iPhone 1.1.1 Aftermath

[Stella]

"What other phone likes you use MP3 as ringtones?"

Your joking right?

Maybe your carrier has crippled the phone?
What SE do you have because I really want to verify what you are saying? Are you sure you know how to use the phone correctly?

Nokia et al also offers ring tones, wallpapers from its site - but it doesn't mean that is the ONLY way you can get them onto your phone. Often its a case of transferring the files on to your phone. I know that a lot of SE phones have Themes - and you can upload ( from your computer ), download from sites new themes to use..
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=SonyEricsson+themes&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

My last SE phone ( P900 ) I could freely upload ring tone files ( actually, any music file ) and use them as Ringtones, change wallpaper etc etc. No restriction what-so-ever.

My existing phone can do the same - use any supported music file as ringtones, freely change wallpapers, no restrictions of upload files and use them accordingly.

Please: tell me what SE phone you have.

Ring tones: what other phones of this nature let you use MP3s as ringtones?
Carriers: limited to a select few for a set time

versus

Everything you get with the iPhone.

I've got a Sony-Ericcsson phone. I can only buy skins, ringtones and games for it from the Sony-Ericcsson site through the phone. But instead of complaining about it, I do what most people would do and just don't purchase at all... it doesn't bother me that I'm locked-in because I can always go and buy a different phone if I want. No-one here is compelled to buy an iPhone and certainly, by now, no-one who reads this site is unaware of what the iPhone is, its features and the terms and conditions of its use.

I've never read so much unjustified complaining about a device that no-one is compelled to buy. And if you buy and mess with it, then that's your decision; people should learn to take responsibility for their own actions.

As I said, we shall see where things more clearly stand in a couple of years after Apple have exhausted their initial first-to-market advantage of the touch interface.

 

[ddubbo]

I was glued to iMac since very first G3 to last G5 20". One of them crashed 3 month after purchase, and a last one just 2 month after warranty expired. 50% failure rate. I decided not to give more chance for Mac. I moved to Dell-XP. Despite I suffered for a month because of weird design and odd XP behavior sometimes, finally, I realized that the system works, stabile and could feat all my needs. Even better than Mac did. My first iPod was mini, I liked it very much, untill it outed of battery. I have't agreed that 150$ device could serve you only for year, and bought Sansa. That the same ugly as XP, but works well and everything replaceable. Now i really was close to purchase iPhone, but after 1.1.1 i figured out:
No more money for Apple while Jobs manages this company

 

[guzhogi]

I feel people shouldn't really hack their iPhones just so they don't screw it up. Or at least do so at their own risk & not blame Apple if they do. On the other hand, Apple shouldn't make it so these people have to hack their iPhones. The iPhone is a great product. It's just how Apple's handling it & not letting 3rd party apps to be developed for it that sucks. I'm a little tired of people saying "If you don't like the control Apple has on it, don't buy it!" But I also don't want Apple to screw up (intentionally or not) the 3rd party apps that exist. While I don't want 3rd party apps to turn people's iPhones into iBricks, people are "thinking different" yet Apple's stifling them.

 

[Blue Velvet]

"What other phone likes you use MP3 as ringtones?"

Your joking right?

No, you've misquoted me. I said what other phone 'of this nature'. Besides, I'm not interested in ringtones so that's why I haven't bothered exploring the options on my phone... because it's just a phone, people. It makes a noise to let me know a call or text is coming in. The iPhone is not the second coming; it's a consumer electronics device with a limited lifespan. Let's get things into proportion.

Following the events of the past few weeks is like watching a bunch of chimps with hand-mirrors.

 

[christian_k]

Ring tones: what other phones of this nature let you use MP3s as ringtones?
Carriers: limited to a select few for a set time

versus

Everything you get with the iPhone.

I've got a Sony-Ericcsson phone. I can only buy skins, ringtones and games for it from the Sony-Ericcsson site through the phone.

