My iPhone 4 Debacle

It's nice that Apple and AT&T have both apologized for the "approval system malfunctions" when the iPhone 4 preordering commenced. AT&T says the amount of people preordering the iPhone 4 on the first day was ten times the amount of people who preordered the 3GS. Apple says 600,000 people preordered the iPhone 4 on the first day of preorders. And I was not one of them. But, I thought I was.


Here's what happened:

I woke up at 10:30 p.m. HST on June 14 to find that the preorders had begun. I couldn't preorder before work because of "system malfunctions." I couldn't preorder at work because of "system malfunctions." So, I decided to go to the Apple Store at Kahala Mall.

I had to go on a computer to preorder. I got past the AT&T eligibility phase. I got past the screen to select which iPhone 4 to preorder. I chose which store to pick it up from. Then I got this screen:


So, I should be good right? Wrong. I talked with co-workers and they said they had to log in with their Apple ID and they got confirmation e-mails about their reservation. So, I go back to the Kahala Mall store to find out if I'm on the list. I'm not.

AT&T, Best Buy and, presumably, Radio Shack are no longer taking preorders because Apple told them they cannot guarantee the amount of iPhones.

I really wanted to get the iPhone 4 on June 24th because the next day I leave for a trip to Portland, Oregon. I wanted to document my trip with the iPhone 4 720p video camera and edit them with iMovie for iPhone. And I wanted to e-mail them to family and friends.

With the iPhone 4, my trip would have been MAGICAL.

My final hope to get it before my trip is stand in line at the Apple Store and hope I get one. I'm going to wait all day and night if I have to.

How RadioShack May Help You To Buy An iPhone 4

In the past, people have been able to pay for their own iPhone addiction by selling their obsolete hardware for prices nearing (or above) the retail value of the new one.

They would sell it to people they know through friends, on craigslist, on eBay or even through iPhone forums. However, selling to people you do not know on the internet can have mixed results. Many people have been scammed.

Right now, RadioShack has a "Trade & Save Program" that will give you a gift card for your old iPhone. Here's the breakdown of monetary values if your iPhone is cosmetically flawless and you send in your charger:

• 32GB iPhone 3GS - $329.10
• 16GB iPhone 3GS - $256.84
• 16GB iPhone 3G - $185.94
• 8GB iPhone 3G - $149.70
• 16GB iPhone - $128.78
• 8GB iPhone - $103.15
• 4GB iPhone - $83.94

If you have any kind of damage, including scratches, the gift card value goes down. Other kinds of phones and tech devices can also be traded in.

So, what do you do with that gift card? Well, there are reports that RadioShack is already accepting preorders on the iPhone 4 with the purchase of a $50 gift card. So, the trade-in program could go a long way to help you with the purchase of an iPhone 4.

For many reasons that I don't want to get into right now, I will not be able to take advantage of this program. But, if you couldn't upgrade to the iPhone 4 because of a shortage of cash this program could really help.

To find out if you are eligible for an upgrade with AT&T, click this link.

Enter The iPhone 4

For the most part, I am happy with the upgrades on the newly announced iPhone 4 and I think this is a farther leap forward than the iPhone 3GS was for the iPhone 3G. (Obviously, this sets up a future iPhone to be called the iPhone 4G.)

I still need to gather my thoughts fully before I can give my take on the new hardware. I also need to watch the keynote in its entirety.

For now, enjoy this video on the design of the iPhone 4:

What You Need To Know About The New AT&T Data Plans

For all of you who complained that $30/month for unlimited data on AT&T was too expensive, thank you for this debacle.

If you haven't heard yet AT&T is changing its data plans for all of its smartphones (including the iPhone and iPad) effective June 7, 2010:

DataPlus - 200MB/month for $15/month; if customers exceed 200MB in a monthly billing cycle they will receive an additional 200MB of data for $15 for use in the cycle.

DataPro - 2GB/month for $25/month; if a customer exceeds 2GB during a billing cycle they will receive an additional 1GB for $10 for use in the cycle.

Tethering - An additional $20/month; only for DataPro customers; will launch when iPhone OS 4 is released.

Here's where early adopters of the iPhone are rewarded. Those who bought the original iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS with unlimited data plans will be able to keep them - even if you decide to buy the 4th-generation iPhone with a new two-year contract. The data plans are only for new customers or if you willingly decide to change your data plan.

There is good and bad news with the new plans, according to Gizmodo:

"...AT&T tells us that if you're running over the 200MB limit, you can
actually switch to the beefier 2GB DataPro completely pain-free (no ETFs or any
of that business), and then switch back to the skinnier plan "over time."
With DataPro, if you run over 2GB, you get another 1GB of data for $10, ad
infinitum. So, if you use 5GB of data, you're looking at a $55 bill for
data."

