Waited 5 years to buy an iPhone -- Need Advice

[Smittay]

yeah i was in line in 2007... almost did it.. been a machead forever and never pulled the trigger

im also lazy, so now that we are having a baby (a baby girl in July, our first), its time to get the wife and i two white iphone 4S's (AT&T) probably the 32gb for videos and pics of the baby...

just two quick questions...

1) Case. whats the best case thats protective, but not too bulky and will show off the white back with the apple logo, in your opinion?? (i saw the tristan thread here on MR, not much help in there + old

2) iCloud and 2 users? we share an ipad and imac now, and she uses my apple id to purchase apps, songs, from itunes, etc. i dont want her friends in my contact list on my phone and she doesn't want mine in hers, lol.

is there a way to sync off your imac initially, but then back up contacts differently to two different iCloud accounts? Can we still share the calendar on the ipad, but not the same contacts?? and still share our music?

thanks in advance, erik

 

[spblat]

If you're sure you need a case (I run without one) and you want one that lets the style of the iPhone show through, I think the Apple Bumper is the best choice. If I wanted more protection I would get the Otterbox Commuter.

If you want to share music and apps, I think you'll have a poor iCloud experience. Better IMHO to bite the bullet and assign separate Apple IDs to your device and your wife's. You can share music, but Apps you'll have to buy separately.

 

[viperGTS]

yeah i was in line in 2007... almost did it.. been a machead forever and never pulled the trigger

im also lazy, so now that we are having a baby (a baby girl in July, our first), its time to get the wife and i two white iphone 4S's (AT&T) probably the 32gb for videos and pics of the baby...

just two quick questions...

1) Case. whats the best case thats protective, but not too bulky and will show off the white back with the apple logo, in your opinion?? (i saw the tristan thread here on MR, not much help in there + old

2) iCloud and 2 users? we share an ipad and imac now, and she uses my apple id to purchase apps, songs, from itunes, etc. i dont want her friends in my contact list on my phone and she doesn't want mine in hers, lol.

is there a way to sync off your imac initially, but then back up contacts differently to two different iCloud accounts? Can we still share the calendar on the ipad, but not the same contacts?? and still share our music?

thanks in advance, erik

First off, congrats on the baby!

Now for your questions:
1. I'm not sure as i don't own the 4S. However the bumper does show off the entire back.

2. To do this i believe you would just need to turn contacts "OFF" in the iCloud settings. however contacts will not be synced between devices. I dont think this interferes with keeping contacts synced on your mac. however 2 seperate iCloud ACCOUNTS can not be made to sync with eachother.

Hope this helps!

 

[MattMJB0188]

yeah i was in line in 2007... almost did it.. been a machead forever and never pulled the trigger

im also lazy, so now that we are having a baby (a baby girl in July, our first), its time to get the wife and i two white iphone 4S's (AT&T) probably the 32gb for videos and pics of the baby...

just two quick questions...

1) Case. whats the best case thats protective, but not too bulky and will show off the white back with the apple logo, in your opinion?? (i saw the tristan thread here on MR, not much help in there + old

2) iCloud and 2 users? we share an ipad and imac now, and she uses my apple id to purchase apps, songs, from itunes, etc. i dont want her friends in my contact list on my phone and she doesn't want mine in hers, lol.

is there a way to sync off your imac initially, but then back up contacts differently to two different iCloud accounts? Can we still share the calendar on the ipad, but not the same contacts?? and still share our music?

thanks in advance, erik

I love the Speck Candy Shell cases. They are perfect IMO, however, after extended use they sometimes shred. I have dropped my 4S with the Speck CandyShell case on and not a scratch. My second favorite case would be the iSkin Solo series. If you want maximum protection go for the OtterBox Defender case or the Commuter Series.

Can't comment on iCloud because I don't use it.

Congrats on your first child!!!

 

[Smittay]

First off, congrats on the baby!

Now for your questions:
1. I'm not sure as i don't own the 4S. However the bumper does show off the entire back.

2. To do this i believe you would just need to turn contacts "OFF" in the iCloud settings. however contacts will not be synced between devices. I dont think this interferes with keeping contacts synced on your mac. however 2 seperate iCloud ACCOUNTS can not be made to sync with eachother.

Hope this helps!

thanks guys,

so if i get all our contacts OFF the imac when i initially sync both iphones,

get two iCloud accounts for wireless backup for her phone and mine,
turn sync contacts off,

it will still back up our iphones individually to each of our separate iClouds with different sets of contacts, in case we needed to restore?

i could use the same apple ID though in itunes right? to buy apps and songs i think?

is there any way to get the same calendar though from our imac and ipad to show on both our iphones?

this is confusing lol, why doesnt apple just make a two person shared option!!

