Sunday, July 1, 2007

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) (8 сообщений)

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  • Two possible fixes for iPhone activation problems

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    For those still stuck in iPhone activation limbo, we have a couple of tips and tricks might help you to get on your way. While these might not be sure-fire solutions for everyone, they sound general enough and have worked for at least two individuals, so they just might work for you as well.

    First up is a three-step process from Download Squad's Alex Hung which involves shuffling a couple of SIM cards around. After waiting far too long like so many others, Alex called AT&T who told him that the iPhone activation process involves two basic steps: the first is the SIM activation, while the second is some sort of iTunes verification process (if I had to guess, this is for Apple's records to keep track of who owns which phones and how many, since they get a cut of every AT&T iPhone contract). Like many others, Alex received the email that the SIM activation process had completed, but his iPhone still wasn't working. After a phone call and some clever deduction, here is Alex's trick that might help some of you get your iBricks to start working more like iPhones. Note, however, that this requires you to already be an AT&T customer with a Cingular or AT&T phone and SIM card separate from the iPhone:
    1. Assuming you've already gone through the initial activation process and are stuck somewhere in limbo like so many others, power down your iPhone and swap out the iPhone's SIM (outlined in this downloadable iPhone User Guide - your first search result in that document for "SIM" should do it) for the SIM from your old phone. Power the phone back on.
    2. Plug the iPhone back into iTunes to force a new activation process (every time you swap the iPhone's SIM, it will need to be plugged into iTunes and verified before your iPhone will work). Your activation might or might not work this second time around with your old SIM, but once you complete it, power the phone back down. Proceed to step 3.
    3. Swap out the SIM cards again and re-insert the SIM that originally came with your iPhone. For the heck of it, wait a minute or two before powering the iPhone back on. If all goes well, your new iPhone SIM and iTunes verification will have finally straightened out, allowing you to use your iPhone as Apple originally intended.
    You might have to power cycle the phone one more time (Alex did), as the iPhone might actually request you to do so, but this trick just might work for some of you. If it does, or if you have any modifications to the steps that ultimately get your iPhone up and running, please share in the comments. A catch with this method, however, is that we really aren't sure what will happen to your other activation requests if this trick actually succeeds. We also aren't sure whether this is a 'good' way to get your iPhone up and running, since you will technically be entering a second activation process into AT&T's (and possibly Apple's) systems, which could potentially cause more problems. If anyone knows something we don't about this trick, please share that in the comments as well and we'll be happy to update this post.

    The second method is detailed by Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis on the company's blog. This one is a bit simpler, though potentially more time consuming: Paul essentially called a specific AT&T number (1-877-800-3701), selected the proper extension (#1) and waited 45 minutes until getting a representative who explained the situation. Turns out that Paul's activation was a manual process that wasn't fully completed by the original rep who handled it. After this new rep apparently fixed a small issue by adding a required feature and clicking the "Yes, Paul can use his iPhone now" button, he was up and running with his iPhone.

    Of course, these solutions might not work for everyone, but we sure hope they can bring a smile to at least some of you who have had a less-than-stellar experience getting their iPhones actually working like iPhones. Of course, if you have your own ideas or modifications to these solutions, please share them in the comments and we'll update this post.
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  • iPhone Experience: Real-world testing

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    Fully rested from Friday night's excitement, I grabbed my iPhone and hit the streets. How would it perform under real world, on-the-street conditions? I found out.

    I should note that I live in the middle of nowhere, so this post may be of particular interest to those who don't live in major cities.

    My first test was a long shot, but I couldn't resist. Once in my car, I put my iPhone into my Belkin Tunebase FM and plugged it in. I mean, it's an iPod, right?

    "This accessory does not work with iPhone," it said. That's what I expected, but I still had to try.

    On The Street

    I drove to a densely populated part of town on a cloudless day. The iPhone's display was more difficult to read in the bright sun. Cranking up the brightness level helped, but to be honest, it was never illegible.