The worst part of all of this is the tethering option. First of all, you can't tether a device with an unlimited data plan. You'll have to switch to the DataPro plan which is a measly 2GB/month. On a smartphone only the heaviest users will use more than 2GB a month. But, one would think that you could use 2GB awfully fast on a laptop, especially if you like to watch YouTube or Hulu videos. Jailbreaking your iPhone and buying MyWi is looking better by the day.

It gets a little more complicated for iPad WiFi+3G users. If you would like to stay with the $29.99+tax unlimited data plan, you need to sign up for it before June 7 and make sure you never cancel it. So, it will have to be a recurring charge every month. If you order an iPad WiFi+3G before June 7, the unlimited data plan will be honored. Still, this really puts a dent into my plan to pay for 3G whenever I needed it then cancel. Getting a smartphone that makes a Wi-Fi hotspot (Palm Pre Plus, HTC EVO 4G) or buying a separate hot spot (Verizon's MiFi, Sprint's Overdrive 3G/4G) to use with a Wi-Fi only iPad is looking better by the day. And, no, you can't tether your iPhone with your iPad.

Although I have never used more than 2GB in one monthly billing cycle, I'm going to stick with the unlimited plan for the iPhone. I have no plans to tether and I don't want to be counting megabytes. Although for some people, saving $60 a year with the DataPro plan and $75 a year with the DataPlus plan (I'm looking at you BlackBerry users) is a significant savings. To me, there at least be one more tier like 5GB a month for $40/month. And for those of you on other carriers, your day is coming soon. A top executive with Verizon has already said that being allowed to consume as much data as you want will have to change and it looks like Verizon is looking at non-unlimited data plans for its LTE 4G network. We'll have to wait and see about T-Mobile and Sprint.

For the iPad, I'm reluctantly signing up for the recurring $29.99+tax unlimited 3G plan until I find a way to track how much 3G data I'm using per month.

Origin Of Mother's Day

FREE for a limited time an iReading HD book called "The Origin Of Mother's Day" [iTunes link]. This is great for our kids or even most of us who don't know how Mother's Day began. Hope you and your loved ones have a great Mother's Day.

FREE iPad Apps From Jirbo

Mobile app developer Jirbo is giving away its iPad games away for FREE for a limited time! I downloaded a few. Click here [iTunes link] for a full list of Jirbo iPad apps.

Trip Journal Winners!

Congratualations to the following people who won a FREE Trip Journal iPhone app for checking out my blog:

@CaliPH
@Lovelylili808
@StarletShay

I know I said I was going to do a video but that was before I knew all of my time was going to be taken up with an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G. Take my word for it - these are the winners.

If you didn't win a FREE Trip Journal app it is only $.99 in the App Store [iTunes link].

Getting Ready For The iPad

I have already begun making plans for the iPad in my house. I cleared an area where I'm going to sync and charge it.

I have also already bought a couple of accessories:

Buying cases have paid off in keeping my iPhone 3G in great condition over the last two years. So, I bought this Griffin FlexGrip case. The black looks really good. I definitely don't want the aluminum backing to get scratched.

I also found this cool Griffin A-Frame stand. It supports the iPad in portrait or landscape mode. And if I want to type, I can put it at an angle that is best for typing.

Frankly, I ordered these two items from Griffin because I got a discount on them.

Since I'm going on two trips this year, I'm going to get this Incase Travel Kit Plus. I can put all of my iPad/iPhone accessories in there.

Official Name Change!

Changing the name of this blog pretty much solidifies my choice to buy an Apple iPad Wi-Fi + 3G on April 30. I did not pre-order so I probably won't get it until 5 p.m. that day, according to Apple.

To help finance this purchase and my probable purchase of the iPhone 4, I got a Barclaycard with iTunes Rewards Visa. I took the card which gives me reward points instead of the card that gives me 0% interest for the first purchase.

I really hope getting an iPad won't be the fiasco that getting the iPhone 3G was. In the meantime, I'm downloading all the free iPad apps I can.

iPhone 3G, iPad & Me?

When I heard that Apple was coming out with a tablet computer I said, "So what? That's not for me."

When I saw Steve Jobs debut the iPad I said, "Unimpressed. I'm sure people will buy it but it's not for me."

After I got to play with the iPad I thought, "This is pretty cool. The games are better than the iPhone."

But, after seeing some really great music apps that are exclusive to the iPad like the Korg iElectribe, then I started wondering, "Wow! I could use something like this."

