LG Dare Ain’t No iPhone

So a family member just got a LG Dare (cuz they have Verizon, and we all know that when it comes to touchscreens, only AT&T offers the iPhone).

I have played with it, and have concluded that it just doesn’t meet my expectations as being a phone worthy of an “iPhone killer”.

Now, I’m sure that it has its fans.  But after owning both an iPhone and an iPhone 3G, I believe the functionality is just too clumsy.

For one, the touchscreen is not sensitve enough.  You literally have to pound on it with your fingers to make it do what you want it to do.  And if you are like myself, and have large fingers, its even more frustrating.

Another problem is that the texting feature is ultra convuluted.  To get QWERTY (which by the way should just be standard for all phones), you have to flip the phone into “landscape” view, by utilizing the accelerometer.  I can see how one may think this is a good feature, because you can have it both ways, whereas with the iPhone, you have just QWERTY functionality.  Also, the LG Dare does get one thing right-in texting in landscape view.  iPhone as of now doesn’t have this capability, which I find strange.

Other problems are the clumsy way in which you answer calls.  Unless you know how to disable the unlocking feature, you have to unlock your phone before you can answer a call.  For the iPhone, when you receive a call, auto-lock is disabled, and you can answer your call in one click.  Two or three clicks to answer a phone is insane.

For those less-tech saavy and weening themselves off “analog” unsmart phones for the first time, the LG Dare might be viable option, especially if you are not too concerned about having a phone and PDA and internet access.  Otherwise, try a Blackberry Storm or a LG Vu instead.

I told you so: iPhone DOES have a Kill Switch!

Steve Jobs Confirms iPhone Has a Kill Switch

When I saw this headline, I nearly choked on my water.  WTF?!?!?  iPhone 3G really does have a remote kill switch mechanism!  I wasn’t some crazy consipiracy theorist for believing Apple had a way of manipulating iPhones.

Stop the presses.  This apparently doesn’t render the iPhone USELESS as I have claimed in previous rants…but it does have the capability to remove the software, which pretty much runs the phone, so in a twisted way that only Apple could conjure up, it does render the phone useless.  Jay-zues allmighty…Apple has gone China on us.  We now behold a device that can “self-destruct” with the flip of a wireless switch.  What is Steve Jobs smoking?

Anyway, it just confirms my fear that Apple is creating devices for the purpose of thought control.

Okay, that was a little overboard…

Or was it?

Follow up on Broken iPhone Glass Repair

Apparently I have generated a flurry of interest with regard to fixing the broken iPhone Glass!  I spent nearly a week and eight emails trying to help an 18 year-old and it took a lot of time, so I am going to post a follow-up on this project with the hope that it answers people’s questions. Basically, I am going to copy and paste what I have been emailing folks.

The lcd screen and digitizer come as one whole unit on eBay.  On eBay through the eBay store  yallstore.  So I don’t get banned from wordpress by providing a link, which has happened before…just do a ebay store search for this store name.

Maybe the prices have gone up since this seems to be a high demand product.

HOWEVER, since going through this repair myself and other people wanting to know how to do this repair, what people need to understand is that going this route might be cheaper, but is definitely not the safest nor less-risky way of going about this.  I have to do some pretty technical workarounds to harvest some parts and put things back in working order.  Its time consuming and stressful and in retrospect, I would never do it again and I am not going to spend time writing a manual because I am busy and have a day job and a family!

Therefore,  I would recommend buying the $169 glass/lcd/digitizer unit preassembled through pdaparts.com if doing the repair yourself.  Is it expensive, yeah, I suppose if you don’t have $169.   Otherwise, send it to them and have them repair it for you.   I spent an entire week and 9 emails trying to explain the whole process to some 18 year old kid and it took a lot of time, so I am going to spare myself and everyone else who reads this post and tell them that they need to really follow instructions carefully and not get cocky and think this is easy because it is not.  Even professional technicians admit this is a hard fix.  Also, if you are unsure about ebay listings and whether you are getting the real thing, my advice is to stay away from eBay and go to pdaparts.com or pdasmart.com and have them fix it for you or buy the parts because these are OEM and are going to be legit.

