Articles by Dieter Bohn
In our forums, dhp1080 asked an important question: since the iPhone 3G comes out on the 11th and whoever wins is surely going to be the sort to go out and buy one that day, doesn’t it make more sense to hold the drawing for the winner of our iPhone 3G giveaway a bit earlier?
Yes, yes it does.
So we’ll be holding our drawing for the iPhone 3G givewaway the morning of Wednesday, July 9th. Since Apple capitulated to the standard operating procedure for activating phones, we can’t just pick one up and send it to ya. So instead we’re going to do the following: overnight a gift card to an Apple Store (or AT&T store, if necessary) for 400 smackers. That will cover most of the necessary bases: people eligible for upgrade that want the 16gig device, people ineligible for upgrades, etc.
All of which means you have six days left to get yourself up to 20 (non-garbage) posts in our forums in order to qualify for the drawing. Get your full contest details here. Meanwhile, this also means that this week and the next are the last weeks for the iPhone 2.0 Wait-a-Thon giveaways as well.
We will wait-a-thon this post too. We already asked you what your plans were for July 11th. Now we want to know: Are you Exchanged-up at work? If so, will your IT Overlords put your iPhone on the network? If you’re not, will you be going push with Mobile Me? Will you forego push altogether?
I’ll admit that when I saw the prices for the iPhone 3G sans contract ($599 for the 8gig and $699 for the 16gig), I was disheartened. It turns out these prices are a actually more surreal than they appear at first blush. Gizmodo did some math and figured out the following: it is cheaper to just buy an iPhone 3G and sign up for the contract, pay the activation fee, then cancel the contract immediately and pay the early termination fee. Check it out:
$299 - 16GB iPhone w/contract
$36 - Activation
$175 - Early Termination Fee
$70 - One month of service
Total Price Using The Shady Method: $580
…Of course, the above method does have a hidden cost: the cost of having AT&T run a credit check on you, which technically can put a ding in your credit rating if there are a lot of checks in a short period of time. There’s also the ding on your morality — financial shenanigans may make you feel like a huckster. If you try the above method, we can’t be held responsible for anybody confusing you with Ron Popeil.
Reason number 4952 (ok, we lost count) we’re excited for the iPhone 2.0 software update: Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. Yes, it’s pretty much just a MarioKart Klone — but it looks like a quality clone and, let’s be brutally honest here, the chances that Nintendo is going to develop for the iPhone when they have a perfectly good and popular portable out there is precisely nil.
Looks like you steer with the accelerometer, tap the screen to shoot your powerups, and use your voice to giggle with glee. Next step (we hope): networked multiplayer. Pretty Please?
AT&T has apparently been watching Roger’s desperate, retreat-action PR spin and thinking, “Yeah, let’s not do that.” So instead they’ve done something typical and something a little surprising. The typical thing: they’ve issued a press release with some crunchy details, including:
- Price for those ineligible to upgrade: $399 for the 8GB and $499 for the 16GB — these still require a 2 year agreement
- (Edit: whoops, misread the press release) — no-contract iPhone 3Gs will eventually be available at $599 and $699
- Minute Plans and FamilyTalk Details
- $18 upgrade fee (?!!?! Is this new?)
- Text options on top of your $30 data plan: $20 for unlimited, $15 for 1500, $5 for 200
- iPhone 2.0 software will be pre-loaded on iPhone 3G
- One more: Confirmed that they’ll start selling at 8am local time.
It’s a far cry from the simplicity of the original iPhone plan, but hey, at least we know now. AT&T apparently anticipated possible outcry, confusion, and panic, too. So here’s the nonstandard part: they’re released a series of videos on YouTube (first one is above) detailing what you need to do to be “iReady.” In addition to the above, there’s details on how to “make your original iPhone a hand-me-down” and how to “switch to AT&T for the iPhone 3G“
Alright, we have to Wait-a-Thon this. What do you think of the un-contracted prices? What do you think of the “upgrade fee?” Plans? Anybody else need a Xanax? Comment for your chance to win one of the last $100 iTunes Gift Cards we’re giving away.
As Rene mentioned over the weekend, the iPhone 2G has just turned one year old, we here at TiPb look to the future, though, and the future looks great. Great enough that we’re still planning on giving away an iPhone 3G to one lucky winner who’s made at least 20 posts in our iPhone Forums. Grab the full contest details here. Even better - when you visit the forums from your iPhone you should see a big ol’ “iPhone Version” that lets you interact with the forums via an iPhone interface. Don’t like it? The option to switch back is on the bottom of the iPhone version. What are you waiting for? Go on and register, post, and possibly win!
Also notable, you can now get your iPhone Blog six ways from Sunday. Ok, just two ways. You can now just punch in http://tipb.com into your browser to be brought to our main page. Easy, no? We’re not bringing out an iPhone version of the blog proper just yet — when we find / develop a verison that’s both fast and usable enough you’ll be the first to know.
