iPhone buyers happy 2 weeks later

Despite some early frustrations, 2 purchasers are pleased with Apple gadget

By ALAN J. McCOMBS, The News Journal

July 15, 2007

Josh Jubb and his wife, Lisa, had the first spot in line to buy the iPhone at the Apple store at Christiana Mall on June 29. The Jubbs initially had problems Web surfing. (Buy photo) The News Journal/RON SOLIMAN

Apple released the snazzy iPhone a couple of weeks ago, and The News Journal has been tracking two owners of the $600 phone, which brings together the fun of an iPod, the abilities of a cell phone, and the functionality of a Mac.

Josh Jubb, 24, wanted the phone so much that when the Apple store in Christiana Mall began selling them on June 29, he made sure to get the first spot in line -- although he didn't go himself because he had to work. Instead, he sent his wife, Lisa, to sit in line from 5:40 a.m. until the phone went on sale at 6 p.m.

It's not the first time Jubb has asked his wife to take one for the team. "I've done it for other things like Xbox 360," Josh Jubb said.

Steve Evans, 39, wasn't first in line. He wasn't even in the top 10, although he started camping out for the phone at 11 a.m. Evans came prepared for the wait, though. He brought a copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and a pillow.

Yes, a pillow; it was an impulse buy from the nearby department store. It cost him $9.99, but when you're lining up to buy a $600 phone, $9.99 isn't a lot.

Why wait in line for a product that duplicates the functions already available on other cell phones and multimedia players? Both Evans and Jubb are clear that the phone's appeal isn't that it's just a mashup of an iPod and a phone.

"You're kidding me," Evans said. "It's the most hotly anticipated electronic device since PlayStation."

The iPhone comes in a black and white box that seems so formal you feel you should dress up for it. But the phone is all fun, says Evans, of Chester, Pa.

Once it's working, that is.

While purchasing the phone took about 20 minutes, setting up the phone is where the trouble started for Evans and Jubb, of Wilmington. Evans and Jubb suffered delays and problems while trying to set up their iPhones with AT&T.They were among many who experienced problems on launch day, including dozens who complained on Apple's online forums at discussions.apple.com.

Jubb got the phone, video, iPod and other functions working soon after starting his account with AT&T, but wireless Web surfing -- one of the phone's most heavily touted features -- wouldn't work. The problem wouldn't be fixed until the next day.

Evans couldn't even use his phone until 11:45 the first night. He knows the time because he spent almost six hours on the phone wrestling with tech support to get it working properly. Much of that time, close to two hours, was spent waiting to talk to someone, he says.

"It took four hours for me to reach a person who knew what he was talking about," Evans said. "It's just way too much of a hassle."

Evans and Jubb's approach to trying out their iPhones is what scientists call "autodidactic." Kids call it fooling around.

"I didn't even break open the manual," Evans said. "Whatever you want to do is one tap away."

The approach seems to work marvelously, something both credit to the phone's design.

Jubb's first call on the iPhone was to his wife, who waited in line for hours. The first call that Jubb received on the phone? His wife calling him.

Once Evans had his phone working on Saturday, he gave the phone's virtual keypad a try and shot a friend a text message.

The message: "Hello from the iPhone."

Of course, the phone isn't perfect. The 8-gigabyte song memory of the iPhone can't hold enough of Evans' tunes. "It definitely won't replace anybody's iPod," Evans said.

But Jubb says after he got his iPhone he gave his 20-gigabyte iPod to his wife. "There's absolutely no way I would have reached 20 gigabytes."

Jubb just wants to figure out how to set the songs stored on his iPhone as ring tones.

The all-in-one answer

The iPhone combines the functions of a PDA, phone and iPod into one gadget -- as well as the price of all three. But that package also has some business utility, Evans and Jubb say.

Evans' work as a self-employed computer consultant has him zipping around the region fixing his clients' computer glitches. For him, one of the phone's biggest bonuses is its intelligent chat function, which helps him type out messages. Evans hated responding to text messages on his old Motorola Razr phone.

"People used to text me all the time and I used to call because the texting was horrible," Evans says.

The wireless Internet and the iPhone's smart screen ability to zoom in on pages is a bonus that Evans says will let him serve his clients from anywhere. Evans says that in the past, partners would send him plans after hours while he was at the bar. The only way he could access them was when he got to a computer, but with the iPhone's Web browser, he can work anytime and anywhere.

"At the bar, I can actually take a look at what she's asking me to do," Evans says. "It's actually been helping my business."

For Jubb, who works in sales for a nationwide document retrieval service, the phone lets him carry his office on his belt. "If you need to be out in the field, you can be out checking your e-mail on probably the world's smallest laptop."

Just a phone?

The iPhone is the most hyped tech toy of the summer and a contender for the most talked about new product of the year. But it doesn't represent a revolutionary new approach to mobile life, said Stuart Carlaw, research director for ABIresearch, a New York-based technology research company.

The phone's technology doesn't break new ground. Web surfing on a phone? That was cutting edge 10 years ago. Sending e-mails on a phone? A Blackberry or a Palm Treo can do that. Even the multimedia features touted in Apple's ads have already been used on phones like Nokia's N95.

"Nothing is new here. What they have done is brought all these things together under a very strong brand," Carlaw said.

What the phone represents is part of the increased segmentation of the cell phone market, Carlaw said. This segmentation of the market is why Nokia released 29 phones last year ranging from basic cameras to multimedia players, said Bill Plummer, vice president of multimedia for Nokia in North America.

Feature-crammed phones such as the iPhone seem to be geared toward younger people who see the phones as status symbols. A survey of 39,000 people released earlier this month by the New Jersey company Lightspeed Research found that more than 70 percent of the early adopters of the phone were between 18 and 34.

