All Things iOS - Apps, iPhones, iPods, iPads - Discussion

On reason why to buy i:

You can find accessories easily for the iPhone... even the 3GS... not so much with any other Android phone that came out 3 years ago.

Although, with the new resolution and Lightning dock connector... fragmentation is creeping into the iPhone ecosystem.

 

The ridiculous number of iDevice accessories is a huge advantage. I am consistently disappointed with how few accessories there are on the market for my GNex.

 

iOS has been fragmented for ages.
People just choose not to see it because every phone is running the same 'version' of iOS, even though they end up with completely different features/functionality.

 

The resolution fragmentation will be more apparent... esp for anyone trying to run an iPhone 5 app on a previous version... unless there is some scaling we don't know about.

The dock connector is the first hardware fragmentation which is going to pad Apple's pockets immensely just with 30-pin to Lightning adapters (rumored to be Apple exclusive initially).

 

The Siri fragmentation was pretty obvious.

 

Many of those accessories are built around the old connector, and using an adaptor is going to be either clumsy or impossible depending on the accessory. Other accessories are built around the old size and shape of the phone, so those won't work with the iPhone 5 either.

Existing accessories is a very poor reason to buy the iPhone 5 in my opinion. You're worse off, not better off, than the Android and WP users who at least all have standardized micro-USB ports on their phones.

 

That's a valid point to consider as well as Step666's comments about fragmentation. I imagine those with docks will have to buy new docks as the adapter is an inelegant solution. Those with only USB connections will not be affected by the new connector. Such as iPhone/iPod use in some cars or just syncing with a computer.

 

The fact that anyone can walk into a Best Buy, a grocery store or even a gas station and buy an accessory for your phone is a good thing in my opinion. If I want to find a case for my Motorola Android phone, I can only go Ebay or Amazon.

I think the way Apple went to a 2-year form factor standard is helpful (the 3G/3GS and 4G/4GS) that it keeps screen protectors and cases somewhat standard. Samsung standardizing the S3 form factor across carriers was a smart move because that also allows for easier accessory availability.

Sure... it's easy to find a micro USB cable... but with such saturation... it's also pretty easy to find a 30-pin connector... and soon a Lightning connector.

It also allows for more variety... there are probably 100 different cases for an iPhone, not counting all the colors and cheapies... how many are there for a HTC One X? Or a Motorola RAZR?

 

Or just doesn't work full stop:

Apple Lightning adapter compatibility -- Old speakers not supported​

 

Well that's a bust, I just got my parents a nice Logitech desktop speaker with an iPhone/iPod dock. *sigh*

 

Oof. So does that mean there's no video out on the iPhone 5? Weird.

 

It might just be when you're using the adapter that you can't get audio-/video-out, but it will work fine just using a 'lightning'-compatible dock/device.

 

You'd think 30 bucks would buy you a better adapter, no?

 

That's make things too easy.. Looks like AT&T is opening Pre orders in 2hrs 12mins. Gonna see if I can't get an order in. Was torture getting the 4S Pre order in. Everything was soo bogged down.

 

Someone on another forum said that 'iPod out' (which the adapter doesn't support) and audio out are not the same.
iPod out is, apparently, when your iPod UI is mirrored on the dock and may or may not also cover the ability to control the iDevice from the dock itself.

The product page on Apple's site had been updated and it now only says that the adapter doesn't support video out and it clearly states that it does support analogue audio out.

 

Was gonna use my gf's card to buy.. Got up at 1:55 am, got one in my cart and we t to pay.. Her card expired a few days ago. Turns out she gave me the wrong one to pay with ship date on apple.com was pushed out 2 weeks as of 8 am..

AT&T is still delivering the 21st but they want the billing address on the card abd the shipping address to be the same as the billing address for the phone bill.. Ridiculous!

 

You need help .

 

Well, I said got up.. I was up, it was more of a reminder. It was my 21st birthday yesterday

Edit: still was on time to programming class real party is tonight though!

 

Bleh... fell asleep... missed the midnight window (PST)... now it's a 2 week wait. Probably still going to pre-order because I will never wait in an iPhone line again.

