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Bored

A

AbjectEvolution

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 14, 2009
286
0
So I got my iPhone at 8am on Thursday without any problems. My phone doesn't have reception issues... at least where I am. Overall, I love the phone.

However... I'm kind of bored. The screen is nice and I spent all day yesterday customizing my home screen. I managed to fit everything on the first screen in a minimalistic and clean way... which is satisfying. I'm starting to get used to the new way of navigation. This has kept me busy.

Aside from that, what else is there? Yeah it takes better pictures and I take tons of iPhone pics, but I don't really have anything to shoot at the moment. I can record HD video... but nothing worth recording. FaceTime is cool in theory, but I seriously do not personally know a single person who has an iPhone 4 and even if I did, I don't see myself being in a position where we are both in a wireless network and absolutely need to see each other while talking.

The biggest feature I use in my iPhone is the games. I love iPhone games and I find myself playing more games on my iPhone than on my computer or consoles. Yet ever since getting my iPhone 4, I haven't really been playing any games. Why? Because they all look like crap now! It's like playing a Wii on an HDTV... it brings out the flaws and makes it look ugly. Now I've never been one to bash games based on their looks... I do own a Wii and I still play games on it. But I don't know.... I mess with Flight Control for a minute just to smile at the clear resolution... but that's it. And then when I go to something simple like Doodle Jump... it's so ugly that I don't enjoy playing it. Why do I feel this way about gaming on my phone versus gaming on a console? Like I said... normally I don't care.

My biggest complaint right now is that lack of retina display games. Hasn't the dev kit been out for weeks or even over a month or something? Even if it hasn't, would it really take long just to update the pixel count in something like Doodle Jump? A simple update with a resolution bump would be awesome.

I have three folders of games and only two use the new resolution... Flight Control and Real Racing. Because of this, I think Real Racing is the best looking game in the App Store right now... and it's a 2 year old game. The polygon count is really low. It looks like a Dreamcast game that has been converted to HD. Which is cool but...

Where are the games that take advantage of the new power of the phone? I know this thing is capable of amazing stuff... where is it? I know it takes a while to develop top notch games, but shouldn't there at least be one or two in the app store right now?

The retina display and gyroscope are my two favorite features of the new phone because I game on it a bunch... and there is only one game that sort of uses both of them and I'm not interested in playing it.

Sorry for the long rant... it's just that I kind of feel that I have something infinitely better than my 3GS, but I don't use it any differently... in fact... for some things like gaming, I am currently using it even less.
 
On launch day I stood in line next to an App developer - he mentioned that everyone in his company was in line in various places to get their hands on iPhone 4s to test their new version with... it's not enough just to develop it... they need to test it on the hardware, make sure the interactivity is as they wanted.

It will take a little while longer before we really start to see iP4 optimized apps... in the meantime, Eliminate Pro: Gun Range is a pretty cool high-res game that takes advantage of the gyroscope... it's just a target practice app but it's given me an hour or so of entertainment.
 
bowlerman625 said:
Try FaceTime. Call Apple and get a demo and chat with someone. Just don't be naked when you do. Then you wont be bored!
Click to expand...

I'm not interested in video chatting with some stranger just for the sake of it. I think video chatting on a phone is a great idea and I would definitely be using it if I could chat with people on their computers or on a different phone. A friend has an evo with video chat and I can't video chat with him. I realize the FaceTime standard is open and might one day come to other devices but for now, it seems as pointless as the tethering option for the 3GS without really being able to use it.
 
Yea I'm a little bored too, don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic phone, best iPhone I have ever owned so far and mine has none of the issues that other people are complaining about but as you said there are a serious lack of apps/games that take advantage of the new features, I'm sure they will start to crop up in a few weeks though but right now there isn't really much to do on it, I tried playing Angry Birds again (I loved this game in my 3GS) but it looks god awful on the iPhone 4
 
try the app Elements. It is unbelievable and there is a lot to read/learn there if you're bored.
 
sheppy1 said:
Yea I'm a little bored too, don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic phone, best iPhone I have ever owned so far and mine has none of the issues that other people are complaining about but as you said there are a serious lack of apps/games that take advantage of the new features, I'm sure they will start to crop up in a few weeks though but right now there isn't really much to do on it, I tried playing Angry Birds again (I loved this game in my 3GS) but it looks god awful on the iPhone 4
Click to expand...