Thats strange. I've got a SE k610i and I can use any mp3 as a ring tone with no problems. Just send it to the phone via Bluetooth and go. The same with pictures or games. I have written some Java apps for myself and I can run them on the phone easily. If you don't have BT on your computer you can use the included USB cable and you don't even need any software because the phone acts as a "USB stick" or you could put your files onto the memory stick.

Needless to say, there was no simlock at all, even though I got it nearly for free with a 2yr contract (EPlus in Germany).

It was the same for a Siemens S65 and a Nokia 3510i I owned before. These phones didn't support MP3 at all, but I could use any midi file as a ring tone and upload any picture or Java app. That's the way I expect it to be.

Christian

 

[Digital Skunk]

I was glued to iMac since very first G3 to last G5 20". One of them crashed 3 month after purchase, and a last one just 2 month after warranty expired. 50% failure rate. I decided not to give more chance for Mac. I moved to Dell-XP. Despite I suffered for a month because of weird design and odd XP behavior sometimes, finally, I realized that the system works, stabile and could feat all my needs. Even better than Mac did. My first iPod was mini, I liked it very much, untill it outed of battery. I have't agreed that 150$ device could serve you only for year, and bought Sansa. That the same ugly as XP, but works well and everything replaceable. Now i really was close to purchase iPhone, but after 1.1.1 i figured out:
No more money for Apple while Jobs manages this company

There aren't too many people like you. Most Apple products work fine. Not trying to be a fanboy... I wish Jobs would do some things for the smaller markets and for those users that beg for a certain product to be made or changed, but we do ask a lot of Apple only because we think we can get away with it, since it's Apple.

If you have defective products send them back to Apple for replacement, I am sure many people have gotten defective Dells and then bought Macs.

This iPhone 1.1.1 thing though, shows where Jobs could have a change in strategy just a bit. Taking away the unlocked iPhones is understandable, but locking out 3rd party devos that would have helped sales of the device is a bit unorthodox.

 

[pale9]

This is just the latest sign of SJ and Apple's complete control freakery. Just like the mac mini that they didn't want you to even be able to upgrade the RAM on so you have to prise it open with a putty knife or the whole line of iMacs that can't be upgraded in any serious way. I'm onto my 5th Mac but I'm seriously considering going Windows or Linux to get away from these facists.....

i know what you are saying, but switching to WINDOZE will only drive you mad, believe me.... i am playing around with Ubuntu ultimate 1.4 right now, and even though its probably the best linux until now, quite usable for most people, it doesnt come close to OSX... what to do....???

 

[guzhogi]

I was glued to iMac since very first G3 to last G5 20". One of them crashed 3 month after purchase, and a last one just 2 month after warranty expired. 50% failure rate. I decided not to give more chance for Mac. I moved to Dell-XP. Despite I suffered for a month because of weird design and odd XP behavior sometimes, finally, I realized that the system works, stabile and could feat all my needs. Even better than Mac did. My first iPod was mini, I liked it very much, untill it outed of battery. I have't agreed that 150$ device could serve you only for year, and bought Sansa. That the same ugly as XP, but works well and everything replaceable. Now i really was close to purchase iPhone, but after 1.1.1 i figured out:
No more money for Apple while Jobs manages this company

Totally understandable to me. Apple has a lot of really cool ideas, just poor implementations. I've had to replace the power cables of many of the Mac laptops I've owned, and there have been many Macs out there that have been made poorly. If they were made well, I'm sure you and countless others would have stayed w/ Macs. As for the iPhone/iPods w/o changeable batteries: very true. I'd be willing to have them a little uglier so that we can replace the batteries easier. Many cool products, but poorly controlled.

 

[Stella]

OK, sorry about misquoting you. I don't understand what you mean 'of this nature'. What do you mean?

You can't post some thing like...
"I've got a Sony-Ericcsson phone. I can only buy skins, ringtones and games for it from the Sony-Ericcsson site through the phone."

