order is in - what the doctor ordered to replace my old skool Nokia!
- I love the slick design, a picture is worth a thousand words ...
admittedly, I am impressed with what my bare bones Nokia can do - just when I was a bit irked it didnt have a calendar, Google Calendar came to the rescue and sends me reminders by SMS! that was a neat realization. I did play around with the tickler-like Reminder system and it was kinda neat to have a sense of a rolling set of reminders and be conscious of getting complete and freeing up previous reminders - when I hit memory limits - it was a bit annoying but then again, it was like working with an embedded system which typically has limits and make it kinda like a game.
I lost my previous phone, a Nokia 6820 (or 6280!) - my last device I took on vacation to the island, had a lot of fun playing around with email but found it *far* from ergonomic - my fingers hurt after awhile but was happy I could compute from bed (to the sounds of the ocean!) - possibility was alive. anyhoo - it got hit by salt water on songkran and used it even though the front keypad completed fizzled on it - i was still happy with it and ended up losing the phone - oh well - no big loss - it was a great experiment! (btw, I dont even like the successor, it seems to bulky and even with the hi-res, they lost something)
soo....that brings us to the iPhone - the device I really feel will be the future. the vision is there and it is built on top of
Mac OS X [counter-argument:
Inside the iPhone: Mac OS X, ARM, and iPod OS X - this is reason enough alone to buy it. I say this because my first experience with Windows mobile was through Sprint and it crashed on me while waiting in line at the airport - couldnt have been more timely and was happy to return it - for an operating system that is considered "mission critical" - not! I am a user of a Palm IIIxe that never crashed on me and in particular, the Samsung i300 which really was a powerhouse of a phone - Ive been always in support of the underdog!
Back to the iPhone - there is a bit of controversy over what this phone is and isnt - in a nutshell - if you expect your iPhone to open MS Office documents, do email, yada yada - dont fucking get one! it was never meant to live inside the Microsoft paradigm of the world! it is meant to be a multimedia device, playing on top of iPod fame and in particular, embrace the Web 2.0 model for applications. Take one look at the
Facebook iPhone interface and you already get a glimpse of what is possible!
http://iphone.facebook.com
the most creative of programmers out there are on macs and i for one no longer consider myself a programmer but I sure as hell will configure my iPhone to be a rock solid performer - demoing what this thing is capable and in particular, what people think it cannot do!
More Reading
(found after writing above prose...)
- http://crunchgear.com/2007/06/11/htc-touch-review-an-iphone-it-is-not/
- <Truphone article> - VoIP is possible on iPhone...
- UPDATE: Fring fringin works!
- Using iPhone: Text and Data Entry vs T9, Graffiti, Thumb Keyboards - i have to admit ive gotten pretty good at T9 and will require retraining...
- 50 reasons not to buy an iPhone - for laughs! :D
- Six ways to make iPhone battery work longer - concerns abound...
- iPhones first 3d party voice messaging application - voice messaging over the Internet - nice! cant wait to hook up with fellow iPhone users around the world...
- http://www.jajah.com - stop-gap solution and web-based alternative to VoIP. Reuses reliable cell phone infrastructure once you initiate the call and surprisingly, Thailand is in Group A so both landline and mobile calls are free for jajah network users!
- UPDATE: after repeated reports to support, jajah never got their iPhone interface working! not personally recommended.
- iPhone disappoints mobile developers - perspective on options available to developers.
- I personally think focusing on web apps is a smart idea - it reduces the complexity of application deployment on the iPhone and keeps variables to a minimum. downside is web applications are restricted from accessing address book and calendar data which means apps such as jajah require you to manually input phone #s instead of using numbers already in your phone book.