ALSO, you will need a plastic case opener and pdaparts.com is the only site I know of that is based in the U.S. and provides a tool that is hard enough to wedge into the case to open it, without damaging the metal.  I originally bought a set of plastic case openers from a Chinese seller, and the metal case just shredded the plastic to bits without doing a thing toward opening it.  It took me three weeks to get everything I needed and then basically an entire afternoon and evening fixing it.

If you have the guts to go through with it, by all means do it, but be warned.  Its not easy.  Apple really wants you to go out and buy a 3G.  That’s how they make big bucks.  By the way, pdaparts.com has a 3G repair video out now and by all accounts it is FAR easier to repair, so if you should go out and get a 3G version, and drop it, at least your chances for repair are better than the 1st gen model.

Good luck

iPhone 3G: There will always be something better

If you waited in line for an iPhone 3G on Friday, chances are you either got one, or didn’t.  And if you didn’t, chances are they were out of stock.  And if you did, chances are that you had to wait an eternity to get it activated because:

Big surprise:  The Apple iTunes Store had a glitch that prevented the phone from being activated.  5 minutes my foot.

I am really glad I decided that my next iPhone-esque cell phone will not be made by Apple.

Is the iPhone a big sham?  Well, yes and no.  It is if you are struggling to buck the system by waiting out for something non-Apple (HTC Diamond Touch).  No if you think the end of the world corresponds with the day that Apple decides not to make iPhones and iTouches anymore (iPods I think are soon to be gone, replaced by the iTouch).

Anyway, my point is, as is the point of other gadget bloggers in the blogosphere, is that there will ALWAYS be something better to come along.  The “next greatest cell phone” is right around the corner, only a few months away.  That is the great thing about the human spirit and ingenuity.  It is also the spirit of capitalism and free-market competition.  There will be other companies that will take Apple’s concept and improve on it. And when that happens, I will be one of the first in line.

HTC Diamond: True iPhone Killer!

Fugettabout the iPhone 3G for a moment and lets look at a touchscreen cell phone that will be arriving stateside in a couple of months:  The HTC Diamond.  From all accounts, this phone just might be the “iPhone killer” gadget geeks and phone affectionatos have been waiting for.

To me, iPhone is just fine and dandy.  I love my 8G first gen.  But now that 3G is coming Friday, I just don’t think I am ready to jump to the next gen right now, especially since I just got my iPhone 7 months ago.

It has me thinking, when the time comes for me to start looking for a new cell phone I can use like an iPhone (as a phone, pda, and mobile web-surfing device)…what other options will there be for me?  Will there be something better?

Enter the HTC Diamond.  Granted, I have not had a chance to try the HTC Diamond, but when I read Ben Patterson’s review on Yahoo, I immediately fell in love.  I mean, what is there not to love?  For one, it has a full color VGA screen.  Kick a$$.   It truely is pretty to look at.  Moreso than the iPhone I think.  But pretty is for superficial hasbeens.  I want a phone that is like a swiss army knife.  It should allow me to receive and make calls in a couple touches.  I am a working professional, and I need a phone that will allow me to access my work email from home or when on vacation.  I should be able to pull up my email in a touch and send email using a QWERTY (in portrait or landscape if I want).  And, the most important thing for me is personally, access the internet how I would if I were at home (meaning, a html web browser).

Games…who cares.  I have a PS3, and that’s all I need.  If I have an urge to play Tetris or a hand of poker, I’ll whip my iPod video out.

Music…naw, again, I have my iPod Video for such things…I don’t need a phone to play music for me.  To me, mp3 capabilities aren’t important.

So, those two things are not important to me in my criteria for a “great” touchscreen cell phone.

Let’s see how the HTC Diamond stacks up to these three criteria then:

1. Text messaging
2. Making/Receiving phone calls
3. Email messaging and receiving
4. Web-browsing

1. Text messaging

To me, the iPhone has the best text messaging interface, but it could be better.  I love the QWERTY touchscreen keyboard, but wish I could flip my phone to landscape as other touchscreen competitors such as the LG Vu have.  The HTC Diamond has a QWERTY interface, similar to the iPhone’s.  But what about landscape view?   Not sure if it does.  I checked the HTC Diamond website, and the photos and demos didn’t have anything.  Checked HTC’s YouTube videos, and found a good demo below, but he didn’t bother demonstrating the last feature, the keyboard option for texting…maybe that’s where the landscape view comes into play?:

2. Making/Receiving calls

What I love most about my iPhone is the ease in which I can make a phone call.  Two fast clicks of the home button brings up my favorites and I can easily select a person to call from that list.  Not sure the HTC Diamond can beat that, but I sure do like the way I can flip through contacts using my finger, and its all picture based so I can easily select a photo of the person I want to call and that’s it.  To me, visual is the key.

