Comments on: iPhone 3g review

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:22:04 +0000

Terry,
I am translating your book(co-author with Scott The iPhone Book 3rd edition) into Chinese, and have some question to ask you, If you can see my post here, Please send a mail to me by grj1116@gmail.com ASAP.
Thanks very much!
Roger

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:05:30 +0000

So is the battery life as bad as everyone says it is?

By: Mark Mandelbaum

Mark Mandelbaum — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:55:36 +0000

Thanks for the prompt reply Terry!

Will do!

Mark

By: Terry White

Terry White — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:00:19 +0000

Mark,
A quick Google search doesn’t reveal much in terms of hearing aid compatibility. You might want to stop into your local Apple or AT&T store and take it for a test drive.

By: Mark Mandelbaum

Mark Mandelbaum — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:55:27 +0000

Great reviews, Terry! Here’s my question:

I noticed that Apple does not support Hearing Aid compatibility. I have two hearing aids and so I am worried that I will get interference, buzzing, etc. Do you have any information about how good the iPhone works with hearing aids?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Keep up the great work!

Mark

By: Terry White

Terry White — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:45:22 +0000

Frank,
when you register the iPhone you will need an “Apple ID”. To get an Apple ID you will need either a Credit Card or Paypal account. Your card will not be charged until you make a purchase. If you never make a purchase, then it will never be charged for anything.
Apple has literally hundreds of thousands of CC’s on file and if they were “randomly” charge people for things they didn’t buy, there would be riots in the streets. They’ve had my number on file for years and not once have I been charged for something I didn’t buy.
Sorry if it’s a deal breaker for you, but it is a requirement.

By: Frank Jones

Frank Jones — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:19:46 +0000

Sorry to bother you again Terry but I was talking to an Admin who buys a lot of these phones and she told me something that, if true, would probably be important to some buyers.

She said that you are required to register the iPhone with Apple and that you are required to provide a credit card number “in case you want to download any music”.

Well, as you say in your review, I am buying a PHONE not an ipod. I don’t care about the music download capability and I will NEVER be purchasing any music. I’ve been cheated several times when I reluctantly gave up my cc number “just in case I incur any incidental charges” only to find myself being billed for huge, recurring charges that are spelled out in the fine print somewhere. Mercedes Benz pulled this on me with their cellular help feature (similar to GMs’ On-star) and I had to file a formal complaint with the Oregon DOJ to get them to stop billing my card. I have no desire to go through anything like that again!

I presume that you can confirm/debunk whether the cc requirement is true or not. If it’s true, it’s a total deal breaker for me and it’s certainly a financial liability that prospective buyers should know about in your reviews.

By: Terry White

Terry White — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:52:29 +0000

Frank,
Thanks!
Yes, the iPhone definitely supports POP and IMAP email accounts.
Your Motorola BT Headset should pair fine to the iPhone.

By: Frank Jones

Frank Jones — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:29:35 +0000

Great review! Thanks! Read both… the first generation iPhone review and this newer one. I have been an AT&T then Cincular then AT&T customer for I dunno… 15 years more or less. I have to say that their [customer care phone] support has always been lacking which is typical of “support” providers in third world countries. Some of their retail stores are great. Others are consistently horrible. I usually have bars (Portland, Oregon) although not if I head out to the boondocks. If Verizon offered the iPhone and if they weren’t so much more expensive I would switch in a minute. I have to say that if it wasn’t for the iPhone, I would most likely not stay with AT&T. So this alliance with Apple was smart on AT&T’s part.

My questions: Does the iPhone support regular SMTP/POP mail or does it have to be Exchange or IMAP? We use UNIX sendmail servers which I currently access with a T-mobile Blackberry. I love T-mobile’s dirt cheap, very reliable, unlimited data pricing but their network isn’t nealry as good as AT&T and Verizon. Giving up my T-mobile ($30) and paying $30 more to AT&T for unlimited data would be a wash… except that T-mobile has been a very good vendor to me and AT&T has pretty rotten customer service. No SMTP/POP would be a deal breaker for me.

Next question: I have a hearing disability and the Razr I’ve had for the past few years is about a useless as it can be phone for me. I have a Motorola bluetooth headset thing that plugs in my ear (it was $50 or so) that makes teh Razr a bit better…. will the iPhone accept this device? Reading your reviews it sounds as though the iPhone is very selective about what Bluetooth gear it will work with.

Happy to hear that you talked about the iPhone *PHONE* quality and reception. I truly do not care about a phone’s bells and whistles. What I care about is being able to hear the person I am talking to, and not having my calls dropped. Great job!!!

By: Terry White

Terry White — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:44:03 +0000

Stan,
Apple is in a multi-year agreement with AT&T. While anything is possible, I don’t expect to see the iPhone on different carriers here in the US anytime soon.

By: Stan Burman

Stan Burman — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:38:49 +0000

Terry,
I’m suffering from iPhone lust, but AT&T wireless is not available in my admittedly remote location – Page, Arizona. Are you aware of any initiative on the part of Apple or a third party to make iPhones useable with another provider such as Verizon?
Thanks,
Stan

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:09:33 +0000

Terry:

I have a Q on Verizon and use it as a modem to gain access to the internet.

Is there a way to do this with the iPhone?

Scott

By: Terry White

Terry White — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:53:51 +0000

george,
The original iPhone does NOT have a GPS. That is a hardware feature of the iPhone 3g and can’t be added via software updates.

By: george

george — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:18:50 +0000

Terry:

Great review and very helpful for anyone thinking of upgrading from the original iPhone to the G3. But after reading it I’m still unclear about one thing–whether or not my original iPhone with the 2.0 upgrade now has GPS.

I’ve downloaded 2.0 to it successfully, and have since tried to use a GPS based app called Golftrax with it, but it doesn’t seem to work.

The GPS on Golftrax searches, but is not able to find me. The supplier of the app seems to think I have to have a G3 iPhone in order for their app to work.

Is there another way to test the GPS feature to determine whether or not it’s working?

By: Terry White

Terry White — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 04:30:54 +0000

Charles,
Unfortunately Apple doesn’t allow any other audio over Bluetooth at this point.