Confirmed: Major iPhone software problems including 3G

After the post earlier today about our first generation Apple iPhone being very slow after the software 2.0 update, we can now confirm this is a major issue affecting most or maybe even all iPhone owners.

Every iPhone that has the software 2.0 update installed seems to be affected by a few issues, including being extremely slower compared to the previous firmware. This is affecting both iPhone 3G’s and first generation devices that have the new software.

Product Reviews has had a few iPhone users comment about this problem, this includes the below:

Mine iPhone has been very slow since upgrading to 2.0. A reboot helps for a few hours, and then you must repeat it I’d put up with delays scrolling, entering text (passwords show the last 1 or 2 characters typed for a second or two), and frequent browser crashes. I would like to restore back to version 1.

My iPhone is now very sluggish after upgrading to 2.0. I am not happy about it at all. Sometimes the phone is almost unusable. I would seriously entertain the idea of downgrading back to 1.0 if I knew how.

At first I thought it just might be me, with a large address book (2,500 contacts). But it seems to affect most everyone, even the 3G phones.

Even Apple’s website has posts about this slow problem with the iPhone 2.0 software and some other problems, this is what one user posted:

After upgrading my iPhone to 2.0, I found the following main issues;
1. Battery life is much shorter, perhaps 2 days at the most instead of the previous 4 to 7 days on normal usage
2. Having almost the same number of contacts than before the upgrade (about 1750), the iPhone becomes much slower than before when starting the Phone application, looking for names, scrolling, etc. It seems worst after a few hours of usage or when using EDGE instead of Wi-Fi. Slow behavior doesn’t seem to follow a pattern or have a repetitive and demonstrable reason that triggers it, looking almost as random
3. Behavior of Maps varies pending on either EDGE or Wi-Fi, turning it specially slow/random on EDGE
4. Browsing while switching cells on EDGE is now much slower than before the upgrade

It now looks pretty much conclusive that this is a major problem with both versions of the iPhone that have the latest firmware, lets hope a fix is coming soon.

My Apple iPhone is slow after software 2.0 update

Many Apple iPhone users on July 11 experienced massive problems with iTunes and updating their iPhones to the new software 2.0 update, although we had no problems updating, we are now finding one really annoying problem.

While I am not sure why, the iPhone has a massive delay when doing different tasks ever since I upgraded to the new firmware 2.0. At first I thought it may just be my iPhone, then we find out this issue has affected a lot more users and it is big news.

Before the update, clicking on a contact, switching between different areas of the iPhone and other tasks were almost instant but now there is a delay that can be up to 3 or 4 seconds.

Is your iPhone 3G or first generation iPhone affected by this, does it have a delay in some areas after upgrading to software 2.0?

You will know if your affected as it’s a major difference, we have found 6 people so far this has affected, lets find out how big a problem this really is.

Pwnage jailbreak’s iPhone 3G 2.0 software: does not unlock yet

The new version of Pwnage has just been released and it jailbreak’s iPhone 3G 2.0 software but does not unlock yet, although it will unlock older iPhones.

This new version of iPhone-dev team’s jailbreaking and unlocking software will jailbreak the iPhone 3G, but it has limitations, this is what was said in their blog post

Yes, it jailbreaks and unlocks older iPhones, and jailbreaks iPhone 3Gs and iPod Touches. We only support the 2.0 firmware’s

If unlocking the iPhone 3G is what you want then you may have to wait a little longer but this software is a step in the right direction for some, you should also read the statement below about an Error you may get

If you get Error 1600 from iTunes (or if you see in your log a failure to prepare x12220000_4_Recovery.ipsw), try: mkdir “~/Library/iTunes/Device Support”; if that directory already exists, remove any files in it. Then re-run Pwnage Tool

We have heard from users that have tried Pwnage 2.0 on their iPhone 3Gs and original iPhones that run iPhone OS 2.0, it seems that most people are not having any problems, other than the above.

AT&T jump the gun on free iPhone 3G wireless offer

It was great news hearing that AT&T had a free wireless offer that would allow iPhone 3G users to access the Internet on the go for free. Today we hear that the news was too good to be true.

Apparently AT&T officials have now retracted the offer and said that it was mistakenly put up on the AT&T website, and that’s not the first time AT&T have made this kind of mistake.