Yeah Angry Birds is great and many others. Is it really that hard to simply bump the resolution and release an update? Or is this Apple's fault? Are they not accepting updates right now? I have so many games that almost every day there are updates and I haven't seen a single update in two days.
 
I think you're allowed to set the phone down and go do other things for a while. How about reading a nice book, or having a conversation with a friend that doesn't involve texting? :D

I got mine, set up email, added a few apps and then continued on with my life :p
 
LimeyBastard said:
I got mine, set up email, added a few apps and then continued on with my life :p
Click to expand...

being an iPhone user for years now, I seem to have done the same. not that I don't think that the iPhone 4 is great, but essentially the user experience is very similar to older models. there were the initial ooos and aaahs but now it's just my phone again.
 
5 days now... no updates. If Real Racing can be updated for retina on day one, simple casual games like Doodle Jump should have no problem. This is stupid.
 
AbjectEvolution said:
5 days now... no updates. If Real Racing can be updated for retina on day one, simple casual games like Doodle Jump should have no problem. This is stupid.
Click to expand...

I don't think the dev kit was setup for the display or front facing camera before the iPhone 4 was announced. Otherwise, it would have been very easy to tell what hardware is going to be in the next iPhone. We were lucky enough to find bits of code about the front facing camera, but other than that the devs were probably as in the dark as you.

Some devs were given the new kit ahead of time so Steve could demo apps at the conference. Those ones were available launch day. Others might take a little while longer to update.
 
XJ13sd said:
Go buy an iPad.
Click to expand...

I bought one, it's great for the web / only to find it's horrible for the web... Crippled due to it's lack of flash.

While I knew it didn't support flash, I also didn't realize just how much of the web is flash content until my iPad locked me out of it.

So I had to dump it on eBay. So much for faith in Apples presentation of the iPad Limited Access.
 
I downloaded Real Racing on launch day and havent stopped playing it. The graphics and controls are better than most of the PS3 racing games Ive bought for 50+. Give it a try.

Also, I think the SDK for 4.0 was out for a while. With that would come the 4.0 iPhone simulator which would be adequate for testing SOME things, not all. It's ideal to test on the actual device if possible.
 
wirelessmacuser said:
I bought one, it's great for the web / only to find it's horrible for the web... Crippled due to it's lack of flash.

While I knew it didn't support flash, I also didn't realize just how much of the web is flash content until my iPad locked me out of it.

So I had to dump it on eBay. So much for faith in Apples presentation of the iPad Limited Access.
Click to expand...

So if you knew you needed flash, why did you buy an iPhone 4 in the first place?
 
AbjectEvolution said:
5 days now... no updates. If Real Racing can be updated for retina on day one, simple casual games like Doodle Jump should have no problem. This is stupid.
Click to expand...

Wait, what's stupid? I thought you started this thread to tell people about your struggles with boredom? Have we changed topics?

You should try leaving your phone at home for a day -- get out and have some fun without it! :)

wirelessmacuser said:
I bought one, it's great for the web / only to find it's horrible for the web... Crippled due to it's lack of flash.

While I knew it didn't support flash, I also didn't realize just how much of the web is flash content until my iPad locked me out of it.

So I had to dump it on eBay. So much for faith in Apples presentation of the iPad Limited Access.
Click to expand...

That's too bad. My experience is completely different. I use my iPad for a lot of browsing, reading, research etc. Other than a few video clips from news sites, I really haven't been affected by the no flash thing -- and certainly not "crippled" by it. :)
 
Get a girlfriend. Or a life in general. It's just a phone.

BTW, I have a bunch of games not yet optimized for the iPhone 4, and they look fine to me. Even if they don't utilize the Retina display, they should not look any worse.
 
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