- Apple iPhone already leads Windows Mobile in US market share - this really isn't surprising news...this device has an amazing future! cool-aid aside, I now get Apple made some tough decisions in regards to what use cases to include in the 1.0 version of the iPhone - it was a tough decision to:
- include just enough so people could experience the possibility of the product
- to reach out to all markets - not just business users
- leverage technological efforts and know how of an existing mac (and UN*X) programming community
- to please the geeks out there who see it all
- to even sedate the pessimists out there who rather focus on what the iPhone can't do!
- push the envelope and be a pioneer in this space
- encourage followers to define the next step for this device!
- encourage partnerships (ie. with AT&T) to push new technology features
- integrate with a Windows hungry and dominant community
- think different
- think secret (build hype and leverage creative imagination of consumers)
- (wow this is an interesting side of the iPhone to discuss!)
- Analyst: iPhone simply isn't meant for enterprise - I agree, the device is targeted for a new generation of "enterprise-aware" organizations that seek to embrace new paradigms (ie. Web 2.0) to reduce their IT investments
- ""The current enterprise model is broken," the Forrester analyst says. "IT organizations have been stretched to support whatever platforms their employees have brought into the company. But with a diverse selection of mobile platforms — including BlackBerry, Linux, Palm OS, Symbian, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and now Mac OS X — IT can’t be expected to support each and every operating system.""
- UPDATE: Analysts recommend iPhone for enterprise use - Jobs responded quite well on March 6th esp with the announcement of ActiveSync support!
- Canalys figures in, iPhone clear winner in North America - alright, ack of what I am up to!
- "While most of that is focused on the consumer market, there is no doubt the enterprise market is also going to be hit with iPhones. Instead of heeding the words of avoidance, it might be time to start planning on what to do about this device. "
- Phone browsing marketshare closes in on .1% - proof that a fully-featured browser on a mobile device is key to having people use the web on the run - I can attest to this first-hand!
- "Apple's browser marketshare is higher while its unit sales are much lower is explained easily by the oft-touted Mobile Safari browser and unlimited AT&T data plan. No guilt, pleasurable, full-browser surfing."
- ZDNet article - "despite significant roadblocks, the unlockers are winning"
- "Each of the three times Apple and AT&T have reported their iPhone numbers since July, there has been a gap between the number of iPhones sold by Apple and the number of iPhones activated for AT&T's network. During the first weekend of iPhone sales, the gap was 124,000 units. At the end of the third quarter of the calendar year, it had grown to 300,000 iPhones. And last week, Apple and AT&T revealed that gap had increased five times over in the fourth quarter, to 1.7 million units."
Post unlock thoughts
ok - I finally let go of my desire to want to unlock this device myself - for some reason jailbreakme.com wasn`t working using the wifi network i`m on and now that I have it up and running, i am not surprised - EDGE appears to work better overall!
I also gave up my intention to use my iPhone as an iPod Touch (with camera feature) for awhile - the spirits have it I am to let Mayumi borrow my Nokia for the month of Dec!
- switches to EDGE automatically - pretty cool - pretty much an always-on internet connection as a result! http://iphone.facebook.com works great [over EDGE]!
- need to check with DTAC to determine how I am being charged. I probably want to sign up for some pre-paid EDGE plan or unlimited monthly plan - I am impressed regardless!
- punching my iTunes library pretty much uses up over 1/2 its capacity (no surpise 100+ GB iPods exist!)
- impressed how photo albums and other iPhoto specific entities port over like cake...
- flipped through a slide `strip` is pretty cool...
- NOTE: facebook albums on the iPhone interface work pretty damn well - Free Willy!
- ENHANCEMENT REQUEST: check which events to sync a la iPhoto `08!
- you can`t seem to uncheck the Home iCal calendar - going to have to see if calendars are colored...
- Birthday calendars have doubled up entries - not sure why...
- wondering what all the Thai iPhone apps are... (requested to keep it clean...)
- can add Mayumi`s # through Address Book and it will automatically sync even if I input on my desktop and sync using my laptop - sweet!
- KUDO: just discovered it syncs the photo I added on my iPhone to Address Book - very nice!!!!
