Happy with your iPhone?

[BillClinton]

I'm waiting to pull the trigger until the iPhone is up to 32 GB, but I was wondering how many of you iPhone purchasers are happy with them?
If you had your money back, would you buy it again? Would you wait for other features or more capacity?
Do you use it as much as you thought you would?
What are you using it for that you didn't think you would?
What is the most disappointing thing about it?

Any other comments?

Thanks for your help, I'm trying to justify to myself buying one and the plan to go with.

[Fedorov]

Been using HTC Windows mobile for a lot of years and now had my iPhone 3G for 6 days and totally love it. Having owned an iPod Touch since they were released I knew that I HAD to have a phone with the same slick interface.

I didn't expect to be blown away as much as I have been, expecting my iPhone just to be like my Touch plus a phone but the text messaging, visual voicemail and all the phone functions are just so nice to use I'm finding I'm using this so much more than any previous phone already - I really do recommend this so highly - could NEVER go back to a normal mobile phone ever again now.

[anypats]

I have had mine since September 2007 and can't ever imagine going back to any other type of phone or PDA.

I always thought that I would hate an all-in-one device (phone, PDA, MP3 player) and for the longest time, I did carry all three items. However, Apple changed the whole way of integrating everything into one.

I use mine daily and rarely go a day without getting below 30% on the battery. Most of my use comes from the iPod and the Internet.

The biggest thing that I think is needed is a way to edit documents and spreadsheets. Viewing is nice, but I would like a way to edit on the iPhone.

Two other things that I wish it had, but can live without, is a good chat client (I have yet to find a decent one) and a native To Do list that syncs with iCal. But these were never a deal breaker. Just things that would be nice to have.

[Drjones]

If you are a business user who relies heavily on email, forget it.

Apple should be sued out of existence for daring to use the word "push" to describe the email service. I've gone 20, 30, 40 minutes without receiving a notification of new emails - you have to be looking at your email inbox to get new messages.

Also, messages take FOREVER to download - they are absolutely instantaneous on a blackberry.

You cannot really "IM" on an iPhone - you have to be logged into and looking at the application to be "online" - if the phone is in "standby" mode or whatever it does when you aren't using it, you get kicked offline and cannot recieve new messages.

I've been using a blackberry for over a year and rely on it very heavily for work - email, calendar, etc.

As far as emails and connectivity (IM) the Blackberry wins, hands down.

My suspicions have been right all along - the iPhone is a very cool device in many ways, but it certainly is not very work/productivity friendly - again, email is the big killer.

The calendar is OK - but no "snooze" feature on it - WTF??

Also, it does not come with a "To Do" or "task" list - you have to download one separately. For a phone that costs as much and "can do" as much as the iPhone, for it to not have a "task" or "to do" list is very ridiculous, to put it mildly.

This also means that your tasks and the iPhone's notepad do NOT synchronize with MS Outlook, so if your phone gets lost, stolen, crashes, etc, its just that much more data that you lose.

On a BB EVERYTHING syncs with Outlook and backs up to your computer. That's why I had such great peace of mind with my BB - if I get a new BB, lose it, stolen, fried, whatever, all my data, right down to every last setting on the device, is 100% backed up.

I plug in the new device, hit "restore" and it will be JUST like my prior Blackberry.

[Drjones]

I use mine daily and rarely go a day without getting below 30% on the battery. Most of my use comes from the iPod and the Internet.



Just today I wore my battery down to less than 30% of capacity in THREE HOURS - only about 10 minutes on the phone, some Internet/map searching, and a few e-mails.

Meaning that I had 30% left on the battery life.

Basically, I drained the entire battery in about three hours.

The same use on my Blackberry curve would have barely touched the battery.

[code777]

i'm just about ready to get one (i have a 120GB iPod so I don't really need the GB on the iPhone since I'll have both on me all the time - I know that kinda defeats the purpose but...) but I am sorta concerned about ATT service. I've heard both good and bad. For the most part where I live and work there is always service. But some people I talked to say when they are traveling they get dead spots to no service frequently. But others say when they are on the move they seldom get dead spots and at times 3G doesn't work but they can live with it.

so, what are your thoughts on ATT service???

