iGot an iPhone

So, a few days ago I got myself a shiny iPhone 3G on the 4th of this month. I was so very happy with my purchase and informed people of such and show it off at work etc. Then later on when I was an hour away from finishing work, I pulled my iPhone from my pocket only to see it had a large crack in the screen.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, shit, shit" were my words when I saw the damage. Somehow that got supressed and I managed to remain calm about the busted £400 piece of technology which I had only had for four days. Got home and rang Apple to enquire as to whether I could get it fixed. The glass was broken, but the phone worked to enable me to ring them. I spoke to one rep whose name escapes me and he was very kind about the whole thing. I was then passed on to a senior technician, who I had to e-mail pictures to:


Pretty fucked huh? Though after e-mailing the photos I was told it would cost £X for it to be repaired. I rang Apple back up to organise a meeting at the Genius Bar at my local iStore, and was suprised to get one for the next day (considering I rang Apple initially at 5pm). It was all sorted, and though it would cost me money to get it sorted, I was okay (i.e. not stressing or raging) and headed off the next day to get it sorted.

Got to the Apple/iStore on Friday, and checked in. Pleasant so far. I then waited patiently to be seen (I'm in customer service, so know how to be a 'good' customer) while the guy ahead of me was complaining at one of the Apple guys. I got there nice and early and was seen promptly by a guy named Adrian. Conversation went as thus:

Adrian: "What can we do for you?"
Me (J): "You'll see when you see my iPhone."
I pullled the iPhone box from my bag and opened it up to show the wreck of the thing.
A: "Oh, that's not too bad, I thought it would be a box of pieces. So, we can replace your phone for you. Have you got everything backed up?"
J: "No, haven't had time."
A: "Have you connected it to iTunes since the initial set-up?"
J: "Yeah."
A: "Then it's all backed up."
He explained how to retrieve the data once I reconnected the new iPhone and explained that UK iPhones can't make ringtones from iTunes on Windows, but that a program called Garage Band took care of it all on Macs. Yet another nod that I should migrate myself to a Mac some time this year.
Then he went off to get a new iPhone, and shoved my now old one in a box, and then in a drawer behind him, presumably to be repaired.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned guy that was ahead of me and was complaining was still doing so as if it were the guy's fault. I hate customers like that. He was still whinging when I left.

Anyways, got my new iPhone, packaged it back up and then restored it when I got home. Remembered to thank Adrian for all his help with it though. The iPhone is almost as important as a lung, so there's no need for a review. However, some apps can have one.

Lightsaber™
Price: Free
An app simply for fun, which is now sponsored by LucasArts. Allows you to wave around your iPhone like a lightsaber™ and makes the appropriate sounds. The gentle glow of the lightsaber when you're holding the phone still, and the strikes when you make quick motions. Customisable lightsaber™ too. 7/10 for fun.

Remote
Price: Free
This very useful. Control your (or someone else's) whole iTunes library from your iPhone. Play creepy music at your friends house when you're passing by, or make them think someone's hacked their computer by rickrolling them wirelessly. 9/10.

midomi

Price: Free
You can use this app to identify any song currently playing, or even sing 10 seconds of a song in to it if you have a tune stuck in your head and it will show you a preview of the song and link you to the iTunes store to buy it if you want. It's pretty awesome. 8.5/10

Pac-Man Lite
Price: Free
If you don't know Pac-Man, leave now. This version allows you to swipe your finger for directions, turn the iPhone or even us a d-pad for moving Pac-Man around. Only one level, but that's all you need for a quick Pac-fix. 8/10.

Showtimes

Price: Free
Showtimes grabs your current location and shows you what's on at the cinemas around where you are. It will also show you movie ratings and trailers for films. You can change the cinema location, but it will always choose the closest one. Excellent for a movie goer like myself. 9/10

Twinkle

Price: Free
Let me just preface this a bit, and say Twitterific is horrible. Twinkle or Twitterfon should be promoted by Apple rather than Twitterific. Twinkle allows you to post to Twitter, and gives you a look at those using Twinkle nearby. Definetley get this if you tweet. 9.5/10

That's all the apps currently on my iPhone, so some day soon I'll review the ones I have since deleted, but for now that's all.

IT'S C...no wait, it's Boxing Day

So, now a short blog post about the presents and things I recieved, before I make a "look back on 2008" post soon. First of all though, as it's more important, I'd like to mention the things I gave.

Youngest Brother
I have three brothers (I'm the eldest of the siblings), and the youngest one (please don't ask me ages or specifics) likes Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers and those kind of shows. So he got the first season on DVD, which I found at a good price while Woolworth's was closing down. He's been watching it quite happily on his DVD player. Middle Brother The middle brother (is he 17? That sounds close) played Animal Crossing: Wild World a lot for quite some time until we had to send his DS off for repair about two weeks ago. His main forums for it went down lately too, which sucks a little. However, he got Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City for the Wii. He borrowed my DS to transfer his Wild World data and appears to like it. I assume he'll enjoy it more when he starts gathering friend codes and the like.

Oldest Brother
He only has a PS2 at the moment, and disliked FIFA 09 when he tried a demo. I have no idea about football/soccer, but as I understand it fans of the games either like FIFA or PES. As he'd mentioned his dislike of FIFA, I got him PES and he seemed quite happy about it.

Sister
She likes the Narnia films, and as my parents had got her the first one, I picked her up the second film, which I actually went to go and see with her. It took about half an hour from her opening it, to going and watching it which was nice to see. Mother Gok Wan's new book, almost brought the wrong one when in Waterstone's, so thanks to the helpful assistant there. She spent Christmas afternoon browsing through it.

Father
This wallet still hasn't arrived yet, but he knows he's getting it and desparately needs a new wallet.

I got Crayola DS stylus's which are still in my pocket at the moment and I was using them on Animal Crossing: Wild World. The wrapping around them is the proper Crayola stuff, which I used to tear off as a child, so that's becoming a hard temptation to resist. Then there was all the usual things such as pyjamas, money, and smelly sets. I also got a Discworld Companion book, as my shelf is filled with Pratchett novels, and My Name Is Earl season 3 on DVD. The best gift I got however, which I am still wearing and intend to use every day is my binary watch. Something I mentioned a few weeks ago after seeing it on ThinkGeek, and seeing how they worked. It's absolutely awesome.

Mine is blue. The time on those watches is 10:15. It's a pretty cool and geeky way to see what time it is, and I'll look either clever or childish when telling folk the time. Hope you all had a great Christmas, and are looking forward to 2009 with bated breath, much like myself.