iPhonefreak

Willy Wonka offered the everlasting gobstopper, the candy that never got smaller. With the new iPhone update, Apple offers the everlasting iPhone.

Well, ok, it just seems like it. . .

That’s right, fellow freaks, like many with virgin iPhones who went to the  1.1.3 firmware, I found that update seemed to suck the juice outta my beleaguered battery faster than Dracula could fasten onto necks in the Playboy mansion pool. That and the strangely weak signal/connectivity was driving me nuts.

But! last night! With the new 1.1.4 update in place all today, I found that I wasn’t rushing home in the evening with a gasping iPhone that needed to be charged ASAP. The candyman was definitely here for me today.

So, yes, I do think that the new firmware has somehow improved the power management. Let’s also applaud what seems to me to be the much increased connectivity.

It’s no secret that in New York where I live, connectivity’s an issue. The subway has random connectivity as signal will sometimes leak through grates over the track.

But normally, you descend into the Pits of Hell (also known as the N&R or Never & Rarely, for the infrequency of the trains — that’s the BMT for you old Noo Yawk hands) and lose signal. When you emerged aboveground at your destination, it could take a block or two aboveground before EDGE or the phone bars would return. Midtown being what it is, you could also sometimes lose bars in the elevator or in Henri Bendel.

So today I made careful note of how many bars I had and where, as well as how long it took to recover bars once I returned aboveground. Signal strength and connectivity are definitely improved, even in elevators, and the bars return now within a few feet of the subway exit.

Of course the update itself was as easy as pie. This one went even faster than 1.1.3, I thought. I was definitely finished in less than 2 minutes, and the re-activation was instantaneous.

Count me one happy iPhone camper. I’m interested in hearing if fellow freaks agree. Tell me: do you too notice better signal and connectivity with 1.1.4?