If the offer did go ahead, iPhone users would have been able to get free access to the Internet via 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots; this would of included bookstores, airports and Starbucks coffee shops.

After the reports we had yesterday about 3G usage affecting the iPhones battery life badly, the option of free Wi-Fi hotspots would of enabled users to turn off 3G and use Wi-Fi to save battery life.

It now seems Obvious that something free will be coming soon, and this offer maybe something that’s due but just not now. AT&T has always said they will be giving free wireless at some point.

Lets hope it happens soon as this would also relieve AT&T cellular networks and divert some heavy traffic to hotspots that connect to the web by landlines and not 3G.

Apple iPhone 3G Battery Life Problems

We are hearing of a few users that are having problems with the iPhone 3G-battery life, its being reported that the battery life on Apple’s new phone will not last the whole day.

We know the 3G iPhone uses a lot more power than 2G, but uses have said they have to keep a charger at work and plug in the iPhone so it lasts the whole day.

On Apple’s support area one user posted “iPhone 3G Battery Life Really Short- Please Help” and it’s had over 1,176 views with other users reporting similar problems.

You can view the discussion here on Apple; this is what some of the iPhone users have said.

I got my phone yesterday and charged it for 12 hours overnight after it drained completely. I unplugged it at 11:30 this morning I used it frequently throughout the next day, and had WiFI and 3G on the whole time. I am using MobileMe so I have push email enabled, so there is no checking interval. The battery was completely drained by 8 p.m. this same day, 8 and a half hours after unplugging it. Granted I was using it a lot throughout the day, but that still seems much shorter than my original iPhone’s battery life. Do I have a bad battery in need of replacement, or is this normal?

That sounds about right to me. That battery life has been my experience as well. I now keep a charger at work and plug in my phone so it lasts the whole day. Of course if you are a student going from class to class this can be a bit more difficult.

Have you found the iPhone 3G to have bad battery life?

Complaints of iPhone 3G reception, signal issues

One of the improvements in the iPhone 3G was meant to be the reception thanks to the new plastic back, but it seems that there are still some issues with the iPhone 3G signal.

The Apple forum has being taken over by “iPhone 3G Reception Problems” and the post has already had around 200 replies and nearly 5000 views. You can join in the discussion here on Apple.

Here is what a few iPhone 3G owners have said:

I have a 16gb, white iPhone and am having a similar issue. Seems the reception is really unsteady (even in Manhattan) and today the signal disappeared entirely, stating “no network” for over an hour (I was walking around during this time in an area where I know I always get reception). When I finally got home I restarted the phone and when it booted back up I had reception. Also, it seems my data connection, although it says 3G, seems to be running at edge speeds

I’m having a similar problem in Manhattan. I’m always getting 5 bars, but the best speed I’ve seen from 3G is 66kbps and the best from Edge is 13kbps. I’m dropping calls or can’t make calls at all. I’m hoping that AT&T is just overloaded at the moment and will fix things shortly

AT&T’s 3G network was lagging, and still can be in some areas. I would expect that, after adding all those iPhone 3G’s

Complaints of the iPhone 3G signals are continuing to come in, have you experienced this yourself. We have also heard that some users have exchanged their iPhones for replacement units and they had no improvement.

China mobile Samsung D988 or D980 DuoS to us

Do you remember when Samsung canceled the P720, this was their first attempted at making a dual SIM card phone with full touchscreen and it was not very successful.

Now we are hearing of a new phone called the Samsung D988 that’s on China Mobile, this comes after Samsung improved touch capabilities and will have another crack at dual SIM features.

They have taken the Samsung F480 (Armani successor), redesigned it and added dual SIM functionality. The China version of D988 will be known to the rest of the world by the model D980 DuoS.

The Samsung D980/D988 dual SIM handset will feature Bluetooth 2.0 and USB, microSD memory card slot, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, 2′6″ 240×320px QVGA 262K color display, Dual SIM GSM card slots and GSM Triband (900/1800/1900MHz), GPRS/EDGE connectivity.

We have no word on prices or when the D980 DuoS version will be coming to Europe or the United States but it should be soon.

Source: Read

China selling unlocked Apple iPhone 3G’s

On the day of the Apple iPhone 3G release we heard that the iPhone 2.0 software had already been unlocked and today we hear that a website in China is selling unlocked iPhone 3G’s.

