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iPhone - Beyond the iHype

Here's pretty much everything you need to know about the iPhone launch ...
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor

Here's pretty much everything you need to know about the iPhone launch ...

  • Out of a batch of 3 million units, an estimated 500,000 - 700,000 have been sold.
  • Polls seem to suggest that people are going for the 8GB version over the 4GB.
  • The main problem early adopters seemed to have had is activating the iPhone.  For some this process took longer than 24 hours.
  • A six-hour AT&T network crash on Monday didn't help things.
  • Sporadic crashing/lock-ups also seem to be an issue discussed in length on the Apple support forum.
  • Check your iPhone for dead pixels - I've seen numerous reports over the past couple of days from customers who have discovered a number of dead screen pixels.  If your iPhone is suffering from this problem, take it back to the store for exchange (stores seem to be keeping a few phones back for exchange, so even if the store is listed as being sold out, you should still be able to swap the phone).
  • Battery life seems varied depending on who you listen to.  Some claim spectacular battery life, others not so spectacular.
  • When your battery does die, expect to pay $85.95 for a replacement and be without your iPhone for several days. 
  • A few bugs/potential bugs have been discovered, but nothing earth-shattering.
  • Many iPod accessories will work with the iPhone.
  • Despite there not being any real shortage of iPhones, suckers are still paying over the odds for them on eBay/craigslist etc.
  • Manufacturing costs on the iPhone have been put at around $200 for the 4GB version and around $250 for the 8GB version.  That means a comfortable 50% profit margin for Apple.
  • Many users have said they would like the ability to add personalized ringtones.
  • Inside the iPhone are components from Intel, Samsung, Infineon, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, Skyworks, Marvell, Cambridge Silicon Radio and Linear Technology.
  • The iPhone (or more specifically, the iPhone/iTunes interface) is incompatible with Windows Vista 64-bit.
  • Jon Lech Johansen (aka "DVD Jon") claims to have a way to activate an iPhone without needing to sign up to an AT&T contract.
  • There are a huge number of iPhone related scams making the rounds.

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