail!) such as email or text messaging (the latter being perhaps a bit more immediate); allowing each party to read and respond at their convenience.
While my friend was accompanying his dad from New Orleans to MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston for an appointment, I was following them via the (click →) Glympse iPhone application (real-time tracking). When they arrived at the hospital, I thought it quite odd that after a brief stop, the tracking 'bug' apparently departed the hospital and proceeded onto the freeway.
My friend soon called me, in a minor state of panic, using his dad's cell phone — he had left his own iPhone in the cab, but didn't remember what cab number or even which cab company, although he did recall the driver's name!
I continued to watch the Glympse tracking 'bug' on my iPhone until it finally came to a stop. A quick reference to that location on Google Maps street view (on the iPhone, of course) revealed it to be a Yellow Cab facility. A call to Houston Yellow Cab customer service with the cab driver's name and the last known location of the Glympse tracking 'bug', and we found the phone, still in the cab; the driver had not turned in the missing phone, so you have to wonder what his intentions were, but the iPhone was reunited with its owner in fairly short order, due to a couple of gadget freaks' iPhones and a bit of detective work, at a distance of 900 miles from the "scene of the crime"!
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iPhone/"Smart Phone" benefits (part 2 of 2)
I recently had a plumbing failure.
The Kohler toilet in my guest bathroom uses the (click →) Sloan Flushmate System (a pressure assisted flush tank). You may be familiar with some of the government dictated "1/6 gallon flush tanks" that often take several flushes to do the job? Not this tank! It uses the water pressure in your water line to compress air in a sealed tank as the tank is filled; the compressed air then assists in delivering a "power flush" when the flush lever is depressed. Power flush? Oh yes, I have come to call it a "NASA Orbital Insertion Device", as it is surely launching the toilet bowl content into outer space!)
After a decade or so, the tank had developed an air leak, perhaps due to the effects of Arizona's dry climate on the tank seals, yielding a feeble pressure-less flush. As my plumber was installing a new water heater, I asked him about the toilet tank. He advised me to just order a new complete assembly from the eFlushmate on-line parts store. I did exactly that.
Per their web site, there is one and only one Flushmate Complete Replacement System for my failed Flushmate; it couldn't be easier! That seemed almost too easy.
When the new system arrived, I was quite disconcerted to find that it simply wasn't going to fit. Absolutely no way.
In hopes of avoiding an extended verbal exchange with Flushmate customer service, I used my iPhone to take pictures of the label(s) on the tank, and pictures of the fittings on both the old and new tank. clearly showing the difference. Also using the iPhone, I composed and sent an email to Flushmate Customer Service, and included the pictures. (Confucius say: "Picture worth 1000 words".) I received an email reply at the crack of dawn the next day, to wit:
The integrated camera and email capabilities of the iPhone surely were instrumental in expediting this matter. It's so much more than a "phone".
By the way, that's what I call excellent customer service!
Real American customer service, from an American in the good ol' USA, supporting a product actually made in the USA! Clearly, "Peggy" doesn't handle "customer service" for Sloan Flushmate!
(Unfortunately, their shipping department may not be on the same page!)
I recently had a plumbing failure.
The Kohler toilet in my guest bathroom uses the (click →) Sloan Flushmate System (a pressure assisted flush tank). You may be familiar with some of the government dictated "1/6 gallon flush tanks" that often take several flushes to do the job? Not this tank! It uses the water pressure in your water line to compress air in a sealed tank as the tank is filled; the compressed air then assists in delivering a "power flush" when the flush lever is depressed. Power flush? Oh yes, I have come to call it a "NASA Orbital Insertion Device", as it is surely launching the toilet bowl content into outer space!)
After a decade or so, the tank had developed an air leak, perhaps due to the effects of Arizona's dry climate on the tank seals, yielding a feeble pressure-less flush. As my plumber was installing a new water heater, I asked him about the toilet tank. He advised me to just order a new complete assembly from the eFlushmate on-line parts store. I did exactly that.
Per their web site, there is one and only one Flushmate Complete Replacement System for my failed Flushmate; it couldn't be easier! That seemed almost too easy.
When the new system arrived, I was quite disconcerted to find that it simply wasn't going to fit. Absolutely no way.
In hopes of avoiding an extended verbal exchange with Flushmate customer service, I used my iPhone to take pictures of the label(s) on the tank, and pictures of the fittings on both the old and new tank. clearly showing the difference. Also using the iPhone, I composed and sent an email to Flushmate Customer Service, and included the pictures. (Confucius say: "Picture worth 1000 words".) I received an email reply at the crack of dawn the next day, to wit:
The integrated camera and email capabilities of the iPhone surely were instrumental in expediting this matter. It's so much more than a "phone".
By the way, that's what I call excellent customer service!
Real American customer service, from an American in the good ol' USA, supporting a product actually made in the USA! Clearly, "Peggy" doesn't handle "customer service" for Sloan Flushmate!
(Unfortunately, their shipping department may not be on the same page!)
Nope, it's just the only "smart phone" I am familiar with; you could probably say much the same about any other brand with the same capabilities. So much more than a "phone" — a smoothly integrated electronic tool kit. All of my computer gear over the years has been Windows based, out of job related necessity. The iPhone is the first Apple product I've ever owned; the component integration and the "fit and finish" are quite nicely done.
renegade2011
New member
My current and first smartphone is an android my wife had a iphone 3g and it was nothing but a piece of junk. Android is my platform of choice. Both have their +'s and -'s im sure.
Love my iPhone, have had a 3g, 4, 4S and now my 5 will be here Friday. I am sold on Apple because of all the other Apple products we have in our house and how well they work together. Since this will be your first smart phone you may be a bit overwhelmed at first but pretty soon they become hard to live without.
700classic
New member
I guess I must be old school. All I want a phone to do is make a phone call. Don't need everything else.
I felt exactly the same way, and got along quite nicely with a (click →) Motorola V551 for years — until I got a "deal I couldn't refuse" from my super techno-geek buddy in New Orleans, who actually bought a second one at the local Apple store when the one he had already pre-ordered didn't arrive soon enough! I had just about decided it was time to switch, but that deal tipped the scale.
It's all about what you want. If you want a phone, get a phone. (Even the Moto V551 had more features than I needed in a 'phone'.)
If you want a versatile, hand-held, well integrated digital tool kit with text messaging, email, internet browser, built-in GPS, camera, etc. etc. — oh, and incidentally a 'phone', then go for the smart phone!
There is a bit of a risk, if you opt for the smart phone, that you will soon be asking yourself "how did I ever get along without this gadget?", it tends to grow on you.
I have had a smartphone for 2 years, actually just got a new Samsung Galaxy III...nice phone. Interesting that the least used feature of my "phone" is voice calls.
I felt exactly the same way, and got along quite nicely with a (click →) Motorola V551 for years — until I got a "deal I couldn't refuse" from my super techno-geek buddy in New Orleans, who actually bought a second one at the local Apple store when the one he had already pre-ordered didn't arrive soon enough! I had just about decided it was time to switch, but that deal tipped the scale.
It's all about what you want. If you want a phone, get a phone. (Even the Moto V551 had more features than I needed in a 'phone'.)
If you want a versatile, hand-held, well integrated digital tool kit with text messaging, email, internet browser, built-in GPS, camera, etc. etc. — oh, and incidentally a 'phone', then go for the smart phone!
There is a bit of a risk, if you opt for the smart phone, that you will soon be asking yourself "how did I ever get along without this gadget?", it tends to grow on you.