I have been looking forward to the new 3G iPhone debut in Singapore. To ensure that I am one of the first to get the baby in Singapore, I reserved one with Singtel. Part of my facilnation with the new iPhone is because I actually owned the last generation of the iPhone but sold it because there were many features that needed improvement but the overall phone experience was extraordinary. Knowing Apple and Steve Jobs, i was all ready to embrace the new iPhone again as the bugs and bug bears would be taken care of.
August 22 (Friday) 2008 was a big day for me. Those of you who noticed my Facebook "Status" would know that I was counting down to that day. By 5.30pm yesterday, I received my WHITE 3G iPhone at my office. It came in a nice black bag with the words "I've Got iPhone (picture of the phone)" tapped by the sides. I peered into the bag and i could instantly recognise the packaging of the iPhone. I relish the moment when I opened it. It was only at 11pm when all my kids were in bed that I felt I could have uninterupted time with my own white iPhone. I took the phone in its original packing out from the bag, carefully placed it on my computer table and then took out the other marketing and instructional brochures from SingTel that came with it. I was surprised to find a black T-shirt with iPhone 3G on the back - SingTel really knows how to surprise her corporate customers! I started to open the packaging to unveil the iPhone, taken care to snap momentous pictures of the process and the first glimpse of the new iPhone. As one of the first in Singapore to own the iPhone, it was a special experience for me - a strange sense of pride.
I inserted the SIM card, connected the USB cable to the iPhone and then to my PC and expected a "magical" moment where the iPhone would come to life "out of the box".
I was wrong!
The first message that greeted me was "iTunes need to be upgraded to version 7.7.1 inorder to connect with the iPhone". I recall an email from SingTel to do this part of the homework but I did not. I blamed myself for the temporary setback in my experience and proceeded to the apple website and downloaded the new iTunes, waited about 5 minutes for the 80Mb file to download and be installed. I plugged my new iPhone to my PC again and this time, I heard a little apple chime on the iPhone and the classical iPhone screen appeared. I proceeded to register the phone and did a few settings. By that time, it was way past midnight. I decided I should just leave my iPhone plugged on to ensure full charge by the morning where I will start my heavy duty setting on my iPhone - transfering my contacts, setting up my email accounts, transfer my songs from iTunes etc etc.
I went to bed satisfied and to be frank I actually dreamt about how well the new iPhone will complement my life and what are the accessories that I should buy to protect my investment and keep the baby looking fabulous for a some time.
This morning, I got up and shortly after breakfast I proceeded to setup my new iPhone. I plugged my phone onto the PC, iTunes was activated and a message popped up on screen. It says, "Upgrade your iPhone software to 2.0.2...OK?". Naturally, I clicked YES. the dialogue screen to download the software came, I click continue and the installation was in progress until another error message came up, and the dialogue back said something along the lines that "...you should Restore the phone...". I followed instructions, clicked on the "restore" button and after some 4 mins or so, another message came up "The iPhone ~iPhone~ could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (6)". I clicked "OK" and another message came up "iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore the iPhone before it can be used with iTines." Desperate, I called the SingTel 1626 lines and 3 different agents were on the phone trying to help me for over 1.5 hours but to no avail.
Finally, the statement that I feared most came from one of the lady SingTel agent. She said, "Sir, I am sorry, it looks like you have to call your account manager to have the phone changed."
The euphoria of being one of the first in Singapore to own the 3G iPhone was gone. In its place, disappointment and a little anger. I sms'ed the account manager and she said that she would do a 1-to-1 exchange with me on Monday. But, it is not the same anymore. That would not be the first batch of iPhones in Singapore. I have half a mind to reject the iPhone and buy another phone, perhaps my old flame of the Nokia.
Why did my iPhone 3G die? At 12.45pm today, the SingTel agent pronounced my phone Dead.
An old friend commented on a photo that I posted earlier on the black bag that contained my new iPhone and said "dead iphone now in a black bag ( a black bag is used to bag a deceased person when transported) ?" He is right, the packaging could have been a bad start. I announced the death of my 3G iPhone on Facebook and that information alone attracted some 6 comments from friends sending "condolences" some of them with a tinge of cheekiness.
Apple is a great company and iPhone is a great product. But, it is the customer experience that counts. I recall reading Ads that says that the Samsung Omnia is a "iPhone Killer". Based on the experience that I had today, the iPhone does not need help, the phone can kill itself!
I hope that my replacement iPhone 3G will restore my faith in Apple!
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