... and then admit soon after that you don't know how to use that portion of the phone's functionality, because its not quite accurate what your claiming Maybe it is possible to add tones et al without paying.

So, what SE phone do you have?

No, you've misquoted me. I said what other phone 'of this nature'. Besides, I'm not interested in ringtones so that's why I haven't bothered exploring the options on my phone... because it's just a phone, people. It makes a noise to let me know a call or text is coming in. The iPhone is not the second coming; it's a consumer electronics device with a limited lifespan. Let's get things into proportion.

Following the events of the past few weeks is like watching a bunch of chimps with hand-mirrors.

 

[Compile 'em all]

No, you've misquoted me. I said what other phone 'of this nature'. Besides, I'm not interested in ringtones so that's why I haven't bothered exploring the options on my phone... because it's just a phone, people.

A 400$ phone. Quite frankly, the iPhone not supporting MMS and SMS broadcast is ridiculous.

 

[jellomizer]

I still believe that users are overreacting to the closed status of the iPhone. You aren't buying an external hard drive! Plus, Apple is most likely legally protecting their relationship with AT&T by proving that the SIM card can't be replaced in a simple way.

In the long run, the iPhone will probably have many of the boundaries soften, maybe even with multiple carrier options. Heck, maybe with the release of Leopard, Apple may even have some tricks up their sleeve in order to begin to open up more ability for the installation of 3rd party apps and widgets...could it be that they just want to let Leopard get out there for a bit?

But does every developer and tech user have to call Apple out on each move? I mean, the iPhone has only been out for about 4 months.

I will go with the Users on this one, I am not even an iPhone owner. But if you buy some hardware any hardware you should have the right to do what you want with it. Apple shouldn't be actively trying to stop this, by bricking the phones. Now for legality Apple did its due diligence in its design. It is impossible to stop hackers. Especially now with their phones currently useless. Fighting hardware hackers (not to be confused with people who break into computers over the internet) Is a lot of work little if any gain and usually just costs money. And annoys customers.

 

[PBz]

I thought the walled garden lesson was learned with AOL....

 

[Blue Velvet]

But if you buy some hardware any hardware you should have the right to do what you want with it. Apple shouldn't be actively trying to stop this, by bricking the phones.

If I buy a device, any device, then open it up or mess with its fundamental core way of operating, should I expect the manufacturer to continue to support it? No.

 

[njfuzzy]

Not Intentional

I know that the "bricking" after the update wasn't intentional. I know it for sure. I have very simple evidence...

It happened to me too, and my phone wasn't hacked, or unlocked.

The "bricking" wasn't limited to people with hacked phones, and not all hacked phones were bricked. Both of those facts are clear simple from reading a few forums.

Apple intended for people with any hacks, including unlocking, to have to reset their phones and lose the hacks. They didn't mind if people who unlocked their phones had to go through hassle to restore to a clean slate. That's it.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Totally understandable to me. Apple has a lot of really cool ideas, just poor implementations. I've had to replace the power cables of many of the Mac laptops I've owned, and there have been many Macs out there that have been made poorly. If they were made well, I'm sure you and countless others would have stayed w/ Macs. As for the iPhone/iPods w/o changeable batteries: very true. I'd be willing to have them a little uglier so that we can replace the batteries easier. Many cool products, but poorly controlled.

You have to remember that Apple is asking themselves the same questions. And I am sure that some guy is saying the same thing during a board meeting or something, but when it comes down to it, Apple isn't having implementation problems with their products at all. The iPod was and still is the best selling DMP ever. No one is really complaining about user replaceable batteries and other parts and the device is still selling, so in Apple's eyes they aren't doing anything wrong at all.

If people keep buying the iPhone with its limited functionality, missing/crippled features, locked in service contract, and now NO 3rd party apps then Apple will continue to do things like this update.

