Since the price of the new iPhone 3G is now half of the original price (bringing it in line with the cost of a new Razor or similar phone), I could justify (to my wife) getting one. I went to the local AT&T store on the day they were released (July 11), but they didn’t have any left. I had to get the phone from AT&T vs. an Apple store due to a technicality on our AT&T account and “upgrade pricing”. Anyway, I ordered one (only to discover they were on backorder already). I ordered one for Kirsten as well; I had convinced her to wait to get a new phone until the 3G came out so she could sync with her office email (Exchange), etc.
I got a notice that my phone was in one week later (this past Friday). I picked it up after lunch, but had to wait until after work to play with it. All was rosy for an hour, and then the screen became all washed-out, and began to flicker. Ick. I went through all I could think of (restored phone via iTunes, complete wipe, etc.) to no avail. I called the AT&T store where I bought and they said to try an Apple store! I guess AT&T can’t do much more than send in a defective phone.
Anyway, by Saturday morning the phone seemed fine again. But by late evening the screen washout problem was back. Sunday (yesterday) I stopped by my local Apple store (in Columbia, MD). I didn’t have an appointment to see one of the “Genius” bar assistants, but got on a “standby” list. Within 15 minutes I was squeezed in between appointments (thankfully someone was late for their scheduled one), and an iPhone specialist was helping me. I showed him my phone with the washed out screen, and he immediately went [paraphrased] “whoa – that’s not right. Obviously a problem with the LCD screen”. I explained the problem more fully to him and he said he could go ahead and give me a new phone (new, not refurbished, etc.) right then to replace mine – under warranty. He swapped out sim cards, and verified for me that the new phone was working. He also had me go ahead and do a complete reset of my old phone (deleting my personal data for security). After filling out the paperwork, I was out the door with a new, working, beautiful iPhone. Total time in store: <30 minutes. I just love Apple, and the service at the Columbia, MD, Apple store! BTW, the iPhone is great. Now if I can just keep my 13 year-old from grabbing it to watch YouTube videos or playing Texas holdem... Also, Kirsten has had her iPhone for about a week now, and she loves it - especially the ability to check her work email, contacts and calendar from anywhere.
