The General iPhone Thread and FAQ

[dawiz]

	Quote:	the_clangers
	Nice review. As an Android user do you have any comparisons good or bad between units? You seem to be fairly open and not particularly fan-boyish about this. I have a first Gen iPhone and am seriously looking to buy the 4G in a few weeks or so and was seriously considering the competition before I leap. Thanks.

While I probably wouldn't upgrade to an iPhone 4 from a 3GS (unless my contract ran out and I'd get a new device anyway), upgrading from a 1st gen will most definitely be worth it. The iPhone 4 is massively faster, has a much improved OS and better battery life than the 1st gen.

In terms of Android devices: the choice in Switzerland isn't really that big. You can either get the HTC Desire or the Samsung Galaxy S (both, btw., are out of stock right now, much like the iphone 4 :-). I have extensively used both of these devices and have to say that the Desire is, out of the box, a very stable device with good battery device, a very nice screen (which, however, is not very well readable in bright sunlight), lots of accessories and a very large fan-base. The Galaxy S is newer, has an even nicer screen (in my opinion the nicest one of any device on the market right now) but it has some bugs. Unless you like tinkering with your phones, I'd suggest you check out the Desire first.

Apart from the hardware, choosing between iOS and Android is really just a matter of taste. Both OSs have an insane number of great apps (although Android has way more free ones - for example, the Blick App for the iPhone costs a couple of Franks while the Android version of the same app is free). Android is much more customizable, making every-day tasks such as enabling and disabling airplane mode, bluetooth etc. easier. but can be a bit overwhelming to the average user.

I personally prefer Android because it's simply more capable than iOS.

In the end, it will come down to what you use your device most for:

- Reading -> Android (bigger screen)
- watching movies -> Android (bigger screen)
- listening to music -> iPhone (better music player)
- browsing the web -> either - I prefer Android, again because of the bigger screen real-estate
- accessories -> iPhone. As the iPhone is a monoculture and the device update cycle has (so far) been very predictable, there are more accessories available for the iPhone
- What do your friends use? If everyone has an iPhone 4 and they do Facetime (if anyone actually can afford to use that) etc., you might want to go for an iPhone. If everyone uses a different device, it won't matter
- Do you use Twitter and / or Facebook extensively? Go for an Android device as they have excellent integration for these services


Peter

[rainer_d]

	Quote:	dawiz
	Anyway, in the end I got a new, working device on the spot - which was gerat. They just don't get that the American queuing / genius system doesn't work in a country where there are only 3 Apple Stores for about 2 million customers.

It's actually 3 stores.
The one in Bahnhofstrasse is actually Zurich's 2nd one. The first one opened at Glatt Zentrum. And around the same time, the one in Geneva opened.

[dawiz]

	Quote:	rainer_d
	It's actually 3 stores. The one in Bahnhofstrasse is actually Zurich's 2nd one. The first one opened at Glatt Zentrum. And around the same time, the one in Geneva opened.

yupp, that's what I wrote :-) 3 Stores for 2 Millionen customers

[rainer_d]

	Quote:	dawiz
	yupp, that's what I wrote :-) 3 Stores for 2 Millionen customers

D'uh.
I don't know what I was reading...
But I think the ratio is not much better in NYC?
The place is a bit less crowded between 21:30 and 22:00.
Not empty, but less crowded ;-)

[dawiz]

	Quote:	rainer_d
	D'uh. I don't know what I was reading... But I think the ratio is not much better in NYC? The place is a bit less crowded between 21:30 and 22:00. Not empty, but less crowded ;-)

There are 10 in New York and New Jersey alone :-)
Considering how much they sell here, I don't get why they don't open additional retail stores in Switzerland. Say another one in Zurich, 1 in St. Gallen, 1-2 in Basel, 1-2 in Bern etc.

[rainer_d]

	Quote:	dawiz
	There are 10 in New York and New Jersey alone :-) Considering how much they sell here, I don't get why they don't open additional retail stores in Switzerland. Say another one in Zurich, 1 in St. Gallen, 1-2 in Basel, 1-2 in Bern etc.

The problem is rather that the resellers that did and do exist are mostly not really qualified to act as "replacements" for the non-existing official stores.
Running these stores in the way Apple does, requires huge capital expenditures.
It's a bit a sad situation.

[lisa_bsl]

Just got my iPhone 4 from apple delivered - a day less than they said -happy days! I needed a micro-sim so went into the Orange store at HB over lunch who provided one competely free!

[Sutter]

	Quote:	lisa_bsl
	Just got my iPhone 4 from apple delivered - a day less than they said -happy days! I needed a micro-sim so went into the Orange store at HB over lunch who provided one competely free!

I got mine too yippee it is on charge can`t wait so see it working

[Sutter]

ok phone charged swapped sim card but i do not have any of my photos messages recent calls e.t.c what can i do please helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp

[eyebeebe]

	Quote:	Sutter
	ok phone charged swapped sim card but i do not have any of my photos messages recent calls e.t.c what can i do please helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp

You need to back up your old phone to iTunes first and then restore onto the new one.

