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So I bought an IPhone

My Dad turned me onto the app "Raindar". It brings up a map showing where all the rain is. You can zoom and move around the country. It's got a compass pointer built in so you can orient it to the lay of the land. It can be very helpful if you're rolling up to a wall of rain and want to see if there's a way around it, or how fast it's moving and direction so you can just sit and wait. Pretty handy...
 
Don't get the fascination with I-Phone especially if on AT&T. I junked mine....

AT&T covers almost nothing except urban and densely populated areas and in places like that I really don't need what it can do- its just an extra gadget.. Here in NC it is very easy to get many places with no signal even as close as five or 10 miles from some of the states larger towns and cities and there are still dead zones within some cities. Trying to use one in the mountains is a joke...

Went minimalist carrying only a bare phone- lots cheaper- and a netbook for when I really need to do something on the web. Of course, I still use real maps in addition to a gps...
 
Don't get the fascination with I-Phone especially if on AT&T. I junked mine....

It's always been true that you should go with the carrier that works best where you expect to be using the phone. I have no trouble with at&t in New England and most places in Maritime Canada.

I used to carry three cell phones in New England to cover me in the maximum amount of places (I am a field service tech). Earlier this year, I finally dropped the Sprint CDMA phone and I'm down to one cell phone again for the first time since 1987.

at&t has built a lot of towers in rural areas here over the past few years, same is true elsewhere.
 
As I mess around with the IPhone it would seem that it is really a computer- that makes phone calls. I am starting to see the difference between Apple and Windoze.
The Apple operating system "sees" what is going on and it would seem it tries to smooth out the task. With Windoze, it seems that it wants you to do it the way Windoze wants you to do it- like changing my e-mail program every time there is an up-date :banghead
So far it's working well and the main trouble is not knowing the touch points on the screen......that makes unintended things happen but it's not hard to reverse. OM
 
I am starting to see the difference between Apple and Windoze.

If you get in trouble on an Apple computer, you can prolly figure out how to fix it yourself. Windows, not so much. I've been using Apple since 1985 and started on DOS in 1989.

My Mac will boot into Winodws 7 or XP, or I use VMware Fusion to run windows in emulation.
 
Problem solved: I ride with my iPhone on a Ram mount on my handlebars and always wear gloves. Bluetooth to my helmet for music. My old method for using the touch screen was to lift my face shield and lick my finger -- workable somewhat but not the best solution. My Farkle Fingers from Adaptive Technologies arrived yesterday. They slip over the end the finger of your gloves and allow you to use the touch screen (without spitting on your finger.) A bit pricy but they work. www.AdaptivTech.com.
 
As I mess around with the IPhone it would seem that it is really a computer- that makes phone calls. I am starting to see the difference between Apple and Windoze.
The Apple operating system "sees" what is going on and it would seem it tries to smooth out the task. With Windoze, it seems that it wants you to do it the way Windoze wants you to do it- like changing my e-mail program every time there is an up-date :banghead
So far it's working well and the main trouble is not knowing the touch points on the screen......that makes unintended things happen but it's not hard to reverse. OM

Don't you just love fat fingers... :D
 
I bought a 3-pack of styluses for less than $2. They work well with the iPhone and don't require glove removal. I keep one in my tankbag tethered to a ball point pen with about a foot of string - makes it a little easier to find and not drop.
 
Don't you just love fat fingers... :D
Funny!
With some help, and info from some sources including help from Anna, I have been running the computer that makes phone calls with all the Apps off. It still receives phone calls and what not, it's just not burning the battery at such an alarming rate-progress. OM
 
Funny!
With some help, and info from some sources including help from Anna, I have been running the computer that makes phone calls with all the Apps off. It still receives phone calls and what not, it's just not burning the battery at such an alarming rate-progress. OM

I am glad I helped you out some.
 
Well, I'm chipping away at using more of the IPhone. I tried to load my small playlist from ITunes- (from a PC) and the ITunes/PC won't recognize the IPhone (the iphone doesn't show as a device). I've done the usual Google searches and there have been some suggestions but so far when the IPhone is plugged into the computer it just sees it as a camera. :banghead
Any suggestions? TIA Gary
 
:wow
Well, I'm chipping away at using more of the IPhone. I tried to load my small playlist from ITunes- (from a PC) and the ITunes/PC won't recognize the IPhone (the iphone doesn't show as a device). I've done the usual Google searches and there have been some suggestions but so far when the IPhone is plugged into the computer it just sees it as a camera. :banghead
Any suggestions? TIA Gary

Easiest solution. Buy a Mac.
 
Different phone, but...on my HTC phone, when I plug the phone into the computer, I have to make a decision on the phone whether to treat the connect like I was going to charge the phone or to use it as an external device. Once I tap external device, then the phone shows up and I can manipulate files on the phone. Just thought I'd throw that out there...
 
