[BuonRotto]

Or I should say, "Is anyone else having issues yet?" I've dropped this thing countless times without any kind of real problem, other than cosmetic ones (I never bought a case for it, hate how thick they are). I've of course noticed that the battery doesn't last as long as it used to. Now my iPhone battery is depleted by dinner or the end of work \rather than lasting until bedtime. Nothing unexpected.

But, but... this weekend. All of a sudden, I have a very particular area of my screen that seems to have lost its touch sensitivity. It's just below the mid-point of the screen running horizontally across, right where the first row of letter go in the text field. Sometimes taps go through, often not. If I scroll up or down, I hit a spot where it stops scrolling then picks up again on the other side of this invisible line. It's not totally lost yet. For some reason horizontal swipes register just fine in this area, just not taps or vertical swipes. I'm assuming no one else has seen this, but I wanted to give some people a heads up with this generation.

I'm getting the iPhone 4 anyway, but this problem could have waited another couple of weeks.

[Yontsey]

My buddy had a first gen iPhone and the lower half of his screen lost screen touch like you. It was the "end call" button and the. Letters like P L delete and return. It had to be pretty annoying. He also started having issues with his volume rocker. He just picked up a droid instead.

[torifile]

It's Apple's way of making you upgrade.

[adamb]

I'm quite surprised I haven't had any issues with mine. I can't even say I notice the battery lasting any shorter than it always has.

[Bryson]

The exact fault you describe was also described during the Nerdist podcast, episode 21. (The iPhone announcement special.) Apparently it's a side effect of moisture damage - or at least so he was told by the Apple store...

[psmith2.0]

I can honestly say, after nearly three years, my first-generation iPhone is still going strong. It has a slightly faded area (about the size of half a postage stamp in the upper left corner) and about 2-3 dings/nicks into the glass in the same general region. Other than that and some scratches and scuffs on the silver back, it's 100% fine and functional (although I think my battery might not be as robust and charge-holding as it used to be, which is to be expected at this point).

But all the touch-points work, I still get good cellular, EDGE and WiFi reception, all the apps work as they should, etc.

Hell, I wish mine would crap out in the next 2-3 weeks so my decision is a bit easier and guilt-free...

[Robo]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Hell, I wish mine would crap out in the next 2-3 weeks so my decision is a bit easier and guilt-free...

Dude, you've had the same phone for three years. I have had like six phones in that time. You should not feel guilty

Edit: <3

[PB PM]

Wow Robo, you're tough to please! Six phones! I've had two in that time.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by PB PM Wow Robo, you're tough to please! Six phones! I've had two in that time.

Well, one (now two) of them was stolen. But I'm really just a phone whore

[BuonRotto]

Hm, I did get a bit wet in my pocket the other day, but immediately the phone was in my back pocket and I put it up just in case. Still, it's possible. Dang. Don't tell my wife. Like Paul, this is looking like a legit excuse to upgrade, like, NOW.

[Mugge]

My Nokia 6300 has also just suffered some minor damage that looks like it might worsen over the next couple of months. How convenient.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Mugge My Nokia 6300 has also just suffered some minor damage that looks like it might worsen over the next couple of months. How convenient.

Like I said above, my Nokia was just stolen. I'm not eligible for an upgrade, so an iPhone 4 would be like $400, but don't think it didn't cross my mind.

[turtle]

I use my wife's 1st Gen iPhone like a Touch and I can tell you it's taken a beating. It's even been soaked in breast milk! As in dripping out of the headphone jack soaked. Still going. For giggles I asked a GB worker to look at it and see if it shows moisture damage on their test strip and it doesn't.

My screen is fine but the battery is horrible. I can use it on WiFi for about 30 minute solid before it turns off. About $75 and I can get a refurb for the battery swap at the Apple Store. They didn't say what condition the phone has to be in for the swap, but that's the charge to swap it due to the battery not being user serviceable.

[timmmee]

Two years ago, right before my warranty was up, I replaced my original iPhone 2.5G with a refurb (taking it to the Apple Store) because the speakers seemed way too tinny-sounding. This has been my phone since then, and I've definitely abused it. The major problems are cosmetic--dings, scratches, dents, and the like in the metal back. From a particularly bad drop I got those grey "dead lines" you can read about online, except only in the status bar at the top of the phone and the only place it actually obscures information is on the left side, completely blocking out the AT&T logo and most of the bars (eh, it doesn't matter, I just assume I have terrible reception anyway ).

My wifi connection is generally flaky, too. Can't put my finger on exactly what the problem is: I can detect the networks but fail to establish a connection for more than a few minutes. But whatever, I'll live at least until I get one of them iPhone 4's.

[CitizenTony]

For some reason the screen on mine is really dim. Where I used to leave it right in the middle on auto-brightness I now have to bump it up to about 3/4. I don't understand why since it's LED backlit. Unless some firmware update changed the default brightness.

Other than that, and a slightly worn out home button, mine is perfect. Well, except for wear and tear. It's like a tank and I really hope the 4 is as solid since the 3G line has been so un-tank like.

[beardedmacuser]

My first gen iPhone, which was originally my wife's before she upgraded to a 3G, is still in remarkably good condition largely due to it's Vaja case. No scratches, dents or anything like that, and since I turned off push email (fetching every 30 min is totally sufficient for me) the battery lasts a couple of days unless I'm doing something particularly draining. I still love the solid aluminium feel to the phone and I'll be sad when I come to upgrade, whenever that happens.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

I cracked the screen on my first gen iPhone when it fell out of my shirt pocket and faceplanted on the cellar's concrete floor. The crack is in the upper left of the display but isn't in the screen display area. I have scotch tape over it to keep the glass from falling out.

Have some dents and scratches but it still works fine. In fact, my son uses it regularly. I turned him onto Wild West Pinball on my iPhone last night so I'll probably have to install that on "his" iPhone tonight.

I'm hoping the iPhone4 has the "my precious" feel like the original iPhone had. My 3GS is functionally superior to my first gen iPhone, but I like the look and feel of my older one better.

[murbot]

I've had issues with dirt/dust/crud getting in behind my screen. Tons of these little white specs were showing up, more every week, and it was driving me nuts. I wouldn't notice them while using it indoors, but in any kind of sun the phone looked brutal. I don't even use it in a dirty environment at all, so I was pretty surprised.

I actually got them to replace the phone in May (it was 8 months old). I was in Calgary and the genius was going to just replace the screen on it the next day, but when I told him I drove 3 hours to get there (well, I had driven 3 hours, but it wasn't just for this) he talked to a couple of people and ended up just swapping units for me. I was pretty happy.

No crud in the new one yet, knock on wood. I'm actually surprised no one here has mentioned his problem; I've found a shit-ton of people online fighting to get phones swapped (lots successful, too). Or maybe it has been discussed here and I haven't noticed...

EDIT: D'oh! I just realized this was a FIRST GEN iPhone thread. Screw it, I'll leave my post anyway. Cut me some slack, I haven't been around to post in a couple of months, I'm out of practice.

[BuonRotto]

No, any generation's issue will work.