The only problem would be the amount they want you to buy, if you want 1000 unlocked iPhone 3G’s then they will take your order. You got to love China and their openness about doing this to the big brands over and over.

Alibaba are able to-do what they can because of the strange copyright laws of China, this is apparently an original Apple device and comes direct from a business by the name of Union Camera.

The 1000 units per shipment is a little crazy, but forgetting that it does seem a little wrong and could you really trust them.

If you have an Apple iPhone 3G, are you bothered about unlocking it or are you happy to keep everything nice, simple and as it is?

Source: Read

Virgin Mobile: Strip in the name of charity

While Virgin Mobile’s new Strip campaign may be seen as controversial, it is needed sometimes to get the word out and get people to take notice, help others in need and donate to charity.

It’s been claimed that the new national Web campaign called Strip2Clothe, has encouraged young people to post striptease videos.

Its amazing how some news channels try and bend what is really trying to be done here, Virgin Mobile’s aim is to help give clothes to people that need them more than you.

The campaign was launched last week and most of the videos we saw on their website are harmless, they are very short and just show a couple of items of clothes taken off.

We guessing Virgin Mobile knew this would be controversial, if that were the case then it would also show that the media has taken this story and given lots of press, in turn this will help give thousands of people clothes.

The more people that create these Strip to Clothe videos, the more clothing companies will donate new clothing to people that need it, this will be based on the number of times the videos get viewed.

The National Network for Youth was backing this campaign but since the controversy, it has cut all ties with Virgin’s Strip2Clothe.

What do you make of this campaign, check it out here and let us know your opinions?

iPhone 3G not sold 1 million to customers

This week we heard an amazing announcement from Apple about the iPhone 3G selling one million phones in a few days, we now hear this might not be to end customers.

When you think of 1 million sales, its simple and you think that Apple has sold a million phones. Well Beta news claim this might not be true, yes the phones have left Apple but could be with AT&T and not the end customer for at least another 2 weeks.

Is it right claiming one million iPhone 3G’s have been sold if it turns out they have not been bought by the end user?

Financial analyst, Gene Munster has said that the amount of 3G iPhones sold by last Monday would have been around 500,000, if this is true, where does the 1 million come from?

Gene Munster said that the numbers were projected by ringing stores and finding out how many phones were being activated each hour, once this calculation was worked out, it will then take another 17 days to hit 1 million iPhone 3G sales.

Looking at past iTunes press releases and this one, Apple seems overly optimistic with these announcements?

Google Mobile App for iPhone and iPod Touch

The rush of Friday June 11th is well and truly over but people are still trying hard to get their hands on the new iPhone 3G, while all this is happening things are still all go with the new App Store.

Today we hear that Google has launched their new Mobile App for iPhone, this application makes it easy to search the web on the move and find your contacts even faster.

The Google Mobile App is currently only for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users in the US, although other countries will also get this application soon on their App Stores.

When you search results will appear right away as your typing. The slick interface will learn what you do over time and will place your frequently clicked results on the first search page.

The main features of the Google Mobile App include search history, My Location and Google Suggest. Will you be using this new powerful application?

Source: Read

Apple iPhone 2G with 2.0 Firmware: why get 3G?

Some existing Apple iPhone 2G owners have already upgraded to the 3G version if they were lucky enough to get their hands on a handset, but what about those that are still not sure about upgrading.

If you have the first generation iPhone you may wonder if it’s worth upgrading, especially when you have the 2.0 Firmware installed on your device. Will you need the GPS and 3G options?

When your buying the iPhone for the first time then the latest 3G versions is a great deal, it’s cheaper this time round and has a few features that improve on the first-gen phone.

As an original iPhone owner I will be upgrading to 3G soon, this is because I browse the web on the move and use it for business, having a faster 3G connection will help a lot and as it will be free to upgrade on the price plan I am after, there is nothing to lose.

For existing users that do not need GPS or faster data speeds, it may seem a little pointless upgrading, why spend $200/£100 on a phone you do not need?

The new iPhone features a plastic back that some people feel gives the iPhone 3G a cheap feel compared to the metal back of the first iPhone. This new feature is said to improve reception.

