Yeah sure the loaner should be free. And 3 days is still unacceptable and assumes competent-efficient staff at your cellular/apple store/factory. So now I replace my battery I need to take 2 trips to my cellular/apple store out of my already busy days, fork out over $100 (loaner, new battery, shipping). All this after I was already raped of $600 for the phone in the first place.

All that was ok for a convenience item like a iPod. The phone isnt a convenience item...

Edit... Still a cool device. I think what makes me most irritated is that I want one, but cant justify it given the cons.

 

I'd say 3 business days will be right, unless something bad like a backorder happens. Apple has always had really good and quick service in my experience and friends as well. But I do understand. Just like the ipods or anything else anyone makes there are things about this product that turn people off.

 

A lot on hating on the iphone. I think that anything that is overhyped is hated on no matter what.

 

So basically apple can increase the charge to replace the battery whenever it wants. Nokia N95 ftw
http://www.youtube.com/user/Rcadden

 

^ That or here's hoping the Sony Ericsson P1 is as good as it looks.

 

h8

 

wish i saw this thread earlier!! at least i still have time to return mine!!

 

My blackberry and old pocket pc killed batteries in about a years time. The iPhone is the type of device that will be used a lot and will kill batteries just like any other mobile device. I admit it does suck that you can't change the battery yourself, but thats the price you pay to play. Its like owning a Ferrari and bitching about gas mileage.

 

 

No, its like owning a ferrari and having to ship it off to italy for maintenance. Sorry, no car for you for a week.

 

The folks at Apple are such marketing geniuses. They make you overpay for devices made with miraculously-easy-to-scratch material so that you look at your old, scratched iPod and then want a new one. I've had glossy finish phones before but I could slide it across sandpaper and it would still look new. However if I ever let my iPod just sit still in an open-air environment, it would get owned by air molecules. Really though, what do they make those iPods with?

I'll take a N95 over an iPhone any day... I wouldn't mind carrying around an extra battery or having a charger in my car/at work/bring to school because thats much better than overpaying for a cell phone that's rigged to last for less than a year. By the time most owners have had their iPhone for 6 months it'll look like its been through hell. Next year iPhone 2.0 will come out and it'll be a vicious cycle because they've had a thrashed phone for 6 months and have been eagerly waiting the successor since then.

Not like I would get an N95 myself but the people who praise the iPhone are the same people who are brand whores. The same people who buy Sony cameras because they think Sony is better than everything else out there. The iPhone is an overrated device, the things I like about it are the 3.5mm jack, which the N95 already has. And what, it has Wi-Fi, but no 3G? No games, and only a 2MP camera? Garbage.

No offense to any iPhone owners but that's my view on the subject. I'm surprised iPhones aren't sold in Sharper Image, it belongs in a store like that. I would never pay even close to $400 for a brand new iPhone.

 

Same as iPod, as I recall. And Apple changed their stiff fee to replace batteries once they received mucho bad press AND smart techies were posting online DIY guides to replace the battery. Or was it because they were selling inferior batteries? Not sure I remember. Google The Register or CNET, they'll have the whole melodrama.
Reviewers who write about cell phones and other handhelds should not be "surprised" to find that the battery can't be replaced. Um, that's about as basic as "there's a lanyard attachment" or "takes a proprietary charger." Now, the cell phone that requires it's own charger isn't worth noting, but if a phone sells without an included charger, that's notable. So a battery compartment that can't be opened is notable, even if it's an Apple. Making sense?

I ignored the hype (I've got 3-4 devices that'll play MP3s, so an iPod isn't even on my radar), but appreciated David Pogue's comments in his NY Times review and an NPR interview. He was less than impressed, and said so. This battery deal-io is really only a shock for the Apple Kool-Aid sippers who believe Apple = Better. Welcome to the real world, @#*holes. Apple does some sly maneuvering that others don't, and sometimes it's not an improvement.

FWIW I've made Nokia Li-Ion batteries last a long, long, long time by keeping them on a charger at work or home when not in use. Extra chargers are cheap, almost as cheap as the batteries. Li-Ion batteries are worn out by deep cycle discharging, which happens normally, but will accelerate considerably if you "forget" to charge and run the battery down a lot. There's tons of info on this online.

The only gotcha here, and no surprise, is that the case is sealed like an iPod and Apple wants the service revenue from recurring battery replacement. Several online authors have opened their iPhones and demonstrate how (with pics). It's not impossible; just beyond the reach of the millions of average consumers. I personally don't like it because it encourages Joe User to replace the whole device sooner, and thereby waste resources on a handheld which is discarded just because a $10 component needs replacement. Like buying a new car because the current one is due for a tune-up. All of this just my 2¢.

Disclaimer: I'm a Nokia fan, have been for 10+ years. Great devices, superb interface, true multitasking (with Symbian OS), and cheap and readily available batteries, chargers, cases, etc. I can do everything that iPhone does with my free (with contract) 6682, and more. Apple can suck my b@11s.

