My New Phone: The iPhone 3G

IPhone 3G

On Friday, June 11th I woke up at 4:00am and drove to my local Apple store at the Mall of Louisiana.

I have a Crimson Red Palm Treo 680 right now and although I have only had it for about a year, I am bored with it.  I was never really interested in the iPhone but after playing with a friends iPhone I instantly became intrigued by it.  My friend advised me to get an old iPhone so that I could hack it and use it on T-Mobile's network (my current provider) but I am a tech junkie so I have to have the newest technology therefore I wanted the iPhone 3G.

I'm not a die hard Apple fan so there was no way that I was going to camp out just to get it.  I figured I would still get one if I arrived at around 4:30am.  When I got to the mall there was about 20 people waiting in the parking lot.  Apprently security was preventing them from waiting in line in front of the store.  At about 6am they allowed us to actually line up at the door.  The store opened at 8am and I was about number 40 in line (when the security guard let us through, people started running towards the door so people who had showed up after me, ended up getting in front of me.  It wasn't that serious so I didn't run!).  It was in line for about 15 minutes before getting into the store and after waiting another 10 minutes I was escorted by an Apple employee to someone that could assist me.  There was about 25 Apple employees helping customers so the line was moving pretty quick until...........the Apple and AT&T servers CRASHED!!!!!!!!!  

I had just finished paying for my phone when I was informed that I would not be able to activate it because the servers were down.  BULLSHIT!!!  I was not leaving that store without a functional phone so I stood at the computer and tried endlessly to sync it for activation.  Finally, after 30 minutes, it synced and I walked out the door with my new shiny phone.  I haven't had much time to really play with it but so far, I LOVE IT!!  It is an amazing phone.

What I love about it:

• The GPS system.  I can tap the GPS icon and it will locate where I am in seconds.  There is also a feature where you can locate restaurants, stores, etc. that are near your location.  It's like a portable phone book!  No more calling 411 and getting charged $1.50 per call!!

 

• E-mail Push Technology.  I have 3 yahoo e-mail accounts and I am able to check all 3 on my iPhone.  All I had to do was enter my account information and it automatically send all my e-mail to my phone.  My phone beeps when I get a new e-mail. 

 

• The Apps Store.  There are tons of programs that I can download for my iPhone.  Most are free but there are some that you have to pay for.  My favorite is the blogging apps (of course).....it makes it super easy to post a blog (or picture) to my vox or blogger.  There is also a MySpace app and Ebay App (LOVE IT!!).

 

• YouTube.  There is a direct link (icon) to YouTube so I am able to watch YouTube videos pretty much anywhere.  It's a little choppy if I'm not connected to a Wi-Fi network but I can still view them.

 

• Safari Web Browser.  I am able to browse the internet.

What I hate about it:

• The battery sucks.  If the phone is on 3g, the battery drains very fast.  Luckily I have a car charger, otherwise, my phone would die before the end of the day.  I have heard that you can switch the phone to EDGE and that saved battery life.  I guess i'll have to try that.

 

• The phone get's all greasy from putting it up to my face (my face is a little oily).  Guess that means it time to by a bluetooth heasdset.

 

• AT&T is super expensive.  I had to sacrafice a lot of anytime minutes to get this phone.  I had 1500 whenever minutes for $39.99 through T-Moblie now I have 450 whenever minutes, unlimited data, and 200 text messages for $74.99. *SIGH*.

Overall this is an awesome phone and I think I am going to have a lot of fun playing with it and finding out what it can really do.  Was it worth it?  Only time will tell.

Comments

[Ivysgrandkid]

[this is good] it's not at&t thats expensive it's the iphone plans that are, heck in canada people are pissed as hell at how pricey it is, its due to all the features nearly all of which require webuse, and im jealous ! lol

[♥ Lady M ♥]

[this is good] i just found out that my contract with tmobile ends aug. 10th so i will have to wait until then to get my iphone.  one of the major things that bums me out are the minutes.  i heard tmobile has the best plans....right now i have 1000 anytime and i've just about used all of them.  do you know if with at&t the minutes roll over?

[Queen]

Yes AT&T has rollover minutes but that feature is useless to me because I will most likely use all of my minutes!!  Like you, I can easily go through 1000 minutes every month so with 450 minutes, I'll have to keep a close eye on my minute usage so I don't go over. 