 

I'm in the same boat. There are no apple stores within 200 miles of me. I suppose maybe AT&T will have them? Really don't want to camp out, but I've camped out for football games, staying up for an iPhone won't be too bad..

 

do any of you know anything about unlocking Softbank japan iPhones?

My stepmom's friend from Texas brought two of the dang things back from living overseas: as soon as I heard "japan" and "softbank" i knew this tech question i got involuntarly roped into answering was going to be a giant pain in the behind as Softbank are worse than Verizon when it comes to crapping all over handsets with restrictions and crippling.

I really didnt have time to devote hours toward her question as I really have never used the iPhone for any appreciable timespan.

So i forgot to do research until my stepmom texted me (at 6 in the morning no less...) about her friend wanting to know if I had any news on the iPhones as she wants to sell them.

I know they'll expect answers by this afternoon so i googled a few minutes ago.

To make a long story short, I'm completely lost: some report this thing known as a gevey sim working but you have to have just the right baseband and sim and os version, others talk about r-sim's and still others some way to factory unlock but determining whether these actually work on Softbank's apparently unique baseband is nigh impossible.

I plan on asking for more info later (going to have to figure out how to get to the specs screen on an iPhone, her friend's in texas so the devices arent in front of me) but just throwing this out there to you all in a act of desperation.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

I didn't think Apple let anyone do anything to the handsets.

 

The phone itself isn't really changed, aside from the Softbank specific baseband that apparently takes an act of God to unlock.

 

You'd probably get more help with this specific situation over at the Mac Rumors forums. There's a handful of very knowledgeable jail-breakers over there that could be able to help you out with unlocking the phones.. Do you know which version of the iPhone? and which version of iOS they're running? Baseband is going to have to be changed to an iPad BB for unlocking. Does she have the Softbank sim cards to activate the phones?

If this friend isn't very knowledgeable, they might as well ship you the phones to work on them. They probably won't have the ability to unlock them themselves

 

Thanks! They're iPhone 4's and I'll need to get the baseband info from her.

I dunno if she has the softbank sim's, she might.

I worry that she'll have trouble selling them which is her plan if she uses the Gevey sim method. That and I'd want to make sure that method works before she spends money on it.

I'll try posting over at Mac Rumors, if you have any additional advice feel free to reply here.

Thanks!

 

I reserved a iP5 at my local Sams Club like the second I was able to do so.. They just emailed me and said my reservation was pushed back 7-10 days what a bunch of bs.. Maybe I still have a chance at reserving at Walmart? I'll have to check.. I don't want to wait another week

 

I'm pretty sure most stores that took preorders are having to push back their ship dates.

 

You would probably have better luck going to an Apple store on Monday or Tuesday then getting a preorder elsewhere.

I pre-ordered the iPhone 4 from Best Buy (had gift cards)... I didn't get it until almost 3 weeks after it was released. Since then, I preorder direct from Apple.

 

Has anyone seen this?! I almost laughed till I cried...

The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

I'm sorry, but Apple failed hard with Maps on iOS 6.

 

Does anyone know if the iPhone 4 or higher will run on T-Mobile's 3G network at least? My friend is running a 3GS on 2G on T-Mobile, and 2G seems a little too slow for me..

 

No iPhones will run on T-Mobile USA's 3G network because they do not have AWS band. This may change in the future once they acquire rights to use AT&T's 1900 MHz UMTS band.

 

Yes, yes they did. Luckily I've been seeing that there is a google maps app waiting for approval to the app store. Still baffles me that they'd jump ship from google maps when they didnt have anything close to a good map system.. *sigh*

I would, but the nearest apple store is ~250 miles away.. Maybe I'll stroll into my AT&T store and a RadioShack and see what the situation's like. I nothing else, hopefully Sams Club will actually get their orders in by next weekend

 

Had an opportunity to pick up a phone today.. Local RadioShack was on a first come, first serve basis and the manger told me they'd be getting a new shipment in approx 30mins from the time I called. She offered to hold one for me even.. I decided to wait though. I want a black one, but this "scuff-gate" issue is very real and would drive me absolutely nuts. Idk if I can get a white one and not be disappointed though

 

Yes..albeit in select areas where T-Mobile is currently deploying 1900 band 3G. They're courting iphone owners more aggressively than ever before so they're trying to roll out 1900 Mhz band 3G as quickly as possible. My friend switched back to his iPhone on T-Mobile after his One S broke and he found out that his area now had 1900 band T-Mobile 3G.

