So I thought I would test my iPhone 3GS model loaded with OS4 and voila I could replicate the problem. Within 20 seconds of holding the phone, my signal went from 5 bars down to one. I did this process 3 more times to rule out a fluke and the same happened. Some people have shown videos to show calls dropping on the iPhone 4 but as Gareth states, if the phone thinks it has a low signal it will drop the call. Now I am no scientist or a technical buff, I leave that to the experts, I can only tell you that this happens on the 3GS too on OS4 so it is highly likely to be a software issue. I await a patch from Apple to fix it.

So in no particular order:

Sky+

The Sky+ app is your sky guide in your hand.  Link your mobile phone number to your sky account and you will have the ability to send a remote record request to your sky+/HD box when you are away from home and you have forgotten to record something. If the programme has already started you cannot record it though. Sky+ app has recently had an update and now it is faster, easier to use and has a better navigation layout. The Sky+ App is free to download and use from the app store.  UK only.

TV Catchup

TV Catchup is not an app but a service you can use directly through the browser. The name TV Catchup gives the impression that you can catch repeats online but actually this service is LIVE television as it is aired.  It is not some cheap crap service showing weird Japanese or minor US channels, these are top UK channels being aired live. Channels include BBC1, BBC2, BBC 3+4, ITV1+2+3+4, Channel 4, Channel 5, Five USA, Fiver, E4, More4, Film 4, BBC News 24, CBBC and a few others, plus the +1 hour versions of the above channels.

It is a fairly substantial service and it is entirely free, no catches and is 100% legal (you need a TV license of course).

This is a great package on the iPhone, but if you want more channels (50+) then you can alternatively watch it on a proper computer.

The iPhone version uses wifi or your 3g connection. On 3g the streaming is excellent and in my experience no buffering issues at all with an excellent picture.Although this is dependent on your local mobile network.

To view on iphone point your browser to iphone.tvcatchup.com and to make it easy to access you can set a shortcut link on your home screen.

To view on home computer point your browser to www.tvcatchup.com

Both services require a signup login, but they do not ask for email address or other details, just chosen name and password. How this service manages to be free I do not know, maybe they plan to charge in the future but for now, enjoy your free TV.

BBC iPlayer

The original TV catchup service. Again, not an app but a direct service, really the iplayer needs no explanation other than it works extremely well on the iphone through 3g or wifi.  Point your browser and make a direct link to http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer

TuneIn Radio

Tune In Radio is a new live radio app from the app store. It costs only £1.19 and is the best radio app I have found on the web so far.  There are many live radio apps on the app store but two things make this app stand out from the crowd.

1) The ability to browse the web while the radio is on.  They have included a web button on the radio interface which brings up a new web page for you to carry on browsing while radio is playing, whether this is a first or not I do not know but it is something all radio apps should have due to the inability to have radio playing in the background.

2) The ability to record live radio, pause rewind and forward. Yes its dab in your pocket.  The record works very well and you can record as long as you have space on the iphone, there is no restriction. This is great but a point to remember, do not forget you are recording something as you may find you run out of space if you leave it recording for a few days.  I did a test record and a 2 minute record took up about 2mb space, so this gives you an idea of what to expect from recordings.  Recordings can also be played without a connection in airplane mode, this is useful if you wish to record a bunch of programmes to take away on holiday with you.

There are hundreds of radio channels and you can browse by location, language and genre.

Now the problem is that I am finding most of these apps I buy I never use more than once.  I have over 75 apps which sit there doing nothing but taking up screen space.  When I remove them I want them back ‘just in case’ I may want to use them.  This is a silly situation. Not only is it a waste of money but it is a waste of my time downloading, uninstalling and so on.

Take word games for example. I have about 10 or so word games on my iphone. I play two of them regularly and the others I do not bother with because normally something else is slightly better. Other games I just buy because the screenshots look pretty but I end up not playing them

I want a GTD (getting things done) application but most of these are around about £5 or more each and it would be expensive to buy them all. Granted, some of them have lite versions, but the very features I want to try out (like push notifications) are disabled in the lites so I do not get to try them at all.

