The iPhone thread

[Stuart]

There are a lot of rumours, but no confirmation of anything. We don't even know if it's going to be an iPhone 5. At least some of the rumours suggest it'll be an iPhone 4GS (essentially a 4 with a slightly faster CPU and better camera).

[Halcyon]

Rumour is of an upgraded version in October.

[wwe]

will the iphone 5 be available on 3?

[Tezcatlipoca]

Well, the iPhone 4 is available on all networks apart from Virgin, so I'd assume it will be the same for the 5 / 4GS.

[Stuart]

As for release dates...

According to http://www.tuaw.com/2011/09/19/iclou...-september-22/ , Apple have announced to all iCloud beta testers that their backups will be wiped on Friday. They had earlier said they would do this before the service launched to the public.

Seeing as you need a mac running osx 10.7.2 (and, if the rumours are correct, 10.6.9), a device running iOS 5 or Apple's iCloud software running on Windows, it's easy to assume that all three will be released soon.

Traditionally, when Apple have launched major upgrades to iOS, it's been closely followed by at least one new i device.

[roger skillin]

New iphone insides caught on Camera,
They now think it will be Iphone 4GS rather than Iphone 5
http://www.reghardware.com/2011/09/2...red_on_camera/

[gazzae]

My mum bought the daily express app, it was 2.99 for 30 days and then a monthly fee charged via itunes. As its through itunes is it enough to delete the app before the 30days is up or is there another step to cancel?

[Stuart]

Does the info at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4098 help?

[gazzae]

Cheers I'll get her to check that.

[Lord Nikon]

Serious question.

What is it that makes the iPhone the 'best phone'

After all, look at the limitations of the unit. Please note I'm looking at it in base form, without additional apps.
The camera isn't great - it's been beaten by other phones for years. The OS is restricted, you can't send or receive files or photos by bluetooth, you can't do the same or sync via Wifi (iOS5 may change SOME of that) you can't video call on 3G (Three had that feature since launch, I have phones 8 years old that can do it) Once you transfer music onto it you can't with the normal software transfer it back, you can't use it as a hard drive, the battery isn't user changeable, you can't upgrade it's storage. So why do people class it as the 'best phone'?

Please note that although there are apps and hacks you can apply to do some or all of the above you cannot in it's base form, You CAN do all of the above with other handsets in their base form so that is why the question is phrased as it is.

[Cobbydaler]

Marketing & the Apple brand...

[Tezcatlipoca]

Who claims it's the "best phone"?

I would guess that anyone who claims it is the "best phone" doesn't consider those to be limitations, as it does what exactly they want... which really is all that matters. It's the "best phone" for them, as it does what they want, has the features they want, has the apps they want, has the usability that they want.

Which phones beat the iPhone's camera "for years"? The best Android phone of 2010, the Galaxy S, was released around the same time as the iPhone 4, and like the iPhone 4 "only" had a 5MP camera. How many cameraphones with 5MP sensors or higher were available before June 2010? Obviously some, but how many, and how many went above 5MP? I remember my N95 (2007) had a 5MP camera... Unfortunately it was crap, as the JPEG compression was set way too high and could not be changed.

Bluetooth... I never used it when I had Nokia (Symbian S60), HTC (WM), or Sony-Ericsson (Symbian UIQ) phones. Well, that's a lie, I did "Bluejack" people on the train sometimes. Never used it for file transfers, though.

Send a photo by WiFi? You can always email it, by WiFi or 3G...Or send an MMS.

Sync via WiFi? iOS5 is finally bringing WiFi sync (& software updates, and more).

Video call? I've never used Apple's "Facetime" video calling, and know no one else who has. I never used normal 3G video calling prior to the iPhone, and know no one else who has. So I don't exactly miss 3G video calling...

I have no interest in using it as a HDD. Photos show up in Windows Explorer if I plug it in, that's all I need.

Battery? I never needed to change a battery on any previous phone, so the inability to do it on the iPhone doesn't bother me.

Storage? Don't care. I only have a 16GB model, and it's not full.

But what *I* want it for, what *I* use it for, makes it the best phone I have had.

[Lord Nikon]

Samsung SCH-S250 October 2004 5 megapixel
Samsung SGH-F480 Tocco - 2008
Samsung W480 & G800 - 5 megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom
Samsung have several 8mpix camera phones out now.
Nokia N95 8Gb cured the jpeg compression problem as did later firmwares on the N95
Sony C905 8mpix camera phone 2008

I could continue but I think that point is made...

How about the ability to sync and share files with multiple computers?
How about if you have to format your computer then connect your iphone? 'Do you wish to establish a new partnership - your phone will be wiped and then resynced'

Wifi sync is useful, as is one feature of the blackberry I have - Wireless music sync, When I access my blackberry's music player it can list the music I have on the main computer, if I select something it downloads it from the main computer over wifi and adds it to it's music library, I can also retrieve music from it.
Storage - the USB hard drive capability is handy, I can put files and documents on there then if I need them elsewhere I have them with me.

And yes, people DO say 'the iphone is the best phone' which is why I was asking WHY they describe them as such, I don't have an axe to grind with them, I'm just saying with it's limitations which Apple have put into place with it, WHY do they say it's the best?
If yours does exactly what you need then good for you, I have no issue with that, but whenever the question is asked 'What phone should I get next' the answer from some people invariably is 'iPhone, it's the best' and I am looking for definitive reasons WHY that should be the case.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Later firmwares for the N95? So not the "base form" then?

I had no problems with syncing my iPhone after formatting my computer, or after buying a new computer, as I had backed up my library beforehand...

My iPhone can also access the music on my PC's iTunes library over WiFi. With iOS5, I'll also be able to access all my purchased music remotely via "iCloud", and access my ripped music remotely via (£) "iTunes Match".

Storage - I can put files and documents on Dropbox or Spideroak and access them anywhere using an app, or use Google Docs and access documents via the browser. Or use iCloud once it and iOS5 launch later this month.


You won't get any definitive reasons why it's "the best", because it isn't. You'll get subjective reasons, same as with anything. Ask the same question for "What console?", and some will say "PS3 is the best!" while others say "360 is the best!", ask for various other things and you will get the same.

Some people prefer the iPhone, they will always say "Get an iPhone, it's the best!". Some people hate Apple, and will always say "Get anything other than an iPhone!" (many of these people seem to live at DigitalSpy's forums). Some people prefer the Galaxy S II, or some other top Android phone, and will always say "Get <top Android phone>, it's the best!"

[Lord Nikon]

Later firmwares retain the 'base form' as they are merely current versions of the base product. The current iOS is the 'base form' for the current devices, similar to a windows update, it gives you the base functionality of the OS and the bug fixes etc. If you were to buy an iPhone 3GS at it's inception you would get iOS 3.0 - now you would get 4.3.5 - Same device, both factory firmware versions, just one is updated based on advances / bug fixes and the firmware is updatable by the end user.