But it all boils down for me to this one thing: I don’t want to do a lot of thinking when making a call.  So, i am not certain the HTC can offer the same ease of use as the iPhone until I can try it out in person.

3. Email messaging/receiving

With the iPhone, you can set up multiple POP email accounts and access them via the Mail icon.  I like how I can access both my Yahoo and Gmail accounts without having to login all of the time.  And, the iPhone gives me a friendly “dong” to let me know when new email arrives.  With the HTC Diamond operating on Windows Mobile, of course it has Outlook.  I believe I heard the guy say in the video below that it can handle up to three separate email accounts, so that means it can do what my iPhone does.  Plus, I really like how I can scroll through my messages in the Diamond!

4. Web-Browsing

Demo’s abound for the web-browsing feature for the HTC Diamond.  I must say that what impresses me most is that HTC incorporated the best of iPhone’s features, but abadanoned the one feature I kind of hated, which was how you zoom in and out with the pinched fingers/open fingers motion.  Instead, HTC replaces this motion with tapping (I know, you can do that with iPhone too…) as well as the option to zoom in and out using the touch navigation wheel.  I like it.  To me, the pinching didn’t always respond the way I wanted, and when I tapped, more times than not I ended up hitting a link I didn’t want.  Too cumbersome and annoying if you ask me.

The browser is Opera, which is just as good as Safari.  As long as I can see a web page the way I would at home (but in a smaller frame of course), that’s all I care about, and I get that in the HTC Diamond. See the demo video below:

P.S.:  The HTC Diamond sports a 3.5 G “true broadband” web browsing experience!

Summary:

Speaking purely for myself, I think the HTC Diamond meets all of my needs for a touchscreen cell phone.  It does everything my iPhone 8GB first gen can do, plus it has 3G (3.5 G actually), and will work with major US carriers, including AT&T, which is what I have.  I feel that HTC Diamond is a grown up version of the toyish iPhone.  It has the professional capacity that a smartphone should have, but it also has the “cool” factor stylings such as a small, light body, 3.2 MP camera, and high resolution VGA color screen.

I think I will wait until next spring and get one new and unlocked on eBay once the price goes down a couple hundred bucks.  The HTC Diamond, for me, killed all of the hype around the iPhone 3G.

Thank Gadget.

How I fixed the Broken Glass on my iPhone

Well, it happened.  I broke my iPhone.  Well, its not entirely broken, just the glass is cracked.  The rest of the phone works fine…figures.  Anyway, I spent nearly three weeks researching how to fix the glass without sending the phone to Apple for a $300 repair.  Turns out it can be done, but you will need to fork over about $100…and reserve about three hours of time…to fix it without damaging the rest of your phone.  You will also need patience and fearless resolve.

So, the first thing I did was go to eBay and search for “iPhone glass OEM”.  I found a seller with good feedback and forked over about $30 for the glass faceplate.  Keep in mind that the glass “touchscreen” does not hold any electronic capabilities.  Its just a 1/32 inch sheet of glass cut to the shape of the iPhone.

Then, I searched on eBay for “iPhone lcd digitizer screen”.  Again, I found a seller with good feedback and purchased the lcd digitizer for $50.

Running total: $80

Neither seller included the tools necessary to open the iPhone case appropriately (the metal casing for the back of the phone is particulary fragile and can be dented/scratched easily).  So, I was forced to purchase opening tools.  You can find these by going to a cell phone repair website such as pdaparts.com or pdasmart.com.

Running total: $90

In order to glue the glass plate to the lcd/digitizer, I needed a tube of rubber cement that is approved for adhering to glass.  I also bought some mini plastic clamps with rubber padding (to secure the two pieces together).  And, a jeweler’s tool kit with mini phillips screwdriver because I misplaced the set I thought I already have.