[PCthug]

Had my 3g 16 gig since release (apart from 1 week), and use it FAR more than any other phone or ipod i have ever had.
In fact, i am using it as an ipod so much that i am thinking about buying some fairly expensive ear phones (to replace my great Shure E2c), and looking at either the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro Ext'd Bass Earphones (at £100, down from £220) or the audio-technica type headphone ATH-CKM70 (about the same price).
I already own the Audio-Technicha ATH-A900 Art over ear Headphones, that are fantastic (as Federov will agree to), so may get the ATH-CMK70 when i can find a review on them.

I am also addicted to buying (or getting free) applications, some of which are fantastic.
I have about 87 CD albums on it, loads of games (and applications), 25x 1/2 hours programs, and still have over 4 gig left.

In short, i am very happy with the iPhone, and its down falls are by far exceded by what it does do.

[sgtpepa]

I have had my 16GB 3G for 2 months now. I love it. I would like a larger capacity, but this works fine. I have always used third party programs, like Anapod, when it was worth something, and still love Sharepod on my other ipods. But you must use itunes for the 3G.

The Genius playlist is great as is gapless playback that third parties just could not do. E mail on the 3G is not as good as a Blackberry ( I never had one, I had a few Treo's), but if you want it for a media player, e mail and the web, it is terrific as a whole. I believe I can truly travel short trips without my computer now.

I was with Verizon and it's predecessors in my area for over 20 years. I have not travelled out of this area since getting the 3g, but based on ATT in our area for 2 months, my service so far, I think it is better than Verizon was. (They scared me about changing with their ads, but I had no choice to change to Iphone.)

While I would like a larger capacity, I would not wait. Jump in and enjoy.

[Drjones]

i'm just about ready to get one (i have a 120GB iPod so I don't really need the GB on the iPhone since I'll have both on me all the time - I know that kinda defeats the purpose but...) but I am sorta concerned about ATT service. I've heard both good and bad. For the most part where I live and work there is always service. But some people I talked to say when they are traveling they get dead spots to no service frequently. But others say when they are on the move they seldom get dead spots and at times 3G doesn't work but they can live with it.

so, what are your thoughts on ATT service???


I have had AT&T for over 10 years, have traveled the state of California extensively, and been to the east coast several times and have always been very happy with AT&T service.

Don't worry about AT&T - their service is great!

[bruinsrme]

I have had mine for about 2 months.
My last job we had electronic leashes and looking back I can't beleive I wasted so much of my life worried about being able to be reached at a moments notice.
To me email is email and if something is so darn important call me please. With that said after I resigned from that job I felt naked without being able to text page at an instant so I looked at the BB and voyager. the voyager won out but after a while I realized web surfing was slow and horrible, email good luck with that and everything from verizon seems to have a charge attached. The GPS navigator is pretty good tho.
BB didn't do it for me anymore.
BB has the best email/text feature
Voyager awesome for decent pix taking and texting and the GPS navigator
iPhone however is more all around the most productive and fun. the texting features are lacking, email push isn't important as email is like a nagging wife. The video, audio and other goodies are simply awesome to have in a single paortable package. Email connectivity is adequate, using the phone as a router is slick, getting sports scores quickly is great. I have used the iPhone for price matching,finding eating establishments, directions, units conversion (very important for my current job), oh yeah and using it as a phone. Applications are abundant and with many free and many others less than $2 one can go overboard.
Wishes - native landscape for texting and email. picture text messages and a profile such as a name for text messages, maybe a better phone and a louder ringer.
When you open the iPhone box you open a box of fun.
If I had to do it all over again which one would I go with, iPhone hands down!

Coverage
I find At&T has more bars in more places (for real) in Massachusetts, RI and CT.
Verizon seems to have markable deadspots where you can't hear anything.
When you start getting away from the larger cities and towns services vary tremendously.

[baggss]

I have had AT&T for over 10 years, have traveled the state of California extensively, and been to the east coast several times and have always been very happy with AT&T service.

Don't worry about AT&T - their service is great!


For someone who apparently dislikes the iPhone I am surprised that you have bothered to keep it. You like the BB, that's fine. Ditch the iPhone and stay with what you know and like.

