Mickey Papillon

Since I activated the iPhone 4 on Thursday night, I have absolutely been seeing the signal issues that many have complained about with the device.  The phone itself will show “bars” which isn’t necessarily the real indicator of reception, but not work as it should.  Lots of folks have been talking about holding the device in the bottom left cormer, which will cause the bars to go down.  While this is true, it doesn’t seem that it’s the only culprit.  I found that while out and about, the only real way to get the speeds you should expect out of 3G on the network is to not touch the phone at all.  This got me to thinking about why the folks that have cases on their phones are doing OK.  It seems that the current hardware/software configuration is not quite optimized for real world conditions.  Some are saying that they aren’t seeing an issue, and I believe them.  However, I think it’s because they are in VERY close proximity to a tower, or there are other environmental factors at play.  Keep in mind that there are hundreds or more variables to what makes a cell phone work.  Weather, tower proximity, network load, network frequency, muscle/fat ratio in a person’s hand, and others that can cause the signal to fluctuate and the actual functionality of the phone to change.

I think one of the main reasons that the Apple team did not see a lot of the issues coming was because they had cases on the devices all the time while testing.  There was no way for them to test them in the wild without masking the real physical look of the phone.  Then, when they did test them “naked” they were in an office or house where they had “perfect coverage”.  That’s my theory anyway.

Time will tell to see what Apple and Steve Jobs decide to do.  In the meantime, since I put a case (mind you, it’s an old incase designed for the original iPhone, I have seen the one thing I want…consistency.  Here are some real world results from speedtest.net that i have seen over the last 3 days.  Note the jumping around of speeds on the 25th and 26th, and how consistent it’s been on the 27th.  Can you guess when the case went on…

I had decided last week that because the iPhone 4 was in such hot demand, I might be opportunistic and sell it online to make a few bucks.  However, the problem lies in the fact that I really actually want the phone.  So, if I was to sell the one I pre-ordered, I would need to purchase a replacement when they became available again…full price mind you.  Oh well, I could sell the thing for $750 and be able to turn a quick profit right?  Wrong.

So check this out.  In order for me to break even with this little venture, I would need to sell it for $1100.  Yes, $1100.  Here’s what happens:

• Sell the phone for a $1100 profit.
• Ebay fees are about 10%, or $110, down to $990.
• Paypal fees are about 3%, or $40, down to $950.
• Buyer would want it overnighted, about $50, down to $900.
• I did buy this phone, so take out my original cost, about $250, down to $650.
• I would then need to buy a replacement device, full price, plus tax, about $650, and I am even.

Crazy when you think about it that way, but maybe it’s for the best.  Looks like I’ll have myself an iPhone 4 tomorrow.  Hopefully it will be worth it!

A lot can be said about the popularity of the new iPhone 4, and how the 600,000+ pre-orders in the first day brought the AT&T verification servers to their knees.  But what I am trying to answer is if I still even want the iPhone 4 that is being shipped to me this week.  Out of all the launches for Apple over the past 3 years, this one is gearing up to be the biggest and most successful.  Think about it, 100′s of new features, an OS refresh that will bring the phone up to the specs that Google’s Android OS has set over the last year, and a cool new design.  Certainly, a recipe for a phone that everyone would want right…well, maybe.

I have found myself over the past few days in iDepression.  I have the feeling that I am missing part of me since I’ve sold off my iPhone 3GS and iPad in order to make room for the iPhone 4 in my life.  One part of me really misses them, but another part feels free.  Free from the Apple Ecosystem that has pulled me in over the last few years and made me cynical towards the other Smartphone OS’es out there.  I almost feel like I should just move on to Android for good, or maybe be a dual-Blackberry carrying fool.  Either way, i am feeling a bit of buyers remorse about this latest purchase.

So here’s my final thought.  If you are one of the millions of people out there that is looking to get their hands on the latest Apple hardware, and need to get it this week…send me an offer.  Send me the best price you’ll pay for it either through the comments here (don’t worry, I won’t approve to make them public) or send me an @ reply on twitter via http://www.twitter.com/TCPJ_Mickey.  I really am thinking hard about whether this phone is right for me…or if the phone is just the “next” one that has forced me into buying it.

If the offer is high enough, this baby will be on it’s way to you, FedEx overnight for delivery by Friday.  If not, I’ll be another Apple toting AT&T slug for the next 2 years…