Scribblings

A few updates on the iPhone 3G now that I had few weeks with the new phone,

1. The phone cannot smoothly move from GSM to 3G when it is on a call.

Meaning if I'm on 3G and make a call then move to an EDGE only area then the call gets cut. This is driving me crazy because my cubicle at work gets 3G in and out. Also, even when the phone is sitting still, it keeps moving from 3G to EDGE all the time. I did some googling and found that this was indeed a common issue not only in the states but all over the place. What was real funny (pun intended) was that neither Apple nor ATT acknowledged it (this was at that time, will talk about the 2.0.2 update later).

So I booked an appointment with the genius bar (I really liked this concept) and off I went to the Apple store. Though they were polite and looked/talked smart, they weren't all that different for a moronic support people you deal with in every walk of life. First he just smiled and said this was an ATT network issue (I bit my tongue and let him continue just to see where he is going with this) and said there is a super fix which not only resolve this issue but enhance my battery life drastically. With a huge frown on my face I handed over the phone, then he started to go into setting; I ask him are you by any chance switching off the 3G? He smiles and gives me a big nod.

No amount of tongue biting could stop me from busting out; I politely informed him that I thought the first iPhone was a joke for a single reason that it didn’t have 3G, and I would turn off the 3G when hell freezes over. Then I add (as noted in this page), I have had three 3G phone on the ATT network and I haven’t till now realized that 3G and EDGE where two different networks. Here is when something new happened, instead of going on an infinite loop calling ATT bad, he just said if I wanted they can replace the phone. Here are a few things to know, if it’s within 15 days they will replace it with a new phone else you would get a refurbished one (refurbished phone doesn’t make a difference because its going to have the same hardware which Apple promises is cute and cuddly). Reading online that the problem could be a hardware issue (3G chip from one particular vendor) I went for the replacement and thank god the phone was just 10 days old. I got a new phone.

I was rather happy I did all this because the phone was much better now. I hardly have dropped calls but the 3G reception was still pathetic.

2. iPhone JailBroken

With 3G somewhat settled, I turned my attention to jail breaking. This might sound all dangerous and exciting but all it does is to open iPhone to 3^rd party software which doesn’t give a tiny rat’s ass about Apple’s approval. Currently though its is all you can do, unlocking the phone will have to wait.

I tried this once and I couldn’t get it right, so ‘sour graped’ and licking my wound (because I had to restore everything back) I thought these application wont make a big difference. Then I gave it another try and this time got everything right, you wouldn’t believe the difference it made. Now I firmly believe it is not worth having this phone if its not jail broken. First, there aren’t many applications out yet but it has a huge collection of themes. There a few applications which I cannot do without now. One is OpenSSH, this gives you access to iPhone’s folders tree and you can transfer files back and forth using either putty or winscp. So now I start to make themes and it’s easy and very cool. But sadly though you cannot transfer either music or photos directly this way. There, you have another example of Apple stubbornness.

3. Software updates from Apple

The logs in these updates just read “Bug fixes”; I would really like to know what’s behind this. Are they trying to hide the fact that there is no change except that it un-jail breaks your phone or that the apple fan boys would finds this like a ‘find six difference’ game. Or this could be a smart physiological thing; someone says it improved their 3G (it should be because the baseband version has been changed, yes that’s pun again) and then Apple comes out and says ‘O! Yes, in case you didn’t notice we had a 3G issue and it fixed. Still problem; ok, now that’s an ATT issue’. But the signal bars where so low both at work and home. (Funny that! it’s the modern example of Murphy’s Law. I tend to have better signal everywhere else expect the place I work and live) I finally upgraded to 2.0.2 and I can report that there is absolutely no difference. I neither had the keyboard lag nor the contacts page lag so I can’t report on those. But this update does nothing to 3G reception. I’m bad at find six difference game anyway.

4. Assortment of little annoyances

It’s like everyday I find one thing or the other which annoys me so much. Today I was planning to send screen shots of the themes to couple of friends and then I found out a cool way to get the screen shot. I just have to hold the home button and press the power button. The screen flashes and viola! You have the picture stored in the camera roll. But now comes the irritating part. I start composing a new mail, and then I look around to see how on earth I’m supposed to attach a picture or anything else for that matter. There is a keyboard, a cancel button and a send button. Google again and there you have it; pretty simple. You cannot. The only way is to open the picture and click ‘send it by mail’. Are you kidding me?