Dave Beauvais’ Web Site

Back in June when the iPhone was released I wrote an annoyed post saying “it’s a phone.” Well last night I got to use one for a little while and I have to say I was pretty impressed. While the network speed is not the EvDO I’ve gotten used to with my Verizon XV6700, the Web browsing experience was rather impressive. Navigating the applications on the device was also very pleasant and far more intuitive than most Windows Mobile devices which have small controls designed for use with a stylus, not fingers. And did I mention the display was amazing?

Release a 3G-capable version with native Exchange ActiveSync support, and I’d probably buy one. I’ve got to give Apple a lot of credit. I find their elitist attitude as a company very annoying and at times insulting — especially their advertising — but they do make some damn impressive hardware. The iPhone brings some powerful and innovative technology into the hands of regular consumers in the form of a device which is easy to use, intuitive to interact with, and — dare I say — fun. That is something that Microsoft and Palm really haven’t been able to do with most of their devices. Seeing and using an iPhone really illustrated to me just how clunky Windows Mobile is. There is hope of improvements with upcoming Windows Mobile releases, but in the regular consumer market, it may be too late to get the ball back from Apple. Even long-time Windows Mobile enthusiasts are considering a move toward other solutions involving the iPhone.

I will be so happy when the next 1-3 weeks are over and the mindless endless chatter about the iPhone subsides. I mean seriously… camping out for days outside a store? It’s a phone! How do you even pitch that to your boss? (I assume these people are employed given the price of the phone, but I could be wrong.)

“Hey boss?”

Yes?

“I need to take a few days off next week.”

That’s short notice. What’s up?

“Well, the new iPhone comes out and I have to get in line for a few days so I can buy one.”

[The sounds of crickets punctuate the stunned silence which follows]

“So, uh… can I have some time off?”

For the next few days I will probably be skipping over a lot of the gadget sites I normally follow due to the amount of iPhone coverage that will be saturating things. Wake me when it’s over.

Back in February I posted about a problem I was having with my XV6700 which was preventing me from dismissing most reminders. In March I found a solution to the problem which did not require hard resetting the device. I used the device for all of March and April and never had a single problem so I feel comfortable posting about it here as a possible solution for others having the same problem.

The solution I found was to disable automatic time synchronization with the cellular network. Apparently every time the PDA is powered up it syncs the time with the network and that process causes an occasional hiccup if a reminder is what woke up the device rather than the user pressing the power button. Disabling the time sync feature has completely eliminated the problem I was having where I could not dismiss reminders and the reminder sound continued to play over and over until I soft reset.

Here is how to disable the time sync feature:

Tap Start, Settings, and tap the “Phone” icon on the Personal tab.

Tap the Services tab and scroll down in the list to “Time Synchronization.” Select that item then tap the “Get Settings…” button.

Uncheck the box labeled “Time synchronize with mobile network automatically.” Note that you can always come back to this dialog any time and manually sync by tapping the “Update Now” button.

After doing this, my reminder problems disappeared completely and my XV6700 has been problem-free for over two months! I don’t know if a similar fix is available for other models. Please report back if you have any luck with models other than the XV6700.