Other improvements include 2g lighter, the in-built speaker has been enhanced, call quality is improved, and the headphone jack will now work with standard headphones and cars that have an audio jack.

Will you upgrade to iPhone 3G and do you need faster data or GPS?

Comparison of iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct and LG Dare

The photo on this page shows the iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct and LG Dare. These three phones are major competitors and while their features also show this to be true, you would not think so considering all the attention Apple’s phone has had in comparison.

Engadget has decided to give these three cell phones a little test in the name of speed, the LG Dare was shown to consistently beat the iPhone 3G by between 50-100kbps on Verizon’s EV-DO network.

This test may not be totally fair as the speed may depend on circumstances, the time of day, network in your area and other conditions.

The reviewers said they will be following up with some more tests on the iPhone vs the Dare and also a Samsung Instinct speed test, you can see their results detailed in photos here.

What’s your favorite phone out of the iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct and LG Dare?

For us the iPhone 3G is in a league of it’s own currently, this may not be down to the phones hardware but more about the 3rd party app support and software. If you’re looking for a phone with extreme expandability, then the iPhone is the way to go.

Via Phones Review

New special HTC Touch Diamond version (P3702)

The HTC Touch Diamond has been one of the most popular phones in 2008, phone followers have been searching for news on this phone for many months and the iPhone 3G has not slowed down peoples interest.

Today we are hearing about another version of the HTC Touch Diamond and the big different is the “Diamond”, rumor has it that the new version will not include the famous Diamond pattern.

The model is said to be HTC P3702 and this may be an exclusive to Taiwan (for now anyway), it will feature a 3.2 megapixel camera, runs on the same platform as the T-mobile MDA Compact IV Victor and has a rounded design that should appeal to those that felt the original Diamond lacking.

HTC Diamond P3702 will also feature 128MB of RAM instead of 192MB of RAM in the P3700 HTC Touch Diamond (the extra 64MB in the original Diamond was used for video acceleration); this makes us believe that the P3702 will not include video acceleration.

We have also heard that a CDMA version of the HTC Touch Diamond was approved at the North American FCC, this version has the same rounded edges as the P3702.

See more photos of the device on Phones Review

How did iPhone 3G Friday and software 2.0 turn out?

The plans for July 11th were put in place over a long time and a lot of planning, when the day came not only was the demand for the Apple iPhone 3G more than what the stores could deliver, but also the iPhone 2.0 software update ended up causing major problems for users.

We had over 500 comments on Friday and over 80% of these were directly about iPhone problems, if it was not buyers outside stores being told they could not upgrade, it was iTunes and connection problems,

We heard directly about iPhones turning into bricks thanks to iTunes breaking connection half way through installing and these users could not get reconnected for many hours after.

It seems most users managed to get connected in the end and also get updated to the new firmware, personally we were able to update with no problems but this may be because we were one of the first to get connected. When everyone heard the update was ready, the demand was too much for iTunes to handle and many errors started to happen.

Late on Friday we heard that Apple’s stock dropped 2.2 percent thanks to the chaos on Friday and some blogs are going as far to say “Should Apple be sued for compensation over iPhone 2.0 and iTunes problems?”

The most popular line we heard on Friday was “I am going to be late for work now”, it makes you think about many hours companies lost thanks to users trying to update their iPhones.

Were the iPhone 2.0 software update problems really that bad?

No Access SSL iTunes Problem: iPhone 2.0 Update

We are hearing of massive problems in updating the iPhone firmware to iPhone 2.0, users are getting a message that tells them of an SSL error, no secure connection.

Our readers were reporting of connection errors to iTunes which would obviously be because of the overwhelming demand to get the software update, but following O2’s problems because of 13,000 orders a second, you would expect a computer company like Apple to be able to handle this load today.

Users trying to update to iPhone 2.0 are reporting “has been updating, seems to have gone through all the steps successfully, though in iTunes under devices, a window is displayed Accessing iTunes Store for last 10 minutes” and another user said “the iTunes store is timing out when it’s trying to activate the device”.

This is leaving some users in a position where their iPhone has been left like a brick, half installed. The latest problems many people are reporting is along the lines of a secure connection error.

If you want to know how to get through the error, the best advice is to keep trying as you should eventually you get through.

Downloaded iPhone v2.0 Software: how good is it?