:thumbsup

----------

I love the Speck Candy Shell cases. They are perfect IMO, however, after extended use they sometimes shred. I have dropped my 4S with the Speck CandyShell case on and not a scratch. My second favorite case would be the iSkin Solo series. If you want maximum protection go for the OtterBox Defender case or the Commuter Series.

Can't comment on iCloud because I don't use it.

Congrats on your first child!!!

cool, i will check out the speck and the iskin + commuter series

thanks for the congrats, this is new territory!!!

 

[Applejuiced]

You waited way too long

 

[Sunsean]

Congrats on the baby! If you prefer the clean/minimal look of the naked iphone (as I and many others do too) - I suggest something like Best Skins Ever (similar to Zagg). I've used Best Skins Ever on my last 2 phones, and they work phenomenally. The full body skin is like $10 and completely covers the front/back/sides of the phone. Obviously it's not as shock resistant/absorbant as an otterbox case or the like, but I've found it protects the phone exceptionally well from dents/scratches and does actually help protect from minor-medium falls. All while keeping a totally naked looking iphone. Plus the material is very well made and once it settles in you can't even tell it's there. If it ever starts to peel or you want to remove it for whatever reason, comes right off without leaving any permanent mark/residue.

Anyway, I sound like an advertisement - but I just really like them. I use this, but always contemplate getting a case too...just in case for that really bad fall that might happen...haven't yet though because I like the naked look.

 

[rgctx]

1) Case. whats the best case thats protective, but not too bulky and will show off the white back with the apple logo, in your opinion?? (i saw the tristan thread here on MR, not much help in there + old

Just put a front/rear screen protector and get you a decent bumper on ebay, you can also get a holster that is made for use with a bumper. IMO the iphone is to nice to put into a case.

 

[Smittay]

i think i need something a little more sturdy than just skins ..

you know, i can totally picture my wife (me too) dropping this lol

thanks for all the responses so far!!

 

[Sedrick]

I got these really cheap (I'm talking about $4) bumper cases off Amazon (from china) and they're perfect. Bought several colors since they're cheap. Shows off the whole phone, but protects from drops. They also round out the harsh edges slightly.

 

[Small White Car]

iCloud and iTunes accounts are 2 different things.

Does your iMac have 2 different user accounts or do you share the same one? Tell me that and I can give better advice. But the bottom line is, you can do what you want.

 

[gngan]

You can create two user account in your iMac then sync your contacts to you account's address book app and your wife can sync her contacts to her account's address book app.

I would get two Apple ID for your music, apps, etc.

If you would like to get apps from your wife's iTunes account then just log off you Apple ID in your iPhone and login her Apple ID to download it, vice versa.

 

[Small White Car]

I would get two Apple ID for your music, apps, etc.

Why? I do the opposite. Different iClouds for data but share the same Apple ID for iTunes.

 

[lordofthereef]

If I may recommend it, I would use a google account for contacts, calendars, etc. Basically like iCloud but less hassle (IMO) trying to juggle multipl accounts since they are completely different from Apple. That AND if you ever go to a different device you are good to go.

 

[RotaryP7]

Grats. And for the case. I use the Griffin Reveal for my white 4S. It protects it and even shows the back. That's why it's called Reveal.

http://store.griffintechnology.com/reveal-iphone4

 

[this providence]

If I may recommend it, I would use a google account for contacts, calendars, etc. Basically like iCloud but less hassle (IMO) trying to juggle multipl accounts since they are completely different from Apple. That AND if you ever go to a different device you are good to go.

^ This is what the gal and I do for our iPhones. That way we each have our own contact information but everything else is on the same iTunes account so it saves on store purchases. BTW, congrats on the baby. We were in the same position not too long ago.

As for cases that still show off the back of the phone, we both use a knock off of the Element Vapor Pro. It's a bumper so it just wraps around the bezel of the phones. Going with the knock off still gets you a high-ish quality case while not spending the $120+ price tag of the original. Here's a thread on this site with people's experience with them and this is where I purchased ours (went with the DHL shipping as it's much quicker, and more reliable, coming from China).

 

[Smittay]

thanks so much everybody, youve been so kind on the cases, the icloud and the baby wishes!!

----------

iCloud and iTunes accounts are 2 different things.

Does your iMac have 2 different user accounts or do you share the same one? Tell me that and I can give better advice. But the bottom line is, you can do what you want.

yeah unfortunately we share the same login on the imac... same address book and itunes, it works for the ipad we share,

but now that we are getting two separate phones, it would be weird if Mom Cell called and it was her mom, etc?? i could always just leave peoples full names on, but if we have two diff iclouds we back up to, cant i just delete like all 30 of her girlfriends off my iphone -- once its synced from the imac -- and backed up to my icloud?? and we could still use the same itunes login though and share songs and app purchases right?

i think we can share calendars too on one imac login, so that might work...if we each had our own icloud and subscribed to each others calendars??