- this reminds me of my Motorola Timeport - the ability to sync all info related to a contact - now even richer than before!
- TODO: sync key group, new contacts get added to some kind of `inbox`
- dock isn`t useful as I had hoped...
- you can`t dock the phone with the skin on... (perhaps the 200 baht skin investment wasn`t so hot of an idea...you lose the overall flashiness of the silver lined phone!)
- the line output is pretty damn high compared to the line out of my mini (which technically is pretty loud because the speakers are amplifying at low volume...)
- Q: what does the switch do on the side - exactly?
- pleased with the quality of the camera! only miss a flash! have my SD400 as a backup now... :)
- not so useful apps
- YouTube - dont have enough bandwidth - try at Sunrise Tacos?
- Stocks - don`t have a portfolio these days - AAPL didnt load for some reason..
- Maps - impressively maps my dad`s home - not much use in BKK!
- Weather - doesn`t seem to support Bangkok (wonder if this is intended to work by the time the iPhone is released in Asia (or will they just remove the apps?))
- iTunes - not offered in Asia (Starbucks)
- Mail - assume Google Mail is not IMAP - grr...
- Q: assume Installer was added while the phone was being unlocked...
- I still can`t get over CoverFlow - very nice feature!
- Dance Chalat power - mp4 works great! now just need to render most recent video to mp4!
- things that don`t sync
- .DAT from karaoke VCD (Q: can iPhone play MPG format? if so, just an extension issue?)
- missing April Mousa mix (missing media)
- IMG_0229.JPG original file lost (0k) - picture of grandpa at `rockstar` celebration with mom & dad at Baan San Sabai!
- iPhoto 5 (on my mac mini) is the culprit:
- babyblue:/+Media/Pictures/iPhoto.mount/iPhoto Library/2005/12/02 chinarut$ ls -altr | grep 0229
- -rw-r----- 1 chinarut <group> 0 19 Oct 2006 IMG_0229.JPG
- American Life (Original Version) (.mpeg)
- first 2 SMSes from Googl (466-45) came as gibberish - can't verify if these are my notifications from Google Calendar but my guess is they are...
- UPDATE: fixed with "SMS fix" hack...
- sent a test SMS (fwded existing msg) and it comes in fine. I like how "conversations" are done - in the spirit of iChat and many thanks for Google Mail for promoting the whole notions behind it!
- when you call a contact, it puts that person's photo in the background - nice small touch.
- Q: is there a hack to remove apps from my home page? I can tell long term, there are only a few key apps I want visible!
- want to remove: Stocks, Maps, Weather, iTunes
- want to make secondary: YouTube, Notes, Installer
- PTR: http://www.iphonealley.com/ifuntastic
- UPDATE: Funtastic allows you to remove apps...I couldn't get custom pages to work though...
- SMS msgs organized into conversations is a real nice touch - I have the habit of clearing conversations with my contacts ongoingly. nice to let go of conversations and not feel compelled to archive them!
- slide to delete SMS conversations and email conversations nice touch. delete is not consistent in all screens (ie. Notes) though
- love what is probably an "iPod" feature - "last played" history synced with iTunes database!
- what is probably unique to this device is the ability to "touch rate" songs on the go!
- like how you can extract email addresses & phone #s and add them to an existing contact (ie. Yumi).
- EDGE/GPRS is key - using an iPod Touch without it would be impractical. these are the situations cellular has proved to be awesome:
- in a taxi (notice: moving towers)
- in the park
- in places that don't offer free WiFi
- in places where WiFi is just not available!
- in my room where it cannot maintain a WiFi connection!
- in the subway
- I had no idea you could reconfigure the [browse] buttons in the iPod component at the bottom via drag & drop - very cool!!!
Articles
Missing features
primary
- todo app
- EVAL: web 2.0 "gadgets"
- live into the future of Notes -> todo/action transformation (Capture Tool!)
