Did I make a Mistake?

[cbs2669#IM]

First of all, let me say that this is my first iPhone, and I'm sure there are tons of things I still have to learn...however, I would like to have a discussion about some of the things I've noticed, and maybe some of the more expericenced users can help me out.

Also, I am in NO WAY bashing the phone. It is a great device. I just don't understand a few things. I am a long time Blackberry user, and I am used to the way the phone works/opperates. I must say that my Bold now feels outdated compared to the iPhone. I've hjad the phone since it was released, and here are some of my observations.

1. Battery drains very quickly. I called both Apple and AT&T, and was told to turn off practically everything. To me this defeats the purpose. Why have such an awesome phone, if you have to turn every thing off? I thought the battery on my Bold was bad, but I could get over a day and a half out of it. I turned the phone on at 8am, and it was almost drained by 3pm, and that was with light/medium usage. I could practically watch the meter go down.

2. Getting notifications from email/messenger services...I have some friends who dont have unlimited texts, so they like to message through a service, like Yahoo. I'm so used to my little blinking light telling me instantly when I have a message. However, do to battery life, I had to cut back my email checking frequency. To make matters worse, some of the messaging services will send you an email when you get a new message (if not in the app)...which only drains the battery. Messages I get are late due to the delayed message check time.

These are the main issues that I'm frustrated with. I know they may seem trivial to some, but they are almost deal-breakers for me. I'm giving myself a week with the phone to see if I want to keep it or not.

 

[Brickman]

#1) The battery is a problem with the iPhone IMO. I love my iPhone but I have learned to keep a charger at my Desk and also in my Car. I charge every chance I get. I am a heavy user but this gets me through the day and into the night. One trick I use if I am in the Office all day is to turn off 3g and turn on WiFi. Battery life improves GREATLY!. BT is another killer. I turn it off when I am not using it with my BT headset.

#2) BeeJive with Push notification just came out in the App Store today. That should solve you problem with notifications in IM.

I have a feeling that the more you use the iPhone the more you will wonder how you ever lasted as long not getting it.

Good Luck!!

 

[OmariJames]

The main battery drainers are 3G and GPS. You don't have to turn off Location Services , just don't use the GPS is any apps, especially Maps unless you need to.

Applications have to update their apps with PNS first. I'm sure yahoo will have a YIM app with PNS soon enough.

 

[cobra302]

i got my 3g about 2 weeks ago, i noticed that the main reason my battery was going down, was because i cant stop playing with it!! LOL, i will admit that the battery isnt as stellar as blackberry, i still cant beleive the usage i used to get out of my 8310! but as long as you keep it charged in the car, or give it a quick charge here and there, i think its not too bad. i've heard that wifi is a battery drainer, but i dont see how if its not hooked up to a network. and even then, unless i'm browsing or using the connection, i dont get how it drains faster. just me though. i'm sure i'm probably wrong. as was stated already, beejive has push as well as aol. os 3.0 just came out, and i'm sure that a lot of services will be getting updates as well. the blinking light there just isnt a rememdy for.

my sole opinion is that if you already dont like the phone, you probably wont. at least not now. i was kinda that way the first time i got my iphone 3g last year. i kept wanting a bold experience. it wasnt until i tried it again, with a clean slate that i was truly able to enjoy the phone for what it was. something other than a blackberry. i had too many expectations of push email, lights (lol) and bb messenger.

 

[cobra302]

The main battery drainers are 3G and GPS. You don't have to turn off Location Services , just don't use the GPS is any apps, especially Maps unless you need to.

Applications have to update their apps with PNS first. I'm sure yahoo will have a YIM app with PNS soon enough.

now thats the one i'm waiting on!

 

[OmariJames]

now thats the one i'm waiting on!

Yahoo has the best original IM client IMO. I would love PNS on that app.

 

[brett837]

i got my 3g about 2 weeks ago, i noticed that the main reason my battery was going down, was because i cant stop playing with it!! LOL, i will admit that the battery isnt as stellar as blackberry, i still cant beleive the usage i used to get out of my 8310! but as long as you keep it charged in the car, or give it a quick charge here and there, i think its not too bad. i've heard that wifi is a battery drainer, but i dont see how if its not hooked up to a network. and even then, unless i'm browsing or using the connection, i dont get how it drains faster. just me though. i'm sure i'm probably wrong. as was stated already, beejive has push as well as aol. os 3.0 just came out, and i'm sure that a lot of services will be getting updates as well. the blinking light there just isnt a rememdy for.
.

I think the reason that wifi will still use battery power when you're not actually browsing is because the phone is constantly checking for new networks. But correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[chobbs1]

The 3g is a real battery killer. If I am on a wifi network I'll turn it off. Also fetch can help with the drain. Use push if at all possible and fetch less often per hour.