Grand total: $98 and some change.

Now, getting down to fixing the stupid thing.

I watched the following repair instructional video created by pdaparts.com  It is the most thorough tutorial I could find, and it helps to watch it a few times carefully before starting your repair.

Dissassemble the iPhone exactly as they show you how in the video.

The rest of the instructions are as follows:

Once you have reached the end of the steps shown in the video, set aside your poor iPhone and begin carefully inspecting how the lcd and glass screen are attached. I suggest making a diagram on a piece of paper and make notes as to what goes where, how the lcd is positioned on the screen, etc. Then turn to your new glass cover and lcd. Take *a little* rubber cement (make sure you get some that says it will bond to glass-crazy glue and stuff like that is not strong enough) and place three tiny equidistant dots on the top, bottom, and sides to *to the edge of the backside of the glass*. Now, carefully affix the lcd digitizer so that the cable plug ins are exactly how your broken glass/lcd assembly looks *face down*.

Its important not to over do it with the cement. All you need is enough to affix the glass to the lcd digitizer. Don’t ask me why the original is glued entirely on there. As long as the lcd and the glass are making contact, that’s all you need.

Based upon a reliable source, I am 99% certain the original glass/lcd unit is glued together using a room-temperature curing silicone-based paste on or spray on adhesive.  The glue dries crystal clear.  I had a hard time finding this kind of glue online for sale, so I decided not to pursue it.

Now, its time to reassemble the phone. Plug your cables back in using the video as your guide, thinking in reverse (I have a hard time doing that, so I made a diagram of the innards and how everything connected together as I was taking it apart so I could work backwards).

The mid-plate that was glued onto the glass/lcd unit can be glued back to place using some rubber cement.  Make sure you weave the connectors into the correct holes so that everything lines up correctly.  Reinsert the motherboard/battery, Those antennas that you had to pry off will easily be glued back into place with a bit of that rubber cement.

Hopefully you didn’t misplace the screws that held the frame and metal-backing in place because you’ll need them.

After everything is put back together again, hold your breath, say a prayer, take a drink, whatever…and turn it on. *Hopefully* everything will work ok. If it doesn’t, hope is not lost yet. There are several folks online that will repair your iPhone for the cost of a new 3G…notably http://www.pdasmart.com.

After all was said and done, I bought myself a new invisible full body shield to protect from knicks and scratches through http://www.zagg.com, and to prevent this from ever happening again, I bought an InnoPocket full body aluminum metal case that will withstand a drop from my kitchen table. Total price of repair, plus accessories: $138. Not having to buy into a iPhone 3G with a new contract, hidden fees, and waiting in line for a day…priceless.

Hope that helps anyone out there looking to avoid spending too much on repairs or total replacement.  I will add some pictures soon so you have a visual!

Want a iPhone 3G? Your buying options are limited

If you want a iPhone 3G, be prepared to wait in long lines at the local MacStore (if you even have one in your town)…or, your local AT&T store (again, if you have one in your town).

Today, I inquired via support.apple.com about what time on July 11th the iPhone 3G would go “live” and be available for purchase.  I asked “will the phone be available for ordering online through store.apple.com?”

Answer:  “The iPhone WILL NOT be available for purchase online”.

My reply:  “WTF??!!?!?!?”

So here lies one of my many frustrations with Apple, and nails yet another nail in the proverbial coffin that is my relationship with Apple products.  They hype their products up Soooooo much its crazy.  I equate Apple to a crack dealer, and we poor consumers as hopeless crack addicts.  We just can’t get enough of their crap.  Its crazy.

Of course, those who complain the most about their dealer’s antics, are usually the worse kind of addicts.

Go figure.

I don’t anticpate that this “not sold online” thing will last long.  I waited 6 months until purchasing my first generation iPhone, and it was available for purchase online.  I assume that they won’t be selling it online until they have enough stock in from China.  Of course, that is all speculation.  I will probably wait as long as I can before succuming to my desire to have the 2nd gen iPhone 3G.  On the other hand, I DO have a MacStore in my town.  Thank Gadget.