Traveler 2.0

Can iPhone Ear Buds Cause Car Break-Ins?

On Saturday night in San Francisco, my Mini Cooper convertible was broken into. Someone smashed the driver-side window.

Aside from the shocking spectacle of glass glistening on the sidewalk, I was stunned. Why would someone bother breaking into my little peanut of a car? I'm always careful not to leave bags or anything of any value visible to others.

Later, after the shock had worn off, I realized I'd left a pair of white iPhone ear buds in the car's console, in a space underneath the dashboard. The thieves made off with the earbuds, along with two shopping bags in my trunk, a couple pair of used shoes, and two packs of gum (not used). Yes, gum.

My brilliant deduction: The vandals broke into my car because they saw the earbuds, and thought they might also get their hands on an iPhone, iPod, or other device. Luckily, I had no electronics in the car or the trunk. I did have a portable GPS unit in the glove compartment, but fortunately, that was locked.

A friend, after hearing my story, said his car had also been broken into, and he suspected it was because he'd left a pair of tell-tale white earbuds in view.

So while you're out and about shopping this holiday season, don't leave anything visible inside your car that might suggest you've ever even thought of owning an iPod, iPhone, or other portable device.

IPhone E-Mail Solution: Switch to Gmail

In previous posts, I explained the problems I've had sending/receiving e-mail on my iPhone 3G via my AT&T Yahoo e-mail account.

I've finally found a permanent solution. I switched to Gmail.

I'd been considering transitioning to Gmail anyway. The reason: I like the idea of having all my messages available from any computer, rather than locked up in an Outlook file on one computer. You can have your e-mail from AT&T Yahoo or whomever automatically forwarded to Gmail. Or you can have Gmail go and fetch the e-mail from your other accounts. Another benefit: You can tell Gmail to leave copies of any e-mail it fetches on the original server. This means you're automatically creating a backup of every message received. One remains on your ISP's server; another is in your Gmail.

Also, you can send e-mail from Gmail using any of your other e-mail addresses. For example, in Gmail I can send someone an e-mail and the message will appear to have come from my AT&T Yahoo e-mail address. In other words: You can switch to Gmail and the move will be completely transparent to everyone with whom you exchange e-mail. They don't have to update your contact information in their address books.

Anyhow, I've had zero problems sending and receiving Gmail on my iPhone 3G. So if you're still having problems, consider routing your e-mail through Gmail.

Google Phone vs. iPhone

The first Google Android phone, made by HTC and available in the U.S. and Europe only to T-Mobile subscribers, officially debuted yesterday. Inevitable comparisons to Apple's iPhone were made. Here's a quick roundup of some first impressions thus far:

* The New York Times' Saul Hansell: "After playing with the G1 for 20 minutes, my initial take is that the G1 is the PC to the iPhone’s Macintosh...

"Physically, it is a little narrower than the iPhone, but thicker. That means the screen is a little smaller. I also found that the plastic case feels a little cheap. The biggest differentiator is the G1’s slide-out keyboard, some might find easier to type on than the iPhone’s virtual keyboard...

"For now, it seems like a very interesting phone for people who really want to type on a little keyboard. But until the value of Android’s slightly clunky flexibility proves out, I suspect many people will prefer the polished simplicity of the iPhone."

* Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg: "Google’s new G1 phone...is the first real competitor to the iPhone. Like Apple’s product, it’s a serious handheld computer with a powerful new operating system (called Android) and a clever touch-based user interface. Like the iPhone, it’s likely to be a major new platform for third-party software. But it’s also very different, and may appeal to different buyers...

"The web browser is based on the same open-source technology as the iPhone’s, but works differently. You can view a portion of a page, and use a zoom control and finger-dragging to see the rest, or you can view the whole page in miniature, as on the iPhone. In the latter mode, however, you can’t simply use Apple’s technique of tapping or “pinching” to zoom in on a portion of a page. You must move around a virtual lens to pick out a part of the page on which to focus...