[Sutter]

	Quote:	eyebeebe
	You need to back up your old phone to iTunes first and then restore onto the new one.

Thanks done that i have all my contacts apps on but no ipod music

[eyebeebe]

	Quote:	Sutter
	Thanks done that i have all my contacts apps on but no ipod music

You might need to change some of the sync options to include syncing over music. Mine was setup not to sync music either.

[Sutter]

	Quote:	eyebeebe
	You might need to change some of the sync options to include syncing over music. Mine was setup not to sync music either.

Thanks sorry i am a bit dim with these things how do i do that please

[eyebeebe]

	Quote:	Sutter
	Thanks sorry i am a bit dim with these things how do i do that please

Open iTunes and plug in the phone. In the devices list on the left hand side choose your iPhone. In the main window click on the music tab. Check the sync music tab and choose whether to sync all or selected music. Click sync in the bottom right corner.

NB that his how it is laid out on the Mac. If you have a PC it may be slightly different.

ETA if you are syncing a lot of music it will take a while.

[Sutter]

	Quote:	eyebeebe
	Open iTunes and plug in the phone. In the devices list on the left hand side choose your iPhone. In the main window click on the music tab. Check the sync music tab and choose whether to sync all or selected music. Click sync in the bottom right corner. NB that his how it is laid out on the Mac. If you have a PC it may be slightly different. ETA if you are syncing a lot of music it will take a while.

thanks will try that.

I have all my contacts email phone nos stored in the sim card so i can email my friends, but none of my old emails or messages are showing up do you know how i can get them back please

[eyebeebe]

	Quote:	Sutter
	thanks will try that. I have all my contacts email phone nos stored in the sim card so i can email my friends, but none of my old emails or messages are showing up do you know how i can get them back please

Sorry, but if the backup/restore hasn't worked then I don't know. Your messages and emails definitely aren't saved on the SIM card. It's been a long time since I've even thought about SIM cards, so wasn't even aware you could save more than a short name and a single phone number for each contact! Maybe go and have a chat with the genius bar at the Apple store next time you are in Zurich.

[Sutter]

	Quote:	eyebeebe
	Sorry, but if the backup/restore hasn't worked then I don't know. Your messages and emails definitely aren't saved on the SIM card. It's been a long time since I've even thought about SIM cards, so wasn't even aware you could save more than a short name and a single phone number for each contact! Maybe go and have a chat with the genius bar at the Apple store next time you are in Zurich.

Thanks again for trying to help when i bought the new iphone 4 (i had the older iphone) they sent me a new sim card to put in my old iphone this stopped my old iphone working i went to the swisscom shop and they sorted it out. I have just sent some texts and my friends have replied so that is working, but hy the hell do i have no old history

[eyebeebe]

	Quote:	Sutter
	Thanks again for trying to help when i bought the new iphone 4 (i had the older iphone) they sent me a new sim card to put in my old iphone this stopped my old iphone working i went to the swisscom shop and they sorted it out. I have just sent some texts and my friends have replied so that is working, but hy the hell do i have no old history

Your old iPhone will still work. You just won't be able to make calls, receive texts etc. You could try backing it up again and restoring it onto your new phone. Just bare in mind that it will wipe anything i.e. texts that you have received on the new phone.

[Sutter]

	Quote:	eyebeebe
	Your old iPhone will still work. You just won't be able to make calls, receive texts etc. You could try backing it up again and restoring it onto your new phone. Just bare in mind that it will wipe anything i.e. texts that you have received on the new phone.

I took the sim out and put it in my new phone (had to break the outside border very clever idea) Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh that is why i cannot see my old history

Thanks again you are a star

[axman]

	Quote:	dawiz
	5. Facetime Facetime has a major design-flaw that again shows Apple's lack of knowledge of the European phone service market and that will effectively prevent it from being useful to most European customers: in order to use Facetime, you first need to call the person you want to chat with. While in the US, (almost) unlimited calling is included with most phone contracts, it most certainly isn't in Europe. Also, roaming fees across the US state borders are a thing of the past. In Europe, they are here (to stay) and present. Calling someone on Facetime here in Switzerland means you first have to call the person (which is going to cost you), then, if both ends additionally are connected to WiFi and if both ends actually use an iPhone 4, you can initiate the Facetime session. So there are 3 pre-conditions for each Facetime call, one of which can be very expensive. Conclusion: not going to happen.

I read through the apple support forums and it seems that you only need to call the person the first time you are using facetime. After that you can connect to the same person via facetime directly without making the initial call. To do this, you either go to your recent calls list or choose facetime from the contact list. No need to call, and this is proven to work as some users have used facetime in airplane mode. I have not tested this because at the moment I do not know anyone else with an iPhone 4... Maybe I just need to get out more and stop playing with my new toy!

Edit: just read some other posters who said that the initial call is not needed at all. Just choose facetime directly from the contacts list and it should work.

re- edit: found a link on the apple support forum. It is only a one time initiation:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...l_to_work.html