3G iPhone 2.1 Firmware Upgrade
Posted on September 16, 2008
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So far I’m pretty happy with the iPhone 2.1 firmware update. Battery life has been better (mostly) and it did fix the problem with 3rd party apps crashing. The keyboard seems much snappier than the lag that existed before the update.
In general, things seem more stable. I have seen many of the sites that go into detail about many of the other fixes that 2.1 brings but I didn’t see any mention of the frustrating Bluetooth echo fix that occurs with most cars that have the hands free feature.
I decided to give Bluetooth a try today in my car and woo hoo — it worked! Almost no echo. I mean it is about 90-95% fixed. What I did notice was that when I got out of the car and was not using the phone it seemed like it was chewing up some battery too fast.
I know that Bluetooth can consume battery so I went to my settings and I’m not encouraged by what I found. Bluetooth is “ON”, and it shows that it is Paired with my car (although I am not near my car).
The thing that has me most concerned is that there is that spinning gear next to the word “Devices” that never quits until I turn Bluetooth off. I am sure that this is chewing away at the battery’s charge — not good.
Okay, so I went to the paired device (My-Car) and chose to unpair that device and now there is no spinning gear next to devices — it now has a box where “My-Car” used to be which now stated “Searching…” with the spinning gears next to it. Spinning, spinning, spinning away — battery life plumeting.
The only way I have found to stop this is to turn off Bluetooth. That’s not very practicle when you are in and out of your car. Not to mention the fact that while you are connected the phone is constantly looking for other devices.
I haven’t had a chance to see how many other people are experiencing the same thing.
iPhone 2.01 Update Update
Posted on August 5, 2008
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A few hours after reporting that the 3rd party apps were crashing upon launch I decided to go back and launch every application again. This time none of them crashed!
The only thing that was different in the state of the phone from hours earlier was that I did a software update to AOL Radio app prior to relaunching all the other apps. I have read other posts reporting that apps are crashing after 2.01 was installed. I’ll have to look around to see if this mysterious recovery from this behavior was noticed by anyone else.
I wonder if by updating the AOL app it could have somehow corrected a bad state that the iPhone was in.
iPhone 2.01 Firmware Update
Posted on August 4, 2008
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Well, I just installed the almost 250MB update that reports to have multiple bug fixes. I don’t yet know what is fixed but I can report that all 3rd party apps crash upon launch.
Did I mention that one of the “3rd party” apps that now crash is one produced by Apple? Yep, Texas Hold’ em from Apple crashes upon launch.
More later…
dante
Widespread iPhone Bluetooth Echo Problems
Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under Apple iPhone, Mac Stuff | 1 Comment
In January of 2007 it was time to replace my older Verizon Motorola phone with no bluetooth support because the new car had hands-free bluetooth integrated into the sound system.
My dilemma was that I wanted to wait for the first iPhone but I was too impatient to wait six months. So, I went to AT&T and got a 3G Motorola planing on ditching it in six months time.
It was a pretty decent phone and then I started thinking about what it might be like giving it up for a first generation iPhone. I have had many years of experience as an early adopter of technology. What I have learned is that early adopters are like pioneers — they end up with all the arrows in their backs.
My decision was to wait for the second generation iPhone.
I got the new new 3G iPhone on July 11th and I am loving it except for one major flaw — a defect in the way it performs with hands-free bluetooth in cars.
There are threads on the Apple forums that show how widespread a problem this is.
I decided to send a brief bug report to Apple iPhone Support. I hope they make fixing this a priority.
Here is the bug report:
————————————————————————————————————-
Dear Apple iPhone Support.
Most of us 3G iPhone users that use hands-free bluetooth in our cars are having a major problem.
Here is a thread that says it all:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7566755
I have a 2007 G35S sedan with navigation but it seems to affect a many other makes and models of cars with hands free bluetooth built in.
Just to clarify, the caller and I hear an echo of my voice but not an echo of the caller’s voice.
My previous phone (Motorola V3xx) did not have this problem at all.
The echo is bad enough to render the phone unusable in the car unless I try to hold it to my ear while driving. That is not a great safety solution for people who have chosen cars that have hands-free bluetooth.
I imagine that it would be bad PR for Apple if and when people start getting tickets for holding the handset to their ear or when they start driving with ear buds which is illegal in many locales.
Worse than that — what about some attorney that tries to have Apple share in the liability due to an accident in which the jury finds that product liability contributed to the “at fault driver” not using the “safer” option of hands-free.
Now, I know that it may sound like a bit of a stretch but lawyers do stretch things when there are big settlements on the table and there is a company with deep pockets that may have contributed to the hazard which caused the accident.
I am hoping that my hypothetical scenario just helps to bump up the urgency of fixing this bug.
There is no downside to Apple fixing this quickly — you will only make a lot of 3G iPhone customers very happy.
Regards,
T. Dante DeAngelis
Fun Zone
Posted on August 11, 2007
Filed Under Dog Stuff | 1 Comment
I posted this on Google video a long time ago so I decided to post it here. There is a company called the “Doggie Fun Zone” that sets up at various dog shows. They have an agility type course that has a lure course type setup integrated into it.
It’s pretty wild to see how excited the dogs get when they see this piece of plastic zipping under, over, and through the obstacles on the course.
My Doberman was running full tilt and even had a slight wipe-out. His time was number five out of about 100 dogs of many different breeds that participated.
-dante
Playing around with Google’s tools
Posted on June 3, 2007
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Like most of you, I am constantly blown away by Google’s constant innovation. The latest thing I checked out is Google Voice Local Search. With this new service you can search for local businesses using your voice, from any phone, for free. All you need to do is dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411).
It is experimental right now so it may be unavailable sometimes. For now, it is US and English only. For more information go here.
I did some testing and so far I have been impressed by the performance of the voice recognition system. Unlike other free directory assistance services like 800-FREE-411 Google did not force me to sit through a painful advertisement. Whether that will change is yet to be seen. If Google does embed advertising into their service in the future I’m sure they will find a less obnoxious way of doing it than 800-FREE-411.
Introduction to Dante.org
Posted on December 22, 2006
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Welcome to Dante.org.
This is the first post of many, I hope. It’s been a number of years since my weekly AM talk radio show on 1400 WFTL in South Florida. The show was called “Radio Dante” ‘A One Hour Embargo on Political Correctness’ which was meant as a play words based on “Radio Marti”.
When the station was sold and the format was changed from politics and social issues to “all financial” radio I ended my hobby. Nowadays the station broadcasts on 850 AM.
My weekend show was about current issues discussed in the the news and my take on them. As I look back on the numerous boxes of cassette tapes of those shows between 1993 to 1998 I see how many of my ideas were too early. I predicted many things that many folks brushed aside.
Some of my big issues were:
* Illegal immigration and the security of the US
* Danger of the tobacco lawsuits and where it would lead
* Social Security concerns
* The dangerous agenda of the animal rights movement
As I remember the others I will post them. Eventually I will convert some tapes into a format that can be downloaded onto your iPod.
Lately, I prefer Podcasts to radio. I have been very involved with the Internet before there was the Web and I see Podcasts as one of the most exciting things to come along so far. I see it as Tivo for radio.
My current plans are to begin doing a weekly PodCast following the same format as my old radio show. This blog exsists to support.
Stay tuned, it won’t be long.
Regards,
Dante