6.25.2010

iPhone: You gotta love this

Looking to test out FaceTime on your new iPhone 4 but don't know anyone else with the latest handset? Apple has provided a toll-free number for users to call and video chat with a company representative.

link: AppleInsider | Apple offers toll-free number to try out FaceTime on iPhone 4

First they sell you a video chat feature and then they give you somebody to video chat with - because, of course, nobody else can do it yet although I expect that problem will be solved quite soon. Apple's new FaceTime is an open standard and developers will pick up on it no doubt. (Currently it only works over Wi-Fi, which may change too. Expensively.)

And more: The new iPhone software, iOS 4, does not add much to the old 3G phones (the 3G would be iPhone 2 in the current numbering scheme). What it does do is make everything run noticeably slower. So if you have a 3G and don't care about folders on the home screen, you might consider not installing iOS 4 and just sticking with what you've got. (iOS 4 will not install at all on the original iPhone.) (And yes, I know it's already to late to mention this.)

Something I've been noticing for quite some time - years, actually - is that when I pick my phone up from the table the signal strength, as indicated by the bars, drops. Now, in response to some complaints about iPhone 4, Apple says all cell phones have this problem - holding the phone can de-tune the antenna. How much depends on the position of the user's hands and, possibly, some other factors. The best solution, it appears, is to just put a case on your phone. (Another solution is to use a wireless headset, but that makes you look like a dork.)


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