Fell like returning iPhone. Please help me keep it.

[cody]

i have wanted an iphone since the day they came out. i was never able to leave my carrier that i had a family plan on before.

now that verizon came out with one, i had to get it. i have used palm, windows mobile, blackberry, android, ect. i am having the hardest time adjusting to the iphone. i would love to get over some of the ios short comings, but need your help to do so. all day today i told my self i was going back to my droid incredible when i got home. i wanna give it a few more days and see if you guys can help.

here is a list of some of the things that are driving me crazy.

1. phone app doesn't search contact when i type first few letters of the name. i have close to 400 contacts and scrolling through the contacts list takes a long time.

2. cant flag emails

3. apps stay were i left off too often. for example, if i get an email that i want to reply to, when im done replying i hit the home button to return to main screen and then press top button to enter standby. when i get another email notification, i hit the mail icon and see the last email that i already replied to. i have to always back out of stuff.

another, more frustrating example would be settings. if i want to turn bluetooth on its three click deep into the settings menu. after i turn it on i either back out of it with 2 screen changes or do it the next time when i want to access something else in settings like wifi.

i know this is ios way of multitasking, but...

4. notifications. i get a church sound throughout the day and have no idea what its notifying me of. when i get an email i can barley hear the notification sound. i can change the text message sound, but not the email sound. weird

5. calendar event reminders dont repeat. i will get the notification, but if i dont hear it, i've missed it. some mobile platforms have repeat notifications by default and some a 3rd party app does it. i cant find anything for ios and was late for a meeting today because of it.

would love to find an app that would let me move emails to the calendar. lots of time i get "things i need to do" type emails that i would love to move over to the calendar and have it remind me.

if anyone can help me with my issues, i would be very grateful.

Thanks, Cody

 

[miro]

And only allows one signature for all emails. Why?

 

[eternal76]

I'm still learning about the phone myself, but I can help with the contacts question. There is a way to search your contacts list. There's a tiny magnifying glass at the top of the alphabet list on the right side of the phone. Tap that and a search box will open. You can also tap the letter of the alphabet of the name you're looking for and it will jump down to names beginning with that letter. My phone defaulted to people being categorized by their last name, but I prefer to look them up by first name, and that can be changed in the phone settings. Hope this helps at least a little!

 

[davis03]

I guess I'm not the only one feels the same way
I've had an ipod touch for 3 years, but I always used it as a mp3 player, it's fun and easy to use
After using android for about 2 years, I find that hard to deal with some of the stuff ios doesn't have
the notifications bar, the widgets, and the free gps
well I will keep my iphone for the weekend and see how it goes, if it doesn't work out I will return it and go back to my htc incredible

 

[iSRS]

Are you opposed to jailbreaking?

 

[Hangfire]

I said this in another thread but in having the ipod touch 4g for the last week, I can see how the eye candy novelty of iOS could wear off quick. Sure, it's the prettiest OS out, nice and smooth, but once you move beyond that it's sort of as basic as it gets, IMO mind you. I'm no Android fanboi, don't even have a smartphone currently and returned the original Droid a week after getting it, I just call them how I see them.

 

[shipwrestler125]

Well these are all things that have been out there since the day iphone 4 was released on at&t maybe you should have done some research first it seems like you dont want the iphone so return it no biggie.

 

[tourstagefan]

I guess I'm not the only one feels the same way
I've had an ipod touch for 3 years, but I always used it as a mp3 player, it's fun and easy to use
After using android for about 2 years, I find that hard to deal with some of the stuff ios doesn't have
the notifications bar, the widgets, and the free gps
well I will keep my iphone for the weekend and see how it goes, if it doesn't work out I will return it and go back to my htc incredible

+1. I feel exactly the same way. Mine is due to arrive tomorrow, so I will play with it over the weekend, jailbreak it and see if it works for me.

One thing to consider before returning it: you have 14 days to test it out. Of all the smartphones out there, you have to admit that in terms of build quality and overall integration (iPod = best music player, hands down), nothing beats the iOS.