"There's a very large segment that just sees it as a phone," Carlaw said. "There's another segment at the other end of the spectrum [that] see it as a symbol of being, of expression."

Source : http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070715/BUSINESS/707150323/-1/NEWS01

Phones for little digits

If your child is responsible, she might be ready for her own number

By Nariman Ahmed

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

July 16, 2007

That's the age of the youngest customer Shelby Nielsen, a district manager for T-Mobile, can remember setting up with a phone. (Of course, the girl's dad did foot the bill for the pink Motorola Razr.)

Even if that 4-year-old is a rarity, kids are yearning for cell phones at ever-younger ages. If your own children are giving you the pitch for why they "need" a cell phone, we have some tips to help you through the decision.

How can I make sure that my child is responsible enough to carry a phone?

Sarah L. Sirbasku, a local child psychologist, says to look at whether a child is responsible in other areas. Some examples:

• Does she bring home from school the books she needs to do her homework?

• Does she follow curfews? Or, for a younger child, is she home from play dates when she is supposed to be?

• Does she generally do her chores?

• If she has gone to a neighbor's house, does she leave a note telling you where she is?

Responsibility in areas such as these indicate how responsible a child will be with a cell phone.

What rules should I set for my child's cell-phone use?

Sirbasku suggests addressing the following issues:

• What can the child use the phone for? Is it just for calling Mom and Dad, or can he use it to talk to friends?

• What are the rules on text-messaging? (See below for more on the financial considerations of texting.)

• Is the child allowed to talk on the phone after he has gone to bed?

• Will parents monitor the child's call and text-message logs?

• If the phone gets lost or damaged, who pays to replace it?

• What are the consequences when the child doesn't answer a parent's call?

Michelle Keller of Pflugerville, who works in indirect sales at Regional Acceptance Corp., bought cell phones for her daughters, Haley and Payton, when they were 11 and 8, respectively. Haley and Payton know that if they don't call back when their folks call, their parents will hunt them down.

Can I buy a phone without all the bells and whistles? My child doesn't need all those features, and I don't want to pay for them.

For younger children, look for phones such as Migo from Verizon Wireless, which has four speed-dial keys. Pantech C3 from AT&T also has speed-dial features for emergency numbers. Jitterbug phones (www.jitterbug.com) are marketed toward seniors but can also be kid-friendly. The phones have large number pads and simple "yes" and "no" buttons to accept or decline calls.

For kids who are a little older, Sammy Sanders, retail sales manager at AT&T, says there are phones that have more features (such as text-messaging), but are still easy to use and less expensive than deluxe models. They include the Nokia 6030, Sony Ericsson Z300A and Motorola C139.

I don't want to spend a fortune if my child sends a lot of text messages. How can I control those costs?

Check whether your carrier has text-messaging packages. For example, with AT&T you can get 200 text-messages per month for $4.99 or the unlimited text-messages package for $19.99 per month. Without a package, each text message a child sends or receives costs 15 cents.

The Kellers are on a family plan by T-Mobile that allows them to talk and text-message fellow T-Mobile customers for free. Their monthly bill comes to $130 for four phones.

I'm worried that my child will lose or damage the cell phone. What precautions can I take?

Sanders of AT&T suggests phones by Nokia, which he says are generally sturdy. He adds that bar-style phones hold up better than flip phones.

Sonia Lopez, a sales representative for the Cricket phone service, said the Kyocera K132 is durable because it is made of hard plastic.

However, Sprint store manager Gary Bassett says the bottom line is that most phones are delicate. The most durable phones sold at his store are geared toward those who work outside and aren't practical for children.

You can also buy insurance for the phone through your carrier.

In the Keller family, Haley lost her first cell phone when she took it to school.

The phone was recovered, but Haley still stayed disconnected for a long time.

"She had to show some responsibility for a year," Keller said.

After that, the Kellers allowed Haley to use her birthday money to buy a Motorola pink Razr when she turned 13.

"Children lose everything at this age, and I wasn't paying $100 for a phone for her to lose it one week later," Keller said. "If she loses it, we don't lose any money."

Can I keep my child from downloading ringtones and other content for which I'd have to pay?

Yes. Look for services such as AT&T's "purse blocker." Chris Penrose, vice president and general manager for AT&T Mobility South Texas, said parents can turn the blocker on or off to control when a child can download ringloads or other content.

What about school policies on cell phones?

Mel Waxler, general counsel for the Austin Independent School District, said cell phones are allowed in high schools but not on elementary and middle school campuses. However, even at high schools, cell phones should not be seen or heard by faculty. If they are, the phones are confiscated and parents can pick them up later.

Your child doesn't have to have a cell phone for you to be able to contact her during the school day. Telephones are available in Austin school district classrooms, but the district prefers that parents call the school office to get a message to their child.

I remember reading that radiation from cell phones might pose a health hazard. What's the latest research on that?

According to the World Health Organization, available evidence doesn't show any link between cell phones and cancer. The Food and Drug Administration also reports that there's no evidence that cell phones pose a health risk.

If you're concerned, though, FDA spokeswoman Kris Mejia says that you can reduce a child's exposure to radio frequency energy from cell phones by limiting the child's time on the phone and using a headset to keep the phone farther away from the child's body.

Ari Brown, a local pediatrician and co-author of "Baby 411" and "Toddler 411," agrees that it doesn't hurt to limit your kids' cell-phone talk time.

"If there is an easy and inexpensive way to limit certain environmental exposures, particularly in children, it makes sense to do it," Brown said. "There is no downside to anyone of any age limiting their conversations on cell phones to a few minutes, if possible, except for inconvenience."

Source : http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/other/07/16/0716cell.html

Cell Phone of the Day

Cell Phone of the Day