    On The EDGE

    On Main Street there wasn't a WiFi network to be had, so I was riding the bleeding EDGE. With three bars, I launched Mail. It took maybe 10-12 seconds for the iPhone to find and retrieve 19 messages. A bit slower than WiFi, but totally acceptable.

    Photos

    I took a photo (above) and mailed it to my sister. This was surprisingly speedy - comparable to my MacBook Pro at home. The huge display made composing my shot very easy, and the view of my subject was interrupted only by a the button to snap the photo and another to jump to an album of photos taken with the iPhone. In fact, the iPhone's display is significantly larger than that of my digital camera. There's no comparison to a real camera, of course, but the iPhone is absolutely qualified for taking nice looking, on-the-spot snapshots.

    Email And Web

    I loaded a few websites, and some were quicker than others. For instance, the busy NBC.com was a bit slower than a few less "busy" weblogs. Interestingly, Newsvine.com automatically forwarded me to the mobile version of their site. Even though I was on EDGE, none of the sites I visited required an inordinate amount of time to load.

    Needless to say, I was feeling good about the iPhone. Time to make a call.

    The Killer App: Making Calls

    The included headphones feature an integrated mic that is so impressive to me, I can't adequately explain it. It hangs just below the right earbud and seems too small and too far away from the wearer's mouth to be effective. Not so.

    While listening to "My Morning Jacket" and strolling the main drag, I called my sister (mostly because she LOVES to talk, and as such would be a willing guinea pig). The music automatically faded out, and I put the iPhone back into my pocket as her phone started to ring. She answered, and we began to chat. In fact, she thought I was on my land line until I told her otherwise! Did I mention I was outdoors using the headphone mic? Awesome.

    I switched to the iPhone's built-in earpiece and mic, then to speaker phone and back again, all during the call - she never noticed. The audio was clear and strong on my end as well.

    With her chatting away on speaker (she REALLY likes to talk), I browsed my calendar, looked at photos, played with the weather widget...without effecting the call in any way. I was amazed.

    I then asked her to call me. I ended the call and the music picked right up where I left off about 15 minutes prior. Soon enough, it faded again to "ring." With a simple click of the earbud mic I was back on the phone.

    How Many Bars You Got?

    My access varied from 1 to 5 bars as I walked around, but I never lost email or internet. Email was VERY slow at 1 bar, but it still did its job. Also, while phone calls got a bit "jumpy" at 1 bar, the call never dropped.

    So, my day with the iPhone was satisfying and fun. The UI is so snappy, the display so bright and the screen just so darn fun to touch that I've fallen in love with this little computer. And that's the sense one gets: The iPhone is a portable computer that just happens to make phone calls, not a phone that performs a few tricks.

    When I consider that this is the iPhone's initial release, I marvel: A few years from now, the iPhone as we know it will seem as archaic as the 1st generation iPod. Now that's exciting.
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  • iPhone Tip: Tap and hold on a link for a description popup

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    Safari on the iPhone might be slightly limited in some areas (for example: you can't double-tap contacts in Meebo to begin a chat), but we're discovering all sorts of useful goodies that I don't remember Jobs or the Apple videos ever highlighting. In this screenshot of my iPhone (sorry I couldn't snap a better quality pic), I've tapped and held my finger on a link in Safari, which invoked this handy popup with the name of the linked page, as well as the actual URL. This is a very useful way of translating the typical status bar UI in desktop browsers so it is still accessible on the iPhone for the times you need it, and yet it doesn't take up any valuable real estate during most of the times you don't.
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  • My unusable iPhone

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    Two roads diverged in iPhone activation and I--I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Instead of going for the standard postpaid plan, I opted for the prepaid one. I have signed up for a $29.99 per month Pick Your Plan with a $20 per month iPhone unlimited data plan. My account is fully provisioned on AT&Ts side and it shows as an iPhone compatible account. And yet, I cannot get past the "AT&T has determined that your current account cannot be used with the iPhone" screen. I'm told to call back tomorrow. The prepaid office is closed today. At least the iPhone looks pretty in its dock.

