For the most I would consider myself an Apple Fan-boy, but definitely not a fanatic. I love all things Apple, except for the high prices on the many cool gadgets. But the one enduring product I love from Apple next to their MacBook Pro laptop line is their Apple iPhone. So here’s the top 6 reasons why I want to upgrade iPhones.

Reason #6: I could use the upgrade

I have an iPhone 3G and while it’s great, it’s starting to show its age. I’m finding my phone runs slower than when I first got it, despite hardly loading any applications on here. And while the iPhone 3Gs wasn’t a huge upgrade from the 3G, the iPhone 4 certainly is. The increased processing power of the new A4 chip alone would be a welcomed changed.

Reason #5: Video

I know they introduced video in the iPhone 3Gs, but HD video and the use of a Final Cut App makes it all the more intriguing. Now I can record HD video clips and make some quick edits to send to friends and/or post up online for the world to see immediately. Don’t have to wait until I get home to do some editing before I post it up! Super cute videos of my daughter, here they come!

Video chatting. OMG, Apple has realized one of my biggest wet dreams! Being someone who loves face-to-face conversations, this is like mobile webcaming without the fuss and muss of a bulky laptop! Think of the potentials! I think phone sex has taken on a whole new meaning and we’ll just leave it at that.

Reason #4: Multitasking

I know this is more of an iOS 4 thing than an iPhone 4 feature, but having the A4 processor powering the needs of multitasking would make multitasking a more enjoyable process. Can you imagine how painfully slow the iPhone 3G or even the first generation iPhone would handle multitasking? This has been a welcomed feature since the inception of the iPhone.

Reason #3: Compatibility

One of the beautiful things about Apple is how smooth it is to transition or upgrade up. If you ever upgraded from an older Apple computer to a new Apple computer, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Your profiles, files, programs, and just about everything is transferred from one Mac to another with everything in the same place! The same goes for the iPhone. When I upgraded from the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G, it took less than 15-minutes and everything was in the same place as I had it. Remember the fun the last time you tried upgrading mobile phones?

Reason #2: Super Sexy Look

Like buying a Rolex, you don’t buy an Apple product merely for its reliability or functionality, but also for its looks. Dependable they are, but sexy, attractive, and eye-popping they are more. How many of us didn’t swoon over the first Apple iPhone? To this day, the iPhone is still the sexiest mobile phone, maybe more so than a Vertu. How many of our jaws drop when Steve Jobs first showcased the MacBook Air? What about the iMac? The iPad?

The new iPhone is absolutely gorgeous. The lines and the simplicity, the smoothness, everything is perfect. Because of its boxy design, it should be much more comfortable to hold.

Reason #1: $199 Upgrade

When the first iPhone was released, they were asking $599 for it. It wasn’t until almost a year later before The price was a tad more reasonable at $399. Finally the iPhone 3G could be had, as an upgrade, for $199. Now the iPhone 4, in many ways a completely different phone than the original or 3G/3Gs is available at the upgrade price of $199 also. For my wife, who still has the original iPhone, it’s a no-brainer. For me, it’s also a no-brainer. So what if I have to sign another two-year contract with crap AT&T? I’ve been with them for so long, it doesn’t even really matter anyways.

Since it has been a while since I last used Boot Camp, I had forgotten most of the details and haven’t kept up with the changes. Since Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Boot Camp 2.0 comes pre-installed with the OS ((http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1656)). When Snow Leopard was released, a new version of Boot Camp, 3.0 was introduced and integrated with the new OS ((http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3777)). So what are some of the problems that I experienced with trying to install Windows XP on a MacBook Pro?

Disk Error

Apparently this is a fairly common issue. You go through all the installation steps:

1. Run Boot Camp Assistant in the Applications > Utilities folder
2. Specify a size for your new Windows partition (which in my case was to devote 90% of the hard drive to Windows XP since the people who will be using these two MacBook Pro won’t be using the Mac OS at all) and then the Mac OS creates and configures it.
3. Then put in a Windows XP SP2 CD and click Start Installation, the system reboots and Windows XP installation screen appears and you go through the motions.
4. Once Windows XP finishes installing and reboots to finish the setup, you get the black screen with: “Press any key to boot from CD…” you let that one go and then immediately: “Disk Error. Press any key to restart.” but the system stalls. The keyboard doesn’t work and you’re force to do a hard power down.