I have a number of apps I use regularly, most notably…

Sky News, ITN News, Reuters

Tweetie, My O2

Accuweather, Weather Pro

Bejewelled 2, Boggle, Moxie

The rest I have are just sitting there winking at me wondering when they will be pressed.  I think I need to stop buying.

So here is a plea to everyone, if you have a recommendation for a game or useful app then please post about it here or even if you have a recommendation for good website listing decent apps it would be helpful.  There is so much out there it is hard seperating the wheat from the chaff and I am sure there are loads of excellent apps out there which get forgotten about.

1) Still cannot delete texts in bulk

2) You can view your itunes account information now (and redeem vouchers) except that viewing account does not work. It is stuck in a loop asking for my password.

3) SMS now called “Messages” – what was wrong with SMS?

4) It has deleted all my calendar entries !!!

5) Voice memos – Handy, but you need to speak really close to the phone to be able to hear it. You couldn’t leave it on a table and speak ala the speakerphone.

6) It has screwed up my app pages – the second page has only one app and the rest of the screen is blank yet 3rd and 4th pages are full. This is least annoying though as I only had to move the one to get it back together.

7) Voice memo app keeps opening from phone sleep despite me closing it.

As for the new features apart from the MMS, copy and paste & the ability to redeem an itunes voucher via the phone, I don’t see much that is exciting here.
My biggest hope of course is that it may fix the 3G calling problem I have per my previous blog post.

Actually it is two problems but I think they are all connected to 3G calling.

1) Sometimes when making or receiving calls instead of the person I get a very loud shrieking down the phone like a fax machine on drugs.

2) Last two weeks I have had problems receiving calls – swiping the finger on the accept call does not accept the call and it keeps ringing. Sometimes it does swipe but does not accept the call and other times it is not swiping at all like the swipe is stuck. Yet if I hold the power off button, it successfully swipes to switch off – and that is the only way I can get the phone to stop ringing.

3) Third problem is linked to number 2 and actually is the most bizarre problem of them all. Last night someone called me and it got stuck not being able to receive the call. So I shut it down and the person called me on my house phone. Whilst I was speaking to them on their house phone, their same number was ringing me on my iPhone. It was like a delayed reaction and when I switched the iPhone back on it decided to carry on trying to accept the previous call – which was actually by then non-existant as the phone was being used in this other call. Sound confusing? Well yes it is hard to explain but basically my phone was ringing for a call that was made 2 minutes prior to that.

I am pretty sure that it does not exhibit these problems when 3G is switched off, but really I do not want to keep having to switch it on and off when I want a faster net connection.

I have spoken to Apple just now who have heard of random calling problems, but never ghost calls like described in problem 3. They want to take it in for surgery but I need my phone. Nearest Apple Care store is in London which is a bit too far for me. Or I can pay £29 and have a new phone sent to me at the same time they collect the other. I don’t see why I have to pay to not be without a phone.

I will try the firmware upgrade tonight when it is available and see if that helps to fix it but I really think the phone is actually faulty.
Has anyone else heard of these sort of problems before – especially interested in anyone who has had a similar problem as number 3.

The one thing I do love about the iphone is the uniform way that everything looks and feels. Most programs have the same font and size and even downloaded applications have the same feel to them so the whole user experience is slick and everything gels together. The lack of uniformity was one of my windows mobile annoyances. I could have some programs using a certain font size and other programs would insist on using something smaller which may make someone reach for the magnifying glass.

I love the app store, all the apps are so much cheaper than similar appplications for Windows Mobile and Symbian. Maybe the cheaper price is due to the fact that windows mobile and symbian have such variations in models that programmers have to cater for countless options – different screen sizes, different processor speeds and memory and so on, whereas there is only one type of iphone to cater for, apart from the minor difference of 2G and 3G models.

I love everything about the iphone, I can even use that horrible keyboard easily enough but I do have one problem though – every 4 or 5 calls I make end up with a very loud screeching when the person picks up the call. It is like a fax machine but louder and nastier – like a fax machine wearing a hoodie. The only way to get out is hang up and try again. Has anybody any experience of this problem and how to fix it please?