Apple isn't making the wrong moves, the consumers are. Apple's sales are increasing and more people are buying working, no yellow screen Macs now then ever before mainly because of the iPod and iPhone. If the market really wanted 3rd party apps and free ringtones in the iPhone we will see sales starting to decrease or stagnate, but as long as their sales continue to grow Apple will continue to do what they do.

 

[powderblue17]

So all you people are threatening to stop using Apple products. Does this mean you will cancel your MacRumors account and stop visiting this website in the process? That would be great.

Thanks

 

[briand05]

Apple knows exactly what they're doing and ultimately the goal is to screw the customer. Now the iPhone in concept could have been a great device, but Apple decided they wanted to go out of their way to milk the purchasers of this device in ways that have never been attempted before in the cell phone world. I don't blame AT&T, I personally think Apple is 100% responsible for this unlocking fiasco and not AT&T, of course the Apple shills will try to make it seem the other way around but looking at the evidence it looks more and more like Apple is at fault here. AT&T really I think gave in a lot to Apple for this phone, really they gave in too much. The whole process with the iPhone, it looks like AT&T let Apple dictate it all. Now I don't think AT&T will really lose anything out of this, they saw a device that had a lot of hype and they made the decision to give in to Apple's demands in order to gain some customers. The ringtones, 3rd party apps, unlocking, it all comes down to Steve wanting every cent of your money he can get while he fools you into thinking the other guys are after you while he's here to supposedly help you. Apple right now is a big joke. Microsoft's Windows activation is user friendly compared to the crap Jobs has been pulling lately.

 

[Compile 'em all]

So all you people are threatening to stop using Apple products. Does this mean you will cancel your MacRumors account and stop visiting this website in the process?

People that are complaining about 3rd party apps now are the same people that got you the 100$ iPhone rebate. So yeah, bitching and whining might get us somewhere. It worked before, and might work this time around as well.

 

[Blue Velvet]

...I don't blame AT&T, I personally think Apple is 100% responsible for this unlocking fiasco and not AT&T, of course the Apple shills will try to make it seem the other way around but looking at the evidence it looks more and more like Apple is at fault here.

No, those at fault are the consumers who messed with their iPhones depite the many warnings. It's not a difficult concept to understand. And what's more, even though I and many people here are not Apple shills, even if we were, that is still infinitely preferable to listening to Microsoft shills.

 

[jawporta]

iPhone Lock Down

If you want a phone you can customize buy a black berry.

 

[Digital Skunk]

No, those at fault are the consumers who messed with their iPhones depite the many warnings. It's not a difficult concept to understand. And what's more, even though I and many people here are not Apple shills, even if we were, that is still infinitely preferable to listening to Microsoft shills.

Amen! THe old saying, "The customer is always right" has long since been dead when the customer became a moron (sorry, old retail store days coming back) and decided to scream, and b*t*h about the smallest of things. I put up with Apple crap but their crap is much better than Microsoft's crap any day.

And if there is ever a product that Apple makes that I don't agree with and can't justify purchasing then I won't. I wish the iPhone was many things so I could enjoy using it too but it isn't. I am not going to hack into it, I just won't buy it and I will put up with some other companies crap... like Palm and their ancient UI that has remained the same since 1999. In reality no company is perfect and everything the make is junk or a rip off in some way.

 

[EVH]

I think Apple are cunning. Here's why;

Remember when they announced that there wouldn't be an official SDK for the iPhone and people went crazy? I can finally see where they were going with it..

By not having an official SDK for the first year then Apple is not responsible for the third party apps, because all apps that are created, are done on the basis that they exploit bugs and holes. Apple in turn, is not held legally responsible for any such apps that are killed or cause "inoperable damage" to the iPhone when they (Apple) roll out an update to the phone.

So, for the first year they're waiting, and watching which holes the Devs exploit just so they can come along 12 months down the line and roll out a nice update which makes it nigh-on-impossible to hack.

