Lunch time. I take off my embroidered toy store apron, clock out in the POS, and scamper off to Whole Foods for a quick lunch of vegetarian lentil and spinach soup and a ciabatta roll.

Eating my soup, browsing the internet on EDGE, listening to some sweet, sweet Matt the Electrician. I click into a text box on Facebook and start typing. The music cuts off, and I return to the home screen.

I think theres something wrong with my iPhone, the "best iPod ever made."

I restart the music, and begin typing again. Safari quits! I repeat this little dance a few more times until I finally give up on the internet and just listen to music and people-watch until my lunch break is over. How un-technological of me. Its 2007! There should be internet on my iPod.. err iPhone!In sitting down to write this, I plugged the supplied headphones into the iPhone, turn it on, and it immediately slows down a bit. I turn on The Beastie Boys and the music player part of the phone stutters. The iPhone also gets pretty warm if you play the music for more than about 30 minutes.

So far, Im thoroughly unimpressed with the iPhone as a music player.

At home, I turned off WiFi, and I got it to crash again and again by listening to music and trying to type in a text box. Awesome: I can re-create the problem! Time to head to the genius bar to get it fixed once and for all.

Life would be so much easier if I went to the Houston Galleria Apple Store, but I abhor it. Instead of being a store in the mall, it is the mall: rich teenaged boys with their pants sagging halfway down their butt, people uninterested in technology hogging the MacPro with 30 display to check their Facebook or Myspace pages, people turning up the display iPod speakers all the way up because that wretched rap music just wasnt quite loud enough to begin with. So, I usually drive down to First Colony Mall. It takes about a half hour, but the experience is so much more enjoyable there.

I sit at the genius bar and wait for them to call my name. While waiting I got a very helpful suggestion from Vlady, the manager and all-around best Apple-guy ever:

"Dont use EDGE! What, are you in Abilene?"

Problem solved! I can sleep again! Hooray!

The genius and I looked at it -- we couldnt get it to crash again. I sat at the bar and furiously fiddled with it, desperately tried to make it hang up, or at least slow down. It was frustrating and embarrassing. He said he put a note in the system for if I have to come in with this problem again, and that I should go home and restore the phone. Fun.

On my way out, I waited in line to pay for a 3.5mm cable small enough to fit in the iPhone, the clerk whipped out his iPhone and scratched it with a customers keys to demonstrate the magical unscratchability of the screen. A little part of me died inside until I saw how utterly perfect the screen looked. I guess I can just throw the phone into the rest of my bag along with my keys and nail clippers.

And for anyone else that has to restore their iPhone: back up any pictures you take with it before you restore. I forgot to and theyre gone. I had a picture of the delicious soup I ate! Nooo!

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
xiaomi apple ad india

Apple and Samsung Push Back Against Xiaomi's Bold India Ads

Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging." Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
crossbody strap

iPhone 17's 'Crossbody Strap' Accessory to Feature Magnetic Design

Thursday August 28, 2025 7:49 am PDT by
Apple's cases for the iPhone 17 lineup will be accompanied by a new Crossbody Strap accessory with a unique magnetic design, according to the leaker known as "Majin Bu." Apple's Crossbody Strap reportedly features an unusual magnetic design; it likely has a "flexible metal core" that makes it magnetic along its entire length. At the ends, "rings polarized oppositely to the strap close the...
Awe Dropping Apple Event Feature

Five Things to Expect From Apple's 'Awe Dropping' September 9 Event

Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
Apple today announced its "Awe Dropping" iPhone-centric event, which is set to take place on Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. There are a long list of products that are coming, but we thought we'd pull out five feature highlights to look forward to. That Super Thin iPhone - Apple's September 9 event will see the unveiling of the first redesigned iPhone we've had in years, ...