Now, I'm really thinking about getting one. If I do get one, I'll get the Wi-Fi + 3G version. I'm not sure how much gigabytes I need but I probably wouldn't get the 64GB version (but you know how that can change quickly).

I'm definitely not an Apple fanboy. All I have is an iPhone 3G and before that I had a 2nd generation iPod Nano. In fact, last fall I bought a sweet Asus desktop computer with an Intel i7 CPU and installed Windows 7, which I love.

But the iPad is seducing me in a way I never thought it would.

Enter To Win A FREE Trip Journal iPhone App!

It's April and that means it's springtime! That also means most Americans are making plans for the summer. And that means it's a great time to get a new app that's on the App Store called Trip Journal [iTunes link].

It's a really nice app to document everything you have done on your trip. You can include photos and mark the places you have visited. You can easily upload your photos to Facebook and export your GPS coordinates to the Google Earth format. I have found that this app is useful not only for vacations but even a weekend trip to the beach. It sells for only $.99.

But, you can get this app for FREE by entering in my first ever sweepstakes here on iPhone 3G & Me!

All you have to do is leave a comment here or send a tweet to my Twitter account saying: "I want Trip Journal!" You will be automatically entered to win a free Trip Journal app. I am giving out three (3) Trip Journal apps. Winners will be picked randomly out of a hat which I will record on video and post right here. You can enter only once and the sweepstakes runs through April 30th.

My twitter name is @jarofclay73. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Comparing HD vs. SD Cameras

It's been a while since I've had something to say about the iPhone. But, that's not the only thing I talk about here. I love tech gadgets. And I received an offer to buy a nearly-unused HD camera so I took it.

I bought the JVC HD Everio GZ-HM200. It was almost as cheap as what I bought my old camcorder for.

This is only the second video camera I have owned in my lifetime and I always do the same test for each. Here's a comparison of my new camera and old camera:

The Next Generation In Augmented Reality Gaming

Here's a new device by Parrot called the AR.Drone that is making its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada this week. You haven't seen augmented reality gaming until you have seen these videos. No price or release date set yet. I think the video speaks for itself.

My iPhone History & Qik!

As I started the New Year, I looked back at my iPhone usage since I bought it back in July 2008 and there's some interesting statistics I have compiled from my AT&T statements.

The average amount of minutes I spend a month talking on the iPhone is 137. I don't make a lot of calls.

The average amount of kilobytes that go through my iPhone each month is 553,640. That's about 540MB per month.

My monthly minutes ranged from 62 to 270.

My monthly kilobyte usage ranged from 136,224 (133MB) to 1,405,007 (1.34GB)! That month I used the internet a lot and I had ZERO Wi-Fi was when I was on my trip to Oregon.

Okay, enough of that. Since I've been busy during the holidays some MAJOR apps have come out like...

Qik Live [iTunes link] and Qik VideoCamera [iTunes link]!

Qik Live is basically the non-jailbroken version of the app that has been available for the jailbroken iPhone. It allows you to stream video and sound over 3G or Wi-Fi. If you are jailbroken, you will have to uninstall the jailbroken Qik to install this new one. I would highly suggest making the upgrade because, in my opinion, the sound is much better with Qik Live. The frame rate is still abysmal. But, having it is better than not.

Here's a video I made using Qik Live:

Compare that with the competing FREE Ustream app:

Qik VideoCamera is a game-changing app since it now gives the original iPhone and the 3G version the capability to record videos - a function that Apple has been, until now, unwilling to hand over.
This is a $.99 app but I am willing to pay minimal price for a great and useful function. So, you record your video and you can export it to your camera roll. Once there, you can copy and paste your video into e-mail. The big difference with Qik Live is that Qik Live records in a 4x3 ratio which uses about half of the screen. Qik VideoCamera records the entire screen. Both can only be used (for now) in portrait mode.

Here's a sample of the video quality:

Apps Of Note As We Head Into Christmas

Tap Tap Revenge 3 [iTunes link] is now FREE if you ever wanted it and $.99 was just too much for you. Being a Tap Tap Revenge veteran I was a little disappointed. On my iPhone 3G, there was a HUGE performance hit. Also, the game has changed so much I sometimes couldn't tell if I was getting it right. Rock Band surely has spoiled me.


If you like search apps, especially VOICE search apps, look no further than Dragon Search [iTunes link]. It is FREE and it is as good, if not better, than its competitiors Google [iTunes link] and Bing [iTunes link] . The voice recognition is top-notch. You can search over Google, Bing or Yahoo!, YouTube, Twitter, iTunes and Wikipedia.

