I feared the "3rd party apps stop working" bug since a patch has already been announced.<br><br>But I though I'd experiment NOW rather than when I've customized my apps and have important data stored. So I read up on the issue and played around. Some reports say the problem doesn't start until you download an app via the phone instead of iTunes. Now, it's hard to say for sure--they problem didn't start RIGHT after that, and my total iPhone career is measured in mere hours. But it DOES seem to me that using the app store on the phone triggered the problem. (One theory is a DRM disagreement between the iTunes store interface and the phone store interface.)<br><br>So I tentatively recommend that iPhone users NOT use the app store from the phone. Use it from iTunes until the patch. SAVE YOURSELVES!<br><br>Symptoms: no 3rd party apps work anymore. (I'm playing around with some suggested fixes, but I know it's nothing as easy as a reset, nor un-syncing and re-syncing all apps. Some say you have to delete and re-download ALL apps. Re-downloading individual apps did not help.) I'll have fun with Maps alone until the patch comes out, as long as it's next week! Would be nice to get a couple games working of course--like the two I paid for. (If a patch hadn't been announced, I'd be going medieval on Apple's hiney with some not-very-nice emoticons. They can count themselves lucky!)<br><br>EDIT: Re-downloading from the store doesn't seem to be needed. What DID help is deleting apps from the phone--but only if I deleted the app USING the phone (X) rather than just deleting in iTunes and re-syncing. I seems that I had to delete ALL apps from the phone that way, and now as I add them back one by one, they all work--even ones I never re-downloaded. So--could be worse. If I stay off the phone's store until the patch, it should not repeat.<br><br>And the long backups do repeat--but maybe that's expected since I keep removing and adding apps during this testing. I still seem to be able to cancel that with impunity regardless. (I did let one full backup finish last night.)<br><br>Did I mention idle hands? I knew BEFORE I used the phone's store that it was ill-advised--but if there's a problem, I wanted the future peace of mind of understanding it. I guess that's how I am when I get a new computing platform.<br><br>So... out into the world now for my next exercise: GPS fun.<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Nagromme on 08/29/08 12:48 PM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

[color:blue]I'm still in awe of the fact I own a computer that fits in my hand.</font color=blue><br><br>... you never owned a Palm, eh? ;)<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

<br>Okay, now we have a resident expert soon! <br><br><br><br><br>

Thanks for the review keep it coming<br><br>Are you using a 3rd party GPS app ?<br><br>

No--I'll probably get a GPS app when "real" ones come out, but what it does now is sufficient for 95% of my driving needs--if only I had a dashboard mount. (I almost ordered a Naja King but I really want a soft "holster" style, not a pressure clamp, even if rubberized. And I wouldn't like all the metal of the Naja wrapped around my antennas.)<br><br>So I haven't tried it while driving, only while hiking. With only 2 bars of EDGE and Hybrid view (map and landsat both). VERY nice! I could see the lay of the land ahead, hidden ponds, shortcuts between trails, etc.--things that a diagram-map wouldn't show, or even a topo, but a satellite photo does.<br><br>Two problems:<br><br>1. It consistently showed me about 5 feet to the left of my actual position. (No doubt this is the military's intentional error, so that extremely tiny enemy missiles with 5-foot blasts will miss their target.) I could easily walk right into a tree with that kind of inaccuracy.<br><br>2. When crossing roadways, the cars shown on the iPhone WERE NOT in the same place as the cars in reality. A car could be coming and you'd never know it.<br><br>These are not deal-breakers, and I found a workaround: instead of staring only at your phone while hiking, look ahead occasionally. It's awkward, but it supplements the phone's display nicely, and in a way I kind of like it: it gives you a different perspective on the scenery.<br><br>It will be nice when orientation is reported. I hope the Maps app can be set to rotate automatically.<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