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  • Apple creates iPhone-specific trailers site

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    For as long as I can remember, apple.com/trailers has been a great, ad-free place to see all the latest movie trailers in the one of the best video formats available on (and off) the web. During my ceaseless tinkering, I just noticed that Apple has created a sub-page at apple.com/trailers/iphone specifically for the iPhone, offering access to what looks like the same content and trailers you can view with a regular computer browser. In fact, visiting that URL in any desktop browser, including Safari 3 beta, redirects to the main /trailers/ site, ensuring that visitors don't get mixed up with the wrong page.

    Perhaps even cooler, selecting a trailer on the iPhone reveals a page with a static picture where the trailer would be, and a play icon. Clicking this icon appears to take the user to an iPod-like app, where the trailer begins to buffer, and all movie controls are available. As icing on the cake, if you're already listening to media in the iPod app, your music/podcast will gracefully fade out, giving the trailer you want to watch full priority until you exit the movie.
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  • TUAW Tip: Aperture keyboard shortcuts for scrolling through your library

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    Video thumbnail. Click to play.
    Click To Play

    One of the things I mentioned in my Aperture podcast that I love so much about this app is its plethora of features designed especially to increase efficiency for power users and pro photographers. This tip centers around Aperture's keyboard shortcuts that allow for some very useful navigation and scrolling of the library browser, which is the pane that displays thumbnails of all the images in the currently selected album, project or folder. Instead of just explaining the shortcuts or giving you a screenshot, however, I thought I would go one step further and put together a short demo video of the shortcuts and the browser in action, additionally pointing out the small shuttle control on the right that helps detail just how quickly you're scrolling. It isn't anything fancy, but it should give you an idea of just how cool and actually useful this feature is.

    For those who want the actual keyboard shortcuts, they are: J, K and L to scroll up, stop and scroll down, respectively.
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  • iPhone: a dozen pics and a few impressions

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    tuaw apple iphone gallery smallI didn't buy an iPhone, but I was lucky enough to run down a few features on one this weekend. Sadly my camera wasn't up to macro video on a backlit device (silly Casio), but I did manage to snag a few pics that give a little peek into the average operation of the iPhone.

    A couple of things caught my attention while playing. Yes, it was designed by angels. But it was heavier than I thought it would be, given previous descriptions. That's glass and battery folks, make no mistake. As usual, Apple's engineers have balanced the thing so it doesn't feel awkward. Typing wasn't bad, and the mantra "trust the keyboard" is true. The balance and weight feels good in your hands as you type, unlike some smartphones I've used. However, you can't flip the keyboard while typing. That caught me completely unaware. I called up a new Safari page, and when it went to type in the URL, I had meant to try thumb-typing. But you have to back out of the keyboard first, which wasn't exactly intuitive. In fact, it reminds me of old frustrations with modal dialogs in pre-OS X days.

    Another curiosity was bringing up the movie playback interface. Initially I had trouble activating stuff easily because I was using a light touch. The Apple fanboy in me was afraid to poke the glass too hard, I suppose. But once you realize this was designed to take the kind of abuse an old boxer like C.K. might dish out, you realize the thing is pretty tough. Clearly this is also to prevent accidental brushes from bringing up controls, but I had to be told how to bring up the playback stuff (you don't just touch the screen). One neat trick: playback of embedded QuickTime content goes fullscreen. That was a nice touch.

    From what I was told, Notes don't sync with anything! Sure, the new page flip is cute and the trashing a note eye-candy is cool, but what's the use of this? I guess it's a compelling reason to upgrade to Leopard, since it'll most likely sync with Mail's new Notes feature. Plus, there appeared no To-Do mechanism. That, for me, is a big problem. I'm constantly setting timed reminders. Without that, a lot of my GTD functionality is broken on the iPhone.