I'm a little wary of buying Need For Speed: Shift [iTunes link]. I feel like I got burned with Need For Speed: Undercover as it was less of a racing game and more of a Grand Theft Auto wannabe. Shift looks like the pure racing game. But, I'm happy right now with Asphalt 5 and Gameloft racing games are more to my liking. Also, a lot of people say there's a huge performance hit if you're not using a 3GS. Asphalt 5 is borderline. I tried to play with the free version of NBA Live and that was unplayable. Ah... to wait for the new iPhone. Shift is selling for $6.99.

Space Ace on the iPhone was tons of fun and a great port of a game that still looks impressive to this day. Now, there is the granddaddy laserdisc game of them all in the App Store - Dragon's Lair [iTunes link]. It has a decent price of $4.99. But, I have SO many games that I still need to play, so I can wait patiently for a price drop. Great nostalgic walk down memory lane, though.

But, the game that's been on my mind is Paperboy [iTunes link]. Loved the original arcade game. I would be happy if it was an exact port. The screenshots, however, look less than enticing. If this was a Gameloft game, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I'll wait for a price drop and review it later.

Two Awesome New Gameloft Games!

Gameloft is doing it again. Being one of the best iPhone game developers on the planet. Two new games are out this week that are getting rave reviews on iTunes.

James Cameron's Avatar [iTunes link] - $9.99

Based on the movie of the same name, Avatar is essentially the next step in gameplay that Hero Of Sparta nearly perfected. Gameloft makes the only games with virtual controls that I love using. I'll wait for a price drop on this one, and by that time this movie could be the next epic blockbuster.

N.O.V.A. - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance [iTunes link] - $6.99

People are calling this HALO for the iPhone. Many say it is better than Eliminate. Now, I'm not a first-person shooter fanatic. But, I did buy another Gameloft FPS Brothers In Arms and that was okay. This one look TONS better.

Mophie Juice Pack Air - RED!

Because there is no removable battery, iPhone users can always use more battery life when they're on the go. I had been using the iGo system with rechargeable batteries to recharge my iPhone for the last year and a half. However, when I'm in the middle of recharging there is a large and very heavy dongle attached to my iPhone. Also, I have to recharge the batteries separately.

On my trip to Oregon, I used my sister's Mophie Juice Pack Air and it worked GREAT! So, when I found out there was the new RED color for the Mophie Juice Pack Air I jumped at the chance to get it.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air is $79.95 with free shipping from the Mophie website.

It comes with a mini-USB cable to recharge the battery in the case. You also use it to sync your iPhone so you don't have to take it out of the case.

On the back of the case there are four blue LED lights to let you know how charged up your case is. When you're charging the case, the lights tell you how much more you have to charge it up.

When your iPhone battery is going low all you have to do is flick a switch and it is recharging. So, you can recharge while using your iPhone. The Mophie Juice Pack Air nearly doubles the life of your battery. So, while the price is steep it certainly can be a lifesaver when you don't have access to a USB port or outlet.

The red case is special because it has a soft, matted feel to it. It feels VERY luxurious! All of the other colors have glossy, plastic cases. The look of it is also very close to my red Incase Slider.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air is a great gift for the avid iPhone user. I highly recommend it if you have problems keeping the juice in your iPhone.

Live Streaming Video App Finally In App Store!

The Ustream Live Broadcaster [iTunes link] is now in the Apple App Store and it gives 3G & 3G S users the ability to stream live video from your iPhone! You can also use it to upload your video to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

It's a free app but I do have one big qualm about it.

I've recorded two videos so far and each one of them has video and audio breakup at the beginning. My first test was outside and on the 3G network:



And here's my second test using Wi-Fi:



Compare that to the quality of the jailbroken Qik app:



I did notice that the overall sound on the Ustream app was better, though.

You can connect your Ustream app with Twitter on your iPhone but to connect it with Facebook and YouTube, you have to go to the actual site which is a little inconvenient. But, once you have it set it should be okay.

Another great feature of the Ustream app is the ability to record video straight to your iPhone - a feature that the iPhone 3G has NEVER had until now (without jailbreaking). However, the videos appear to be only playable through the Ustream app. Still, that's better than nothing.

It looks like Apple is finally caving in to giving ALL iPhone the ability to record video without jailbreaking. It seems that Qik has also resubmitted its app for live streaming so I'm sure we'll be seeing that very soon.

Are YOU T-Pain? You CAN BE!

Just got I Am T-Pain [iTunes link] for the low price of $.99 over the Thanksgiving weekend. I am not even a T-Pain fan but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I have to say it's a pretty interesting program.

Here's a link to a Christmas song I sung using the Auto-Tune feature in the app. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in many T-Pain songs. But, E_Diddy_84 on Twitter is a PRO at using the app!