Apple’s Knowledge Base support article TS1722 isn’t of much either, I tried it and it didn’t work for me. The big issue is with Step 8:

Format the Windows partition named ‘BOOTCAMP’ before continuing with the rest of the Windows XP setup process. Important:  Do not use the “Leave the current file system intact (no changes)” or “Convert the partition to NTFS” options.

I never got any option to format the Windows partition. By default, Boot Camp Assistant configures the Windows partition to be FAT32. If you select to install Windows XP on that partition you will get the “Disk Error issue”. It doesn’t matter how many times you re-do the steps (I did it 5-times), the same problem arises when Windows tries to do the last setup after reboot. I also tried deleting the Fat32 partition and create a new NTFS partition and got this error message upon reboot:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <Windows root>system32hal.dll. Please re-install a copy of the above file.

I also tried three different Windows XP OEM installation CDs, but nothing worked. So what fixed the issue for me? I had to find the “right” Windows XP SP2 CD. When I put that CD in and clicked Start Installation in Step 3 from above, and when it came to select the Windows partition to use, I selected the FAT32, it immediate went to a screen with three options: Convert the partition to NTFS (Quick), Convert the partition to NTFS, and Leave the current file system intact (no changes)! I selected the Convert the partition to NTFS (Quick) and everything worked fine after that. You can read this great thread on MacNN Forums where other people had the same problem with different solutions. Also make sure the CD you are using is a Windows XP full-version with Service Pack 2 or it won’t work.

I Can’t Install Service Pack 3 on a Boot Camp Windows XP!

Try and install the Service Pack 3 add-on and you’ll get this message:

An error occured while copying file osloader.ntd.  Cannot copy file to destination directory.  Click Retry to retry the operation or click Cancel.

According to Apple KB article HT3841, the issue is that “Windows is attempting to write to the first partition it sees to install the update” and the first partition is the Mac OS partition, which Windows cannot write to. This issue only affects Boot Camp 3.0 because of the new feature in which you can access you Mac OS partition from Windows. The fix is rather simple (copied verbatim from Apple KB):

1. Click Start, then My Computer.
2. Double-click on the BOOTCAMP (C:) drive At the These files are hidden screen, click on Show the contents of this folder.
3. Double-click on the Windows folder. At the These files are hidden screen, click on Show the contents of this folder.
4. Double-click on the System 32 folder. At the These files are hidden screen, click on Show the contents of this folder.
5. Double-click on the drivers folder.
6. Locate the file AppleMNT (it is a .sys file) and rename it to something like AppleMNT_keep.
7. Click Start, then click on Shut Down.
8. Click Restart to restart Windows XP.

Then you do the Service Pack 3 installation, which should complete successfully, and then reenable this feature:

Note: Don’t let your computer restart in the middle of this step. Click on Restart Later if you get a Restart dialog.

1. Click Start, then My Computer.
2. Double-click on BOOTCAMP (C:), double-click on Windows, double-click on System32, double-click on drivers.
3. Locate the file you renamed earlier, and change the name back to AppleMNT.
4. Click Start, then Shut Down.
5. Click Restart to restart Windows XP.

And problem solved.

How Do I Create A Boot Camp Windows Driver CD?

With Boot Camp versions prior to 3.0, you had an option in the Boot Camp Assistant to create a Driver CD that had all the necessary drivers for Windows. With version 3.0, they changed that and now you insert your Mac OS 10.6 Installation CD when in Windows and it will install all the necessary drivers for you.

Windows XP on MacBook Pro Full-time

So I’m not entirely sure how well this will work out, but I imagine it can’t be any worse than a PC running Windows XP. I’ll report back with problems I notice and observations as time goes on.

Configure Windows 7

These directions are copied verbatim from the Microsoft site and reprinted here for future reference. These directions will work for Windows Vista also.