Meanwhile, there’s only a couple weeks left now in the iPhone Wait-a-Thon, wherein we give away an iTunes Gift card worth $100 to somebody who’s commented on a Wait-a-Thon-tagged post (like, you know, this one). Details and rules here. Congrats to our latest winners, Tom, Mark, and Rafael. Your Gift Cards forthcoming just as soon as we convince Apple we’re not trying to defraud them by buying too many gift cards.
So with just a couple weeks left, we gotta ask: What’s your game plan for July 11th?. Rumor has it the launch will happen at 8 in the morning, so will you be camping out the night before? Sitting at home and pretending your iPhone 2G hasn’t been replaced with newer, faster, better, more? Answer in the comments for a chance to win!
Mobile Mag is reporting that the iPhone 3G may be sold at Radio Shack and Best Buy. Best Buy we can see — Apple’s already been making inroads there. Radio Shack, though, …ugh. Sure, since the iPhone 3G is being sold pretty much just like any other smartphone now, it’s not crazy that it could be sold by any of the usual suspects — Radio Shacks, Mall Kiosks, that one guy down the street who inexplicably has an AT&T store in his garage. But… Radio Shack? Maybe I’m old, but I remember a time when Radio Shack had, you know, electronic parts and wasn’t the laughing stock it is today.
Reconsider, Apple, because if this is true, it may help you reach your target, but it’s not going to do wonders for your image.
An enterprising fellow has caught the iPhone 3G in the wild! Whilst at dinner in London he ran into a few Apple employees who gushed about the device, talked up the upcoming launch, and generally passed the iPhone 3G around for everybody present to ogle. Basically the Apple folks were so giddy they couldn’t help themselves. See his rundown here.
That’s all very nice, isn’t it? Here’s the best part: The fellow we’re referring to is Derek Snyder, aka Master of Mobility, the Wizard of Wireless, the Warlock of Windows Mobile, aka the Senior Product Manager for Windows Mobile.
When even the folks in charge of Windows Mobile can’t help but try to scoop the iPhone 3G, you know you’re looking at a ‘big deal.’ (We kid Snyder because we love). Still, good and proper to see that Microsoft is keeping an eye on the iPhone front, it’s even better that they’re playing nice with Exchange on the iPhone. Hugs all around!
This week Mike and Dieter review all the BAD news about the iPhone 3G and take a look at the growing community in the iPhone Blog forums!
Also, this is important: the iPhone Blog and (by extension) all y’all iPhone lovers have been called out by CrackBerry.com. Take a listen to this “Hit me on my BlackBerry” song, note the bits 2/3rds of the way through knocking TiPb. Anybody up for mixing down a pro-iPhone song? Let us know the comments (Wait-a-Thon time!) and if there’s enough interest we’ll make a contest out of it.
Alternately, some comments counteracting all our doom and gloom in the podcast would also be appreciated.
Nokia dominates the planet when it comes not only to cellphones, but also to Smartphones. But the upcoming iPhone Risk-style onslaught (not to mention the pending release of Android, though delayed) looks to have them a little worried. So they’re finally getting their Symbian ducks in a row: enough of trying to work together with other companies like Sony and Motorola, they’ve purchased the entire OS shootin’ match and are unifying the platform. Simple explanation: Symbian is the base OS, then there are different interfaces on top of that: S60 and UIQ. We’re not fond of either, but between the two of them S60 seems to be the one with more legs (and more support, it’s Nokia’s interface of choice).
Update: we’ve got more to say here, so make the jump for the analysis.
After my Samsung Instinct trash talk, it only seemed fair to actually grab one of the suckers and give it a whirl. Above see a video comparing the two devices — with a focus on the Instinct’s UI since we all know (and love) the iPhone’s UI so well. It’s not everything — I haven’t set up the Instinct with email, music, or videos quite yet. Here’s the thing, though: the Instinct doesn’t suck.
Compared to the original iPhone 2G, the Instinct actually holds up quite well. It’s not as elegant as the iPhone, the touchscreen isn’t as responsive (but it does give you a little haptics-vibrate on every tap), they keyboard isn’t as good (but does offer a landscape version throughout), the apps are a mix of quality iPhone knocks off and java craplets, the browser is decent but nowhere near the quality of the iPhone’s, …I could list the “not as good as” for quite awhile. The bottom line is that, feature-for-feature, the Instinct holds its own, and it’s especially nice that Sprint’s ‘unlimited’ plan includes sms, data, gps, etc.
When you use it, though, you’re often presented with ‘opportunities’ to buy more services from Sprint, be it music (can’t really complain about that, eh iTunes?), games, SprintTV channels, and so on. Basically the Instinct is designed from the get-go to be Sprint’s version of the iPhone, which means that if you’re in love with Sprint you’ll like it.