The T-mobile forum at Howard Forum (yes...without the s on the end of forums...) is a excellent resource w/ several threads going about the transition and where people are seeing 1900 Mhz 3G pop up. I know Vegas is the latest official launch site according to T-Mo's twitter acct.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

Manufacturing/production defects are not unique to the iPhone 5. Plus, aren't they replacing nicked/scratched phones?

 

Yeah, they are. I was more referring to the fact that the black anodizing is scratching off revealing the raw aluminum color underneath.. I think that I would be too anal about that which is why I'm contemplating getting a white one. Decisions, decisions, decisions..

Edit: ridiculous vid, but shows what I mean.

 

Fwiw my friend got the white and hates it so much that he's returning it.

He doesn't like the contrast on nonupdated apps between the black letter boxing and the white of the phone, and also the shadows that the cut outs in the glass cast on the white background.

 

So my parents decided to use their upgrade on the iPhone 5's and had an extra line that used to belong to my grandfather before he passed away. They let me use the extra line for an upgrade and I got a black 16 GB to play around with, so the Razr M will go on vacation for a while.

So far so good, I think. The parents had the original 4, so the 5 was an upgrade to them in terms of speed and data performance (Verizon 3G is extremely slow in their area). My dad has already chipped off paint on the left side of the aluminum frame though because of his ring, so he will be taking it to an Apple store today to see if they can do something about it, and pick up an Otter box case as well.

 

Not just ScuffGate... but also LightBleedGate:

iPhone 5 light leak: White model leaking light from glass display

I think part of the problem with ScuffGate is that the phones are scuffed new out of the box:

iPhone 5: Scratching, scuffs on new phones have buyers angry

Still... selling about 5mil over the weekend isn't a bad start.

 

Just for fun, I plugged 800 Boylston St, Boston into Apple Maps. This is the address of a gigantic mixed use complex containing a 500,000 sq ft mall and the second and eighth tallest buildings in Boston. Apple Maps SHOULD be able to find it, right? Wrong. It apparently doesn't believe this address exists and instead routes me to 800 Boylston St, Brookline, over 4 miles away. Stuff like this may not seem to be that big a deal, but what if someone needs to find a hospital or something?

I have to believe that given how incensed he was about mobileMe's lackluster launch state, the late Steve Jobs would have been furious about this mess. It's an embarrassment.

 

Apple's biggest problem is not only that this is a problem, but that it's a FUNNY problem. Humor has staying power that anger doesn't have. People still make "exploding Pinto" jokes a half-century after the serious debate about whether the gas tank was appropriately protected and whether the Pinto was more dangerous than other comparable cars.

 

The white Galaxy S 3's does this to an even greater effect when the notification LED is on, in a dark room or at night. For those who leaves their notification LED on when plugged in, the entire phone will give off a 'glow in the dark' look when it's fully charged. This means the case could either be thicker or the needs more paint coating, but I thought it looked awesome. Adversely, changing the fully charged notification LED to pink/orange makes it look like its innards is on fire.

Cool phone, would buy again.

 

A posted on Engadget just pointed this out:



"they could have at least made a good icon, you know, one where it isn't directing you to jump an overpass to get on the fwy." -- Adil on Engadget

 

Perhaps we should have taken that as a bit of foreshadowing?

 

Haha good stuff

Either way, the jailbreak for iP5 and iOS6 is almost ready. Im sure there will be plenty of map options through that if Apple denies google maps.. Supposedly there are some decent map apps already, but I dont want to pay for anything that I should have for free

 

Waze is a serviceable free nav app that a lot of my iPhone friends used before the Apple app.

Turn by turn on my phone is really something I couldn't live without. I want to switch to an iPhone next year, so it will be interesting to see how this all develops.

 

Apple Lightning cables have an authentication chip inside - SlashGear

Thoughts?

 

That's how they'll keep generating revenue... by preventing unlicensed 3rd party cables... dirty... but that's how they roll (in the dough).