As for AT&T, coming off Verizon I am not very impressed. I travel nationwide on a regular basis and live in California and I find AT&T to be fairly unreliable when it comes to cell service. The service is not bad enough to make me willing to give up the iPhone, but it's the only thing that will keep me on AT&T.

[Drjones]

For someone who apparently dislikes the iPhone I am surprised that you have bothered to keep it. You like the BB, that's fine. Ditch the iPhone and stay with what you know and like.

As for AT&T, coming off Verizon I am not very impressed. I travel nationwide on a regular basis and live in California and I find AT&T to be fairly unreliable when it comes to cell service. The service is not bad enough to make me willing to give up the iPhone, but it's the only thing that will keep me on AT&T.


I just got the iPhone on Friday, and I'm trying it out to see if I like it -- there are definitely some cool features and a lot of things I like about it, but I rely so heavily on my Blackberry for e-mail and calendar, and the iPhone is just disappointing in those two areas.

I'm also aware that with any new device there is definitely a bit of a "getting to know it" period, so I'm giving it a little time, though it is a bit frustrating at times.

Wish I could afford to keep both, but I can't justify paying for a whole other cell phone line that I would really never use.....you do have to have a voice plan with the iPhone -- not just data, correct?

[Drjones]

As for AT&T, coming off Verizon I am not very impressed. I travel nationwide on a regular basis and live in California and I find AT&T to be fairly unreliable when it comes to cell service. The service is not bad enough to make me willing to give up the iPhone, but it's the only thing that will keep me on AT&T.


also I'm curious to know exactly where in California you have found AT&T's service to be unreliable -- I have lived here all my life and in the last 10 years I've been with AT&T, I have found their service to be pretty much flawless in just about all of the state.

[ACA]

I have the 16GB. It's good, but I don't know what else to do with it.. what are some cool things I can do?

I wish I could get Pokemon and NES games.

[daihard]

I've had my 16GB white iPhone 3G for about 3 months, and I couldn't be happier with it. The iPhone 3G is an excellent device that quadruples as cellphone, PDA, game console and portable music player. I works in perfect harmony with my MacBook as well. I literally carry my iPhone with me everywhere I go. Just don't know what to do without it.

[baggss]

also I'm curious to know exactly where in California you have found AT&T's service to be unreliable -- I have lived here all my life and in the last 10 years I've been with AT&T, I have found their service to be pretty much flawless in just about all of the state.


I live in the greater LA area, but travel to San Diego and the Bay Are frequently, as well as out of state quite often (places like Hawaii, Virginia, Washington (both state and DC) Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Maine, New York, Illinois to name a few). Compared to Verizon, AT&T is pretty crappy and doesn't live up to it's promise. I've had more dropped calls sitting in my living room or office with AT&T (both my iPhone and my work cell are with AT&T) in the last year than I ever did with Verizon in the last 5 or 6 years. I do happen to like AT&Ts billing process and have had no real issues with them on that side, unlike Verizon.

I just got the iPhone on Friday, and I'm trying it out to see if I like it -- there are definitely some cool features and a lot of things I like about it, but I rely so heavily on my Blackberry for e-mail and calendar, and the iPhone is just disappointing in those two areas.


So 3 whole days of evaluation leads you to the conclusion that Apple should be "sued out of existence" because of problems with "Push Mail"? I'm not saying it doesn't meet your needs, it obviously doesn't, but that seems a bit of an extreme statement after 3 whole days of use. I understand you can't afford to keep both, but your initial post came across a bit strong.

[kernal_panic]

i've had mine for 3 months. the 3g calling on it has been useless. I got a new sim card installed saturday. 3g has been much improved.

however after 3 months the battery won't take a charge anymore. i'm about to call my local apple store which is a 40 mile round trip.

[kernal_panic]

now I have an appointment with a ###### at 2:30. wish me luck.

[BillClinton]

Thanks for all of your replies. I'll see if I have the strength to wait for the 32 GB, but you're not making it easy.

Good luck kernal_panic; let us know what happens.

[anypats]

Just today I wore my battery down to less than 30% of capacity in THREE HOURS - only about 10 minutes on the phone, some Internet/map searching, and a few e-mails.

Meaning that I had 30% left on the battery life.

Basically, I drained the entire battery in about three hours.

The same use on my Blackberry curve would have barely touched the battery.
I have the 1G iPhone so I don't have the 3G capabilities but I get way more than 3 hours of use. Using the iPod while driving to school, walking to and from class, while driving to work, and driving home will barely put a dent in my battery. Playing games like Backgammon or Trism also takes very little battery life. It's the internet that kills my battery life.

[eye-Fone]

If you are coming from a "regular" style cell phone, you will be very happy (well, if you exclude the poor battery life). If you are coming from Blackberry or from Windows Mobile and you use your phone primarily for business and enterprise use, you may be somewhat disappointed.

[kernal_panic]

If you are coming from a "regular" style cell phone, you will be very happy (well, if you exclude the poor battery life). If you are coming from Blackberry or from Windows Mobile and you use your phone primarily for business and enterprise use, you may be somewhat disappointed.


I got a new phone from apple today so far no problem with it other than it doesn't see my $10 jabra blue tooth piece.

as for being disappointed coming from windows mobile three words:


No HELL NO!

i'm done with windows mobile. 2 Qs and PPC6700. NEVER AGAIN.

some client was trying to show me this advertizment for some new sprint pda "iphone killer" phone. I took one look at it saw "windows mobile 6.1 pro" and laughed and said:


"Yeah thats windows mobile BTDT never going back they suck"

I got 2 requirements for a phone.

1. when I hit call it had better well dial out right then.

2. when I hit end call it had better hang hp right then and not stare at me like "huh?"


other features I like are Exchange push email and not locking up 3 times a day.


my blood pressure went down after I got the Iphone.



btw I got a new sim card from ATT saturday and my 3g calls seem alot better. no crackling and no drops so far. i'm thinking apple might have gotten a shipment of bad SIM cards for the 3g. it would explain why some people have great 3g calls and others don't.

[Sparky_92]

If you are a business user who relies heavily on email, forget it.

As far as emails and connectivity (IM) the Blackberry wins, hands down.

My suspicions have been right all along - the iPhone is a very cool device in many ways, but it certainly is not very work/productivity friendly - again, email is the big killer.

On a BB EVERYTHING syncs with Outlook and backs up to your computer. That's why I had such great peace of mind with my BB - if I get a new BB, lose it, stolen, fried, whatever, all my data, right down to every last setting on the device, is 100% backed up.

I plug in the new device, hit "restore" and it will be JUST like my prior Blackberry.

The Outlook Exchange functionality works PERFECT for me. It's just as good as the Crackberry.

iTunes does a complete backup everytime you sync. Not sure how that is different than the Crackberry.

I agree about the no sync for Todo's.. (which is fixed with many applestore apps). I agree with you about the IMs.

However, all of your gripes will be solved if you Jailbreak your phone. Check my sig.

[eye-Fone]

I got a new phone from apple today so far no problem with it other than it doesn't see my $10 jabra blue tooth piece.

...other features I like are Exchange push email and not locking up 3 times a day.
Just wait until you start installing third-party apps. :p

BTW, congrats on your new gadget.

[jmyler]

If you are a business user who relies heavily on email, forget it.

Apple should be sued out of existence for daring to use the word "push" to describe the email service. I've gone 20, 30, 40 minutes without receiving a notification of new emails - you have to be looking at your email inbox to get new messages.

Also, messages take FOREVER to download - they are absolutely instantaneous on a blackberry.

You cannot really "IM" on an iPhone - you have to be logged into and looking at the application to be "online" - if the phone is in "standby" mode or whatever it does when you aren't using it, you get kicked offline and cannot recieve new messages.

I've been using a blackberry for over a year and rely on it very heavily for work - email, calendar, etc.

As far as emails and connectivity (IM) the Blackberry wins, hands down.

My suspicions have been right all along - the iPhone is a very cool device in many ways, but it certainly is not very work/productivity friendly - again, email is the big killer.

The calendar is OK - but no "snooze" feature on it - WTF??

Also, it does not come with a "To Do" or "task" list - you have to download one separately. For a phone that costs as much and "can do" as much as the iPhone, for it to not have a "task" or "to do" list is very ridiculous, to put it mildly.

This also means that your tasks and the iPhone's notepad do NOT synchronize with MS Outlook, so if your phone gets lost, stolen, crashes, etc, its just that much more data that you lose.

On a BB EVERYTHING syncs with Outlook and backs up to your computer. That's why I had such great peace of mind with my BB - if I get a new BB, lose it, stolen, fried, whatever, all my data, right down to every last setting on the device, is 100% backed up.

I plug in the new device, hit "restore" and it will be JUST like my prior Blackberry.

Alot of what you said is correct but you must not be using the phone correctly... first off i use email VERY extensively at work and i get my email on my phone before it gets to my inbox on my computer everytime. It sounds like you have it set to "fetch" instead of "push" when you push an account it gets it immedietely fetch you can set it to get it at certain times. Never had a problem with my email.

I've never had i take longer than i thought it should to download a message, if it's only text it's instantaneous to me. No longer (maybe faster) than my ppc use to be.

The IM thing really bugs me as well and i totally agree with you on this one.

As for the losing data thats untrue. Just because it doesn't all sync with outlook doesn't mean it's not somewhere else. You can throw your iPhone away, go buy a new one plug it into your iTunes and use the backup (that happens everytime you plug it in) from your previous phone and when you unplug it your phone will be EXACTLY like your old one. Down to your wallpaper(outlook doesn't do that)

[kcinmusic1]

I'm really jealous of all you guys and your iphones. I love my ipod touch, and to have it with a phone an alot of other features would be awesome. Maybe i'll get it one day. O ya, and Baggss, where did you get those iphone-ipod-mac mini pictures in your signature? Those are very cool.

[Stay Alive 305]

My iPhone 3G has made everything so much better. I got an iPhone 3G and an iMac for my birthday in July and boy am I happy. Best 2 things I ever bought.

[jinxproof74]

How does everyone like the service?...thinking of switching from Verizon to ATT as Verizon is WAY to expensive ...lol :)

[xboxman]

To be quite honest, while I love my iPhone there are a lot of issues here that need to be dealt with. Nothing is quite a deal breaker and I would probably buy the iPhone 3G if I had to make my decision again. However, I find that it does a lot of things fairly well to OK. No particular function is outstanding on it.

[kcinmusic1]

Who else thinks the original iPhone looks better than the iPhone 3g (looks, not function)? I really like the metal back much better.

[eye-Fone]

Nothing beats the white iPhone 3G! :D

[kcinmusic1]

In a way I agree. The white iPhone is beautiful.

[OmegaPhoenix]

I'm really happy with almost everything about my iphone...except the speed of the interface. I've had one since the first generation was out and as soon as they updated the software to 2.0, the interface speed has gone down the drain. it takes so long for every application to load that it's quite sad.

i also upgraded to a 3g iphone, so the internet speed is a huge benefit, but the amount of time it takes for the text message or camera apps to load up so i can actually use them can be upward of 7-10 seconds. that's not short. google maps also has this slow problem, it can get really annoying, but then again i wouldn't trade it in for another fast phone because it wouldn't be able to do anything but call people :p

[kcinmusic1]

I've noticed on my 1g iPod touch 2.0 slowed down the loading of some apps, and speeds up others. U would think that it would speed up everything.

[Flet]

I was very hesitant at first to make the plunge, and now that I have it I love it. That said, however, I do have some issues (and who doesn't).

1 - Battery life. You basically HAVE to think about this phone all the time. You just can't go out for the day and NOT think about the battery. That's a big problem.

2 - DUST UNDER THE SCREEN.

3 - LET ME USE MY IPHONE ON ANY COMPUTER I WANT (especially to mange music/videos manually, as well as play on other computers). They are my songs so why can't I use them wherever I want.

4 - Still no real easy/user friendly way to keep contacts/calendar synced easily.

5 - Let me manage images manually too.

[rafayj]

MY Iphone is working excellently it has lots and lots of cool features but the battery drains very quickly that's the only prob yea and it also doesn't have bluetooth also

[Sparky_92]

I was very hesitant at first to make the plunge, and now that I have it I love it. That said, however, I do have some issues (and who doesn't).

3 - LET ME USE MY IPHONE ON ANY COMPUTER I WANT (especially to mange music/videos manually, as well as play on other computers). They are my songs so why can't I use them wherever I want.

