Kent German, cell phone editor Live!

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Welcome to my live chat

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 3:57AM PDT

Hello and welcome to the iPhone chat. I'm here to answer your iPhone and cell phone questions. So fire away!

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iPhone Now?

by Alansmallen Jul 5, 2007 4:01AM PDT

Kent, let me say that all your coverage was awesome. I have one year left on my Verizon contract. Should I wait, or get the iPhone now? If now, what are the cancellation fees for switching.Thanks

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I'd wait

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:05AM PDT

Unless you really, really want it I would wait until your Verizon contract is up. if you cancel now, you'll pay a fee ($100 or more). Also, in a year we should see an iPhone with more features. Or at least i hope so!

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other carriers?

by jwatsontexas Jul 5, 2007 4:01AM PDT

Any idea on the time table for the iPhone to be available on the SPRINT network?

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No idea

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:07AM PDT

AT&T is supposed to have the iPhone for a couple of years at least (though we don't know for sure). And Apple would have to make a CDMA verion for Sprint. I think it's unlikely, at least for a while.

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Flight Mode?

by SteveL. Jul 5, 2007 4:01AM PDT

While the iPhone may be a great combenation of phone and music player, can you "seperate" the two features for use on an air plane? My phone (LG vx 9900) uses a "standalone mode" or flight mode for this.

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yes, it does

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:08AM PDT

The iPhone does have an airplane mode for the iPod player.

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Email management

by rlabarca Jul 5, 2007 4:04AM PDT

My experience with the phone is that the email client does not remove email from your server when you delete it on the phone. I've seen some other posts about it too. Is this true? Could Apple have made the choice not to let people manage their mail from their phone like that?

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I've seen this too

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:10AM PDT

This seems to be the ase, though we're testing to see if it's true in all instances. I'm not sure why Apple would have made this decision, if they did.

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How about the heat?

by jwatsontexas Jul 5, 2007 4:04AM PDT

Does the iPhone heat up a lot like most other cell phones?

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Not that I've noticed

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:09AM PDT

I haven't noticed this yet. But we're still testing extended talk time. I'll add it to the review if the iPhone does heat up.

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I-phone

by creyes1012 Jul 5, 2007 4:04AM PDT

Is it really that great. There are quite a few phones that can beat the i-phone overall. Cell phones rated on this site have higher ratings then it.

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latin america?

by Difatality Jul 5, 2007 4:05AM PDT

Is there any plans for apple to launch the phone on latin america in the near future?

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Don't know off hand

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:13AM PDT

I'm sure the iPhone will get to latin America at some point. Europe and Asia are supposed to first though. Apple won't confirm anything right now.

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iPhone 2.0

by superduperuser Jul 5, 2007 4:05AM PDT

Hi Kent,
Have you heard of any concrete or possible release to the iPhone 2.0? and do you think it will support other carriers other than ATT? Thanks!

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No word yet

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:12AM PDT

Rumors on the iPhone 2.0 range from this fall to next year. We won't know anything for sure unless we hear it form Steve Jobs' mouth. Wish I could tell you more!

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Battery Issues

by wdehning Jul 5, 2007 4:06AM PDT

Though I had left it charging (via wall and computer) for in excess of eight hours, my iPhone never said it was fully charged. I took it in to the Apple store yesterday and they swapped it out for a new one. Today, while recounting my story, I ran into two other people who are having the same problem --- so here's the question ... is there a battery-recall issue brewing for Apple?

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Nothing official

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:20AM PDT

A few people on Apple forums are reporting battery issues and that Apple has made exchanges. I checked with Apple tech support and called a few stores. They said there was no official exchange program as of yet and they didn't issue an official battery problem. I'm keeping tabs on it though as our battery can charge fully.

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Other Carriers Already In Phone

by Alansmallen Jul 5, 2007 4:07AM PDT

A few tidbits coming out iPhone hacking/modification efforts. The full file listing for the iPhone has been found, and a few interesting tidbits can be gleaned from the files:

Besides AT&T and Cingular, there are logo images for T-Mobile and Vodafone in the iPhone's file system.