Thanks again<br><br>Yeah I was looking at the iApp store they have 2 or 3 GPS apps but the reviews were most as makeovers of Google maps ??<br><br>[color:blue](No doubt this is the military's intentional error,</font color=blue> - Ahhh my understanding the military dropped its 20 foot intentional error years ago. The reason for this is when commercial airlines got big time into GPS it had to be spot on.<br><br>Conversely;<br>My last project the Civil Contractor was GPS independent , no surveyors with long sticks and a laser scope was used. Their engineer would build a GPS 3 dimensional model of hills , streets, drainage swales , house lots yada yada everything . The model then was downloaded to a thumb drive which the heavy equipment operators would then download to a mini GPS computer on their Bulldozers and such. The Bulldozer front blade had 2 GPS antennas on each side along with all the other grading heavy equipment <br><br>Simply<br>The operator just drove and the GPS told the blades with the help of the 3D model how much or little to grade --> they were accurate to the width of a ""dime" and the depth of a ""quarter" <--- Remarkable I was blow away watching over those guys.<br><br>

I can't quite picture it, but that's pretty cool. I know the military used to have a major error--I didn't know if they reduced it or fully eliminated it. I do know it was a good 5 feet off for me today. Maybe the GPS-A system introduced some error?<br><br>Updates:<br><br>* Best game around: Enigmo. Currently on sale. Get it. Zillions of levels and more to download free. Just the right puzzle/action mix for me, and no timer to race. I never played the Mac version, but the touch version works great. Also had fun with crosswords (the free one, I forget the name... ends in a 2). The iPhone screen didn't feel cramped for crosswords, since the board pans around automatically as you try different clues.<br><br>* Watched some video--great screen, and loud enough not to need earphones (if I don't need bass). Now, for music, I did use the headphones, and the skipper clicker is very nice to have.<br><br>* The long backups have not repeated. They're short now that I'm not moving tons of apps back and forth.<br><br>* App-quitting has not repeated (on a large scale). I've had a couple fail to launch, but they either worked the next time, or were fine after I turned the phone off and on.<br><br>* Bought Jaadu for $25. Well worth it! I did a field test--with only 3G (no WiFi) I connected to my home Mac at the login screen, logged in to multiple user accounts, changed screen res around (up to 1920x1200), locked the screen and saw the screensaver then unlocked it, opened a Photoshop image, made some fine precision edits and saved them, launched Windows via VMWare and updated my virus definitions , watched some TV in EyeTV (smallest window, no sound, far from smooth but enough for me to check on my PVR), controlled iTunes with Jaadu's built-in remote, typed a message and had my computer speak it aloud, spied on my apartment via PhotoBooth, and then played an OpenGL game (Hordes of Orcs--didn't run well but it ran).<br><br>Bottom line: in an emergency I can pretty much do anything, anywhere (if there's 3G), from my iPhone, and leverage the power of my Core 2 Duo. If a client needs a huge video file encoded, I can whip through it on my phone and FTP it to him without having to lug my laptop! When I travel I'll probably leave my Mac on all the time--which is good for folding@home anyway--since I don't think VNC can wake it from sleep.<br><br>And over WiFi, it's fast enough to use your phone as a remote trackpad that happens to have a popup keyboard. The perfect device for sofa computing.<br><br>I have a few quibbles about Jaadu (it could probably use stricter security) but I know a new version is coming. The demo of Mocha was unacceptable: the mouse lacked precision. VNC is one of the main reasons I wanted an iPhone, and I'm not disappointed. Full desktop OS X and Windows in my pocket.<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