For me, though, it’s the overall fit and finish and the joy of using a device that keeps me coming back. See the title of the blog up there? Yeah, I still prefer the iPhone, but maybe I won’t be as merciless in mocking the Instinct. Until the iPhone 3G with the 2.0 software comes out, because then, like Uncle Walt, I think the Instinct will not be in the same league.
The status of the TomTom GPS app may still be up in the air, but we’ll still have Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions (albeit not in 3D and without voice prompts). Looks like we may to have another option, too, an AT&T-Branded “gps enabled application.” So says an AT&T insider who adds that in addition to the GPS app, AT&T is also developing a “yellowpages.com mobile” app as well.
Good news? We hope so — because our fear is that the Apple SDK user agreement prohibiting developers from creating turn-by-turn apps means that this AT&T GPS app will be our only option, an option that could potentially include a monthly fee — our worst fear.
As though the increased monthly fees on the iPhone 3G weren’t bad enough already. Say it ain’t so, AT&T!
We’ve already told you that the Instinct is a sad, pale, wannabe version of the iPhone. That’s not just because we’re fanboys (we are), even old Walt Mossberg agrees. Sprint apparently saw the writing on the wall too after Uncle Walt’s “review” of their device, so they’ve decided to drop the price down to $129. Actually, it might be cheaper overall, too, given that Sprint will give you that price after a contract of around $70 total per month for unlimited data and 450 minutes. Oh, yeah, and the Instinct will go on sale tomorrow, giving it a huge jump on the iPhone. Or Not.
Honestly - is anybody out there seriously considering an Instinct over an iPhone? We’ll grant that there are some people who prefer to pick their carrier first, phone second — but still, is it possible to even pick up the clean end of a piece of …Instinct?
Boo! One of the most popular things to do with a 3G smartphone is to “tether” it, which is to attach it to your laptop and use it as a modem so you can get online anywhere your phone has service. Windows Mobile and Treos have multiple options for doing this — some even via some sneaky software that works in a kind of “proxy mode” so you can avoid paying the extra costs associated with a full-on “Phone as Modem” plan (which usually runs in the neighborhood of $50 a month). Sadly, AT&T has let the official word out — you won’t be able to do this with the iPhone 3G:
However according to AT&T spokesman, Mark A. Siegel, who spoke with iPhone Atlas earlier this week, AT&T will not be supporting a PAM plan for the iPhone 3G. The only available data plan for the iPhone will be the new $30 consumer unlimited data and visual voice mail plan and the $45 business data plan. The latter is charged when a person makes an enterprise type connection to Exchange or a Blackberry server for email or messaging. — [iPhone Atlas]
Of course, this has already been done for Jailbroken phones and we hope it will be done again — just don’t expect to be able to purchase something like this from the App Store when it rolls out.
Are you tired of hearing about whether or not we’ll get actual, real, turn-by-turn GPS on the iPhone yet? You shouldn’t be, because it’s a killer feature that a lot of other smartphone platforms are justifiably proud of and the iPhone needs to get it, Apple’s crazy rules be damned. At least, that’s what we tell ourselves when we cover all this TomTom news, from “It’s coming to iPhone” to “It’s not coming.”
The latest? Despite what you may have heard (ahem), TomTom is working on a client and has one in-house that works “pretty well” according to MacGeneration (via AppleInsider). So says TomTom press chief Yann Lafargue, who adds that as for whether or not the darn thing will ever ship, TomTom can’t really say.
We know that Apple’s SDK agreement prohibits it (probably so Apple can’t get sued when you follow your GPS directions into a lake), but we’re willing to sign away our firstborn rights to sue for this, okay Apple? Can’t you guys make nice?
It’s official, folks, the iPhone 3G is replacing the original iPhone, aka the “iPhone 2G” (which makes the iPhone 1G the… Newton?). Company-owned AT&T store managers received the word today:
Stop selling and Pull all 2G 8GB (sku:69001) and 16GB (sku 69010) iPhones from the shelves and immediately return to AT&T Returns Facility in Fort Worth Texas
Have devices ready for pick up June 13th or Monday June 16th.
…Which means this past week wasn’t just a crazy dream after all, the iPhone 3G is really coming. What’s more interesting: we’re going to have a full month of NO iPhone sales. What’s most interesting: What do you suppose AT&T and Apple are going to do with these returned 1st-gen iPhones?
Heck - let’s have some fun. This is a Wait-a-Thon post. Any comment here gets you entered to win that $100 iTunes gift card. Here’s our guess: those long-lost, landfilled “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” Atari Games create a sort of blackhole of bad user experiences. Throwing a bunch of iPhones in there would sort of balance that out, no?
What do you think they should do with them?
Thanks to Bla1ze for the tip!
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