"In sum, the G1 is a powerful, versatile device which will offer users a real alternative in the new handheld computing category the iPhone has occupied alone."

* PC World's Tom Spring: "In contrast to Apple that built its own phone, operating system, and content ecosystem, the G1 is based on an open platform. That means any software publisher can design programs that run on the G1 and its Android operating system. The potential universe of T-Mobile G1 applications is huge. Yet, it's too early to know whether mobile application developers will flock to the Android platform.

"At least for now Apple has the upper hand when it comes to the device. The number of iPhone mobile applications (accessible via Apple's App Store) is growing every day. However, Apple's total control over the iPhone can also be bad because Apple can choose to exert too much control over what applications run on the iPhone and bar those that it doesn't like, upsetting users...

"The overall two-year cost of owning a $200 iPhone is $2360 (unlimited texting). The cost of owning a G1 with an identical texting plan is between $1620 and $2460."

The early impressions are far from conclusive. But the opinions suggest the Google phone could be the first 'real' competition for the iPhone. And that the Google phone may appeal to users more interested in the Web and typing on a physical keyboard and less interested in multimedia.None of this is terribly surprising, but the competition between the two phones should become much more interesting in the future.

Lingering E-Mail Problem with iPhone 3G; New Treo Pro

Though my earlier e-mail problems with the iPhone 3G have been resolved, there's a mysterious glitch that still lingers. (Read my post from July 28 for details on my previous iPhone 3G e-mail woes, and the solution Apple suggested that solved the problem.)

My main e-mail account is through AT&T Yahoo. For some reason, after an unpredictable period of time, the iPhone stops recognizing my stored password for this e-mail account. So I re-enter my six-character password in the iPhone's Mail, Contacts, and Calendars settings. After I do that, the iPhone authenticates the password, and all's well again--until the iPhone once again stops recognizing the password.

I've updated to the iPhone 2.0.2 software but the problem persists. I've found no references to this glitch online. I haven't called Apple tech support, because life is hectic and this is a minor irritation.

No doubt Apple will resolve this and other issues, such as sluggish keyboard response, dropped calls when switching from 3G to 2G networks, etc. I have other complaints, too, such as the iPhone 3G's surprisingly brief battery life. Despite these problems, the iPhone is so much more pleasurable to use than the tired Treo 755p I had been suffering with. 

Speaking of Treos, Palm announced the new Treo Pro today. I like its look (see below). But at first glance, it doesn't appear to offer anything truly new or interesting. 

Update to iPhone 3G E-Mail Problem

It took two trips to the Genius Bar and one phone call to Apple tech support, but my iPhone 3G e-mail problem has been solved.

The problem: My iPhone 3G would send and receive e-mail for a brief period of time. Then, it would stop. The spiral that appears at the bottom of the Mail program's screen, next to 'Checking for mail...,' would spin without end.

When told of the problem, the first Genius shrugged and said it must be a problem with AT&T (my main ISP). The second Genius told me to go home and restore the iPhone with backup. If that didn't work (it didn't), restore the iPhone without the backup. If that didn't work (it didn't), bring the phone back to the store for a swap.

I had made a third Genius Bar appointment to return my iPhone for a swap. But before going, I decided to call Apple's telephone support. The person I spoke to, Isaac, seemed to get the problem right away--that somehow, the iPhone's Mail program wasn't playing nicely with Outlook on my Vista PC, to which I sync the iPhone's e-mail settings, contacts, and calendar. He e-mailed me the steps he recommended to resolve the problem, and they worked. 

Here are the steps:

-- On the iPhone, delete all e-mail accounts.

-- Reset the iPhone's network settings (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings).

-- Disable Wi-Fi (some e-mail accounts don't work properly if set up the first time with Wi-Fi in use, he explained).

-- On the iPhone, manually re-add the e-mail accounts. (When setting up my sbcglobal.net e-mail account, which is now an AT&T Yahoo service, I was advised to choose Yahoo as the service provider.)