Check out the video he made to enter in the Smule I Am T-Pain contest!



The popular iPhone app even made the Jimmy Kimmel Show:

And other artists got a chance to use I Am T-Pain. I love Akon's response. :)

Thanksgiving Deals

You might want to check the App Store for some of your favorite apps that you couldn't afford because a lot of apps are getting discounted.

Gameloft, in particular, are having a $.99 sale on some of its most popular games: Hero Of Sparta, Brothers In Arms, Terminator Salvation, Blades Of Fury (my favorite), Shrek Kart (which I just bought), Real Tennis 2009 and Castle Of Magic.

I also bought iGOG: Massive Drums [iTunes link] which has amazing touch-sensitive touch pads that makes live drumming on the iPhone a real possibility. It also has a recording feature. iGOG is on sale for $2.99 down from $4.99.




AppShopper.com has a full list of all the apps that have price discounts.

Cisco SIO To Go

Cisco has a new app out called Cisco SIO To Go [iTunes link] which gives you updates on threats to your network on your iPhone. Cisco has also made an interesting video showing how it can save security professionals from a lot of annoying alerts. Obviously, this is for people who are in the information technology field. But, you can also use it to check the reputation of a particular site you're visiting.

I Am Jailbroken!

I was kind of bored tonight. Sure, I could have gone out and made an impulsive tech purchase. Or, I could jailbreak my iPhone! Jailbreaking the iPhone is FREE.

It was easy. I just followed a BlackRa1n tutorial available from my friends at the iPhone Download Blog. My carrier is AT&T so I didn't have to unlock.

I downloaded Cydia and Rock listings for jailbroken iPhones. Since Cydia is the more popular one, I stuck with that for my initial customization.

I downloaded Categories, Winterboard, Cycorder and Qik.

Here's how the first page of my homescreen looks:

The theme is called Blue Thunder and it put in all those wonderful icon replacements. The Wi-Fi icon is replaced by the Apple logo and the Acura logo replaced the AT&T logo.

This is my lock screen. It's an Acura TSX, which I am leasing (and will eventually purchase). The brighter the headlight, the stronger the battery life. The target on the bottom is where I swipe to unlock the iPhone. When you swipe, a fingerprint appears which is a nice touch.

I added everything I want to for now. I'll take this jailbreaking thing slow. I'll share good stuff I find in Cydia or the Rock on this blog.

Asphalt 5 Out For iPhone/iPod Touch

One of my favorite games when the iPhone 3G came out last year was Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. That really got me hooked on iPhone gaming. Up until then, one of the more graphic intensive games had been Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. I spent a lot of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays playing it.

The next racing game from Gameloft was Ferrari GT: Evolution. I wasn't a particular Ferrari fan but I liked it better than the other racing games on the iPhone at the time.

After I maxed out both games, I got Need For Speed: Undercover. Although that was pretty fun, it had a little too much storyline for me and I hit a wall I couldn't get past. Someday I want to finish it though.

And now, Gameloft has come out with Asphalt 5 [iTunes link] for $6.99. I already ran a couple of races with two different cars. It's a lot more of the same great gameplay along with better graphics (although the graphics are not as good as some other racing games) and the shortcuts are more interesting. I have only played one course so far though. I love hitting things on the side of the road and eliminating other opponents. If you have an iPhone 3G I would suggest a reboot before starting up the game. It is very graphic-intensive.

I give it a hearty 5 stars because it is the next-generation of my first love on the iphone.

iPhone Case With A Light!

The good folks at quirky.com have made an interesting new iPhone case that features a bright LED light! It's called Beamer.

Okay, I have to admit when I saw this I rolled my eyes. I thought to myself, "Isn't there an app for this?" Well, reading more about it I found out that the LED light can be used as a flash for the iPhone camera. Fantastic!

It's also great that the LED is powered by a user-replaceable Lithium coin cell battery, so it's not using up the iPhone's battery.

At quirky.com, users of the website get together idea for different products. The Beamer is just one of them. Since the product was just developed, the website is taking pre-orders right now for $32.00 per case. I already put in my pre-order. When there are 500 pre-orders, the product will ship. The shipping is FREE in the U.S. if you pre-order.

If you want to wait until I get the product, I will do my own review right here. But, if you want to help with your own pre-order, click here.

FREE iPhone FPS: Eliminate Pro

If you like first-person shooters and iPhone games, then this is the game for you: Eliminate Pro [iTunes link]. And it is FREE! There are in-game costs for energy cells but that's only if you're a real insistent player. I don't have that much time to play every day so I wouldn't buy the energy cells. Try it! It's FREE!