 

[WyckedAnkh]

If you aren't happy with it now, chances are you won't be happy with it a month from now, and by us telling you why you should won't change how you really feel about it, at least I don't think. You shouldn't have to force yourself to like it, because then you will just hate it all the more. The iPhone isn't for everyone and thankfully we all have something out there for each of us that suits us much better. I would give it another week, think about jailbreaking it, and if you still aren't happy, then return to the droid.

 

[cody]

Well these are all things that have been out there since the day iphone 4 was released on at&t maybe you should have done some research first it seems like you dont want the iphone so return it no biggie.

thanks

i didn't have the iphone 4 on att so how could i have known how the dialer worked. or that i couldn't flag emails. how could i have known any of this without using one for a little while.

i read a lot of tech blogs (bgr, engadnet, ect) and never saw a ropic on these issues.

 

[cody]

Are you opposed to jailbreaking?

If you aren't happy with it now, chances are you won't be happy with it a month from now, and by us telling you why you should won't change how you really feel about it, at least I don't think. You shouldn't have to force yourself to like it, because then you will just hate it all the more. The iPhone isn't for everyone and thankfully we all have something out there for each of us that suits us much better. I would give it another week, think about jailbreaking it, and if you still aren't happy, then return to the droid.

i will jailbreak in a few days. want to run stock for a few just to see what the differences are when i do.

what can i do to over come these issues once unlocked?

i did figure out a semi fix for the dialer... geniusdialer works pretty good.

 

[r0k]

I walked around with a BB 8830 and an iPod Touch for about a year before springing for the iPhone 4 on At&t. I am mildy annoyed at some of the quirks of iOS like the way it suspends every app and the lack of email controls that are readily available on other platforms (reply as, mark all read). But I have over 100 apps that I absolutely love. I also have an iPad and plenty of Mac computers. Everything in the Apple ecosystem plays very well together and I'm completely happy.

I can see where the "eye candy" would wear off if that was the main reason for buying iThings. But if you want reliable stuff that is well thought out and easy to use, iOS devices are the best on the market. I have a friend at the office who had to root and sideload a task quitter. That comes standard on iOS. So it's not always iOS that is lacking fundamental features. I'm completely happy but I respect anyone's freedom to pick what works best for them. Competitive pressure from Android makes Apple respond and do things they might never otherwise get around to. iOS 4 has many features that are reactions to either popular jailbreak features or competitive pressure, namely: background images, folders for apps, unified inbox, multiasking (such as it is) and more.

The better Android, BB OS, WP7 and WebOS are the better iOS will become.

 

[shipwrestler125]

thanks

i didn't have the iphone 4 on att so how could i have known how the dialer worked. or that i couldn't flag emails. how could i have known any of this without using one for a little while.

i read a lot of tech blogs (bgr, engadnet, ect) and never saw a ropic on these issues.

Read forums like these or the internet has lots of reviews

 

[Joe..Cool]

When you do jailbreak look for SBSettings, it allows you to swipe the top of the screen to toggle services on/off.

 

[DougFNJ]

i have wanted an iphone since the day they came out. i was never able to leave my carrier that i had a family plan on before.

now that verizon came out with one, i had to get it. i have used palm, windows mobile, blackberry, android, ect. i am having the hardest time adjusting to the iphone. i would love to get over some of the ios short comings, but need your help to do so. all day today i told my self i was going back to my droid incredible when i got home. i wanna give it a few more days and see if you guys can help.

here is a list of some of the things that are driving me crazy.

1. phone app doesn't search contact when i type first few letters of the name. i have close to 400 contacts and scrolling through the contacts list takes a long time.