1. Open System by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security (System and Maintenance on Vista), and then clicking System.
2. In the left pane, click Remote settings. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Select one of the “allow” options under Remote Desktop. For more information about these options, see What types of Remote Desktop connections should I allow? [Note: To be able to Remote Desktop into a Windows 7 machine from a Mac, you need to select "Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure).]
4. Click Select Users.
5. In the Remote Desktop Users dialog box, click Add.
6. In the Select Users or Groups dialog box, do one or more of the following:
   • To specify the search location, click Locations.
   • To specify the types of objects (user names) that you want to search for, click Object Types.
   • In Enter the object names to select, type the user name that you want to search for.
7. When you find the correct name, click OK. The name will be displayed in the list of users in the Remote Desktop Users dialog box.

Connect via the Mac

Make sure you’ve installed either Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Client for the Mac or CoRD, which is what I use. I’ve used both, but I prefer CoRD for its simplicity and easier GUI.

Type in the IP Address or computer name and connect.

1. It’s Certainly Faster in Many Ways

While the new CPU chip isn’t faster per se, it does seem to run more efficient. Applications seem to load up a tad faster.

The 3G network speed is certainly very nice, especially when you are trying to look up something really fast on the web such as a report you are supposed to have read and will be discussing in 5 minutes and you’re not a computer to pull it up. The only draw back is the lack of full 3G coverage. For the most part, in the San Francisco area, I’ve been able to get 3G, but there are a few places where the phone reverts to Edge network.

The GPS with the 3G rocks by-the-way! As my co-worker put it:

When you’re driving 70 MPH, watch the blue dot really jam it.

It’s accurate, very precise, and definitely very usable as a GPS. I find it very useful when navigating San Francisco on foot.

[rating:4]

2. The Battery Life Sucks

I swear to God, I fully charged the iPhone 3G the night before and after an eight hour work shift, my phone is telling me there is only 10% battery life left and that I should charge it soon. There is no difference in my usage of the 3G versus the original other than I have 3G enabled all the time even when I’m connected on Wi-Fi. I wouldn’t expect the 3G connection to drain the battery if I’m on Wi-Fi, but it looks like it does.

The majority of the time my phone is receiving email for both my MobileMe and GMail accounts. I don’t really watch any videos and I play games on the iPhone sparingly when I’m bored (which isn’t too often). I surf the web with the iPhone when I’m not at my laptop and need to look up anything. I only listen to music when I’m commuting on BART, a total of 30-40 minutes round trip. I make and receive calls maybe a total of 30 minutes, sometimes 45 minutes a day.

On my old iPhone, I could do all the same things that only be down to a quarter or half the battery by the end of the work day.

[rating:2]

3. The iPhone 3G Takes Shape

I’m still not 100% sure whether or not I like the new “plastic” back plate. It’s supposed to be more durable than the previous gen iPhone’s metal back plate and doesn’t block wireless frequencies like metal do. It feels a little slippery than the metal back plate, but handles in your hand much better because of the hump in the middle (to accommodate the new battery, supposedly). I find the back gets very greasy looking (and I don’t have greasy hands mind you) very quickly. I’m sure putting on one of those silicon condoms will solve the issue, but I think it takes away from the sexiness of the iPhone 3G. I personally do like the black back rather than the 3/4 metal with black back plate on the first gen. There is also a white back version if you purchase the 16GB model, I personally like the sleek black look.

Also, shamefully, the new iPhone 3G doesn’t quite fit in the Louis Vuitton iPhone case (if you wear it in, it will). And also, in case you are wonder, yes, the iPhone 3G is technically thinner than the iPhone but only when you compare the outer sides, the hump in the middle makes the iPhone 3G ever so slightly taller than the iPhone.

Also because of the redesigned back, the headphone jack is not as recessed versus the previous generation. I guess enough people were complaining about how they had to buy new sets or modify existing sets of ear phones, headphones because the jack won’t fully connect.

4. The Software Doesn’t Run Any Better

I thought the iPhone Software version 2.0 would run better on the iPhone 3G, but it doesn’t. Things still crash the same and on some things, it’s just as buggy. Waiting for an update to fix all this. I think the 2.0 software update messed up a majority of Yahoo/SBCGlobal.net/ATT.net users getting and sending their emails. I have an AT&T email account that I use GMail to retrieve any and all emails sent to it and I fetch GMail on my phone along with my MobileMe email account. My wife, on the other hand, has AT&T also that she gets directly on her phone. When I first upgraded her to the new 2.0 software, her phone could no longer send or receive AT&T emails. After a couple frustrating days, I managed to make it work again.

