editor Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The things I'd most anticipated about OS 3.0 aren't the things I use the most (so far), or like the most. The new features I like best: Stalk-my-wife - Lets me see when and where she's shopping and where she's having lunch and if she really stopped at the drug store on the way home from work, or if she's at C.O. Bigelow's again. Seamless EGDE <> 3G <> Starbucks WIFI handoffs. Voice recorder - Now instead of getting e-mails that read, "Saw something on the way to lunch today. Ask me about it when I get home." I now get e-mails with my wife actually telling me what she wants to tell me. The thing that's really surprising about the voice recorder is how well it works. The quality of the recording is VERY high, even just using the iPhone as a speakerphone and being a couple of feet away. Here's a picture of the Stalk-my-wife feature in action (actually stalking myself): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Dude, I will be on the iPhone train tomorrow!I can't wait to leave Sprint.I can stalk myself too!Did you read about the tethering feature being hacked into? And this is for normal users, not the jail-broken ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Dude, I will be on the iPhone train tomorrow!I can't wait to leave Sprint.I can stalk myself too!Did you read about the tethering feature being hacked into? And this is for normal users, not the jail-broken ones.I didn't read about it, but it doesn't affect me because I already tether.I have a French iTunes account, so I was able to legally download the French tethering program for Orange Telecom and I use it on my regular iPhone with AT&T. I've been doing it for about a year with no problem.It's nice to sit in the park with my MacBook Pro and do work instead of being cooped up inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I didn't read about it, but it doesn't affect me because I already tether.I have a French iTunes account, so I was able to legally download the French tethering program for Orange Telecom and I use it on my regular iPhone with AT&T. I've been doing it for about a year with no problem.It's nice to sit in the park with my MacBook Pro and do work instead of being cooped up inside.Wow, how is it that another iTunes App store item allows tethering?PM the name if you don't mind, I'd like to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Wow, how is it that another iTunes App store item allows tethering?PM the name if you don't mind, I'd like to check it out.Tethering is determined by the carrier. In the U.S. AT&T didn't want tethering (until this fall), so the tethering app isn't available in the U.S. iTunes store. In France (and some other countries), the carriers don't mind tethering (usually because they charge extra for it), so downloading a tethering app is OK there.Since you don't have a French iTunes account, you can't download it.But with OS 3.0, tethering is built-in so once AT&T decides to support it in a couple of months, the app won't be necessary anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Ongoing list of new features in 3.0:http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=715629 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Has anyone been successful with 3.0 on their iPod touch? I have a first gen touch and want to know if it improves responsiveness even on the older models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 19, 2009 Author Share Posted June 19, 2009 Has anyone been successful with 3.0 on their iPod touch? I have a first gen touch and want to know if it improves responsiveness even on the older models.I haven't done it myself (since I don't have a Touch, but still can't believe how thin they are every time I pick one up), but based on the comments I've read on various fora, people seem very happy with it.Outsiders grumble about Apple charging Touch people $10 for upgrades, but there's always enough new features to make it worth it.Of course, in another thread you're considering getting a new iPhone. Unless you're planning to sell your Touch if you get the iPhone, I bet you'll miss some of the features from the iPhone when using your touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 19, 2009 Author Share Posted June 19, 2009 Another thing I like about 3.0 is the updated Stocks application.It now has news and some other features, and rotating sideways gives you a better view of the chart.I needed something between the simplicity of the original Stocks application and the power and complexity of Bloomberg, and the revised Stocks app does it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_OS_version_history... has a good run down of what features are part of 3.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I haven't done it myself (since I don't have a Touch, but still can't believe how thin they are every time I pick one up), but based on the comments I've read on various fora, people seem very happy with it.Outsiders grumble about Apple charging Touch people $10 for upgrades, but there's always enough new features to make it worth it.Of course, in another thread you're considering getting a new iPhone. Unless you're planning to sell your Touch if you get the iPhone, I bet you'll miss some of the features from the iPhone when using your touch.I don't mind paying the $10 for the upgrade. Did it last time and will do it again now. Even if I decide to get the iPhone I will probably sell the touch and want it to be as up to date as possible. I mean, I spent $10 reloading my coffee card at Starbucks and overpriced iced green tea doesn't last nearly as long as an OS upgrade.:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I updated the facebook app to 3.0, as it stated, and no push notifications.I still have to open facebook to see if I got new messages or updates.What gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I updated the facebook app to 3.0, as it stated, and no push notifications.I still have to open facebook to see if I got new messages or updates.What gives?Did you turn on "Push" in the "Fetch New Data" settings area? It is under the email settings area, so it may not apply to your Facebook app though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Yup. Push is activated, even though it is killing my battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 I updated the facebook app to 3.0, as it stated, and no push notifications.I still have to open facebook to see if I got new messages or updates.What gives?Push notifications was not one of the stated feature additions of the new Facebook app. The only feature listed was compatibility with OS 3.0. That doesn't mean push, it means it's been tested to work with the new version of the OS.Push-enabled apps are slowly trickling out. Most companies will do it only after extensive testing on real iPhone 3.0 phones which have only been available for a few days. After that, they have to then be tested by Apple before being released to the public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Yup. Push is activated, even though it is killing my battery.One way to compensate is to turn down your screen brightness. I've noticed that most people leave their iPhone screens at the default brightness, which is a lot brighter than it needs to be.The iPhone's screen isn't like the old fashioned LCDs where you needed a ton of brightness to counter direct light. The iPhone screen works with direct light regardless of how the brightness is set.You can also check your pull interval. Most people don't need to hit their mail every 15 minutes. If you set it to 30 minutes, you'll use half the power for that function.Either way, the biggest thing that affects battery life in the iPhone is signal strength. If you live in a fringe area or work in a building that blocks cell signals, the phone switches into high power mode in order to keep the push signal active. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 One way to compensate is to turn down your screen brightness. I've noticed that most people leave their iPhone screens at the default brightness, which is a lot brighter than it needs to be.The iPhone's screen isn't like the old fashioned LCDs where you needed a ton of brightness to counter direct light. The iPhone screen works with direct light regardless of how the brightness is set.You can also check your pull interval. Most people don't need to hit their mail every 15 minutes. If you set it to 30 minutes, you'll use half the power for that function.Either way, the biggest thing that affects battery life in the iPhone is signal strength. If you live in a fringe area or work in a building that blocks cell signals, the phone switches into high power mode in order to keep the push signal active.Thanks Wayne, I toned down my screen and hopefully it will improve. I still have to charge it once I get home, but that is not too much of a hassle.As long as I can get through the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Thanks Wayne, I toned down my screen and hopefully it will improve. I still have to charge it once I get home, but that is not too much of a hassle.As long as I can get through the day.I think that might eventually be the big selling point of the 3GS -- the battery life. It's supposed to go 20% longer. Since I only have the regular iPhone, I don't use much battery power, but my wife does because of the 3G connectivity. It's a shame that 3G should take so much more power. You'd think it would go the other way.My first 3G phone was a SonyEricsson M600c. Great phone in the states because it would only work on GSM and GPRS, so there wasn't much battery consumption. But overseas when I would watch streaming TV or even just talking over the HSPA connection, I'd be lucky to get three hours out of the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I think that might eventually be the big selling point of the 3GS -- the battery life. It's supposed to go 20% longer. Since I only have the regular iPhone, I don't use much battery power, but my wife does because of the 3G connectivity. It's a shame that 3G should take so much more power. You'd think it would go the other way.My first 3G phone was a SonyEricsson M600c. Great phone in the states because it would only work on GSM and GPRS, so there wasn't much battery consumption. But overseas when I would watch streaming TV or even just talking over the HSPA connection, I'd be lucky to get three hours out of the battery.You can always carry the USB charger. I use one with my iPhone and just keep my iPod touch plugged into the computer or plug it in if it needs a charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 You can always carry the USB charger. I use one with my iPhone and just keep my iPod touch plugged into the computer or plug it in if it needs a charge.I was thinking that, but didn't write it. I'm AMAZED by how small it is now. I keep one in my camera bag and one in my computer bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 From TUAW.Here's the list of potential 3.1 update itemsVoice Control now works over BluetoothUpdated AT&T profile to 4.2 (MMS is now enabled)Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz.iPhone vibrates when moving iconsNon-destructive video editing means trimming a clip no longer saves over the original video but gives you the option to "Save as copy..."APIs to allow third party apps to access videos and edit them.Updated modem firmware to 5.08.01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Since I don't have the 3GS, the video doesn't mean much to me. And since I have the original, not the 3G or the 3GS, MMS doesn't mean anything to me, either. I never understood the appeal of MMS over e-mail even when I had phones that supported MMS. I thought that was just something that 12-year-old girls used because they had crappy phones that couldn't do e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 moo, I can stalk myself on the current OS on my iPod touch with the map function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ha! JLWM8609 got caught using "m e h". Cow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ha! JLWM8609 got caught using "m e h". Cow! Looks like I found a forum Easter Egg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 Looks like I found a forum Easter Egg. Yeah. There are about a dozen of them. Some of them are user-specific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I've heard a lot of complaints about 3.0 but on my iPod touch it has greatly spread up a lot of functions. My email does not grind to a halt and switching between apps is a LOT faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 I've heard a lot of complaints about 3.0 but on my iPod touch it has greatly spread up a lot of functions. My email does not grind to a halt and switching between apps is a LOT faster.Complaints about 3.0? Really? I haven't heard any. Of course, I don't frequent iPhone/Mac forums because they're usually so infected with clueless whiny under-13 "switchers" as to make them useless.What complaints are you hearing? Neither my wife nor I have had any 3.0 problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Complaints about 3.0? Really? I haven't heard any. Of course, I don't frequent iPhone/Mac forums because they're usually so infected with clueless whiny under-13 "switchers" as to make them useless.What complaints are you hearing? Neither my wife nor I have had any 3.0 problems.Several people have said that their phones are now actually slower than before. And buggier. My iPod seems to be just the opposite (faster and more stable). Wondering if it's something to do with iPhones and not with the iPods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldvn Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Tethering is determined by the carrier. In the U.S. AT&T didn't want tethering (until this fall), so the tethering app isn't available in the U.S. iTunes store. In France (and some other countries), the carriers don't mind tethering (usually because they charge extra for it), so downloading a tethering app is OK there.Since you don't have a French iTunes account, you can't download it.But with OS 3.0, tethering is built-in so once AT&T decides to support it in a couple of months, the app won't be necessary anymore.There is already a method to enable tethering on AT&T without jail-breaking. Whether or not they can "catch" you and charge you for it is still up for discussion. So far though AT&T has yet to charge additional with those that are currently tethering on the their AT&T plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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