Apple iPhone

[stimpsonslostson]

So, I've reached the end of my 18month iphone contract with o2.
What should I do next...
1. Negotiate a cheaper deal and keep my 8gb 3g?
2. Negotiate for a 3Gs
3. Do nothing and wait for the next generation version to be released and then either...
a- get a 3gs with increased capacity for a discounted price
b- try to land a new model

I don't really NEED more space on my phone- I tend to fill it with music and use it as an ipod. More space would inevitably get filled with stuff... but is it worth it?
(I could of course get a new phone and sell my 3g- its lived in a case since day1 and as such looks virtually new).

Anyone tried negotiations with o2? Any change in their stance now that there are other providers of this phone?- Previously they were of the attitude that "you want it. We've got it. So you'll have to pay what we ask."

[Mike]

I went through the same quandry a couple of months ago. I personally went for the iPhone sim only deal at £20 a month and a 1 month rolling contract with the hope of getting a 4th generation phone in June. Either that or a cheaper 3GS. I recon it's the best deal at the moment.

[mr_e]

If you don't consider getting a non-Apple phone sacrilege, then I hear the HTC Desire's a really nice model. Stan seems quite happy with his.

[Mike]

Stan was happy with a Blackberry - that does not fill me with confidence!

[stimpsonslostson]

So, £20 a month rolling contract it is! Thats £15 less per month, and I'll reassess the situation whenever the 4g is released (I think getting a 3gs cheaper is what I'll aim for- that way Bambi might get a free 3g from me!)

[mr_e]

Phil, nice! Looks like the competition for them is working its free-market thing.

James from NZ was also adamant the phone he had was better than an iPhone. Can't remember what it was though, so that's about as irrelevant an anecdote as I could possibly find. Part of me still feels I should get an iPhone to see what all the fuss is about, but I really can't justify it.

[Mike]

It might actually be in July thinking about it, the World Wide Developer Conference is being held in June and focuses on the iPhone so I guess an announcement will be made then. I would think it unlikely to be out in the UK in the same month but July 8/9th would be a good a guess as any.

Personally I don't think anyone is in a possition to compare unless they have used a current Blackberry, current Android and current iPhone concurrently. Each will have its advantages and disadvantages. . .

[stimpsonslostson]

Done it!
Well done to o2 for making it totally painless.
I typed my mobile number into their upgrade website, and was sent a code to type into the appropriate box.. this lead me to another screen where I selected either a new phone etc or a sim only contract... I selected the sim. Filled in some more details. Within an hour I'd got a text saying that it was done, and that I needed to modify my data settings on the phone. I did this (30secs work) and now its all done. Perfect.

P

[Mike]

I called them up to see what the best deal was and it was all done in a similarly painless fashion. They were very honest about why the cost went down so dramatically as well which surprised me a little bit (although I already knew why).

Now that my 3G has been restored to factory settings and re-synced (which took about 4 hours all told) my phone seems to be responding better. There must have been a problem because it has been annoying me recently with its sluggish behaviour.

I have decided that if the house is not sold by the time the 4G comes out I will go on a purchasing spree. If it has I will try and keep the 3G going for as long as possible because I will need every penny. Obviously £20 a month is better than £35 (£240 per annum compared with £420)!

[BarcelonAl]

My boss has just aquired the brand new HTC Desire...I'm tempted to sack 3 Mobile off and go for the £15 a month deal with Orange. Just need to check with 3 when my contract is up.

[Mike]

Macworld Update Live from Steve Job's Keynote at the WWDC 2010.

Some app store back patting went on, some shots at Google and Android. App store community is one of the biggest on the world.

iPhone 4 revealed. 8 Points from the 100 new features.

1. Apparently like a Leica camera in design. Glass front and back. Stainless steel rim. Precision engineering. Its the thinnest smartphone on the planet. Front facing camera, LED flash, Noise cancelling mic at the top. Stainless steel rim is part of the antenna right within the structure of the phone, one for Bluetooth, one Wi-Fi and GPS and the other is UMTS and GSM. Glass for the huge scratch resistance - ie no more crappy cases yay!

2. Retina display. Four times as many pixels compared with other screens. That increases precision for the touch screen. This makes the phone clearer than laser-printed text. Apparently human vision can differentiate between screens up to 300 pixels per inch. This packs an amazing 326. Ha-ha, special projector was needed to display the comparison, normal projectors don't project that many pixels. 800:1 contrast ratio which is 4x better than a 3GS. IPS tech for great angle of view / colour etc.

3. iPhone 4 is powered by the Apple A4 chip. Ie the fast s-o-b that powers the iPad.

4. Battery life has been expanded. 40% more talk time. 7 hrs talk, 6hrs 3G browsing, 10hrs wi-fi browsing, 10hrs video, 40hrs music and 300hrs standby ie 12.5 days. Environmental credentials are good. Up to 32gb storage. Quad band HSDPA/HSUPA theoretical 7.2Mbps download and 5.8Mbps upload (no carrier supports this). 802.11n wi-fi. Gyroscope. This supports 6 axis movement rather than the 3 axis movement of previous phones. Very good for gaming. Ha-ha, Jenga on the iphone!

5. Whole new camera system. Apparently a back-side sensor enables better low light photography (johnriley1uk do you know any more?). 5megapixels. 5x digital zoom, tap to focus and an LED flash. Also records HD video, 720p at 30fps. Built in video editing. SAW-EET! They have written iMovie for the iphone. Quality. It looks like iMovie 09. You can use the same theme transitions and get automatic Ken Burns effects, add titles etc. Geo-location services for recording.

6. New name: iOS 4 (previous iPhone OS 4). 1500 new API's. Including multi-tasking. Email programme now uses threaded conversations. Folders has been added, this helps you keeps like minded apps in a folder on the home-screen. Better business support. Data protection, encryption and central phone management. SSL, VPN support. Added option to make Bing default search on the phone. Golden Master of the software in developers hands how (ie release date soon).

7. iBooks on the iPhone! Same bookshelf on your phone and your ipad. Cool. Winnie the Pooh on the iPhone!

8. iAd. Integrated adds to help developers earn a living. I guess Apple too!

[Mike]

And one more thing.

Face to face video calls. Nice. Skype will be pleased. Will finish off the MacWorld coverage now, Millie needed her bath before.

[Mike]

24th June 2010 release date in the UK. Pre-orders 15 June 2010 and os update on 21 June 2010 for all 3G and 3GS's and iPod Touches. It looks like a saweet package.

Ttfn
M

[Mike]

I have signed up for the updates on O2's website. According to O2 recycle I can get £200 for my 16gb 3G phone which is saweet. That means I either have £200 to put towards an iPhone 4 or less and a contribution to my Xbox. Apple products really hold their value - not only that but I have the box and all accessories for my phone. That is got to help!

[johnriley1uk]

The technology of the new iPhone is fantastic. In terms of aesthetic design the overall look is slightly less pleasing, but function will have to take priority for this one.