-- Disable e-mail syncing with iTunes.

I followed these steps last Friday and have experienced no problems since.

But I have just begun to experience another problem. Some Calendar entries I've added to my iPhone never make their way into Outlook. I guess that's the next thing to deal with/figure out.

The iPhone 3G launch has been compared to Microsoft's bungled release of Vista; see this USA Today article for more on that. That's going a bit far, in my opinion. Yes, the iPhone 3G/MobileMe launch could have gone a lot more smoothly. Yes, my iPhone 3G experience has not been flawless. Aside from problems syncing with Outlook, there are things about the iPhone I wish were better. The battery doesn't seem to last very long; I really wish there were a copy and paste function; etc.

All that said, if I had it to do over again, I would still buy an iPhone 3G. But I probably would wait a few more weeks for the lines outside Apple stores to go down and for the initial bugs to be identified and fixed.

E-Mail Problems with the iPhone 3G

I bought my first iPhone, the 3G model, last Friday. Mostly, I'm loving the phone. But I've had one big continuing problem with e-mail.

The Mail program will work as it's supposed to for a day or so. Then, suddenly, it will stop retrieving or sending e-mail. I've taken the iPhone to an Apple store Genius Bar twice to resolve the issue. The first time, the 'Genius' was perplexed and said there must be something wrong with my ISP's e-mail setting (AT&T Yahoo is the ISP for my primary e-mail account). His solution: Call AT&T for help.

I tweaked some settings on my own and the Mail program worked again. For about a day. I took it to a different Apple store. This time, the Genius said there could be a problem with the iPhone 2.0 software. He suggested I take my iPhone home, connect it to my computer, and restore it using backup. I did that, and it fixed the problem. For about a day.

Now I'm on to the Genius's step two. If the restore with backup didn't work, he suggested I restore the iPhone without backup. In other words, start fresh. That's what I'm doing at this very moment.

And if this doesn't work? The Genius suggested I bring the iPhone back and the Apple store will replace it. I asked if this would be a new or 'refurbished' unit. Without using that latter term, he said it would not be a new iPhone shrinkwrapped in its own box. However, he assured me the iPhone would be tested and checked and double-checked to make sure it's working properly. If there's anything I don't like about the unit--a small scratch, for instance--Apple will give me a different one. He couldn't promise the store would have a lot of these units in stock, however.

Of course, I could return my iPhone and get my money back. But that's not what I want. I just want my iPhone to send and receive e-mail, as it's supposed to. I'll post an update on what I learn later.

In the meantime, I don't want to scare you away from buying an iPhone 3G. But I do want you to know that there are potentially some issues with the iPhone 2.0 software. So if you're the least bit squeamish about being on the 'bleeding edge,' you might want to wait a few more weeks. Maybe by then Apple will have issued an updated version of iPhone 2.0 with bug fixes.

AT&T's No-Contract iPhone: Worth $400?

AT&T announced yesterday it would sell the iPhone 3G without the usual two-year contract sometime "in the future." The prices: $599 for the 8GB version and $699 for the 16GB model.

Otherwise, the iPhone 3G is $400 cheaper: $199 for 8GB and $299 for 16GB. You're only eligible for those prices if you activate a new line with AT&T; you bought an iPhone before July 11; or you're a current AT&T customer and you're eligible for an upgrade discount. You have to sign a two-year contract for those prices.

AT&T's early termination fee is $175 and declines $5 a month during the term of the two-year agreement. Given that, why would you pay a $400 premium for a new iPhone just to avoid a contract that costs $175 or less to get out of? I'm probably missing some highly nuanced explanation for this, but I'm afraid I don't see the logic here. And I haven't found any convincing reasons for such extravagance in any news stories or blog reports I've read. So if you've got a justification for throwing away this $225, please let me know.

Is the Palm OS Dying? My Fingers are Crossed…

This week's topic for my PC World column: "Is the Palm OS Dying? Should You Care?"

The answers, given the frustrations I've experienced with my Treo this week: Hope so, and not really.