4 - Still no real easy/user friendly way to keep contacts/calendar synced easily.

5 - Let me manage images manually too.

Solved by Jailbreaking! See my sig

[Helmsley]

I'm definitely with my iPhone so far, of course after Jailbreak. The iPhone experience is certainly a pleasant one after the nightmare with Windows Mobile devices.

[AndyT4097]

The iPhone doesn't have Bluetooth? Are you positive about that?

[Fedorov]

Having broken my arm badly 2 weeks ago and spent 5 days in hospital, getting my iPhone3G a few days earlier was a life saver for me. Being able to stay in touch with everyone and having unlimited data and all the fantastic apps from the store helped keep my sanity! :)

[amcluesent]

The iPhone could be so much better if the engineers were allowed to do the 'right thing'. It's been compromised by the dweebs from marketing and accounts who are always looking to monetise upgrades etc.

Let's reflect on -

1) No way to cut'n'paste a long WPA key!
2) Crocked bluetooth
3) Battery life totally compromised to achieve 'thinness'
4) No tethering to laptop
5) iTunes app-store closed to anything which might impact Apple cash-flow

The iPhone has cynical written all through it. Hopefully that's where Android will get ahead, it's open and not designed to maximise income for minimum functionality.

[rafayj]

I Had Several , I Was Happy With All Of Dem :P

[Xenophos]

The iPhone doesn't have Bluetooth? Are you positive about that?

Hi, forum noob here. The iPhone has BT, but it doesn't do data (go figure). It's only for hooking up devices.

I've had my 3G iPhone a couple of months and over all I love it, but I'm not a business user (mostly). Previously used a basic mobile phone, Palm PDA and iPod - space saving alone is worth it! Biggest downsides are definitely the battery life, lack of cut and paste and a few other niggles, but I can work with them and the available apps are improving all the time. I got 8Gb and haven't run out of room yet, but of course YMMV.

[rekabmij]

I have had my 3g for about 2 months and absolutely love it. I am amazed everday what the iPhone can do. I use the phone for business email and it works great with exchange. My iphpne usually gets email a couple seconds before my comp. I sync my calender and contacts instantly over the air with no problems so far using exchange. My personal email also gets pushed instantly.
The few cons for me.
Battery life, speaker phone volume is too quiet, and lack of landscape keyboard for all typing.
I would definitely recommend this phone over my old blackberry.

[ivorysouljah]

its a good and sexy phone. I just wish it had bluetooth that worked with other phones, oh and pxt then it would be perfect

[tcj]

I was very hesitant at first to make the plunge, and now that I have it I love it. That said, however, I do have some issues (and who doesn't).

1 - Battery life. You basically HAVE to think about this phone all the time. You just can't go out for the day and NOT think about the battery. That's a big problem.

2 - DUST UNDER THE SCREEN.

3 - LET ME USE MY IPHONE ON ANY COMPUTER I WANT (especially to mange music/videos manually, as well as play on other computers). They are my songs so why can't I use them wherever I want.

4 - Still no real easy/user friendly way to keep contacts/calendar synced easily.

5 - Let me manage images manually too.
1. All I can say is, it depends on the person and how you use it. I can go several days without charging, but I also don't use it obsessively (I also don't understand how people do that, either.)

2. I see people complaining about this, but have yet to actually see an example of this in real life, even though I know about 10 people right around me at work that have Iphones.

3. Are you not all that familiar with Apple or Itunes? It's a licensing issue. If Apple wants to be able to sell music via Itunes, it is locked out of being copied off the Ipod/Iphone. Period. End of discussion.

4. Nuevasync (www.nuevasync.com).

5. I seriously don't get this one. You have your images in a folder that Itunes is linked to. You remove images from that folder if you don't want them on your Iphone and store them elsewhere. They're removed from your Iphone. What's the big deal here?

[Xenophos]

1. All I can say is, it depends on the person and how you use it. I can go several days without charging, but I also don't use it obsessively (I also don't understand how people do that, either.)


Games is a major factor for battery drain on my iPhone. The family plays on it a lot! I know of people who are using it for business who need to carry around a recharger, also.