iPhone News Slows Down; Quick Thoughts on Hacking the iPhone

It may be the calm after the storm, but the flurry of iPhone news has become a calm trickle. Most of the news these days is hackers working on opening up the iPhone for third party apps. I wish them luck, if only to see what some independent minds can produce in terms of new functionality and usability for the phone. Some of the most exciting products these days are born from minds who don’t have a mental lawyer interrupting their creativity, extinguishing ideas which may have the slightest potential for copyright infringement or negative revenue impact on a partnered corporation. It seems like an idea can’t even be thought at Microsoft without a lawyer first allowing it to be placed in their employee’s minds. I’m not saying it’s not a similar situation at Apple, but they at least seem to be attempting to use their corporate weight to change other corporations mind for the consumer benefit, like with DRM. I can’t believe that Microsoft, with all it’s billions in cash sitting in the bank, couldn’t do more than Apple to get the music industry to relinquish DRM. In any case, an open source platform for software on the iPhone is a very exciting prospect. And as a general concept (freedom to put open source and closed source software on your mobile device), Google seems to be the only big player trying to make it happen.

Cost of the iPhone Keeps It from Mainstream

There is an interesting perspective on the cost of the iPhone that I've been getting from a lot of non-iPhone owners. They ask me questions like, is there insurance for the phone? Or more generally, are you worried about losing it?

Questions like this are like a bucket of cold water thrown in my face. I think back to all the times I've left my $100 Nokia phone in the back of a cab or at a friends' apartment, and how panicked I felt until I got my phone back.

The iPhone really is too expensive for anyone to lose. And it's likely many people will lose it or break it in their daily adventures. Mobile devices tend to get manhandled. Beer gets spilled on them, they get thrown on the counter with car keys, they get tossed to friends, or dropped on the ground. There was even a study that said 850,000 cell phones in England are dropped in the toilet every year. I remember a lot of people held off on purchasing a Razr phone because insurance wasn't available for it at first.

AT&T should start offering insurance right away. Many people just want that peace of mind. Ultimately, it is the price of the iPhone combined with the dangers of it being a mobile device which will probably keep it from becoming a true mainstream device.

Related link: The Ultimate Apple Web Log has a great post on insurance for the iPhone.

When Will The iPhone Be Updated?

There are some basic stability issues with the iPhone that would seem
to be high priority for a software update. It's curious as to why
Apple has not quickly taken care of these issues.

Is it possible they are putting together one large update instead of
several minor ones? Are they even considering adding a major feature
like iChat and need extra quality testing time?

It's likely that Apple wants to minimize the annoyance of constant
updates, but seeing how most current iPhone users are early adopters,
that would be a nonfactor. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing some of
these issues picked off one by one while my interest in the device is
high. It's almost starting to feel like the phone has been abandoned.

My iPhone at 3 Weeks: Things I Like

It's my third week anniversary with my iPhone.

Things I Like About the iPhone:

The Graphics. I love how BIG and bold and beautiful all the graphics are. When a call comes in, your eye flicks over the screen and all the info you need is easily taken in within a second's time. Whatever you do, whether it's checking your stocks or looking at your photo collection, it's all rendered beautifully on the screen. The accessing and viewing of your content matches the beautiful physical aesthetics of the phone. Oh, and I do love the look of the phone. I stare at it while it's laying turned off on my desk. Even at three weeks, when I notice it, I succumb to the desire to just pick it up. I imagine this is what owning a black Ferrari feels like. You'd want to wake up in the middle of the night, open your garage and just stare at it sitting there. It wouldn't matter if another human being ever saw it because you know that it's art that echoes other beautiful elements of this world.

Being Able to Assign Stars (Ratings) to Songs. I'm not sure, but I think you can't do this with other iPods? In any case, I'm so so so glad I can do it now. I count heavily on my ratings for what I listen to. And there are times I'm in the mood to cull through my vast library and trim away the auditory fat. It's nice to do that on the go. Thank you, Apple!

iPhone-Optimized Websites. Websites designed for the iPhone not only enhance the readability and aesthetics of the content, but also help counteract the EDGE network's slowness. I know Apple said the iPhone's Safari is a full browser. They didn't lie (except for the lack of Flash). But, it doesn't come with a 15-inch screen. Clever people instantly realized the need to enhance their content for the phone. The Google Reader team was one of them. Reader has become my indispensible website. I pull in content from all over the web to one place. And that one place puts it in a format perfect for my iPhone's display. Thank you Google Reader team!

