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Old 09-06-2007, 04:51 PM   #46
Undertoad
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Wish granted: $399 after rebate.

(Don't buy it though - the manufacturer is in bankuptcy)
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Old 09-06-2007, 04:57 PM   #47
elSicomoro
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Heh...from that link:

STAY AWAY

Reviewed By: on 8/28/2007
Rating + 1Rating + 1Rating + 1Rating + 1Rating + 1
Tech Level: high - Ownership: less than 1 day

Pros: None
Cons: Stop working the next day. Doesn't even turn on. Astar says they cannot replace it or repair it, because their warehouse is closed by court order. Their accounts too, so no rebate either. STAY AWAY

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Stopped working - ASTAR out of business

Reviewed By: Max_Neptune on 8/29/2007
Rating + 1Rating + 1Rating + 1Rating + 1Rating + 1
Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

Pros: Very cheap and nice looking.
Cons: VGA port stopped working after only 3 days in use. Called ASTAR, they claim that Phillips is taking legal action against them. ASTAR has filed chapter 11 bankruptcy and told me they cannot help me.
Other Thoughts: DO NOT BUY!!!!!
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Old 09-07-2007, 09:09 AM   #48
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"If they told me at the outset the iPhone would be $200 cheaper the next day, I would have thought about it for a second - and still bought it," said Andrew Brin, a 47-year-old addiction therapist in Los Angeles. "It was $600 and that was the price I was willing to pay for it."
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Old 09-07-2007, 12:42 PM   #49
tw
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Quote:
Originally Posted by busterb View Post
"If they told me at the outset the iPhone would be $200 cheaper the next day, I would have thought about it for a second - and still bought it," said Andrew Brin,
Technology does that. The original Intel 8080 sold for something like $4000 (in today’s money) in its first years. The microprocessor I built cost something like $10 in Radio Shack maybe seven years later.

iPhone price drop was rather faster than expected. However I have seen something equivalent (but less functions) from LC and supported on the Verizon system for much less than $600. Apple has competition. Apple will be offering rebates to some early iPhone purchasers.

Now the embarrassing question. Why do prescription drug prices violate market requirements that prices fall over the years? I cite one prescription skin cream that increased in price from $19 to $120 in maybe 15 years. A complete violation of what happens in tech industries.
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Old 09-10-2007, 02:55 AM   #50
Crimson Ghost
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Ah, yes.
The iPhone dropped in price.
But those out-of-area charges will kill ya...

------------------------------------------
Hewlett Harbor man racks up $4,800 iPhone bill

BY RICHARD J. DALTON, JR. | richard.dalton@newsday.com6:49 PM EDT, September 7, 2007

Jay Levy and his family took their iPhones on a Mediterranean cruise. Now the Hewlett Harbor entrepreneur feels as if he got taken for a ride, receiving a 54-page monthly bill of nearly $4,800 from AT&T Wireless.

While Levy, his wife and his daughter were enjoying the trip, and even while they were sleeping, their three iPhones were racking up a bill for data charges. The iPhone regularly updates e-mail, even while it's off, so that all the messages will be available when the user turns it on.

"They have periodic updates on their data files, and they translate into megabucks," Levy said. "This is akin to your bank having automatic access to your ATM machine and is siphoning money out during all times of the day and night without your knowledge."


Levy and his daughter each have three e-mail accounts on their iPhones, and they were each billed more than $1,900.

His wife's phone had one e-mail account, and her bill hit $890. One connection alone ran $223. Levy said he has complained all the way to office of AT&T's president.

Data transfers are not a problem domestically, where the AT&T Wireless plan includes unlimited data transfers for the iPhone.

But the iPhone's international plan in 29 countries, mostly in Europe, costs $24.99 for 20 megabytes. In countries outside the plan, charges can run from $5 to $20 per megabyte, said Ben Wilson, editor of iPhone Atlas, a Web site owned by the online news company CNet.

"It was a big surprise," Wilson said. "Consumers didn't expect that the charges were going to be so high and that the phone was going to be doing all this data transfer in the background that they weren't aware of."

Herbert Kliegerman, 68, a real-estate agent from the Bronx, said he incurred $2,000 while visiting Mexico. He filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status in New York State Supreme Court last week, alleging that Apple did not properly disclose the international roaming charges.

AT&T Wireless offered to refund $1,500 to Kliegerman, but he said that's not good enough. "I want a full refund," he said.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said the company adequately discloses the potential charges on the Web site and when the phone is activated.

The 6,707-word terms and conditions document on the AT&T Web site says: "Substantial charges may be incurred if phone is taken out of the U.S. even if no services are intentionally used."

Kliegerman said said most people don't read the lengthy terms and conditions. Furthermore, the rate plans listed on the site indicate "unlimited data (Email/Web)," without an asterisk. He said that's misleading.

Kliegerman's lawyer, Randall S. Newman of Manhattan, said about 15 people from around the country have called him complaining of international roaming charges and the inability to unlock the phone to use it with another carrier.

Apple hasn't yet released the iPhone abroad. Levy said he didn't expect data transfer charges internationally because he believed the data network in Europe wasn't compatible with the iPhone. The Levys brought their phones with them for voice calls.

Other smartphones also automatically update e-mail and other data such as weather and stock prices, but those phones offer a wider variety of international pricing plans in more countries than is available on the iPhone, AT&T Wireless spokeswoman Ellen Webner said.