[rating:2]

Conclusion

The iPhone 3G is certainly a nice follow up to the iPhone; I like it. There are quite a number of improvements such as actual GPS, 3G, a speaker that actually works good (louder and not so staticy), easier to grip. It would be nice if Apple spent some time now improving upon the software so it doesn’t crash as often; perhaps integrate cut & paste, and a few other features many people have been asking for. Also, not as important, but I noticed Apple cut back on cost a bit by no longer including a dock. I thought the included dock was a nice touch, now it’s a $29 option at the Apple Store.

The battery life is something that should probably be addressed also. I do realize that if you are surfing at 3G, it takes quite a bit of power for the antenna, but it’s a feature that I’m paying an additional $10 a month for, so I intent to use it every chance I get. The iPhone 3G is a Swiss Army Knife of technology so it sucks when the battery runs out and you’re stuck with an expensive paper weight.

One thing that my co-worker, who has an iPhone 3G, is that the 3G seems to interfere with the cellular signal. He notices that his signal bars will be erratic, but when he disables 3G, it maintains solid 5 bars whereas the previous iPhone never had signal issues. Interesting.

I guess all things considered, it could have been worse. I could have had to pay full price for a brand new iPhone if I wasn’t eligible for the cell phone upgrade plan (those who had recently upgraded their cell phones in the last six months are ineligible to upgrade to the iPhone 3G for $199, but rather have to pay the full unsubsidized price of $500 something). It could have taken me hours to get my new iPhone, fortunately it only took all of thirty minutes.

The person that helped me with activating my iPhone 3G was Tipay. She was very nice and courteous and even applied my Power Support Crystal Film Set for iPhone 3G aligned perfectly! I also had to buy a new Incase Leather Folio belt clip case as my old Incase Leather Fitted belt clip suffered catastrophic damage with my old iPhone.

As for the new iPhone 3G, I like it so far, but I definitely can see the battery life drain when using 3G, but the speed is certainly quite an improvement over the Edge Network. All the fees they charge you is crazy. I have to pay a one-time $18 switch to 3G fee, tax on the unsubsidized amount (which is like $43 because it “cost” some ~$500), and pay an additional $10 a month for the extra internet speed. Be on the look out tomorrow for my initial review of likes and dislikes of the iPhone 3G along with some pictures.

iPhone 3G Gallery Pictures

My MacBook Pro at the Genius Bar in San Francisco

So the inboard keyboard and trackpad finally completely gave out yesterday. I figure it was time to get it fixed or spend my commute time twirling my thumbs instead of getting work done.

A trip to San Francisco Apple store ensued, unfortunately the only 2 available front plates that I needed are already spoken for. Rohan, my Genius Guru, happily called a few other Apple Stores to see if any of them had the front plates available. Fortunately Burlingame Apple Store has 5 available, but they are extremely swamped. Figured it was worth a try.

They are swamped and put me on standby. After waiting almost two hours, I was finally attended to by Rick, very helpful and knowledgeable. After informing him of my issue, and then him checking with the techs in the back…turns out to ensure a 100% that the issue will be resolved, the keyboard and trackpad will also be replaced. So, $342.19 for the top plate, $65.63 for the keyboard/trackpad, and $85 for labor sets me back about an arm and a leg. So much for my 350GB hard drive upgrade anytime soon for my MacBook Pro.

Rick of Burlingame Apple Store

I would like to mention, after having observed the Genius Bar staff (Rick and Caty), they are very helpful. The best part I like about how Genius Bar operates is that they aren’t pushy to hurry and see the next person, but rather they spend the time and effort to ensure the user is comfortable with their Mac, iPhone, or iPod. And this is considering that they were understaffed. Most places that are understaffed would be quick to see as many people as possible to weed down the line; not Burlingame Apple Store.

So at close to 7 PM, my MacBook Pro was repaired! Everything is working great like the first day I got this baby. I’m relieved.

As a side note, I should mention, people are still lining up for the 3G iPhone. At the San Francisco Apple Store it was a crazy long line. At the Burlingame Apple Store, it had a decent, steady line. It’s also interesting that Apple advertises the new 3G iPhone as being slimmer than the 1st generation iPhone. It’s not technically true, as the edges maybe slightly thinner, the middle has a hump to accomondate the larger battery.