Finally, by biding their time they can actually get a grasp (by watching the slew of third party user creations) on what apps people actually want.. and when they do come to roll out a SDK (I'm betting WWDC 08) you can be sure they'll be waiting in the wings with some "official" add-on apps.

 

[Virgil-TB2]

your part of the problem

Reseting basic parts should at MAX return your device to pre-hacked state. There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for the update to brick devices. Do not even try to tell me that bricking was not intended. In the end effect the bricking failed because downgrade is possible now but the attempt was made, this alone stinks to heaven.

It's statements like this, and other ones you have made previously about Apple's "intentions" that are the major part of the problem here though.

All of the actual evidence, indicates that the bricking was not "intended" on Apple's part and is a result of the radio firmware being altered on unlocked phones. All evidence also indicates that if you installed third party apps that the phone is also not bricked on purpose. It's already possible to restore to the old firmware if all you want is the third party apps.

There is absolutely no evidence to indicate that Apple did anything at all to the iPhones "on purpose," other than update the software and firmware with the expectation that the old software and firmware would be present.

It's people like yourself, who seem to claim some kind of "psychic knowledge" of Apples "true intentions" (and then proceed to spread that rumor around), that are causing all the grief. Over and over again, you push out this conspiracy theory and "put words (intentions) in Apple's mouth" sort of speak, yet you have nothing to back it up.

In any situation like this, it's important to get to the facts of the matter and find out what is really going on. Yet you have no facts at all to compliment your continued assertion that Apple did this "intentionally."

Please keep further outbursts to yourself until you have some facts to back them up.

 

[cyberddot]

So all you people are threatening to stop using Apple products. Does this mean you will cancel your MacRumors account and stop visiting this website in the process? That would be great.
Thanks

/agree


I know that some of the whining may be offered in an attempt to have an apparently successful company (Apple), change course on Rev. A of the iPhone, though I'm not sure why those particular comments wouldn't be offered with a bit less malice.

I'm seriously considering an iPhone purchase, and have been reading multiple threads on the satisfaction/dissatisfaction since purchasing the phone, and can't help but wonder how many of the negative comments regarding the well advertised 'locked' status of the iPhone are coming from a bunch of 'Switchers' that hadn't known that Apple hardware isn't sold with the idea that you'll be taking it apart and replacing all of the parts you don't like...?

Bitching in the hopes that Apple will sell you an unlocked phone before their agreement with ATT is up, is about as useful as bitching about OS X being unavailable for your custom built PC, that is to say - not at all. Mr Jobs and his gang aren't reading these forums to glean wisdom on how to be successful.

I'm all for voting with my money and offering criticism that might steer the change of products I like, but that isn't necessarily what many are offering in their posts.

 

[iSee]

I think Apple is being very stupid... I've got to be one of the least demanding users of the iPhone.

* I don't have any wishes or plans to install third-party apps on my iPhone.
* I'm OK with AT&T, especially since it started working inside my house rather than just on the front lawn.
* I'll even pay .99 for ringtones.
* I didn't even expect anything because of the price-drop.
* I understand that they pretty much *have* to prevent people from using the phones with non-approved carriers--otherwise it breaks the business model.

But...

Geeze, I have one custom (legal) ringtone and would like the option to have more. I guess I'd even pay for it, though that's a ripoff. I can't install 1.1.1 without losing it.

Bricking iPhones is not OK, even if people were going a little too far in modding their phones. Apple can't accommodate every crazy thing people did to their phones, but there should be a deep-reset that will undo almost any soft mod.

Bricking iPhones and doing a hard-lockout of third party apps will definitely factor in to my future purchasing decisions. Also, Apple promised new features for the iPhone. We did get partial ring-tone support and the ability to buy from the iTunes store directly, but these are probably bigger pluses for Apple than me. Bug fixes are nice, but go without saying. Mainly, it looks like Apple has been spending its time on locking the iPhone rather than adding new things.

Today's iPhone 1 users are tomorrow's iPhone 2 buyers. Why jerk us around?