Anand Reviews the Apple iPhone 3G
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 16, 2008 8:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
The Bundle
The iPhone 3G comes in a similar box to what the original iPhone did, which is Apple’s typical excellent packaging. It took me nearly a year to finally throw out my last iPhone box, it’s totally irrational but the damn thing just looks so good and is so well made. Yes, I’m talking about the box. The white iPhone also comes in a white box. Cute.
iPhone the Grey, er White.
Unfortunately it’s what’s inside the box that disappoints. You get the same cleaning cloth, USB cable and earbuds with mic that came with the original iPhone, which is fine.
The old power adapter (left) vs. the new power adapter (right)
You get a wall plug, which is now significantly smaller (your wall adapters will also work fine).
Nice touch, but no dock.
You get a SIM card removal tool, but you get no dock.
The iPhone dock was the most regularly used accessory by me, and because of the shape of the iPhone 3G it won’t fit in the old dock. And the phone doesn’t ship with a new dock. You’ll have to fork over an extra $30 to get a new dock for the iPhone 3G.
Even if you can get the iPhone 3G in the old dock, it tends to just pop right out
The dock connector itself hasn’t changed, so devices that worked with your iPhone will work with the iPhone 3G. But anything with a snug fit around the base of the phone will most likely cause problems thanks to the change in shape.
Apple should’ve bundled a dock.
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robinthakur - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
And naturally, the 'competitor' that you chose, the N95 supports 4G does it? Don't make me laugh. I used to have an N95 and I upgraded to the iPhone after having used one and being uber impressed. The N95 might have a longer spec sheet anda better camera, but for usability the iPhone is so far ahead its almost comical. People seem upset that Apple got something right pretty much first time which all the other manufacturers still can't do. Just look at the mess that is Windows Mobile.Obrut - Friday, July 18, 2008 - link
Robin,1. I'm talking about N95 8GB and not N95, there is a quite big difference. But nevermind - you can pick N96. It even has built-in TV-tuner.
2. I never said N95 supports 4G. I was talking about the differences between North America and Europe for example. 4G is for my laptop and stationary phone.
Besides I never said that iPhone is a bad phone at all.
Obrut - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
For the clumsiness - I agree.4G is available here (Bulgaria), though we're the only country in Europe with 4G coverage (yet). I mean nation-wide WiMAX coverage over 4G equipment.
As for the install base - compare the number of Symbian applications over iPhone apps...
A-GPS - I've been using this for long time and I can't even imagine that the first iPhone is lacking this. So A-GPS - no news, welcome to the club.
Accelerometer - welcome to the club also.
Photo - 2 MP means no camera at all
Flash support - this feature is mandatory for decent browsing experience.
Battery - how usefull is a phone which you should recharge twice a day (in case you're using it for more than talk and that's the big idea with iPhone)
FM Radio, Java, etc... just read this: http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=2088...">http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=2088...
rubbahbandman - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Epic review. This phone looked like a steal at $200, but man it really is spendy once you do the math for those 2 year contracts. For now, I think I'll hold off until I can find out what's in store with the Google phone.Griswold - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
There will be no "google phone". You'll just get whatever the various manufacturers do with android and last but not least the telcos feed you - no magic google bullet that will make everything glorious.And yet, there are already dark clouds on the android horizon. Open source they said? Why is it that only a handful developers under NDA get SDK updates and the rest is forced to use outdated, bugged versions?
More about it and a petition can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/6hn7m7">http://tinyurl.com/6hn7m7
With that in mind, android could face some major delays... big chance for nokia (and their newly founded, open symbian alliance) and apple to steamroll over googles android parade before it really took off.
shortylickens - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
With the phone, that is. The article is exactly what I've come to expect from Anand, nothing less.I will admit I am normally an Apple hater. I lady I know at work made her husband get her this as soon as it came out. She was showing it off to everybody on Monday. I admit it was pretty darn sweet and had a ton of useful features. When I went to the AT&T site and saw I could get the 8 gig version for 200 bucks I was astonished.
Of course, AT&T will probably have some way to leech a ridiculous amount of money from me with the service, but the phone itself is great and a really good deal right now.
Bremen7000 - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Maybe the webpage load times are specific to your area? Ars's findings were significantly more in favor of 3G: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/iphone3g-r...">http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/iphone3g-r...And I agree with the above posters, you should know better than to complain about a specific carrier's reception without heavily qualifying it.
GTaudiophile - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link
I refuse to buy one until I can use it (legit) with T-Mobile.Arc 0V - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Same iPhone should be on more carriers than AT&T but oh well. On the other hand I love my Verizon service. I travel a lot with family and friends, and my cousin and a friend have T-Mobile and the other has AT&T, and I can not count how many times I have service when they don't (wow lots of ands). By travel I mean like out of state constantly either driving or flying.imaheadcase - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link
Yes 3 articles on Iphone. Sad, pretty sad change of course for the site.When can we expect to see a preview, review, and feature set of the Ford Escort, or Bud Light with Lime? I await with anticipation!