[Queen]

Your right.  They know that they can charge and arm and a leg for the iPhone because people will pay it.  They have no choice.  I bet they will make a bundle on overage charges because most people talk on the phone more the 450 minutes a month.  Hell, I had 450 minutes back in high school.  It was my very first plan!!  Now I talk about 1000 minutes a month if not more.  I use my cell phone for everything because I don't have a house phone....i'm sure other do that as well.  In the last 3 days I have been checking my minutes everyday to see how many minutes I use on a daily basis.  I need to cut back because at the rate I am going now, I am guranteed to go over!

[♥ Lady M ♥]

dude, that SUCKS!!!  i might have to think about not getting one after all....dunno.

[Ivysgrandkid]

girl you talk that much?! lol lol txt instead of talking haha  which of the billing plans are you on the 70 a month one? hmm I was like ive been with em for almost 2 years now I could get one but 70 a month eeek even my 65 a month now is pricey.. and some months I burn out minutes and txts and end up paying like 85 and i cry when i see bills like that

[Marc Styles]

lucky lucky... just heard its been unlocked. now waiting for it to be available on pay as you go

[Queen]

I'm sure i'm gonna cry to at some point in time! lol.  I usually don't talk that much but since I have been in Louisiana, I have been talking to friends and family a lot more.  I guess it's cause I don't see em' that often.  When I was living in Cali I averaged about 600 min/month so I think i'll be ok once I get back to the Bay Area.  Yes, I am on the $69.99 plan (plus an extra $5 for 200 text messages).  I get 450 anytime minutes and 5000 nights/weekend minutes.  I just realized that I do a lot of talking on the weekends to so I won't use my minutes up as fast!  The only thing that worries me is texting.  I don't know if 200 is enough.  I had 400 through T-Mobile and as far as I know, I never went over.  My little bro on the other hand, he sent 3000 texts in 1 month.  My parents were pissed!  His bill alone was like $300.  He'd rather text then talk on the phone though.  We ended up switching him to the unlimited plan!

I'm used to paying $39.99 a month so my first bill is gonna hurt....**SIGH**.

[Me]

Hmmmmmm...I need a "smart phone" and I'm leaning towards the iphone for the same features that you are enjoying.  I just don't know if I can fork over the money!  Your excitement is infectious, though.  If I get one I'll let you know what I think of it, too. 

[Queen]

I'm beating myself up over the fact that the plan is so expensive but I am hoping (and praying) that it will be worth it.  I'm sure i'll shed some tears over the first bill, LOL but I'll get used to it after a while.  If you get it, let me know how you like it!

[Ms. Behavin]

I switched over to AT&T when I got my IPHone in December - Because the plans were so expensive, I started out with the 450 minute plan.  I was thinking that I would just not use my minutes during the day and then roll them over so I would have enough - eventually.  That plan sooo did not work! lol  I have switched over to the 900 minute plan because I went over my minutes a bunch of times and my bill was astronomical!!!!! 

[Queen]

I am worried about that also.  I was thinking the same exact thing!! LOL.  Good to know that it doesn't work.  Looks like i'll be switching over to the 900 minute plan soon.  It's so hard not to talk on the phone.  It seems like someone is always calling or i'm always calling someone.  And forget about just talking for a few minutes!  Thanks for letting me know......now I won't be so disspointed that my "plan" didn't work.

[♥ Lady M ♥]

hey girl.  i went for it and got my iPhone yesterday...it's so kewl!!!

can you please tell me which app you use for VOX blogging?

The Apps Store.  There are tons of programs that I can download for my
iPhone.  Most are free but there are some that you have to pay for.  My
favorite is the blogging apps (of course).....it makes it super easy to
post a blog (or picture) to my vox or blogger.  There is also a MySpace
app and Ebay App (LOVE IT!!).

[Queen]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I haven't downloaded an App for blogging yet. I thought about trying an App called "blog it":

http://www.typepad.com/features/blogit.html

I haven't tried it yet though. There are so many apps out there....it's crazy. I can't wait to start adding stuff to my phone. I really haven't had anytime to play with it because I have been packing and preparing for my move. Once I get settled back in Cali I will spend some time "getting to know" everything about my phone. One thing I have to be careful of is downloading a bunch of heavy applications. I heard that some application take hours to update when you sync your phone.

I'm not sure if I told about this blog already but arcelay posts some good info regarding iPhone apps and everything else iPhone related:

http://arcelay.vox.com/

[♥ Lady M ♥]

thanks girl, YTB.  i just added the blog it feature and i am getting into it....thanks for the other link, i've added that to my hood too.

good luck with your move!

hugs.

[Indigowaters]

[this is good] Thanks for the info. My friend has an iphone and I have a Treo. I know what you mean about being bored. I'm glad you explained all that it includes and that GPS will be really helpful. : ) 

[Jacob1]

[this is good]