 

[dontwalkhand]

Have two iCloud accounts, sign into the store with a different account.

 

[bandofbrothers]

Ive used casemate metal cases and although they are nice they add too much bulk to the phone.

I now use a sgp carbon fibre for the back and a look alike apple bumper i got from amazon. To protect the steel antenna band from polishing marks from the bumper i also have lucky labs spectra strips on the antenna.

Im not a fan of the shields you can have for the front of the phone as i don't like the orange peel effect some can give or the feel you get when using the screen. I also don't like the thought of spraying liquid onto your phone/shield to apply it either, although i submit you can use the dry application ones.

If your ever gonna use one then buy the one you can best afford. Ive found out by trial and error that the zagg was the best overall.

I would like to go naked with mine but these phones are slippery to hold. I would like something like the lucky labs spectra strips that are rubberised to give grip !

Oh and i also use a holster that is designed to house the phone with bumper.

 

[Xgm541]

Dont get a case . I am naked and have been for 2 years now and turns out that I get AppleCare to replace my device frequently enough (once a year) to get rid of all the small scratch marks. Other than that they don't bother me.

 

[Maverick713]

You can create two user account in your iMac then sync your contacts to you account's address book app and your wife can sync her contacts to her account's address book app.

I would get two Apple ID for your music, apps, etc.

If you would like to get apps from your wife's iTunes account then just log off you Apple ID in your iPhone and login her Apple ID to download it, vice versa.

First congrats on the baby, my little guy just turned 1 on the 13th. seeing that you've waited this long wait a little longer and get the next generation 5, 6 whatever it is called this way your not still behind.

as far as this quite goes I wouldn't do this because than you have to oay for every app twice. what I do is is just turn off the icloud syncing for my wife's contacts, and notes and that's pretty much it.

----------

If I may recommend it, I would use a google account for contacts, calendars, etc. Basically like iCloud but less hassle (IMO) trying to juggle multipl accounts since they are completely different from Apple. That AND if you ever go to a different device you are good to go.

I do this as well, but I did sync it with iCloud also.

 

[SogeKing]

Congrats on the baby on your question about accounts the way I handle this is we use te same iTunes account for apps and music which is set up on the devices directly under the AppStore or iTunes settings as for iCloud we each have our own iCloud accounts which is completely different from the one we use for apps and music, I set up my iCloud account as the main cloud account on both phones so that we could both share the same photo stream but on my wife's phone all the cloud settings are turned off on that one except the photo stream portion then I added my wife's iCloud account to her device with all the settings turned on except photo stream LOL this way we each have separate contacts in terms of calendars we always had separate calendars so we share the calendars through iCloud which can be setup on icloud.com you could share reminder lists this way too which is nice for grocery type stuff or to do list the only down side to this is that my wife's phone doesn't back up data to iCloud because only the primary iCloud account can do this but I just back hers up through iTunes to cover that and that's my set up

 

[xraydoc]

Have two iCloud accounts, sign into the store with a different account.

The iPhone allows you to have different account IDs for each the store and iCloud.

I have 5 iPhones in my family - me, wife, 3 kids. We all have separate iCloud accounts for email, calendar, contacts, backups and all share the same iTunes store ID for purchases.

Works perfectly.

 

[aneftp]

Have two iCloud accounts, sign into the store with a different account.

Exactly.

Apple makes iTunes ID and iCloud ID too confusing. Because you can sign into iCloud with your iTunes ID (because icloud and iTunes ID) are technically considered "apple IDs"

So do what the posters suggest to avoid the contacts merging with your wife.

1. Create 'icloud account" for husband
2. Create different 'icloud" account for wife

3. Continue to use the same iTunes ID for your "app store" purchases so both husband and wife can "share" purchase apps and not have to pay double for them.

So when you setup the iphone, use your icloud account to setup it up.

After setting it up. Go to settings, and scroll down to the "store". It will list the icloud name also. Sign out of the "store" and put in your "itunes ID". iPhone does not require you to have the same icloud and iTunes/App store ID to be the same.

Get bumper case along with 2 front/back screen protectors to show off the white back of the iPhone.

 

[gngan]

I hated iCloud because you won't be able to get your calendar stuff back once you decided not to use it. You will not be able to retrive your calendar info. back to your PC. Your PC would also have double calendar and contacts info.

I forgot how to retrive my contacts back from iCloud to Address Book but it was difficult!

iCloud would not sync the things you change from your iPhone or PC immediately. I prefer to have more control of where i want my things to be and what i would like to sync to my iDevices.