Camera test: does the job. 1600x1200 is fine for most of my needs. Low light is a problem I'm sure, but in daylight, the color looks good. And I like having a dead-simple camera always on me for making a note of things I want to remember (trail map signs, products on sale, whatever). I've moved the camera to the dock so it's always ready quickly. (Maps too. Mail and iPod got moved to the top.)<br><br>Battery test: no complaints. I didn't time it but I did use it heavily: 3G and WiFi both on, full brightness, lots of 3D gaming with force feedback, speakers up to max, and lot of GPS use (it tracked very well on the highway, and EDGE was sufficient for the hybrid map view to keep up at 65 mph). It lasted quite well, with warning dialogs at 20% and 10%.<br><br>More impressive: it charges up really fast. I could run it doen to empty, charge for 30 minutes, and make it through a day easily... if I didn't waste time on games and surfing <br><br>The main battery issue is that it does SO many things that your'e bound to find more uses for it in a day than any other device. I'm OK with having to plug it in on days when I go hog wild using it. Better that than a bulkier unit, or lugging a spare batt.<br><br>Now, if my lifestyle adapts to the point where I NEED hours of Internet (or games) a day, even while out on the street away from chargers, then I would consider an external booster battery, which I could take with me only on those days when electricity is scarce.<br><br>Re stability--I've seen people claim that iPhone 1.x was rock-solid (just as you would want from a phone) while iPhone 2.0 is just a bit flaky and in need of some bug fixes. I never used 1.x, but I tend to agree about 2.0. Problems are rare (like having to sleep/wake to bring the touchscreen back to life) but they happen enough to feel just a little less solid than, say, my iPod. I look forward to the coming software update--it's a great device that deserves 99.9% flawless software. Not the current 97%!<br><br>It's interesting to think that if 2.0 is less stable (and App Store certainly has issues) then MOST iPhone owners have never seen the iPhone be as rock solid as it can be. Because supposedly, more than half the iPhones now in use are the 3G model. Already! <br><br>PS, Asphalt 4 is a great racing game. I'm not a racing fan, and even I enjoyed it.<br><br>Morgan<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Nagromme on 08/30/08 04:17 PM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

All 3rd party apps are dead again (quit upon launch). I may not troubleshoot this time--it's easier to do without and wait for a patch. (Which could be September 28, but I hope for the 2nd! I think they'll want to fix this sooner rather than later.)<br><br>Too bad, I was getting attached to some of them.<br><br>I'll certainly contact Apple for the latest info, but I doubt they have much to say except to wait.<br><br>Someone speculated that it could be a UNIX permissions problem. It does kind of seem like it: a Mac app you don't have read-permission for will do the same thing.<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

<br>Seems you went right into it with your iPhone, which is what I had hoped for.<br><br>Those app problems you are describing never happened to me ... at least not the disappearing act. But what's the deal about not installing apps from the AppStore? I would just love to be able to back up the apps and their ancillary files. Have you found something about that?<br><br>Instead of jaadu, I played around with the free version of Mocha vnc. Interesting. Being able to eMail a document stored on my Mac to my iPhone - from the iPhone! - would actually be a neat trick. But for this to really become useful, something like a Finder/Explorer with dedicated storage area is needed. <br>I am using a little app called FileMagnet, which allows importing and display of various file formats - video, pdf, even Excel! - but it is an application and therefore cannot run while VNC connection is open. That's where a Finder would help.<br><br>The battery does charge quickly .... but it really should have more capacity for a day of mixed activites. I carry a spare pack for my Lumix, so why can't I for the iPhone? The add-on thingies all look awkward. Something I did see, but haven't a link for, is a booster battery pack with various adaptors, to quasi quick-recharge a number of devices in-flight so to speak. That would be a good solution for my day-bag.<br><br>Shape and material make the iPhone extremely slippery. It is rugged, however. The back still hasn't scratched, even though my coffee table is a slab of marble, and numerous times, I had it crashing to the floor - luckily always carpet! Even a shirt pocket can become a launching pad when you bend down to tie your shoes. So, I want a non-slip silicone cover, even if that distracts from the elegance. <br>In Berlin, iPhone sales are still so low that accessories aren't easy to find. Mail-order for a €15 item seems silly, but I would like to see/feel the case first.<br><br>Looking forward to more observations from you ... <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>