I have an I pod (the phoneless I phone relative) It's probably obvious, but I find that when away from bright lighting or the sun, dimming the display as low as possible seems to extend battery life considerably. When I use it to read in bed I put it all the way to the dimmest. Seems to be easier on my eyes & Supposedly has less effect on my circadian rhythm when I'm reading sleeplessly at 0400 or so.
 
Sorry I'm late to this thread, but here goes...

Before I go further I suggest that you BUY APPLE CARE. I say it again: BUY APPLE CARE. Apple Care is, by far, the best customer service I've experienced. That said...

I love the iPhone. I currently use an iPhone 4, bought one year ago when I dove into the Gulf of Mexico with my iPhone 3GS in my pocket. I was a Windows/PC guy for decades looking down my nose at those childish people who preferred Macs. I preferred adult computers. But then, in November of 2009 I had to get a new phone and and after years of Nokias, I did a lot of research on smart phones, finally settling on an iPhone 3GS, which was my first Apple product. I now own an iPod (in my car plugged into the sound system), iPad, and a 15" MacBook Pro (purchased a year ago when my PC laptop died). I'm now an Apple guy with an Apple family. My daughters have an iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, iPods each, and each has a 15" MacBook Pro. My wife has an iPhone 3GS and a 13" MacBook Air (which is SOOOO cool!). The only thing left to replace is my wife's aging desktop PC. BTW, getting a Mac makes the iPhone (and iPad) experience much better because of the ease of iTunes, iPhoto, the software updates, iCloud (VERY COOL - no more losing contacts when you lose or destroy your phone!),and probably other stuff I haven't checked out. Suffice it to say that my iPhone is basically an extension of my hand. I have three email accounts on it, play music (iTunes and Pandora), pay bills, stay informed, take pictures, text, and, oh yes, make phone calls on my iPhone! Amazingly, you can do all that and the iPhone doesn't come with an owner's manual! Yes, I've drunk the Kool-Aid.

As far as apps are concerned, I'm a newshound. I have tons of news apps, but these are my most visited:
  • Dallas Morning News (I live in the Dallas area) - pretty good app if you subscribe. Kind of surprising because their webpage is terrible
  • USA Today - excellent app!
  • Drudge Report - there are several free versions
  • Daily Mail - good fun stuff
  • HUffington Post - very good app
  • New York Times - I love the NYTimes and this app, but the NYTimes now limits non-subscribers to a handfull of articles per month, and I find that I just don't go to it as much.
  • TMZ - nice trashy gossip stuff!
  • The Onion - okay... its not really NEWS, but its lots of fun
  • Google News - get on it in Safari, then turn it into an app. The app is actually on Safari, but its a quick shortcut. I go to it a lot to check out headlines.
I have six weather apps, including one that comes on the iPhone, but these two are my favorites:
  • The Weather Channel - its free, and I use it more than any of my other weather apps. You can input multiple cities for it to follow, which I found fun when my daughter spent the summer studying in Botswana and Cape Town.
  • AccuWeather - amazingling bright radar maps!
Reference stuff:
  • Dictionary - I'm a word nerd and use this one a LOT. Its so big that it can only be downloaded and updated when on WiFi. It also has a thesaurus. There are lots of dictionary apps out there. This one has a blue icon with a white D in a white circle.
  • Wikipedia - very good app. Better than the Safari page
  • ebay - very good app
These are just a handful of the games apps I've downloaded:
  • Drop7 - I'm addicted. Get the free one.
  • Angry Birds - the only app that I've actually paid for. Love it!
  • Solitaire - there are quite a few out there, but I like mine. It used to be free but now I think there's a charge
  • Soduku - again, there are a lot out there. Mine's free and I like it.
  • iAssociate - neat game
I pay a lot of bills and check bank accounts on my iPhone. Some examples:
  • GEICO is a very good app
  • My AT&T is very good
Others that I go to a lot
  • AroundMe is very cool. Particularly when traveling.
  • Starbucks has a great app which includes a map showing every Starbucks in your area.
  • Facebook - works very well, but the regular web page is better.
I have a lot more apps, but those above tend to be my "go to" apps. Of the apps that come with the iPhone, I use Maps, Calculator, and Clock (stopwatch, and times in multiple places, etc...) , Notes, and Music quite a bit.

Good luck, and let us know what you do!
 
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Plugging an iPhone into a Windows PC? Make certain you are using a good cable.

I have a Griffin cable that works, but that's one of six, so not all cables work. If you are seeing only a camera, the cable is likely the issue.

Make certain you use the Apple cable and try this. That should work better.

If that does not, the above poster is correct, buy Apple Care. We have 4 4S's and one is always breaking (there is me and three women). My wife's phone has a transverse crack in the screen today. She'll get a new phone.
 
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