- voice memo (UPDATE: 3rd party VNotes) (request: built-in)
- video recording (UPDATE: 3rd party ...) (request: built-in)
- video conferencing (technically need camera on front)
- GPS (UPDATE: 3rd party insert - integrated would be awesome)
- NOTE: read a comment that tower triangulation faster than GPS
- modem tethering - see http://cre.ations.net/blog/post/tether-your-iphone to mod your phone (need to eval...)
- bluetooth sync
- replaceable (ie. backup) battery
- unlocked by default (ie. no hacking)
- voice-activated dialing (come on this is Apple! look at how mature Mac OS X Speech is!)
- "typical" SMS use cases
- Send phone # to contact (or "business card" per Nokia lingo) (UPDATE: SMSD provides workaround)
- sync Notes (NOTE: notes are backed up)
- Calendar
- week view
- multiple calendars are colored (with ability to choose)
- standard 1/8" jack to patch into speakers
- Contacts
- no group manipulation/organization use cases (view, add, remove)
- contact search
- Smart Groups sync
- no cut & paste
- no group SMS & email lists
- access to phone #s stored on SIM
- drop & drop content to iPhone in iTunes (it works for iPods)
- iPhone mounts in /Volumes (like iPod)
- MMS - (NOTE: facebook supports "mobile uploads" by email which gives insight into...)
- email is the cheapest transport mechanism there is and it is universally supported
- MMS implementations are not standardized (to my knowledge)
- everyone does not have MMS but is likely to have email!
- iPhone is smart to support HTML email in this way - it is just more flexible at the end of the day!
- ability to play iPod games downloaded on iTunes (not really a big deal - just ack what's so)
- camera zoom
- camera flash
Gripes
- machine crashes (blacks out || white screens): Dec 2, 3
- Safari crashes every so often (better than machine crashing!)
- cannot set default reminder on Calendar items
- multiple calendars are not colored even though they sync independently on iCal (and Google!)
- cannot set SMS notification to be audible and vibrate at the same time (like Nokia)
- when docked, it would be nice to be able to choose whether line out is "flat" or variable (this would be a non-issue if headphone jack was standard - then you would indeed have a choice and not require a dock on the go!)
Resolved
- calendar entries not syncing properly even after "reset sync history" in iSync - this is very frustrating!
- this does not give me confidence this is a reliable tool for business continuity...
- long live Digweed ;-)
- Why Can't Sync mean Sync? - good description of how sync on the iPhone isn't what we expected...
- iPhone Calendar Sync Woes - kudos to Plaxo for being intermediary for Outlook and iCal -> iPhone
- iCal not syncing to iPhone - there is no excuse to having users resort to archiving and reinstalling their entire OS! what is up with this Apple?!?
- ok - i got off it and just did it - the process is actually not painful outside of the time it takes to verify the DVD and install the files - nice job Apple.
- the bad news is it doesn't remedy the situation :/ 10.5.2 is available - stay tuned...
- 2/7/08 10:14:06 PM iCal[1290] CoreData could not fulfill a fault for '0x17a98840 <x-coredata://70299A22-BAB2-45FA-810F-DE45B784CBF0/LocalCalendar/p8>' - this is a bit disturbing - iCal doesn't seem to be able to rebuild my calendar from an iCal backup!
- my iCal install is FUBARed and Time Machine saves the day! I got it back to the state iCal (~/Library/Calendars) was in 48 hrs ago - nice!
- Archive & Install didn't work
- 10.5.2 update fixed it - a classic disadvantage of applications being that closely tied to the "core" is when the system breaks, the apps (ie. iCal) break! I get their vision - I accept this nuisance that is now solved!
- native VoIP app (ie. Skype)
- Fring is here! Skype over EDGE sounds a bit of a miracle but if they say so!
- reorder phone favorites - you click "edit" drag the righthand side of the favorite and you can move it up and down!
