Now here's a handy tip! Take a screen grab

The 2.0 Update has added the ability to take screen grabs of your iPhone and iPod Touch. This may be useful for some but probably not useful for many, nevertheless it's an interesting feature to add to the 2.0 update.

How to perform a screen grab.

1. Hold down the 'Home' button.
2. While holding down the 'Home' button press the 'Sleep/Off' button
3. The screen will turn white for half a second and dissolve back to your original screen
4. Your screen grab will be saved in the 'Photos' section

Voila!

Shield your iPhone with Invisible Shield!

Now that you’ve received your iPhone 3G the next (logical) step is to protect your Apple investment. This post is a semi review as to what I think is one of the best protective products you could ever use for your iPhone 3G.

I want to talk about Zagg’s Invisible Shield; a product designed to protect expensive electronic devices. Since I haven’t got my iPhone back yet I can’t really comment on how well this product works with the iPhone 3G. But I can however give you an impression of how well it works with my iPod Touch (which can definitely be compared to the iPhone 3G).

First off, what is the Invisible Shield? Umm…how do I explain this, it’s not a hard case and it’s also not a screen protector but at the same time it’s a bit of both. The Invisible shield is a piece of adhesive film that covers the entirety of your iPhone to prevent scratches. One of the biggest selling points of this film is that if it is scratched it won’t show (unlike screen protectors) but rather go back to its original form. On the Zagg website there are several videos demonstrating how strong the film is. One video shows a bowling ball being dropped from several metres onto a stretched out piece of Invisible Shield film. The result? The bowling ball just bounced off the Invisible Shield film. The Invisible Shield is a thin polyurethane film which Zagg claims was created for military purposes (particularly to protect helicopter blades).

Applying the film was a little tricky because you had to make sure the film was placed correctly as it would form a permanent mould when dried. You must also allow a couple of hours for the film to dry. Once the film is dry you’ll hardly even notice that the Invisible Shield is there (hence the name).

I’ve had the Invisible Shield on my iPod Touch for approximately 6 months now. My iPod Touch is constantly in my pocket with keys and coins. Every time I take the iPod out of my pocket I am always amazed at how scratch free the device is. The Zagg Invisible Shield I dare to say is probably the best product into the market to protect your new iPhone 3G from scratching. The price is great as well! One thing to note is that the Invisible Shield can’t protect the iPhone 3G if dropped.

Click here to visit Zagg’s website to order your iPhone 3G Invisible Shield (trust me it’s worth it!)

iPhone 3G comparisons

Here is an interesting article by iLounge where they've put the iPod Touch, iPhone 1st Gen and iPhone 3G side by side for a close comparison. Results were as expected however there was one thing that was noticed on the iPhone 3G that seemed different from the iPod Touch and the iPhone 1st Gen - it was the screen. The screen on the iPhone 3G screen has a slight yellowy tinge compared to the other two. For the full comparison article check it out for yourself at iLounge.

iPod Touch 2.0 update is now available

For those of you who own an iPod Touch, the 2.0 update is now available for download. This update is exactly the same one that came on the iPhone 3G. App Store and other features are included in this update. Get your 2.0 fix now.

My iPhone dilemma

I must let potential Apple customers aware of the 'Dead On Arrival' policy that they have set in place for Australians (maybe the rest of the world too but I'm not sure). I have posted my little dilemma on Whirlpool.net.au but has since been been closed.

So this is my iPhone story.

I arrived to the Optus world in Hay Street, Perth at 5:10am. I was the 6th person in line. My deposit was paid for and I had all my ID documentation ready. There was going to be a 3 hour wait as the store opened at 8am. So finally after waiting the store opened and the first batch of people got signed (which included me) . I went to one of the staff members and signed up for an iPhone 3G 16Gb white. By the time the documentation was completed and processed it was about 8:30am.

I got back to work and opened the box. I noticed something straight away that I didn't notice in the shop, there was a large LCD stain under the glass screen (looked like a ripple) . I turned it off and on and it was still there. The stain was about .7cm in diameter.

I called the Optus World store about 2 hours later as I had work to do. They told me to come back to the store and they would resolve the problem there (I assumed they would of done just a straight replacement).

During my lunch break I went back to the store. I showed them my iPhone and they could clearly see that there was a problem. They said that they COULD NOT replace it but had to send it back to Apple for an approval. The phone hadn't even been used and they couldn't replace it! Apparently Apple doesn't do straight replacements if the phone is DOA (Dead On Arrival). This is probably the most preposterous thing I have ever heard. In my experience with both Nokia and Sony Ericsson this was never an issue. There was clearly stock in the store as one of the staff members was shouting it out to the people still waiting in the queue (non deposit people) – I think there were still 10 iPhone 16GB White and 40 iPhone 8GB White. I made a bit of a fuss and they said they still couldn't swap it over. I just left the phone with them. They said that it could take up to a month if a replacement was needed. So I went back to work.

Once I got back to work I called Apple and the Optus World main office, they said that it should of been swapped over. I called the Optus store again and I spoke with another staff member. This time around they said it should of been swapped over when I brought it in but now there was no more stock.

So after paying for a deposit, waking up at 4:30am in the morning, making many many phone calls I have nothing. I have to wait for Optus/Apple to analyse the phone and decide what to do with it. If a replacement was to be made I would have to wait about 2-4 weeks.

So there you have it folks that is my iPhone story.

First person in Australia to get an iPhone 3G

The man shown above is the first person in Australia to get an iPhone 3G. His name is Brett Powell and he started lining up at 1pm in the afternoon. After waiting 11 hours he finally receives his iPhone. Was it worth the wait? You can be the judge of that. Picture taken from Gizmodo.

Telstra queue has formed...sorta (Sydney)

Remember those Telstra iPhone 3G plans that were apparently leaked earlier today? Well it seems that many people weren't too impressed with them. How can I tell? Well, just take a look at the picture below.

Unlike the Optus queue the Telstra queue is a little underwhelming. I guess if you run out of iPhone 3Gs you can always pop by Telstra's T-Life store...given that you pay for it through your nose. Picture taken from Gizmodo.