iPhone Irritation
Jul 31st, 2009 by Capsun
You probably already know that I have a new iPhone 3G S made by Apple. In fact, I paid $500 (for a 32 GB model) for the privilege of owning one! Granted, I upgraded from my “old” 3G in June, which was considered an “early upgrade” so I had to pay a much higher price than others.
Earlier this week, my new iPhone 3G S (it’s not even a month old) decided it no longer wanted to take photos. Well, technically, it *did* take photos, but they wouldn’t show up on the iPhone’s built-in Camera or Photos apps. Instead, the only way I could access any photos (or video) I might have taken was syncing with iPhoto on my computer. It’s not much use having the world’s best handheld computing device if you have to manually sync it with a computer.
So the other day, I took it into the Apple Retail Store. And they fixed it. Except…they fixed it by restoring it to factory conditions. Meaning, they erased everything on it. That’s not too much of a problem for me because I sync everything to the cloud with Gmail and MobileMe. And, I made sure I did a manual physical sync before going to the store. The restore is something I could have done at home, but I prefer to go to the Apple Retail Store so that they can run diagnostics and I’ll know if it’s a more serious problem.
When I Tweeted about my repair, one of my friends wondered why so many people were having problems with the new 3GS model. And she’s no stranger to bad experiences with iPhone (although more on the purchase side). But it did make me wonder, am I part of the few people who have problems? Or is this going to be a bigger problem?
And although everything is working fine (after several hours of putting all my music, photos, and videos back on my 3GS), I still find myself irritated. First, there were all those missed photo blog and YouTube posts that I missed because I couldn’t access photos and video on my phone. Then, there was the trip to the retail store I had to make. And finally, all those hours of transferring information – I had a lot of other things I needed to do this week. Sure, I still like my 3GS – just not $500 worth. But, as I told Shawn, I *LOVE* it when it works properly.
So what about you? Do you have a new iPhone? Are you thinking of upgrading? Have you experienced any problems?
Mahalo!
Sorry to hear of your troubles! I have no complaints, other than shorter battery life versus the 3G (since I use “Push” and definitely work more with photos and video). I have, twice, made a panorama photo with the Pano app that was too large, thus “breaking” or locking up the camera app… but yes, I just restored. Not a quick or fun process, but pretty straightforward.
Ryan should talk to Thom about the reserve battery he bought. AND, I have had no iPhone troubles because I don’t own one. I am a dinosaur. I use my telephone to make phone calls.
I’m am shocked that you paid that for the iPhone. I refuse to pay Apple so much money for the added benefit of video and a compass. It infuriates me that Apple/ATT don’t make allowances for upgrades regardless of how much time you have left. They are making money hand over fist anyway. And we all know, well I’m assuming and we know what that means, that Apple will have another verision out next June. I have heard nothing but prolems with the 3GS. Makes me glad I didn’t get one. But I will say this, since the update to 3.0 the typing on my phone is horrible. I don’t know if it is that cut and paste they added or not, but my phone has a hard time keeping up and the response time is sluggish at best. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t live without it. And yes, Ryan is right. The battery life is horrible. I can drain my battery within 4 hours. So I went and bought an extra battery charger and don’t leave home without it. I hope your prolems cease to exits
Aloha my friend
Dang I knew I forgot something. Capsun why do you pay for MobileMe when Gmail syncs everything just perfectly? It seems to me that you have two features that do the same thing only one you, again have to PAY Apple. Am I missing something by not subscribing to MobileMe? The only thing I don’t like is the bookmarks…why oh why they insist on only grabbing that horrible IE bookmarks and not Firefox is beyond me.
Hey Capsun! Thanks for the props! I too, am still irritated with AT&T for other reasons. Like Thom, I don’t understand why I can’t upgrade my son to the iPhone 3G (the old one mind you) when he’s eligible to upgrade to any other phone. AT&T clearly doesn’t get what quality customer service is all about. I noticed too that since I upgraded my 3G software, my keyboard is slower and the phone does seem sluggish. I deal with the battery issue by turning off my 3G network and wi-fi but I also have a battery charger that I take on trips or I can charge the iPhone via my laptop. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Just like men! LOL!
Perhaps you’d better upgrade to the new iPhone 3GI. (Kidding!)
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/apple_claims_new_iphone_only
Travis…too funny LOL
Ryan: Your Geek skills far exceed mine! Maybe next time I’ll just DM you.
Quilly: You made my smile with your reminder that your cell phone is a phone.
Thom: I only bought it because my “old” 3G had a crack and a broken sound button. Yes, I know Gmail syncs contacts and calendars, which I do use (in addition to Gmail). The main reason I paid for MobileMe is the Find My iPhone feature, which I use everyday to track my wife. I also bought a family plan because my dad and sister were going to buy it. So, it was $150 for 5 licenses – totally worth it at $30 a year. Thanks for looking out for my wallet!
Shawn: Sometimes I wish I could just disconnect and unplug – then I wake up from that pipe dream. Like I said, when it works properly I love it. Thanks for the inspiration for this post.
Travis: Because you’re my friend, I can sell you a 3GI for half-off. Think of it as the ASP discount. Thanks for the laugh.
Thanks for the info Capsun. Now I ask another thing about MobileMe with Google Latitude you can do the same thing. And it’s free. Have you thought about that?
I’d gladly trade you for my G1 Google phone!
Warning to all… Do not buy a Google Phone!