Some questions and my review of "being in the store and not buying one".

[lysis]

I was in the AT&T store on Sunday. I'm not about to go into a store on iDay and get sucked into some vortex of a crowd... So I'm the only guy in the store (besides the workers, security guard and my buddy who came with) and had a chance to play with one for about an hour. I'm very impressed with how the software functions, with the speed it allows you to "dial" (many Windows smart phones have a hard time accepting more than one key a second) and with generally how everything worked.

The only gripes I have about it are the following:

-The AT&T store had wireless, so obviously the phone was connected to the wireless while I was using the internet, impressing me greatly with what I thought was the Edge network. Once I turned the WiFi off on the phone, I spent 3+ minutes for CNN to never actually pop up. There were 3 bars of service, so I'm somewhat confident it was more of the network being hosed from all the existing iPhone users, than the phone "sucking". The fact that the WiFi was enabled and in use was a bit misleading to the kind of customer that wouldn't think to turn it off.

-I was disappointed that the screen didn't let me flip it during text messaging. I saw it coming in the main screen, but many applications could benefit from the "screen flip". I was surprised to see that you could flip it left and right, but it wouldn't recognize upside down.

-Nothing crashed on me, the predictive type works very well and I picked up on using it pretty quickly. Must be all the hours I spent before it was launched watching the movies over and over and reading the hundreds of reviews on it.

I notice there are applications popping up left and right using the internet. Has anybody used these? How do they work, buggy at all? I'm interested in the chat (as I'm sure everyone else is), the mileage for my job and the lists (I'm a terrible shopper...always forget the list)

I know the iPhone supports MAPI or IMAP, whatever it's called, and using those types of mail systems will offer a "push" of sorts. My Exchange server also is configured for this (MAPI or IMAP...) so is it safe to assume that i can get MAIL support (not calendar, contacts, etc) from my Exchange server using this protocol?

How does contacts, calendar, etc work? Does it sync with Outlook at all? Does it sync with iTunes only? Does iTunes sync with Outlook? Just looking for the "easy way" of getting my contacts onto my phone.

Do you honestly think the iPhone will have a new version released "soon" so it has 3G support? What about built-in GPS, you think that will be in one of the later models? I would consider waiting if I knew I could benefit from doing so, but I also know that $10 more than my current plan with Verizon will get me an iPhone family plan, so I'd like to start saving some money where I can.

I've read a lot of posts and it seems like a lot of the tiny issues that users are having is because they're overlooking tiny things like converting videos and not rebooting the phone when it has problems. I'm more than likely going to get one on the 15th...gotta love those mileage checks when you drive out of state to a client. I just really wanted to have those questions answered so I know going in and don't feel disappointed.

[TrippalHealicks]

Originally Posted by lysis

-Once I turned the WiFi off on the phone, I spent 3+ minutes for CNN to never actually pop up.

This could have been for any number of reasons. I've had this happen to me several times recently, and found out it was just the page I was on.

Originally Posted by lysis

-I was surprised to see that you could flip it left and right, but it wouldn't recognize upside down.

You can flip it any direction at all, while in the photo album app. You can literally keep turning it the same direction, or just 180 degrees, all at once, and it will auto-adjust.

Originally Posted by lysis

My Exchange server also is configured for this (MAPI or IMAP...) so is it safe to assume that i can get MAIL support (not calendar, contacts, etc) from my Exchange server using this protocol?

Supposedly, Exchange servers WILL work with the iPhone. Haven't tested it.

Originally Posted by lysis

How does contacts, calendar, etc work? Does it sync with Outlook at all?

I synced from iTunes. There is an option to "Import from Windows Address Book". In other words, Outlook. Worked like a charm for me.

Originally Posted by lysis

Do you honestly think the iPhone will have a new version released "soon" so it has 3G support? What about built-in GPS, you think that will be in one of the later models?

I honestly doubt that we will see a new one for a while. I think if they do make a 2nd generation, it will be a big leap, and they'll probably want to take alot of time in development to make sure it's as perfect as this first one.