Mods
- fix SMS
- fix international Caller ID
- iFuntastic: remove Stocks, Maps, Weather
Defects
- USECASE(Unlock Phone) UI slowdown (documented by other users)
- workaround: close unused browsers (i think i had about 6 or 7 open)
- USECASE(Set photo) - context: input new number, add new contact, fill in name, nickname, email and click photo - take picture and try to save...phone crashes (Dec 23 with Art)
- workaround: save contact and add photo to saved contact (done this multiple times - hasn't crashed since)
- now curious if this is fixed in 1.1.3 - I am sure it is (advantage of going the path that was "meant" to be...)
- which gives insight to "quality control" and controlling the perception of those who decide to jailbreak the product. those who don't upgrade in a timely manner are still left with a product that has a higher probability of breaking which affects the perception of Apple. I can now understand the intention to field test the unit "locally", deal with the breakdowns that come up (reduces costs for units that have to be replaced and staff that need to be trained) and deploy the unit worldwide when it is considered "stable" - question is - is this playing it "safe"? the practicality of "business" *sigh* knocks a few points off Apple in my book now...it goes against the Web 2.0 model which says deploy globally and deal with what happens!
- certain contacts cause Contacts.app to just crash (goes back to home screen)
- WORKAROUND: create temp duplicate contact with critical info (ie. mobile #)
- this possibly might have literally "cost" me as my favorite apparently didn't go to the "009" version of Mayumi's # - oh well - life goes on!
Enhancements
- coverflow for pictures (just like in Leopard)
- put photos next to names on contact list
- bluetooth wireless sync - times you aren't carrying your USB sync cable!
- over-the-wire sync (inspired by Zimbra and Plaxo)
- UPDATE: push via Exchange coming - how about everyday consumer or grassroots leader who isn't so abundant on resources?
- standard size mini-jack - to support the "party in the pocket" - for those spontaneous salsa dances! :)
- support to read MIME fwded email - this is not a showstopper for me. only time I encounter this is for forwarded email from AOL users (which thankfully doesn't number very high!)
- IR port - receiving "business cards" (a la Palm) and receiving pukira photos (a la JP flip phones)
- record video - why not?!? be a wonderful adjunct and driver for iLife and iMovie
- front camera - video conferencing. gotta get with the times! ref Dopod models and notice JP flip phones have video conf standard.
- Japan - suica/pasmo IC chip for pre-paid train
- WORKAROUND: just carry a card like most people are accustomed to doing. That said, I do see the value in leaving your wallet at home...esp in Skinny Jeans!
- printer support. use case: go into your nearest Kinko's and just print on demand!
- Time Capsule support
- backup - "ghosting" would rock!
- print server
- suspend image rotate - critical use case is when you are showing a map to someone on the street and they want to rotate it to help orient you - it doesn't work if the iPhone keeps flipping the image on you! Tokyo
- insert any kind of mini-plug (if I am not mistaken, the UK model doesn't require an adaptor)
to eval
- bluetooth headset/pairing (bonus if they were stereo - rumored not to be supported...doh!)
3rd party apps
- VNotes - transforms your iPhone into a digital voice recorder - nice!
- Labyrinth - perfect game to demo the an alternative application the iPhone's gyro-sensitivity!
- NES - I am impressed - works impressively well - RC Pro-am seems to be the best game without tactile feedback. Very good proof-of-concept behind 3rd-party defined UI - in this case, a controller!
- Books - (to read Free Culture - this may as well be a web page...)
- SMSD - missing use cases
- send contact # *
- backup SMSes *
- inbox, sent items view
- send to multiple recipients
- UPDATE: part of 1.1.3 release
- forward SMS
- count characters
- VNsea - (still need to try but sounds promising!)
