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<p>X, I have not found this true at all. What exactly is the problem you’ve experienced? Hearing people on the other end? People asking you to speak up, etc…? I’ve had the opposite experience, voices are clear and loud. Maybe it’s just your phone?</p>
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<p>I feel like I’m talking into a deck of cards. It’s kind of odd.</p>
<p>A second complaint I have is that the speaker picks up EVERYTHING. My husband, who also has an iPhone, will be talking to me while, for example, heating up leftovers, and when he punches the microwave buttons, it sounds like a shrieking alarm in my ear, and the microwave hum itself sounds like aliens are landing. His voice sounds completely normal, but background noises frequently send me yelping.</p>
<p>You might want to consider using the headphones and speaking into those. I refuse to do anything Bluetoothy / hanging onto my ear, but the headphones are like what you’d use if listening to an iPod; they just have a microphone on them. Just a thought.</p>
<p>I like mine well enough that when I have conference calls for work (I work out of my home), I actually use the iPhone and headphones so I can move around, walk, let the dog out, etc. while I’m talking, versus being stuck at my desk and tethered to a regular phone.</p>
<p>I also use the headphones that came with the phone extensively. I have tried all kinds of bluetooth gadgets and just don’t like the weight hanging off my ear (not iphone specific). With the headphones, I can also look at the phone and do things like put it on mute, play games, cruise the internet - all while on a boring con call…</p>
<p>I agree with the “talking into a deck of cards” feeling. It took some getting used to. Having a non-slip silicone cover on mine helped. I also miss the ability to snap the phone shut at the end of a conversation. There’s just a nice little sense of closure with that action.</p>
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<p>That is the exact issue/problem. It’s not a major problem, but I believe that many phones I’ve used in the past were better … cell phones. </p>
<p>Now, one absolute negative with an I-Phone relates to overseas travel. Not that the phone does not work well, but that the cost is simply prohibitive. </p>
<p>For instance, when traveling to Mexico, anyone who does not immediately set the phone in airplane mode or disconnects every possible way ATT (data cost, two-way traffic on voicemail, etc) can STEAL from you is asking for problems. Simply stated, your I-Phone in Mexico is as valuable as carrying a brick unless someone else picks up the tab. Added to the constant risk of having it stolen in the hotel, it’s best to leave it at home. </p>
<p>Fortunately, the combination of using VOIP and a local throwaway cell phone makes living without the US phone pretty easy. Of course, there is always hope that ATT might decide to expand one of its North American plan again.</p>
<p>I can see your point that it may not be the Very Bestest Phone – but for me, it is such an outstanding device on so many other dimensions, it doesn’t need to be. A Perfectly Fine Phone is enough for me. Besides, who calls people anymore? LOL. I’m actually thinking of getting rid of my home office phone line and switching totally to cell – clients never call, they email (for which the iPhone is great).</p>
<p>^^–^^</p>
<p>Exactly, and I never said I regretted owning it! :)</p>
<p>I have no issues with international travel and the iPhone. </p>
<p>The iphone asks if you want to do international data roaming when you land, you say no - and then it acts like any other cell phone with outrageous AT&T voice rates. </p>
<p>These can be further reduced to .99 a minute if you call AT&T and sign up for a monthly international roaming plan - but that part is the same as any other phone.</p>
<p>Personally, I carry the iphone so that people can call my US number - and if the call promises to be long, I call them back using my VOIP account.</p>
<p>If you are in a wireless zone you can use skype from anywhere. It works fine.</p>
<p>Scualum, do you know what happens when you do NOT answer a call when abroad? Your choice is to answer every call at a minimum cost of [blank] and leave the phone on, or turn it off and let ATT charge you both ways to end up in your voicemail box. The moment the local carrier (assuming Telcel in Mexico) identifies a phone on its network, it’s ready to be abused.</p>
<p>Do you know how expensive it gets to exchange text messages? Isn’t it 50 cents for text messages sent and 20 cents for text messages received? </p>
<p>Now factor the number of emails, text messages, and calls a typical student gets on his I-Phone!</p>
<p>when D went to India/England for almost 4 months, she bought a cell phone and SIM card there- very inexpensive, coverage was fairly good.
You just reload your minutes.
You could also get an international calling card for emegencies instead or for people to call you from states.</p>
<p>I must also add that I have no complaints with the iPhone as a telephone. Not one person has ever complained about the sound quality. If anything, it’s been the exact opposite.</p>
<p>One further note on the Iphone and Mexico. It is as valuable as a gold brick there! We recently had one Iphone, Itouch and 2 ipods stolen from a locked penthouse condo in Mexico. ATT told me that the apple products have a huge market in Mexico and are stolen all the time. Apple now has an app for the new Iphone where when it is stolen you can go online and wipe all applications from it. Not just the phone service which obviously you can call and cancel. It will no longer do anything.</p>
<p>Even if there was no demand for I-Phones in Mexico, there is a huge market for stolen phones … just north of the border. Last year, one our national television chains ran a series about how easy it was to steal the Apple phones and get the Apple stores to reprogram them for a different user. Despite the claims to have some kind of database, the show exposed the fact that none was used. In fact, as far as customer support, the real victims had a tougher time to replace the phone and stop illegal uses to be billed. The thieves … not so much!</p>
<p>No matter what the companies tell you --be it ATT, Apple, or any other carrier-- everything is always wonderful BEFORE you buy something. If you happen to lose your phone, have it stolen, or allow the phone to meet its nemesis (water) you’ll see the other side of the business. </p>
<p>By the way, what do you think of the insurance that Apple and ATT offer for the I-Phone? Ain’t that a peach of a deal?</p>
<p>so xiggi are you saying the tracking doesn’t work?
( if only I had this for my keys)
[AppleInsider</a> | iPhone 3.0 to offer MobileMe users “Find My iPhone” feature](<a href=“http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/18/iphone_3_0_to_offer_mobileme_users_find_my_iphone_feature.html]AppleInsider”>iPhone 3.0 to offer MobileMe users "Find My iPhone" feature | AppleInsider)</p>
<p>I have also found that as long as you do not turn on electronics while they are wet- they are pretty hardy.
I have had to replace a few laptop keyboards over the years, when smoothies ( my daughter), or tea ( me) were spilled into them, but paying $100 for a new keyboard, is lots easier than replacing a hard drive & all the data was intact.</p>
<p>I have also dropped my phone ( LG 8700) in toilets, in parking lots, etc, and although it looks like it has been around the block with Phyllis Diller, it still works.</p>
<p>By the way, what do you think of the insurance that Apple and ATT offer for the I-Phone? Ain’t that a peach of a deal?</p>
<p>Are you talking about AppleCare?
I haven’t bought ins for my family cellphones, but $70, for two years of coverage for iphone isn’t bad, I always buy it for portable electronics ( although for laptops, it is three years of coverage)</p>
<p>( this link will give you info about ATT & iphone)
<a href=“http://forums.wireless.att.com/cng/board?board.id=apple[/url]”>http://forums.wireless.att.com/cng/board?board.id=apple</a></p>
<p>Replaceable battery
Upgradeable storage
memory card slot <B
slimmer form factor
coupon for better headphones
Verizon or better service provider</p>
<p>I realize I may not get any of those for a while
( but I did replace the battery of my video ipod myself 
)</p>
<p>This should tell you something about the appeal of iphone/itouch.</p>
<p>More than twenty years ago, I bought my first desktop computer, motivated not only by the shiny, but because my H had to use computers at work and it was driving him bats. I reasoned that if he could get familiar with it at home, it would be less stressful and more successful.</p>
<p>His company now supplies him with a laptop , which he hates ,and grudgingly uses at work, but never uses any of the computers at home unless I make him. ( when he wants me to look something up for him)</p>
<p>However, I have a couple Apps on my ipod touch that he likes, & now he even has said that he wants one of his own! ( before this, he has never even wanted an ipod)</p>
<p>[It even has a level](<a href=“http://www.ihandysoft.com/carpenter/”>http://www.ihandysoft.com/carpenter/</a>)</p>
<p>But really, I think he just wants to dominate the [scoreboard](<a href=“http://iphone.matmi.com/monsterpinball/”>http://iphone.matmi.com/monsterpinball/</a>)</p>
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<p>Yes, Applecare for the IPhone is what I was talking about. AppleCare is not insurance, it is an extended warranty/support plan. The $69 gives you one extra year of coverage against … products defect resulting from **regular **use. Drop your phone and you’re out of luck. Sit on it … same thing. Drop it in a puddle of water getting out of taxi …same thing. Crack the screen … same thing. </p>
<p>Check the advertisements at squaretrade or safeware to understand the value of the plan offered by Apple. If the insurance was a real insurance, safeware would not be able to quote about $85 a year WITH a $100 dollar deductible in the US and 200 abroad.</p>
<p>While Apple has never offered more than a standard two-year extended AppleCare warranty and AT&T has specifically exempted the iPhone from its insurance offerings, Black Tie covers regular technical problems as well as drops, spills and other failures that would normally require a costly repair service or the purchase of an entirely new device. </p>
<p>Under Best Buy’s offering, any instance in which the phone can’t be fixed or replaced on the spot will see those customers offered a temporary phone until the repair or replacement is ready within three days or less. Battery replacements aren’t as likely due to Apple’s sealed-up design, but the company vows anti-lemon protection for devices that have to be brought in four times due defects.</p>
<p>Opting for Black Tie will reportedly still be expensive. For other cellphones, the program costs between $7 and $10 per month depending on the model, but the iPhone’s rate rises to $15 per month. That leaves iPhone owners paying about $180 per year – almost as much as the 16GB iPhone 3G S – even though those with other expensive phones can pay $120 per year for the same coverage.</p>
<p>Well informed people say the added cost of iPhone protection comes from the heavy subsidies attached to Apple’s products. Since the actual, retail price of a phone without a contract is between $599 and $699, it becomes prohibitively expensive to offer Black Tie when customers may use it more than once.</p>
<p>Still, for the accident-prone, Best Buy’s Black Tie is currently poised to be the only option for protection of the Apple handset outside of credit card insurance or individually obtained policies. The Black Tie Protection even covers broken screens. </p>
<p>[AppleInsider</a> | Best Buy to offer Apple’s iPhone 3G S with insurance](<a href=“http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/06/12/best_buy_to_offer_apples_iphone_3g_s_with_insurance.html]AppleInsider”>Best Buy to offer Apple's iPhone 3G S with insurance | AppleInsider)</p>
<p>I love my iphone. I use the maps application so often I could not live without it. I use that app for travel, and for just looking up addresses and phone numbers. I do not need a PDA and longer and have epocrates right on my phone. I have other handy apps that save me time and money. One of my favorites is the leveler. All my apps except my epocrates are free apps.</p>
<p>When I travel out of the country, I have a cheap unlocked quad band phone I got NEW on ebay for $24. I then buy a local SIM card from MrSimCard for the country I will be traveling to, and usually can call back to the US for 20-25 cents a minute (beats ATT’s 99 cents a minute). I turn my iphone on airplane mode so I can still listen to music and use the apps, and have my office call or family call and leave messages on my iphone cell number and that triggers NO CHARGES if it is in airplane mode. I then use my cheap phone to call my ATT number and listen to messages, calling back on my cheap phone, all for that same 20-25 cents a minute. It is my experience that whether it is ATT, Verizon or Sprint, you pay big bucks for calls abroad, and you pay big roaming charges for data. So just don’t use it for data or minutes if you travel abroad. Or just use it in a wireless environment.</p>
<p>My iphone is now my peripheral brain. I would age 10 years overnight if I could no longer have it. I don’t use it all that much, but what I use it for makes my life much simpler and easier.</p>