Abby and Win’s Blog

I’ve been trying to figure out how I can sync my calendars on to more than one machine. Since switching to a Mac a couple of years ago, I’ve been using iCal. What I hate though is having to pay for a .Mac account (now know as Mobile Me) every year. It’s $100 annually but the only feature I use is the calendar and contact syncing. I already have my own website so I don’t need that from the service.

So I started to use Google calendar a couple of years ago to avoid having to pay for Apple’s service. It works perfect! I can be on any computer with an internet connection and have access to my calendar. I recently found an app that Mozilla created that does calendar management - Sunbird. It’s been out for awhile but an add-on was recently created that “Allows bidirectional access to Google Calendar”. Great! It makes my solution of using Google calendar easier. With this add-on, you can now connect to your Google calendars and have full access. Prior to this, you only had read-only access (which my iCal currently is doing ).

So now I can use Sunbird to fully manage my Google calendars without having to use my browser. Then my iCal will continue to do it’s one-way sync from Google, then syncs with my iPhone.

Now the only thing that’s left is my Address Book.

Part 1

Part 2

- first video blog
– new iMac 2.66GHz, 4GB ram, 20″
– using built in iSight
– using quicktime pro
– room is a mess

- abby is nearly 16 weeks
– we have dr appt on wednesday
– show ultra sound - 10weeks, 12 weeks

- aiptek a-hd+ 1080, $150
- flexpod tripod, $20

- it’s labor day 2008

It’s been over a week that I’ve had my iPhone 3G. I’ll share the bad experiences first.

• Reception at the house hasn’t improved and 3G coverage in my area isn’t consistent. I find myself having to disable 3G more than half the time to get a decent signal. This was a big concern before I bought the phone because the extra $10 per phone, per month for the 3G access is a joke considering the coverage area.

• On two occassions the phone has become unresponsive, once browsing the App Store and the other surfing with Safari. But unlike any Windows OS, it didn’t crash or require a restart. I just waited a few minutes and it became responsive again. You can even hold down the power button to restart it if you can’t wait that long.

• There were a couple of downloaded Apps that crashed. Every time I used them it would try to load up and close. Reinstalling them should fix it.

• It’s great that you can search for nearby locations with the Google map. But I wish there was a way to forward the information to another phone or email. While my friend and I were out, he wanted to know if there were any Korean BBQ restaurants nearby. No problem, I was able to get all the info I needed - directions and contact info. Well he doesn’t have an iPhone but want the info. There’s no way for me to send the info to him. He had to write it on a napkin. I hope Apple or someone adds this feature soon. Same with my contacts. I miss having the ability to forward vCards to other people via SMS.

• I noticed this morning that my battery didn’t get fully charged even though I left it plugged in overnight. It only charged up to about 85%. I’m not sure if my battery is starting to act up in just a week’s worth of use. I hope it’s covered in the manufacturer’s warranty.

• AT&T does not give you the option for phone insurance as they do with all their other phones. So if you lose it or it’s stolen, what are your options then?

• Why can’t I edit my Google calendar via Safari?

• You will get interference while playing music using an FM modulator

Now for the good stuff.

• Internet experience is unmatched by any existing mobile device (other than a laptop). I love how I can just surf the internet and check emails while I wait for my food to be served at a restaurant. Having the internet in my pocket I can get directions and contact info to any business - it’s such a time saver. I can check for movie times and ratings and view trailers.

• Emails on this phone is great. I have my Gmail, Yahoo, and Exchange accounts. It’s interesting how Yahoo allows you to have iMap support on the iPhone yet you have to pay $20 annually for Pop3 for your computer.

• You can send SMS messages to another cell phone using email. I tested it with Sprint and T-Mobile. So far I’m only able to send text. I tried attaching images but they never get it. It may work for other service provider. Here’s the list of email address format for each cell phone company in the US http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/939/sms_email_cingular_nextel_sprint_tmobile_verizon_virgin.

• You can capture screen shots by pushing the power button and the main menu button simultaneously. This feature also exists in the original iPhone and iPod touch. The only requirement is for it to be version 2.0.

• On top of what I mentioned above, it’s also an iPod! I can listen to music without plugging in my headphones. It will play through the speakers.

So far, those are what stood out the first week of using it. w I have a pretty big list of dislikes, I will be keeping this phone past the 30 day trial. I can manage having the inconsistent signal at home, I’m hardly there anyway. I’ll share more things as they come along.

After a couple of hours with an activated iPhone 3G, I’ll share some of my experiences. First, we were lucky to get to the store at the time we did. We nearly missed out on a 16GB model. We got to the store at around 7:30am. There were about 40-50 people in front of us. We got our turn at around 9:40am. We bought 2-3 16GB models that were left. Everyone who were unlucky not to get one were given the option to sign a service contract and reserve their iPhones. They will be called in a few days once they are avaiable.

The account setup at the store took about 25 minutes. It took another couple of hours after getting the iPhone before it was fully activated. The iTunes servers were overwhelmed with how many people activating their new iPhones at the same time. Finally got it activated after a couple of tries on iTunes. Now the fun can begin.

App Store: This is the place where you can download apps for you iPhone. There are lots of great apps. Some I downloaded and installed include eBay, Facebook, AIM, and Google Search. The App Store is easy to use. You can either install the apps on your iPhone or iTunes from your computer and sync it.

GPS: I tried this during lunch time. As we were driving, the dot that represents our current location on Google maps followed along. You can search for places and either get directions or contact info.

Emails: You can sync the existing accounts from you Mail or Outlook program or manually create them on the iPhone. It was easy to create my Gmail, Yahoo!, and Exchange email accounts. Unfortunately, if you wish to sync your Exchange calendars and contacts, it will overwrite your personal calendars and contacts. I’m not sure if the work around would be to get a Mobile Me account.

3G: It seems AT&T has done a pretty job with coverage. So far today I was able to use 3G most of the time. It’s considerably faster than the EDGE network. The iPhone will switch to wifi if it can access one. The problem I had so far with this is with networks that have security via web page. At work, one of our wifi networks uses a WPA security. On top of that password, you have to open up the browser to log in. If you forget this step, the iPhone will keep using the wifi over the EDGE/3G. So at one point I was wondering why I wasn’t able to access the internet when my wifi signal was full - until I realized that I didn’t log in thru the browser.

Camera: The 2MP camera is better than I thought. As long as you take pictures in a well lit place, you’ll be fine. I still haven’t figured out how to email more than 1 picture.

AT&T Network: I thought T-Mobile was bad. In metropolitan areas I don’t have any problems. But at home, I’m lucky to get 2 bars, very disappointing. I tried to call customer service and was surprise to find them closed. I guess I got used to T-Mobile being 24/7 schedule. On top of the hours of operation, AT&T customer support is closed on Sundays. I hope they can fix my signal issue at home.

Overall, I underestimated the phone. Though I have a long wish list of features, the easy interface, third party support for apps, compatibility with my Macs, and internet experience - I can live without my wish list - for now. I would recommend this phone. Just beware of the monthly price plans and the network coverage. If I find more new stuff, I’ll be glad to share.

(added 10 hours later after I wrote this post)
Battery Life: With 3G and wifi on, my phone’s battery drained about 40% on stand by. I didn’t use it for calls or anything else. It just sat in my bag. I woke this morning to find that I have to recharge it soon already.

After 2.5 hours in line, we finally got our 16GB iPhone 3G. I wanted the black one but all they had was the white ones left. No problem, as long as they’re 16GB. There was only 1 left after we got ours so we came close. I will post pics and stuff later.