- iSIM - fetch phone #s stored on SIM card. con: app is slow to initialize if you have a lot of numbers...to the point of not being practical.
wait for International model
- "Like some phones, unknown numbers have the region of call origin displayed (i.e. if you missed a call from a 415 area code number, beneath the digits it says "San Francisco, California" -- very handy!)." (this feature would be great internationally)
- 3G support (critical in japan where GSM networks don't exist!)
- MacRumors "3G Phone in Japan?" thread - i think the phone will be a hit!
- I think yoyo5280 hits the nail on the head - it will be a challenge to create adoptors but it will happen.
- the UI is outstanding, the email interface is key and practical. the iPhone has proved how important a full web browser is - i love not having to think about whether there is a WAP site or not or whether I'm going to get some lobotomized version of my fav websites - they just work!
- the camera needs upgrading indeed. i don't miss recording video at all.
- i think YouTube does well in regards to providing content
- people love their iPods and it will be a familiar paradigm
- games look to be a success - esp based on the EA demo on the March 6th event.
- if you are interested in partnering in a proposal for Apple in Tokyo - please contact me.
- I particularly believe the ability for MNCs to deploy a single device that has such multi-faceted uses (read: any industry) is a killer feature on the organizational front!!!!
- interestingly enough I found out YouTube Japan hasn't moved over to H.264
- Thailand locale recognized (ie. new home/work addresses!) (UPDATE: mod exists...)
- Thai keyboard (must be a mod...)
- UPDATE: there is a mod but it doesn't support 1.1.1 (in fact it bricked my phone - see below)
Japan
- EVAL: can one access JP mobile websites on a "standard" browser?
- 3G iPhone, best guesses? - great conversation with comments touching upon pros & cons of what Japanese see in their phones.
- got my reference to Fring here!
- Apple nears iPhone deals for Japan, Korea, says report - more speculation "NTT DoCoMo to sell iPhone in 3G-intense Japanese market"
- iPhone: Not So Cool in Japan? - debate rages on. I'm glad to hear SoftBank is in the running...they are definitely more gaijin-friendly. in my opinion, the iPhone aims to target the modern, EN-speaking nomad business person. See 4-hour workweek
- Apple Aims iPhone at Japan - wow competition is fierce here...
- "There really is very, very limited growth for new subscribers in Japan. And, in fact, Japan is almost 100 percent penetrated. So, what they are really looking at is stealing subscribers from other carriers. Softbank has done a pretty good job, and within the last year and a half has opened up the Japanese market with member portability, allowing it to pull a lot of NTT DoCoMo carriers to SoftBank," Hazelton said."
- Sorry iPhone, Japan's Not Impressed - extensive discussion attached to this blog entry - i particularly like the japanese "use case" he documented in regards to his friend going to work and using his phone thru the day - techno chat aside, use cases are the real thing!
- Apple secures Japanese iPhone naming rights - 3G release all but certain now - heh, had no idea Apple has to deal with "Aiphone" naming rights!
- KTF and NTT DoCoMo to jointly launch iPhone in Korea and Japan? - speculation (yet again)
Troubleshooting
Restoring
ok - it happened - i bricked my iPhone the day before I left for Japan. What happened is I tried to put Thai fonts onto my iPhone, apparently they are
not compatible with 1.1.1 at this time of writing - doh! The developer was very helpful in nudging the way toward restoring my phone and on the brighter side, I wasn't addicted to my iPhone while in Tokyo and accepting using an old fashioned monthly calendar to do my planning. I am also learning to what degree iTunes will restore the data to my phone and get a sense of what
this gripe is all about!
@iPhone
ok this is the real thing editing this page [ie. wikispaces] on an iPhone!
- feels very sluggish [editing wikispaces]
- needs a special wiki formatting keyboard
- it admittedly works
- no scrollbar on text box
- tap bottom to scroll down
- can't scroll up
- good for reference
? save draft?
Groups
the largest iPhone group on Yahoo
apple-iphone-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Statistics
- 23.8MB used (of 7.27GB) by system on a restore