Test post #2 - Picture

Taken with my iPhone and emailed to my Blogger account.

Test email post from my iPhone.

On your Blogger account, go to Settings, then Email, then set up an address and choose Publish for auto-publishing. Send an email to that address and it will be published on your Blogger blog.

Posted from my iPhone's email.

My iPhone Annoyances: Part 2

1. The answer call/pause button on the headphones needs to be placed lower on the cord. Please relocate the button on the headphones' cord that pauses tracks and answers calls. Relocate it so that it is below the point where the cord splits in two. I never know if I put the "left" headphone in my left ear, so I find that I'm always fumbling for the button. Is it on the right cord or the left cord? So help me god, I don't know.

2. The phone's screen gets crazy oily when it presses up against my cheek. If you think finger oil is bad, wait until you press the iPhone's glass against your face. When you are talking on the iPhone, sometimes your face will come in contact with the glass. It's inevitable. No matter how you practice holding the phone, no matter how conscious you are of it, it can't be avoided. Bring a towel along with your iPhone.

3. YouTube is not much fun on the iPhone. It's weird why this is. I mean, the videos actually look better than normal YouTube. I think it's because iPhone's YouTube lacks the novelty of discovery that comes with the normal version. Right now, it's essentially YouTube's Funniest Videos.

Paris Hilton With an iPhone [Picture]

My iPhone Annoyances

1. You can't wrap the headphones around the iPhone, as it causes problems when answering calls. Like most people, I wrap my headphones' cord around my iPod--it's the most convenient way to keep the cord untangled and stored away. But if you do that with an iPhone, you've got a problem when a call comes in. The wrapped cord can prevent you from pressing you ear to the handset, or the end of the cord swings around, or the wrapped cord can just generally hurt your face or annoy you. It's a puzzle to be solved, and I think the best thing to do is to remove the headphones from the phone when you are not using the iPod function.

2. It's hard to dial with one hand. Here was the situation: I was carrying bags of food in one hand downtown. I decided I needed to call my buddy. I dig the iPhone out of my pocket and attempt to dial. With one hand, I struggle to unlock and have to swipe my thumb at an awkward angle several times. Once the phone is unlocked, I accidentally hit a menu option--I didn't even realize I was touching the surface, I was just trying to get a good hold on the phone (this accidental touching happens a lot, especially with one hand). I become so involved in in the process, I nearly walk into someone. I have to stop, walk out of the way of everyone, hit the home screen, then go through the whole process all over again.

3. There are too many steps to dial a number. I want to call my buddy Fred. I unlock the phone. Ok, where's Fred's number? I have to tap "Phone." Ok, now where's Fred's number? Tap "Contacts." Hello, Fred? Oh, I have to find him by his last name. Scroll and hit Fred. Hello Fred? Oh, I have to hit his telephone number. Hello Fred? Finally! Frustrating!

There are moments where I wonder about the practicality of the phone in challenging everyday situationss. I enjoy the phone immensely, and I won't say that I'm totally frustrated by it, but there are moments where the more basic nature of my Nokia or iPod shuffle just worked and didn't make me pause my day to work the device.

My suggestion is for Apple to focus on the phone first, and sacrifice ease of use for other applications to increase the phone app's ease of use. I can't browse the Internet while walking down the sidewalk, so why put it on even ground with making a phone call in terms of accessing each application on the phone. Make it harder to access the Internet and make it easier to get to the phone.

I want the ability to view my contacts with one tap after unlocking. Or, to view my favorites after one tap after unlocking. In fact, I want an option for the screen to automatically show my contacts after unlocking. Turn the iPhone into a more simple phone, or at least give us the option to.

Hilarious New iPhone Parody

A parody about the iPhone's lack of flash support.

Waiting for iPhone to Update.

The iPhone is one week old this weekend, and we are still waiting for an update for the phone. There is some basic housekeeping issues that need to be dealt with. One big problem I am having is that my Safari browser crashes frequently. I spent an hour browsing the web last night, and Safari crashed six times during that hour. Safari also seems to have a problem with the iPod function playing music.

I'll put any wishes for extra goodies aside (non-web games please!) to get these stability issues fixed first. I'm still loving the iPhone though.

New Apple Patent Could Bring iPhone Features to Macs

Imagine making the iPhone's flick gesture on a touch-screen multi-touch mouse, and suddenly on Safari, tabs flip across your iMac's screen like photos or cover flow on the iPhone. That could be just one possible use of a new patent Apple is applying for featuring a multi-touch mouse. This patent application is worth a second look. It portends a leap ahead of Vista if they release it with Leopard. Remember the cover flow features being built into Leopard?

