My new iPhone 5
I got a call from the AU shop a few hours ago saying my iPhone 5 is ready. I was still feeling a bit “indecisive” about the whole thing, but did go over to get it.
Since I decided to switch from Softbank to AU I needed to get an MNP (mobile number portability) code from AU. They wanted to know the reasons I was changing, but were very nice about it.
As soon (and I mean within seconds) as I got the MNP code I received a slew of text messages from Softbank with warnings and pleas to stay:
1. If you leave early you’ll have to pay a 9,975 yen penalty! (I won’t because I’m not leaving early and have already sorted out that contract issue with them and they agreed to deduct the 9,975 yen from my final bill.)
2. I’ll still owe money on my iPhone 4. (I won’t because it was paid off with my last 24-month payment this month.)
Then the plea:
Anyway, I’m gone from Softbank as of about an hour ago. At least as far as my iPhone goes. And I have tethering so when my iPad 2 contract is done with in June I can get rid of that contract as well.
I’m back home with my new AU iPhone 5 now. I’m currently restoring from my last iCloud backup so it will still take a couple of hours it says.
I haven’t had any problems yet (I usually do with Apple products), but so far so good. There were no scratches or nicks (the woman at the AU shop was very patient with my checking it out). The screen is very nice, and somewhat brighter than the iPhone 4, even at the same setting.
Before starting the restore I tried a few things. I might be imagining it, but the touch seems to work better and feels more fluid. Perhaps it’s the new screen technology they are using.
I also tried Siri for the first time in my life and it answered all the questions I asked (I thought her voice was a bit low though, even with the volume all the way up). Anyway, so far so good.
Siri is somewhat interesting. I asked it:
(1) What time is it? It reported correctly.
(2) Where am I? It told me a pretty close nearby address (could not pronounce chome correctly though) and showed me a map.
(3) When is sunset? It told me it was at 4:50 pm and showed me the weather.
I’m sure you’ll hear more from me about my new iPhone after it has restored all the data from my iPhone 4.
doug
I will be interested to hear if the map software on your new iPhone is as bad as reported. I’m not planning to jump to iOS but I use GPS and maps a lot and I’m always curious about how they perform on other people’s phones.
As you may know, Softbank is trying to acquire the Sprint system here. Your experience sounds like they will be just as inept as the other networks when it comes to customer service.
Oh, yes. Worse. But that’s not an iPhone 5 problem as much as it is an iOS 6 problem in general, which affects all models of iPhones and iPads over the last couple of years, including my iPhone 4.
In Tokyo, for example, they don’t even show the block numbers on the maps, which is like leaving off the street names in the U.S.
I can use maps.google.com in the meanwhile. And I hope Google does offer an iOS app of their own.
Softbank is an… odd company.