---------------------------

May I draw your attention to this line -

"The iPhone regularly updates e-mail, even while it's off, so that all the messages will be available when the user turns it on."

What? The? Fuck?
When you turn the phone off, it's still on?
How the hell does that work?
Whattaya gotta do, pull the fucking battery out of it?

You go ahead, have fun with your cute little phone that cost more that the GNP of some countries.
I'll stick with my cheap LG.
At least mine doesn't cost me $4,800.
That's 4 years for me and the wife.


"Substantial charges may be incurred if phone is taken out of the U.S. even if no services are intentionally used."
If you take the phone out of the U.S., you will be hammered for everything, even if you don't use it.
Sucks to be you.
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I have no knowledge of the events which you are describing, and if I did have knowledge of them,
I would be unable to discuss them with you now or at any future period.



Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
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Old 09-10-2007, 03:19 PM   #51
Clodfobble
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crimson Ghost
What? The? Fuck?
When you turn the phone off, it's still on?
How the hell does that work?
Whattaya gotta do, pull the fucking battery out of it?
Almost all phones with GPS tracking also continue to connect even when they're turned off. Better not take it with you to the criminal hideout.
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Old 09-10-2007, 04:06 PM   #52
Flint
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Can anyone tell me: What does an iPhone do? Why do I need one...more than I need, say, $600 worth of hot, buttery popcorn?
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expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever
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Old 09-10-2007, 04:10 PM   #53
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Well, $600 worth of popcorn is slightly more likely to make you sick.

The iPhone is a phone that i's.
Popcorn is corn that pops. Plus butter.

It looks like a tie.
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Old 09-10-2007, 04:12 PM   #54
Flint
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Don't forget: popcorn will always be tasty, but the iPhone will be obsolete in six months.
__________________
******************
There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there
it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your
expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever
gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio
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Old 09-11-2007, 12:21 AM   #55
Crimson Ghost
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flint View Post
Can anyone tell me: What does an iPhone do? Why do I need one...more than I need, say, $600 worth of hot, buttery popcorn?
Well...

You can't stick your dick in an iPhone at the movies so that your date can give you a handjob.
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We must all go through a rite of passage. It must be physical, it must be painful, and it must leave a mark.

I have no knowledge of the events which you are describing, and if I did have knowledge of them,
I would be unable to discuss them with you now or at any future period.



Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years

Last edited by Crimson Ghost; 09-11-2007 at 02:45 AM.
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Old 09-11-2007, 12:24 AM   #56
Crimson Ghost
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble View Post
Almost all phones with GPS tracking also continue to connect even when they're turned off. Better not take it with you to the criminal hideout.
How'd you know about my criminal hideout?

I mean... uh... I have no idea what you're talking about....

(walks away whistling)
__________________
We must all go through a rite of passage. It must be physical, it must be painful, and it must leave a mark.

I have no knowledge of the events which you are describing, and if I did have knowledge of them,
I would be unable to discuss them with you now or at any future period.



Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
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Old 09-28-2007, 10:04 PM   #57
xoxoxoBruce
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Apple fights back

Quote:
Don’t say you weren’t warned. After cautioning customers earlier this week that unlocked iPhones may be disabled when installing future Apple software updates, the company on Thursday made good on its warning.

Two iPhones in the Macworld offices that had the SIM hacks applied to them were disabled after installing iPhone Update 1.1.1. The update process went through without a hitch, however, when the phone restarted an activation message appeared that said, “Insert an unlocked and valid SIM to activate iPhone.”

A similar message appeared in iTunes. A note saying the SIM card was not valid and to insert a valid SIM card greeted the user.
More
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Old 09-29-2007, 10:59 AM   #58
BigV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy Monkey View Post
Well, $600 worth of popcorn is slightly more likely to make you sick.
not if you eat them both.
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Old 10-17-2007, 09:18 PM   #59
xoxoxoBruce
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Greenpeace report on iPhone leads to lawsuit

Quote:
Greenpeace has posted a new report claiming that the iPhone contains hazardous substances, and findings in the report have led to a lawsuit against Apple. According to research performed by Greenpeace’s Research Laboratories in the UK, the iPhone contains toxic brominated compounds (indicating the presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs)) and hazardous PVC. “Apple missed a key opportunity when it rolled out the iPhone in June. There is no reason why the iPhone could not have been made without toxins like vinyl plastics and brominated flame retardants as Nokia is already doing,” said Rick Hind of Greenpeace.

Afterwards, The Center for Environmental Health announced that it is suing Apple based on research found in the Greenpeace report. According to the Center, California’s Proposition 65 law states that products exposing consumers to phthalates or other chemicals known to be reproductive toxins or carcinogens must carry a warning label. The iPhone does not. “In general what we try to do is encourage the manufacturers through a negotiated settlement to reduce the use of these chemicals,” said Caroline Cox, spokeswoman for the Center for Environmental Health. “That would be our goal with Apple.”

In May, Apple CEO Steve Jobs penned an update, “A Greener Apple”, focusing on Apple’s environmental efforts, in which he said: “Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008.”
And the beatdown goes on.
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Old 10-18-2007, 07:43 AM   #60
glatt
 
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They are suing Apple because the phone has plastic in it?

Jeeze, Loise!
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