Default_CARRIER_ATT.png
Default_CARRIER_CINGULAR.png
Default_CARRIER_TMOBILE.png
Default_CARRIER_VODAFONE.png

Both Vodafone and T-Mobile are heavily rumored to be Apple's mobile partners in Europe/Germany. No other carrier's images are included.

What do you think? Other carriers? Other countries?

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Battery Life?

by jwatsontexas Jul 5, 2007 4:07AM PDT

Have you tested the charge time on the battery? Is is close to the time Apple says?

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Not yet

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:17AM PDT

We haven't conducted that specific test yet. But we'll do so in the next couple days.

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Do you think Apple will add Flash or Yahoo Messenger to iphone?

by Scott-USA Jul 5, 2007 4:08AM PDT

I heard Walt Mossberg predict that Apple would be adding Adobe Flash to the iphone in a software update through itunes within 60 days. But when i talked to a sales rep in the Apple store here in SF, he told me that Apple purposly kept Flash out of the iphone because it uses the phones processor too much and making battery life go down much faster. I also would like to know if Apple will at Yahoo Messenger to iphone. What is your opinion?

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Flash and Yahoo

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:21AM PDT

I bet that these will be added to the iPhone soon. The omission of Flash is especially noteworthy. I don't know what the exact issues were with not adding them.

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Ringtones

by joeycnet Jul 5, 2007 4:09AM PDT

Can you assign songs in the ipod to be your ringtones for incoming calls or ringback tones?

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Unfortunately, no

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:14AM PDT

No, you can't use MP3 tracks in the Ipod player as ring tones. That's really disappointing as we were hoping to see that feature.

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Thickness

by Schmee101 Jul 5, 2007 4:10AM PDT

I heard On cnettv that it was thinner than the original razr, is that open or closed? And is the original the same size as the v3m?

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Just barely

by kentgerman CNET staff Jul 5, 2007 4:13AM PDT

The iPhone is just barely thinner than the razr when the Razr is closed.

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iMouse?

by Alansmallen Jul 5, 2007 4:11AM PDT

Do you think Apple will start integrating iPhone technologies into other products. For example:

http://www.macrumors.com/

Hrmpf notes that Apple has applied for a patent (in March 2006) which extends the concept of Multitouch to a computer mouse.

The user would be able to perform gestures such as pinching or a virtual scroll wheel on the surface of the mouse. In one embodiment, the touch-sensitive mouse would use an internal light source and a optically transmissive surface to track finger positions.

Gestures can also be used to invoke and manipulate virtual control interfaces, such as volume knobs, switches, sliders, handles, knobs, doors, and other widgets that may be created to facilitate human interaction with the computing system.

Combinations of taps or gestures could trigger different actions such as "tapping with the middle and ring fingers could open iTunes or be set in the preference panel to do any particular action."

Apple has had a number of patent applications related to multitouch technology in the past, and features multitouch technology prominently on the Apple iPhone.

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Using iPhone's Wi-Fi Capabilities at SF Giants' AT&T Park

by jeffkomori Jul 5, 2007 4:11AM PDT

Just wanted to let you know that the folks at AT&T Park are working on permitting the use of their free Wi-Fr service by Apple iPhone users. I tried using it during the last SF Giants homestand and couldn't because their "Terms of Use" webpage used Adobe Flash (which the iPhone couldn't do). They claim that it should work before the All-Star week.

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GSM iPhone

by Alansmallen Jul 5, 2007 4:14AM PDT

While I'm as burnt out on iPhone news as the next guy, I thought this was interesting.

BBC wrote today that O2, a UK Carrier, has won the contract to distribute GSM iPhones in Britian. The company says they "should have the new phones on sale in time for Christmas" and will likely carry a 300 pound (US$604.9 sticker price

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6272226.stm

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