First up we would to note that a lot of Product Reviews readers have been complaining of massive problems with the iTunes store and getting the iPhone v2.0 update.

As we were one of the first to download the official Apple iPhone 2.0 software, we had no problems updating at all, the only issue was how long it took to install.

This is not saying that there are not problems, because clearly there are listening to what users are reporting; one person has had an iPhone go dead on them. Half way through the updating process he lost connection to iTunes and now has a phone that’s not working, just a black screen.

After downloading iPhone v2.0 software we found that everything looks just the same as the last iPhone firmware apart from a new icon saying App Store.

First impressions of the App store – we are very impressed, just like YouTube, you have one click access to the App store and lots of applications to choose from. Some are free and others are to buy, and you will find some of the paid ones very impressive.

Our favorites are “Super Monkey Ball” and iLoveControl”, classic gaming and a way to make the iPhone control your entire home.

There are many other features, most of these have been reported before by us and other sites, although first impressions show some cool updates we will use often like saving images from web pages. We will update you when we have had more of a play.

Now Available: iPod Touch and iPhone 2.0 update

After checking every few minutes all day long, we can now confirm that the iPod Touch and iPhone 2.0 update is now available on Apple iTunes.

We thought the pop up box saying the version of the iPhone software I had (1.1.4) would never stop showing, the wait for the current version to move to 2.0 seemed to take ages.

Last week we heard that the iPhone 2.0 software was being leaked and some users were updating to the new software, this version was not complete or official and these users obviously like to take a risk.

Today is the day most users waited for, they wanted the official Apple iPhone 2.0 firmware and from just a few minutes ago they can not get it, although I am sure some people will have connection problems as in the past thanks to a high demand.

So if you want to make your iPhone enterprise-ready or you want all the improved features for personal use, then update now to give the iPhone or iPod a new lease of life.

Time of iPhone 2.0 software update

Many iPhone owners are sitting waiting for the iPhone 2.0 software update download like a big kid waiting for a new toy at Christmas, like ourselves they are wondering what time the Apple iPhone 2.0 update will be available?

Do you know what time the new firmware for the iPhone will become available? We have looked for information on this to let our readers know but have come up blank.

What we do know is that you can get the iPhone v2.0 software online and download as a .zip file; other sites have tried this update and said after installing all was working perfectly without any problems.

If you do not mind taking a risk then you can download the iPhone 2.0 software here, but we prefer to wait for the official release that’s downloaded via your iTunes software and again, the release time is not yet known.

You can view the new Apple app store here, although you will have to update iTunes to version 7.7. The apps look very cool with over 30 pages of iPhone applications to play with.

Would you wait for the official release or take a risk with the link above?

Update:
Now Available via iTunes: iPod Touch and iPhone 2.0 update

First Hand Story: O2 iPhone 3G Upgrade Fiasco

We have heard a lot of news today about O2’s systems going down and stores having to do manual connections of the new iPhone 3G, but this story from one customer shows what can be achieved when you put your foot down and demand.

Graham Sharp’s day getting an iPhone 3G - “After being 4th in the queue at their O2 Redhill store, from 7am today, told by staff that they had around 20 16gb phones, the first 3 were allowed in at 8.02am as promised, but were still in there at 9.30am with an increasingly peeved queue forming outside, no drinks offered, nothing.

I wanted to upgrade from the original iPhone bought from the same store on the first launch day but was told after a 2 hour wait, that as their (Windows based) systems were down they would only do manual paperwork connections & could not do upgrades manually.

They would only do new business, and they wouldn’t hold me or any other ‘upgraders’ a phone, but would call us when eventually they had more stock so I could drive back down there and queue up again. Customer loyalty, where?

Apple, for heavens sake sell them some Macs - So still standing now 1st in the queue in front of the locked door, I decided to make a call to O2 Customer Care on my current iPhone, after informing them of the current situation, to which they denied all knowledge, saying it must just be this store? I asked them who at O2 was going to reimburse me for my day off work and travel, parking etc.

Customer Care then spoke to the store manager on my phone and shortly after I left with my 16gb 3G iPhone around 15mins later (not actually working as they would have to call me when they put the upgrade thro’ when the system is back up and running). What a joke, not up to Apples standards by far”.

Thanks to Graham Sharp for the news about his experience with today’s iPhone 3G launch.