2. cant flag emails

3. apps stay were i left off too often. for example, if i get an email that i want to reply to, when im done replying i hit the home button to return to main screen and then press top button to enter standby. when i get another email notification, i hit the mail icon and see the last email that i already replied to. i have to always back out of stuff.

another, more frustrating example would be settings. if i want to turn bluetooth on its three click deep into the settings menu. after i turn it on i either back out of it with 2 screen changes or do it the next time when i want to access something else in settings like wifi.

i know this is ios way of multitasking, but...

4. notifications. i get a church sound throughout the day and have no idea what its notifying me of. when i get an email i can barley hear the notification sound. i can change the text message sound, but not the email sound. weird

5. calendar event reminders dont repeat. i will get the notification, but if i dont hear it, i've missed it. some mobile platforms have repeat notifications by default and some a 3rd party app does it. i cant find anything for ios and was late for a meeting today because of it.

would love to find an app that would let me move emails to the calendar. lots of time i get "things i need to do" type emails that i would love to move over to the calendar and have it remind me.

if anyone can help me with my issues, i would be very grateful.

Thanks, Cody

I think any time you try a new OS it takes some time to get used to. This is actually the first phone that I haven't nitpicked on something and had something stand out an bug me consistently in the back of my mind. It remains to be precisely what I was looking for.

Someone mentioned the contacts "fix" for your issue. You could also go to the search screen and type the name in there, or find them in the contacts app and type the name in there.....3 ways to do it.

If you use gmail or an IMAP mailbox you should be able to flag the emails or at the very least utilize the folders.

As far as moving items to the calendar, I think IOS has one of the best copy paste functions in a mobile OS.

Either hang in there or go back to what you know. Each platform has there pros and cons, the question is which one has the most pros for you vs the least cons for you.

Good luck.

 

[nyc_rock]

i have wanted an iphone since the day they came out. i was never able to leave my carrier that i had a family plan on before.

now that verizon came out with one, i had to get it. i have used palm, windows mobile, blackberry, android, ect. i am having the hardest time adjusting to the iphone. i would love to get over some of the ios short comings, but need your help to do so. all day today i told my self i was going back to my droid incredible when i got home. i wanna give it a few more days and see if you guys can help.

here is a list of some of the things that are driving me crazy.

1. phone app doesn't search contact when i type first few letters of the name. i have close to 400 contacts and scrolling through the contacts list takes a long time.

2. cant flag emails

3. apps stay were i left off too often. for example, if i get an email that i want to reply to, when im done replying i hit the home button to return to main screen and then press top button to enter standby. when i get another email notification, i hit the mail icon and see the last email that i already replied to. i have to always back out of stuff.

another, more frustrating example would be settings. if i want to turn bluetooth on its three click deep into the settings menu. after i turn it on i either back out of it with 2 screen changes or do it the next time when i want to access something else in settings like wifi.

i know this is ios way of multitasking, but...

4. notifications. i get a church sound throughout the day and have no idea what its notifying me of. when i get an email i can barley hear the notification sound. i can change the text message sound, but not the email sound. weird

5. calendar event reminders dont repeat. i will get the notification, but if i dont hear it, i've missed it. some mobile platforms have repeat notifications by default and some a 3rd party app does it. i cant find anything for ios and was late for a meeting today because of it.

would love to find an app that would let me move emails to the calendar. lots of time i get "things i need to do" type emails that i would love to move over to the calendar and have it remind me.

if anyone can help me with my issues, i would be very grateful.

Thanks, Cody

1) When you unlock your phone, swipe left. Thats search. You can start typing and your contacts will pop up.
2) If you are using gmail, try mailroom. I dont flag and I use gmail as an exchange account, but I have heard good things.
3) You see this as a limitation, I dont.
4) If you jailbreak, there is an app called bossprefs. Swiping sideways at the top of the screen will bring down a toggle menu. Wifi, GPS, 3G, BT are all there. Great app.
5) Not sure about repeat, but the pop up window should not go away until you dismiss it.
6) No clue. Try searching the app store. Or see this; How to Create Calendar Events from Emails in iPhone Mail - About Email

IOS is very different from Android. Its simply a matter of preference. If you find that Android works better for you, then go back to it. Its a great platform.

 

[durangojim#AC]

I bought an iphone yesterday, since having the original droid from day one and then the incredible on the day it was released. I posted this on another site but it is still applicable here:


I had to satiate my tech fix, so I went out and bought an iphone from BB today. I bought the OG Droid on day 1, and the DINC when it was released. I really like the efficiency of the Android OS and sense, and have been looking forward to the Bolt, but thought I'd give the iOS thing a try after I bought my wife an iphone last week on VZW.

First thing I noticed: I was the only one at Best Buy at 8:30am, they told me they had sold a few iphones but not that many, might be because they were charging a $100 premium over what Apple sells the phone off contract for at Apple stores ($699 vs $599 for a 16GB version). I then went over to VZW to get a case because I get a 25% discount there on accessories. There were more people in the store but it was not busy by any means. I did see quite a few people switch from AT&T who owned iphones and BBs. The reason I bring this up is because I think the main rush or demand was last week, with all the current subscribers picking up the phone they've lusted for already. This might bode well for the Bolt because if demand isn't as great for the iphone as they thought it would be, they might try to get the Bolt out to market sooner.

Some quick observations about the iphone from a non-fanboy: The hardware is excellent and feels like a fine watch with extremely tight tolerances. The retina display is superior to any screen I've seen in the past including super amoled and slcd. It makes my DINC feel cheap somehow. I miss not typing my gmail account it and having everything automatically pop up. There are much more steps to accomplish the same thing on iOS compared to Android. I used a widget for my calendar on Android, on iOS I have to go into the App, it's a very pop in/pop out type of experience.
I really like skype and facetime. I'm a physician who works pretty long hours at times, and it's really nice to see and talk to my kids rather than just on the phone. I miss the android google maps app. Games are superior on the iphone as is the camera (I own a Canon 5D Mark II so I know a little about photography). The vibrate is weaker on the iphone.

I'll probably wind up switching to the bolt once it's released because I'm in a LTE area, but I'll play around with the iphone to give it a fair shot until then.

Later on:
So I've had the iphone for just over 14 hours now and I've decided I'll be returning it tomorrow. The build quality and screen are truly second to none, and the market is far superior, but it isn't an efficient enough os for me. I like having my information as widgets and having full access to google's services, especially the search button. I'll miss the excellent camera and skype (hopefully to be on the thunderbolt soon). I would describe the iphone 4 as the nicest simple smartphone available and may look into purchasing the next version if they add widgets. My wife is still keeping hers and absolutely loves it. Android seems to be for power users and ios for average consumers.

I am looking forward to iphone 5, but for now for me Android works better. Too bad I can't have a hybrid of the two

 

[LooNTooNs]

1. phone app doesn't search contact when i type first few letters of the name. i have close to 400 contacts and scrolling through the contacts list takes a long time.

Not sure if you know this. In the phone app goto contacts. If you touch the time(works in most apps) it will scroll all the way to the top and you can start typing in the search box. Im actually surprised that search doesnt stay there and scrolls away. But a tap on the time brings it up. This tip is also very helpfull in the web browser. Try it out!


I do love the spotlight search tip, either swipe or two slow clicks of the home screen bring it up. I dont see a need anymore to go into contacts.

 

[anaphora68]

As someone who used the iPhone 2G and 3G, then switched to Android for nearly 2 years, and is now back on the iPhone, I have a feeling a LOT of people who bought the Verizon iPhone are going to return them.

Not a knock on the iPhone, but it's just different from the Android OS. Different strokes, for different folks.

 

[jetsitty]

Coming from an Android Incredible I can understand the difficulty of switching to a new OS! The Android does have features that I wish were on the iOS such as notifications, widgets, etc. But I'm also a long time iPod touch user and to now be able to have everything on one device instead of two is so much better! Also for me I would keep the iPhone based on battery life alone! Being able to make it through the day without having to charger my phone is a blessing!