Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

Improve the signal on iPhone 3G

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

How to Improve the Reception on an Iphone 3G

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

How to improve the reception on the new Apple iPhone 3G. - No hacking or hardware changed required

Steps

  1. Turn on iPhone and check current signal strength
  2. Go to “Settings”
  3. Tap on “General”
  4. Tap on “Network”
  5. Under Enable 3G, slide it to “OFF” setting
  6. Go back to home screen and wait for 2 mins
  7. Check that the signal has improved

Tips

  • Great for battery life
  • You can easily revert back and enable 3G

Warnings

  • 3G will be turned off.
  • Only use if you do not required the GPS and 3G surfing speeds

Things You’ll Need

  • iPhone 3G

Sources and Citations

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Improve the Reception on an Iphone 3G. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Zemanta Pixie

5 Things I hate about the iPhone 3G

Monday, July 14th, 2008

Now that I’ve had the iPhone 3G for a weekend, the initial excitment and buzz is dying down. This iPhone honeymoon is passing fast.

The reason for my lack of enthuaism has been caused by some really annoying iPhone 3G features. Here’s the top 5 things that’s really bugged me.

1. Poor signal strength

As mentioned in my initial comparison between iPhone 3G and iPhone 2G, I’ve notice that the 3G version had a significantly worse reception level. This is even more apparent on the weekend when as soon as I’m deep within any building, the signal drops to near zero.

At home, my phone shows 3 bars less signal then the iPhone 2G on the same network. Missing some features may be one thing, but missing calls due to crap signal is really unacceptable.

2. Too fat for my dock

The iPhone 3G is now too fat for my original dock. How am I supposed to show it off to my co-workers now huh?

3. GPS can be slow to pinpoint

Much has already been publicised about the cool GPS feature, but in my tests this weekend, I’ve struggled to get any pin point even when I’m in the heart of London. At the times when I did get a blue dot, it was slow to follow me around and generally gives my location accurate to 50 meters. Are you still impressed?

4. Slow operating system

I’m not sure if everyone else is has noticed this as well, but I’m sure that the new 3G is now much slower then the original. Even when it comes to unlocking, then typing in passcode, then going into contacts and looking for a persons details is far more sluggish then the original.

I hope its just a initial software glitch and will be corrected in the next update.

5. Won’t charge on docks

This issue really bugs me. My iPhone 3G (with iPod functions) won’t charge on any of my docks! I’ve tried it with a Bose ipod dock and a generic speak dock but showing the message: “Charing not supported with this accessory”!

I mean, does that mean I have to buy brand new accessories to support this iPhone? What was Apple thinking when they made this change?

Other issues?

That’s my rant over. Let me know if you have noticed any issues that bug you or annoy you about the iPhone 3G. Or even help defend what is a genuinely great product and perhaps I’m just looking at it in the wrong light. All comments are welcome.

Zemanta Pixie

iPhone 3G vs iPhone 2G - Comparing Apple with Apples

Friday, July 11th, 2008

Tis’ the end of the widely anticipated iPhone 3G launch day and as expected O2 and carphone warehouse has run into its predictable shambles of poor delivery and lack of stock.

Despite the reports, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the new iPhone 3G first thing this morning. Happily bouncing into work 1 hour late.

Which iPhone is Which?:

Spot the difference

Appearance :

Can you spot the difference? Just on appearance there is very little difference between the two generations of iPhones. You are doing well if you can distinguish which is which from the pictures above. But no one is buying the new iPhone because the first generation is ugly. Don’t change what’s not broken.

Now, what is great about the new iPhone’s design is the curved back. I remember when I first got the iPhone 2G, I was paranoid I will drop it just making calls. Trust me, this slight change has made it feel so much more secure in the hand. I guess I have to retract my earlier comments on design, but Kudos goes out to the iPhone design team again!

Features:

So, going back to the reason why we did buy the new iPhone: Great new features. - Well things are looking promising. Surfing at 3G really makes a huge difference. I keep looking around wondering which Wifi network I stumbled onto.

The maps now have a little blue dot that moves across the screen as I move across London. The Accelerometer feels more responsive. The voicemail manager screen is so helpful. The screen is definitely much sharper. I even installed the Facebook App which is another promising feature.

Still, with all the new bells and whistles you may have to forgive Apple for missing their core feature: The phone bit. Now, let me know if anyone else has the same issue with Poor signal strength. Throughout the day, I’ve had both phones side by side and the iPhone 3G always has 2-3 bars of signal less then the original iPhone, both on the same network!

iPhone signal fault

(3G iPhone on the left with 3 bars, Original iPhone on the right - Full strength)

*Update: My 5 Hates of the new iPhone

Summary:

Although the iPhone 3G is great and all, right now, to me right now, its only a promising potential. My hacked iPhone 2G still has more functions, more cool apps and best of all I get them all for free. The biggest challenge for the new iPhone 3G is it’s predecessor. There’s lots to live up to!

Zemanta Pixie

Firefox 3 Release - A round up of Launch day buzz

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Mozilla Firefox

Image via Wikipedia

Firefox 3 is here. Released today after lots of anticipation.

Already online there’s been lots of buzz around its release.

You will read how its now more secure, faster, easier to customise and more productive.

You will catch on to a viral campaign (going for the record books) to kick start it’s launch as well as tonnes of reviews, recommendations, and debate.

Personally, I’ve been using Firefox 3 right from its buggy beta versions right up to its prelaunch RC3. As website browers go, I think downloading Firefox 3 is simply a no brainer. I challenge anyone to give me a reason against downloading FF3!

Zemanta Pixie

Apple iPhone 3G - How the iPhone should be

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 09:  Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the new iPhone 3G as he delivers the keynote address at the Apple Worldwide Web Developers Conference June 9, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Jobs kicked off the 2008 WWDC conference with a keynote where he announced an upgraded version of the popular iPhone called the iPhone 3G.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

“Phenomenal” - As summed up quite nicely by Mr Jobs.

I’ve just watched the entire Apple Keynote, and must be said, been blown away by the endless possibilies showcased by the Apple team.

What blew me away more then anything was the SDK and the new iPhone 2.0 software that powers the next generation of iPhones.

The demo of what’s been achieved brought endless ideas of what’s possible! Now, I’ve always had ideas on extending the use of the phone with GPS and local search functions but never expected to see a platform to deliver this soon. I can’t wait to start working with my development team to see how online marketing will work at the local level.

iPhone 3G - The good, the bad and the ugly

Getting back to the iPhone 3G, I think its fair to say that most of the changes were pretty much as you would expect. 3G networking, small changes in the design, better hardware, etc. Those are as we would expect 1 year on from launch.

The good news is that its now so much more affordable. Which can only mean more buyers.

But the bad, is simply the iPhone 3G still has only a 2 MegaPixel camara. I was hoping that would be upgraded to a 5MP by now.

The downright ugly is the design, I have the current iPhone and I think Apple has gone backwards with the use of black plastic (or White 16GB option) as opposed to the clean metal casing of the first generation iPhone.

Nevertheless, none of those factors really matter when July 11th arrives. The iPhone has not just revolutionised the mobile phone, but has now revolutionised my entire life habits!

Zemanta Pixie