 

[Dyvim]

I think the reason that wifi will still use battery power when you're not actually browsing is because the phone is constantly checking for new networks. But correct me if I'm wrong!

That's correct. Your battery life should improve greatly if you turn the Ask to Join Networks feature off (I leave my WiFi on 24/7 but have this feature off).

It also prevents your iPhone from picking up random WiFi hotspots (and popping up a dialog asking if you want to join) when you're driving and really want the device to be using 3G and not looking for WiFi.

I leave 3G, WiFi, and BT on 24/7 (so that BT will auto-connect with my car's built-in headset profile whenever I'm in it without me having to touch anything), but keep a charger in my car and at my desk (in a dock, which IMO is a worthwhile accessory).

GPS is a huge battery drainer (probably the #1 drainer) so I try to use that sparingly or only while charging.

Edit: and I always use WiFi when at home and office, not just to save battery but because it's much faster in my case.

 

[jhamilton3]

Battery should no longer be a complaint from anyone. It's much improved on 3.0 and if you have a 3GS it's even better. Show me a phone as good as the iPhone that is going to get almost 5 hours of usage time and 21-23 hours of standby like my 3GS did yesterday..

 

[Watcher]

Not to be an ass but it's really simple. If you miss the stuff that the Blackberry did. It's simple - get the Blackberry back!

 

[audit]

I moved over to the 3GS from the Blackberry Bold and the only issue I have is the lack of push email via BIS to my other accounts other then my Exchange account and the lack of tones. I'm hard of hearing so it's very hard for me to hear the tones when I do get new emails. I'm still trying to figure out how to correct that to make the tones louder.

Other then that, my battery life is better then my Bold and I ran a custom OS on it and I'm getting better at typing on the touchscreen, I'll never be able to type as fast as the Bold but I can live with that.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to make the tones louder, I'd be more then happy to try them as long as it's a fool proof fix. I've already installed a much louder ringtone so I'm good there. I always had a seperate tone for my work Exchange since that's the most important to me but I don't see that happening with the iPhone.

 

[timberga]

Battery should no longer be a complaint from anyone. It's much improved on 3.0 and if you have a 3GS it's even better. Show me a phone as good as the iPhone that is going to get almost 5 hours of usage time and 21-23 hours of standby like my 3GS did yesterday..

Anandtech has that answer.....go to the site and see....

 

[lordzod01]

The battery is rubbish, it's been well documented. Don't go turning everything off though. I needed a case and the battery posed a problem, so, the "Juicepack Air" from Mophie solved this. You get a cool (a bit heavier) case and it will charge your iphone when dead to about 90%. As for instant messages, "Theres an app for that" LOL

 

[jscottbarnes]

Not to be an ass but it's really simple. If you miss the stuff that the Blackberry did. It's simple - get the Blackberry back!

A tad unnecessary, don't ya think...?
He's just new to the iPhone and looking for some help... we've all been there and had similar questions when switching devices...

Give the guy some room to grow and appreciate the world that is iPhone... Community was one of the biggest draws for me when I converted... Ease up

 

[michael95gt#AC]

Battery should no longer be a complaint from anyone. It's much improved on 3.0 and if you have a 3GS it's even better. Show me a phone as good as the iPhone that is going to get almost 5 hours of usage time and 21-23 hours of standby like my 3GS did yesterday..

Yeah there is a major difference after going to 3.0. Plus the battery life will get better with more usage.

 

[Jellotime91]

After about a week with the 3G S now, I feel like battery is pretty much the same as it was on the 3G. I guess the faster speed and the extra sensors plus video recording and auto focus take the benefits of the new battery back a notch.

To be fair though the phone can actually last on standby for around 300 hours.

I left my old 3G sitting on my desk for about 4 days and it was down to like 60% battery (from a full charge).

 

[Allyson Kazmucha]

After about a week with the 3G S now, I feel like battery is pretty much the same as it was on the 3G. I guess the faster speed and the extra sensors plus video recording and auto focus take the benefits of the new battery back a notch.

To be fair though the phone can actually last on standby for around 300 hours.

I left my old 3G sitting on my desk for about 4 days and it was down to like 60% battery (from a full charge).

You mean 30 hours?

 

[thinkTwice]

If I get around 4 hours of usage (mainly data, GPS, and a few phone calls), I get a standby time of 12+ hours.

Which is fine for me, since at work I'm not going to be using gps, and will be fairly busy so I won't have time to surf the net or anything like that.

I doubt that battery life would get better with use, but I feel like these days it has been improving a bit.

 

[bosox0898]

Battery life definately gets better with use...if you make sure the battery is pretty much dead when you recharge for a few days in a row it helps alot in the beginning...when I first got the 2g and 3g battery life was terrible in the beginning, after a few weeks the 2g was still terrible, and the 3g got significantly better.

I don't know about anyone else but it seems to get a better charge from an ac power source than it does from USB.