Also, at the very least, a mouse like this would also keeps smudges off, say, a touch screen table.

Games on the iPhone: iChess

Web games designed to fit the iPhone's screen real estate are popping up. I recommend iChess. It's still in beta--so the pieces move pretty slowly after you direct them. But, if you really want to check out the potential of the iPhone as a gaming device, try out this game on the phone. It's the touch screen experience that is very interesting here, even if it is rudimentary.

iChess.

*Tip* The easiest way to add this game to your iPhone is to bookmark it in Safari, and then sync your bookmarks iPhone (iTune should be default synching your bookmarks anyways). Also note that iChess will require a connection to the Internet (Edge or Wifi) to play. Can we get a third-party app chant going?

iPhone Activation Resolution

My iPhone is activated! However, no thanks to AT&T (or very little). It was mostly my own research on the internet that got me the last little push to get activated.

In my previous post, we left off with me getting a new, "modernized" AT&T Wireless plan and then connecting once again to iTunes only to get the "AT&T needs more time" message. I was also told by a customer service rep it would be an hour after I connected to iTunes until my activation. However, several hours later, I was still waiting.

Well, I went online and somehow drifted to the Apple Support forums. A post there advised people with grandfathered in AT&T Wireless plans to get a new SIM card along with their new plan (which I had already done per my initial AT&T customer service rep--turns out she was right, only she didn't tell me what to do after, even though I specifically asked). But, if you read my last post, you'll know that a following customer service rep said the SIM card was pointless. However, the post on the Apple forum said to put the new SIM card into the iPhone. I did this, turned my iPhone off and on, then connected to iTunes. It worked! All that waiting for nothing.

It is clear now that no one from AT&T customer service knew the entire process for me to get my iPhone activated. There were bits and pieces correct, but I had to do go online to put all the pieces together myself. Thank god for the Internet.

My iPhone Activation Has Been a Mess

So far it has been over 24 hours since I've attempted to activate my iPhone, and it's still just a paperweight. The whole thing has been a mess of error messages from iTunes and emails from AT&T customer service. Shame on both AT&T and Apple. If you do not have an iPhone, my current advice is to wait until you hear these problems have been solved. It is not worth the aggravation or your time.

To prep for my iPhone, I downloaded iTunes 7.3. However, I now have an error message popping up when I launch iTunes 7.3 stating that my iTunes library cannot be saved. What a headache to have during my already frustrating AT&T activation experience! So far, there is no official fix from Apple, although some posters on MacRumors forums have given suggestions.

I received a follow-up email from AT&T this morning telling my old AT&T plan was out of date. It took them 24 hours to figure this out. They gave me a number to call. The customer service rep told me I need to go to an AT&T store and update my plan to a modern plan. She also told me I needed to get an orange sim card because if she tried to update my current phone with the current sim, the card would "burn." I laughed and asked her to repeat that. "It would burn," she said. I had to chuckle as I envisioned my phone bursting into flame, all because a customer service rep in India was attempting to modernize my AT&T account. Just think, at anytime in the past, according to this rep, AT&T could potentially set fire to my apartment while I'm sleeping, and potentially I could die. That's power my friends. Do not piss off AT&T. And check your smoke detectors.

So this afternoon, I traveled to the AT&T store, "modernized" my AT&T Wireless account, and received my new AT&T sim card. The customer service rep had instructed me to give them a call back after I finished updating my account. I decided to call them form the store and not go home. However, ny cell phone was now dead (my only phone). Thank god I stuck around in the store.

My new customer service rep told me I was all ready to go; I just needed to go home and connect my iPhone to iTunes and finish the activation.

"What's the new sim card for?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know. They did't need to give you a new one. I don't know why they're doing that," she replied.

She then warned me there would be additional waiting time after I hooked my phone up to iTunes because "everyone is trying to activate their phones" and it's slowing down the system. "It's been around an hour wait for most people."

I'm now waiting for another email from AT&T. It's will be the fourth (the first from the iTunes store and the final three from AT&T). It's been about 30 minutes since I've hooked up my iPhone.

One lesson I've learned in life that a zebra doesn't change its stripes--at least not with a lot of mess. I am not looking forward to my experience with AT&T, and I feel very bad for Apple that they had to use their wireless network. I'll just have to look forward to the day when the iPhone is no longer exclusive. Maybe Apple's contract does not cover the iPhone II. Dare to dream.