In the column, I wrote: "Palm devices are reliable and sturdy; I've rarely encountered problems with the five I've owned."

Two days before the column appeared, my Treo 755p's spasms began. The phone suddenly and frequently reboots itself at the slightest provocation. Want to send an e-mail? Sure, the Treo thinks to its wicked self, but let's reboot first, shall we?

More frustratingly, the Treo has decided it wants a divorce from my Windows Vista PC. Roughly nine out of 10 HotSync efforts now fail. I've gone to the support forums and read the things you should do when your Palm pays your PC nada. I've installed the latest version of the Palm desktop software. I've rebooted my PC, I've performed soft resets on my Treo. The only thing I haven't done yet is a hard reset—which would be like bombing my Treo back to the stone age. (A hard reset zaps the Treo back to its factory settings. It's as if you two had never met. Wouldn't it be nice to do a hard reset on some relationships?)

But here's my guilty secret. Deep down inside, I'm hoping my Treo is in a death spiral and that it will emit its last pitiful electronic gasp in June. That's when Apple is expected to announce the second-generation iPhone.

Top Second-Gen iPhone Rumors

Will Steve Jobs announce a second-generation iPhone in June? I don't have any inside information, but I'd be surprised if he didn't. As game-changing as the first iPhone is, it still has room to grow. And June will have been a year since the first iPhone debuted.

With the likelihood of a second-gen iPhone imminent, PC World's Web site recently posted its 'top nine iPhone 2.0 rumors.' Here are a few of them:

* The next iPhone will support AT&T's 3G network (instead of the slower 2.5G network the current model uses). This one's obvious--Apple wouldn't dare release a second-gen iPhone without 3G or better. Would it?

* The new iPhone will be as slim as the iPod Touch. And instead of the satin nickel finish on the iPhone's flip side, the new model will have a black plastic backing (see photo). This would not be progress, in my opinion.

* iPhone 2.0 will have a 5-megapixel camera (vs. the 2-megapixel camera the current iPhone has).

Again, these are just rumors. But while we're at it, here are some things I'd like to see in a new iPhone:

* Video recording capability.

* Video chat via Skype or other service.

* An optional external, fold-out, full-sized keyboard, plus word processing and spreadsheet software, so you can carry your iPhone instead of your laptop. And don't make the keyboard connect to the iPhone via Bluetooth. The flight attendants will go crazy if they catch you Bluetoothing in flight.

* A good GPS system (as opposed to the crappy GPS systems we're normally stuck with). Even better, integrate the GPS with a To-Do list program, which the current iPhone lacks. Then, as you're driving near Trader Joe's, a helpful voice on your iPhone reminds you that shopping at Trader Joe's is on your To-Do list. Park the car and head into the store--with your grocery list on your iPhone. (Thanks, Douglas, for this suggestion.)

* The freedom to use an iPhone with any damn wireless provider we please. This one's not going to happen, given the long-term exclusive agreement Apple signed with AT&T. Or unless you're a clever hacker.

Capture Ideas on the Go--And Have Them Transcribed

How do you capture your brilliant ideas or dictate memos when you're on the go? One way is to leave yourself a voicemail message. Even better: Use a voicemail service that automatically transcribes your messages into text, so you don't have to type them up later.

I've done this with some success using Vonage's Visual Voicemail service. I use Vonage for my office phone. And on occasion, I'll call and dictate memos, ideas for articles, and other thoughts as they come to me.  The Visual Voicemail feature captures those messages, e-mails them to me as .wav files, and transcribes them, too (for an extra 25 cents per message).

The Vonage transcription is often highly accurate. To see for yourself, read the transcription below and compare it to the voicemail message I left for myself, calling from a cell phone.

Vonage transcription:

"this is a message from my cellphone. i wanted to see how well the vonage service would transcribe my messsage and see if it came out accurately or is it garbled everything and so we'll see what happens. thank you.bye bye."

Actual voicemail message: