[quagmire]

Originally Posted by knext21

Quick question for you guys... I'm having somebody order mine for me on the 15th from apple because I'm gonna be on a cruise; Do they need my phone for anything to place the order or any specific info besides my card? Just want to make sure there aren't going to be any issues.

Also, it'll ship on the 24th or we'll be receiving it on the 24th?

They will need access to your phone number, last 4 digits of SSN, and billing zipcode( well at least to check eligibility). I haven't gone past that section of Apple ordering.

[immiketoo]

Originally Posted by AW335TT

if you guys want to check if you qualify call *639#

Thats awesome! Thanks!
I'm elligible!

[OC Guy]

^ Eligible.

[immiketoo]

Originally Posted by OC 335i

^ Eligible.

Thanks Webster! I was so excited I double L'd

[Dan in PA]

I think I'll buy, terminate and go to T-Mobile as soon as I can unlock it. I don't really need 3G especially with 802.11 n...

[DrockNJ]

interesting write up on 4G...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100530/...73&PID=3144472


by PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Sun May 30, 1:01 pm ET

NEW YORK – Cell phone companies are about to barrage consumers with advertising for the next advance in wireless network technology: "4G" access. The companies are promising faster speeds and the thrill of being the first on the block to use a new acronym.

But there's less to 4G than meets the eye, and there's little reason for people to scramble for it, at least for the next few years.

Sprint Nextel Corp. is the first carrier to beat the drum for fourth-generation wireless technology. It's releasing its first 4G phone, the EVO, this week.

In the fall, Verizon Wireless will be firing up its 4G network in 25 to 30 cities, and probably will make a big deal of that. A smaller provider, MetroPCS Communications Inc., is scheduled to introduce its first 4G phone around the same time.

So what is 4G?

Broadly speaking, it's a new way to use the airwaves, designed from the start for the transmission of data rather than phone calls. To do that, it borrows aspects of the latest generation of Wi-Fi, the short-range wireless technology.

For consumers, 4G means, in the ideal case, faster access to data. For instance, streaming video might work better, with less stuttering and higher resolution. Videoconferencing is difficult on 3G and might work better on 4G. Multiplayer video games may benefit too.

Other than that, it's difficult to point to completely new uses for 4G phones — things they can do that 3G phones can't.

Instead, the upgrade to 4G is more likely to enhance the things you can already do with 3G, said Matt Carter, president of Sprint's 4G division.

"View it as the difference between watching regular TV and high-definition TV," Carter said. "Once you've experienced high-definition TV it's hard to go back to standard TV. It's the same sort of thing here."

So the improvement from 3G to 4G is not as dramatic as the step from 2G to 3G, which for the first time made real Web browsing, video and music downloads practical on phones. The introduction of 3G started in earnest about five years ago, but it isn't complete — AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA still have little rural 3G coverage, for instance.

There's an important caveat to the claim that 4G will be faster, as well. It will definitely be faster than the 3G networks of Sprint and Verizon Wireless — about four times faster, initially. But the other two national carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile, are upgrading their 3G networks to offer data-transfer speeds that will actually be higher than the speeds 4G networks will reach this year or next.

That means that rather than focusing on real speeds, Sprint and Verizon will try to frame their marketing around the "4G" term, said Dan Hays, who focuses on telecommunications at management consulting firm PRTM.

"It's a terrible story from a consumer standpoint, because it's tremendously confusing," he said.

AT&T and T-Mobile are able to upgrade their 3G networks because they use a different 3G technology than Verizon and Sprint, which have maxed out their 3G speeds. Taking the step to 4G is natural for Verizon and Sprint, especially because they have new chunks of the radio spectrum that they want to take advantage of.

The fact that Verizon Wireless and Sprint are adding fresh spectrum may be more important than the fact that they are using it for 4G service. No matter if used for 4G or 3G, new spectrum means the companies can accommodate more data-hungry devices such as smart phones.

AT&T's network is already staggering under data congestion caused by the iPhone in New York and San Francisco. The carrier has made relieving the congestion a top priority this year, and its 3G upgrades are part of that process. (As an aside, there is a lot of talk of a coming "iPhone 4G." Apple Inc. will most likely release the fourth generation of the iPhone for AT&T's network this summer, but it's virtually certain that it will not be able to use a 4G wireless network. It likely won't be called the "iPhone 4G" either.)

There's another, more subtle benefit to 4G. While it's not always faster than the best 3G when it comes to helping you download a big file in less time, it is definitely faster in the sense that it takes less time to initiate the flow of data to you. What that means is that 4G is faster for quick back-and-forth communications. You wouldn't notice this when surfing the Web or doing e-mail: We're talking delays of 0.03 second rather than 0.15 second. But it could mean that 4G will work better for multiplayer gaming, where split-second timing is important. Even phone calls could benefit from shorter audio delays.

Sprint and Verizon are taking different routes in 4G. Sprint owns a majority of Clearwire Corp., which is building a network using WiMax technology. Once seen as very promising, WiMax looks set to be a niche technology, and WiMax devices like the Sprint EVO phone won't be able to use networks built using the dominant 4G standard, called LTE, for Long Term Evolution. Verizon and MetroPCS plan to use LTE, as does AT&T, starting next year. T-Mobile says it will probably use LTE eventually. Even Sprint hasn't ruled out using LTE eventually, because the technology has huge momentum.

In five years or so, many phones are likely to have 4G capabilities, but they'll complement it with 3G. Rather than a sudden revolution, consumers are likely to experience a gradual transition to the new technology, with increasing speeds. But for now, 4G is no magic bullet.

"It's an important thing for the industry," said Bill Davidson, senior vice president of marketing and investor relations at wireless technology developer Qualcomm Inc. "It's absolutely needed. ... But I just think some of this has gotten a bit ahead of itself in terms of expectations for consumers."

[OC Guy]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

Thanks Webster! I was so excited I double L'd

I didn't even notice the misspelling, I was merely stating I am eligible also!

[Dan in PA]

Originally Posted by DrockNJ

interesting write up on 4G...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100530/...73&PID=3144472

A good read, thanks for posting.

[335iheLLraiseR]

Originally Posted by Dan in PA

I think I'll buy, terminate and go to T-Mobile as soon as I can unlock it. I don't really need 3G especially with 802.11 n...

remember early termination is now $325, not $175 like it used to be.

[Dan in PA]

Originally Posted by 335iheLLraiseR

remember early termination is now $325, not $175 like it used to be.

Yup, $325 and decreasing by $10/month. My logic is that I'll save $30-50/ month on service and recuperate the initial investment of $500 plus in about a year. It isn't a critical amount of savings, but hey, I'm still in college and that money could go towards textbooks.

[Dan in PA]

4 days until pre-order day.

[timn]

Originally Posted by DrockNJ

interesting write up on 4G...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100530/...73&PID=3144472

This article doesn't help with the naming confusion. Actually, iPhone 4 has never been touted by Apple as "iPhone 4G". The closest you get to that name is "iPhone 4th Generation"

[AW335TT]

Just sold my 3gs, 3 more days left till pre-order

[Diokaef]

I'm on the wait as well. my plan is up so I will go for a new one and sell my 3GS 16GB or my 3GS 32GB I did not decide yet to which I will sell first tho

[omgitselainee]

Ordering mine on Tuesday as well !!

[Dan in PA]

I did the line-waiting thing in 2007, 2008 and 2009. It was a pretty neat experience, got to talk tech with some cool people. This year I'm just gonna have it overnited.

[Rochdale Pioneers]

So what does the iPhone 4 do thats actually new? Haven't seen any features so far that are actually innovative.

I can get - sometimes - why people would queue overnight to be the first to own something thats genuinely new. Sony Playstation 3 for example (not that I have or want a PS3, but I get that it was innovative). But what is new on the i4? Screen? No. Camera? No. Design? No. OS? No. Its just an upgraded handset which offers Apple users some of the features those of us on Android or WinMo have had for a year.

[hl0m4n]

i gotta wait for an unlock before i get mine , hopefully dev team will get one up in short time.

im happy apple is offering the no contract from the start. that means iphone prices won't be exceeding those when we start seeing them on ebay. most likey by the time unlock is out there will be alot of used iphone 4s for maybe $100-150 below new no contract price.

[OC Guy]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

So what does the iPhone 4 do thats actually new? Haven't seen any features so far that are actually innovative.

I can get - sometimes - why people would queue overnight to be the first to own something thats genuinely new. Sony Playstation 3 for example (not that I have or want a PS3, but I get that it was innovative). But what is new on the i4? Screen? No. Camera? No. Design? No. OS? No. Its just an upgraded handset which offers Apple users some of the features those of us on Android or WinMo have had for a year.

I find it pretty amusing that WinMo, Android, or other IPhone competitors are always chiming in that their phone has this or that but I don't ever hear IPhone guys comparing themselves to the competition. Why can't you just be happy with what you have? Why do other phone users always have to compare themselves to the IPhone? Insecure much?

[Dan in PA]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

So what does the iPhone 4 do thats actually new? Haven't seen any features so far that are actually innovative.

I can get - sometimes - why people would queue overnight to be the first to own something thats genuinely new. Sony Playstation 3 for example (not that I have or want a PS3, but I get that it was innovative). But what is new on the i4? Screen? No. Camera? No. Design? No. OS? No. Its just an upgraded handset which offers Apple users some of the features those of us on Android or WinMo have had for a year.

It doesn't have any features that are brand new to the market. Perhaps the quality of its construction, but other than that, nothing. If you're asking this question, you're completely missing the point of the iPhone's philosophy. It's about the way the phone's functions are integrated into the user experience, not having a 24 megapixel camera, 6 gigs of ram and an AMOLED display which won't work outside.

Originally Posted by OC 335i

I find it pretty amusing that WinMo, Android, or other IPhone competitors are always chiming in that their phone has this or that but I don't ever hear IPhone guys comparing themselves to the competition. Why can't you just be happy with what you have? Why do other phone users always have to compare themselves to the IPhone? Insecure much?

To be fair, I read a ton more comparisons on the iPhone forum I frequent than the Android forums. The Android guys seem to have dismissed the iPhone as a child's toy made by a tyrannical leader. Could just be my experiences, though...

[OC Guy]

^ Dan, I don't visit phone forums so I wouldn't know. All I have seen is on Facebook and on various car forums. I would expect comparisons on a phone forum, but on non-Phone forums, I see new threads proclaiming, my phone has this, take this iphone!

To sum it up, /golfclap.

It's just a phone.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

So what does the iPhone 4 do thats actually new? Haven't seen any features so far that are actually innovative.

I can get - sometimes - why people would queue overnight to be the first to own something thats genuinely new. Sony Playstation 3 for example (not that I have or want a PS3, but I get that it was innovative). But what is new on the i4? Screen? No. Camera? No. Design? No. OS? No. Its just an upgraded handset which offers Apple users some of the features those of us on Android or WinMo have had for a year.

Are you serious?

Screen? YES. No other mobile phone has a 300+ dpi display. And it's not OLED that has crappy color output/viewing angles. IPS displays are the same high quality display technology they use on their desktop displays.

Camera? YES. It might not have as many megapixels, but the sensor is larger. Other manufacturers boost megapixels via software which makes bigger images, but don't improve the actual image quality.

Design? YES. Are you kidding me? The phone is beautiful and completely functional. The frame acts as antennas for better reception/connectivity.

OS? YES. It's shipping with OS4 which has tons of improvements. A lot of it is on the developer side, but that just means expect much better software in the future.

I think you watched the keynote videos of last year's iPhone on accident.