 

How late to the party are you???

The iphone uses a scratch resistant glass. The only part that even remotely gets a little scuffed is the chrome ring around the edge. big deal. ignorance is bliss huh?

 

If you've ever owned a ferrari you would know that Ferrari would take your car for about a week for valve adjustments and other tweaks after about 7500 miles. My uncle has had a 355 spider since 98 and within his first year he drove the car a lot and it spent weeks at a time with the dealer for adjustments. It also coated him an arm and a leg. He didn't have to ship the car to Italy but it was gone for a long time when it needed repair. The iPhone is one of the ferraris of the mobile phone market. Like I said before, it sucks that you can't change the battery yourself.

 

see the fuuny thing is that some of you guys say that people that own the iPhone a brand whores. I am a die hard pc guy, and I can't stand apple, its marketing, cost, and owners of its products. But as an iPhone owner, I am extremely happy with the phone and it's ability. Yeah the phone doesn't have the options and abilities of others, but it does what it does better, smoother and easier than most other devices. Coming from a pocket pc, I miss the plethora of software but I don't miss the shitty user interface, shitty battery life(which costs about 60 buds new), and the shit build quality. I think people are just pissed about the fact that apple has finally made a device that appeals to people other than apple enthusiasts, so they just hate on what they don't own or have experienced. This thread reminds me of when the g35 first came out how the TL and CL guys hated on the sedan and coupe and nit picked about everything, despite the fact that they were awesome cars. People seem to make it a mission to knock things to make themselves feel better for not owning it. I gor one love th n95 and the ppc6900 bt i love the iphone as well.

 

Sorry, I didn't know that being an iPhone owner/fan meant that being a prick came with the product. I too would get defensive if I plopped down $600 on a touchscreen iPod that makes phone calls.

I have not held an iPhone in person, but having owned two iPods before that no longer hold a charge and having read about the iPhone from every possible gadget site, I think I'll pass. Usually I'm impressed by a product's features on paper, but end up disappointed when I see the real thing. If I'm not terrifically impressed by the iPhone's features on paper, what am I gonna think of the real thing?

The analogy of a iPhone being like a Ferrari is spot on. Realistically none of us would ever own a Ferrari unless we had wads of cash to blow on a car and not care afterwards. Just like a valve adjustment, but much simpler. Instead of designing it so we could just buy the battery for $40 and install it ourselves, Apple charges you $70 to do it for you.

 

Being a prick is step 3 of the Iphone's Quick Start guide....

 

no prick here, just a happy iPhone owner that got it to free.

 

its actually a prerequisite to buying.

 

Buddy, I think you are getting a little too emotionally vested into the argument over a telephone (You are the Ying to the fanboy's yang). I am not sure why you bash the price of it and then rant about the merits of the N95, a similarly priced piece of equipment.

Also, of the 10 people I know with iPhones not ONE owns an apple computer anyone else notice this? Devices to sell computers, genius.

 

True, my aim is to shoot fanboys down. I never said the N95 was a good deal and I wouldn't pay that much for an N95 either, its that that if I were given the choice to choose one for free, I would take the N95.

Apple always puts form over function, which can get annoying. Touchscreen keyboard, recessed earphone jack, etc. Of course you can get an adapter for the earphone jack but whats the point of having it in the first place then?

 

Then, the least you could do is come at us with an educated arguement. Because had you actually read any of the articles on your gadget sites you have already known about the scratch resistance.

Second point. Apple has always been Form follows function. Yes, they want to make brilliant looking machines, but most of their design are also extremely functional and very well thought out. Sometimes they are late to the game. Sometimes make choices such as a recessed headphone jack, but give me a break. Like Dell, IBM, HP, etc all have perfectly thought and executed designs? hardly.

 

i think the iphones function is as good as it's form. And apple is releasing updates for it which most manufacturers do once or twice in the life of a phone.

 

Hmm, I guess they teach you about iPhones and their scratch resistant glass at Yale, huh?

I never said that any particular manufacturer makes the perfect phone or device that would please everyone. I am not particularly impressed by the iPhone, and having outdated functions is nothing to brag about.

But I do know now that the iPhone is a better device than I had initially perceived it to be, and Apple has perhaps put more engineering and R&D into than I thought.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,545-...d,0/video.html

 

the major annoyances in my opinion

1. Recessed headphone jack (unfixable in current version)
2. Ridiculous and unavoidable data charges when traveling overseas (they need to build in the ability to turn off edge access, but keepiing the phone part. I know they won't do this though)

 

And just like a Ferrari, the people who dont have one lust after one and with lust comes some hate. Thus there are vette/viper/911 owners that hate on Ferraris every chance they get for no reason other than hate. Theve probably never stepped foot inside of one. I've noticed that most of the people that hate on the Iphone/PPC6800/N95, have never held one.