    Almost everything else really was butter. Tasty, salty butter. The Timer, for example, is a dream for parents. It is incredibly easy to set for variable time-outs, or those inevitable "just 5 more minutes!" But the killer app has to be Google Maps. It's no Garmin GPS thing that'll talk you through your next stop, but it does a great job of providing you with relevant, important information when you need it. And it does this so easily I found myself giggling at the novelty.

    You can tell Apple was testing how tight they can get manufacturing with those nano's before they made this thing. The space around the SIM slot is minute. Sure, you can't use a lot of headphones with the thing, but if you look at the construction, there's not a lot to do about that right now. The owner of this unit had it in his pocket, with keys, most of the day. And not a scratch was to be seen. They're definitely using a better coating these days!

    Aside from a few inadequacies, everything works like magic and is truly a revelation to use, much like the first Mac. Be sure to check out the gallery with more commentary on the apps I tried out (including the nifty Calculator). After only 20 minutes, I'm in love. The battery died, however, with timely reminders, so I ended my love affair until my current phone contract expires.

    Gallery: iPhone 20 minutes in heaven

    NotesGoogle MapsBattery warningSilent mode and volumeSIM card slot
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  • iPhone accessory mini-review and gallery: Incase Protective Cover

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    When I purchase just about any electronic gadget these days, I usually factor in the cost of at least a $20-$30 case to buy right along with it. When I went to purchase my 8GB iPhone Friday night, I considered its price to be $630, not $599; there was no way I was walking out of the Apple Store without some way to protect my shiny new gadget, even if I had to get some kind of super-stretchy iPod case to hold me over. Thankfully, my Apple Store was ready to roll with a healthy dose of both in-house and 3rd party accessories, including some from one of my favorite accessory and case manufacturers: Incase (who just recently re-launched their website, finally). With a few different hard rubber and leather case options available, I settled on the $29.95 Incase Protective Cover in black, and here is a mini-review. For those who want the cliff notes: it's a great case that fits the iPhone like a glove, flawlessly providing access to all the phone's controls and ports. I definitely recommend it. Check out our gallery for images of the case in action.

    To expand a little: this Incase Protective Case is designed really well, and once applied to your phone it hardly shifts in place, despite being slightly flexible, though hardened, rubber. This isn't like the silicon cases from iSkin - it's pretty rigid. One drawback of the case though is the lack of any clear protective cover for the iPhone's display. Considering that PC World has done a pretty good job of exploring how strong, durable and apparently un-scratch-able the iPhone's display is in this video, you might not have to worry about it. Another alternative for protecting your iPhone's display, at least for now, would be to leave on the clear plastic sticker; that's what I did, and my phone touch UI seems to function just fine. If you've already tossed out that sticker, a pack of Crystal Film from Power Support, also available in Apple Stores for $14.95, might do the trick. I picked up a pack of this stuff but I'm honestly wary of using it since I still have the original clear sticker on my iPhone. If anyone tries that film stuff out, please comment with your experience.

    Getting back to the case though, it also adds a level of grip-ability to the phone's otherwise sleek and possibly too-slick exterior. For anyone concerned about dropping the phone during calls or carrying too many groceries in at once, this case should add all the grip you need. However, one unavoidable drawback to this case - and likely every case made for the iPhone - is that the dock won't be usable without removing the case. Anyone who has used just about any case on their iPod probably won't be surprised by this. You'll either have to deal with removing your Incase Protective Case each time you want to sit your iPhone in its dock, or simply stick with using the cable altogether.

    Ultimately, I highly recommend the Incase Protective Case. It's another successful effort from an established Apple accessory maker that protects (almost) everything that needs it, while still offering unhindered access to the iPhone's exterior controls and ports. I give the $29.95 cases a 5/5 rating, and you can see more pictures and colors here, as well as the rest of Incase's iPhone lineup here.

    Gallery: Incase Protective Cover for iPhone

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