iPhone 3G Review - At last I got my hands of one of these, can it live up to the hype?

iPhone 3G Review: 27 July 2008, by: Bjornar Kibsgaard

Also read about iPhone OS 3

Ever since the iPhone came out I have been interested in getting one for myself. At first it only came out in the states so for me living in Norway it would have required hacking the phone to get it to work in this Country. I didn't want to do that so I waited, until now when the phone is officially released here.

I was lucky and got my hands on one of the white 16GB 3G iPhone, I have used it for some days now and can give you my opinion about this phone in this iPhone 3G Review exclusive from all about apple. Read on to find out if this is one of the best cell phones out there.

Packaging

Apples eye to detail also shine through in the packaging of their products and the iPhone is no exception. Check out the pictures below, click the pictures to get the full size version.

As you can see in the pictures everything is organized and arranged in the most optimal way possible, saving space and transport costs. When you open the box the first thing you see is the iPhone. Underneath the phone you find documentation, a cloth to clean the touch screen and all the cables you need. Earbuds, charger and usb cable. I was unsure if I should talk about the packaging in this iPhone 3G review but I have come to realize that people want to know about that too.



The charger is ridiculously small, the one I am holding in my hand. Maybe you dont even need to use this charger because when I connect the phone to the computer it starts to charge through the USB cable, and I usually have my computer with me. If you dont have access to a computer, or should I say: USB port? Then you might need it. Just connect the USB cable to the charger and you are ready to go. A nice feature eliminating unnecessary cables.

Initial setup and usage

The initial setup was painless. I inserted the SIM card, connected the phone to the computer and started up iTunes. When iTunes started it found the iPhone right away and wanted me to register with Apple. I did so and after a few minutes I was up and running. Eager to try all features and get information for this iPhone 3G Review.

During this process I did get a choice about transferring the settings I had on my iPod Touch over to the iPhone, a nice feature if someone needs it. I selected no.

I have noticed some things though: If i have the 3G setting turned on the reception is really bad with my carrier NetCom GSM, it also seems like the iPhone is having problems switching between 3G to regular GSM network automatically. When i had 3G turned on the conversation quality was really bad. If i turned off 3G the reception went up and conversation quality too.

One other thing i noticed was the slowness of the phone, somehow it is not as snappy as i have seen in the commercials or demos by apple. Browsing the contact list stutters and do not flow as smooth as Apple would like us to believe. Also when i am typing text messages the keyboard is quite slow too wich makes the whole thing a bit frustrating. However i have seen others having this problem too, and to be honest i believe this will be fixed in a future software upgrade. Apple is not going to ignore this problem.

iPhone 3G was released with the new iTunes App Store, i believe this was a good tactic from Apple because it makes me feel that i do not need to hack the phone. There are many good applications / games available but also a lot of bad ones. If Apple allow people to do more with the phone software-wise i think the need to hack the phone disappears.

Smudges ?

When I was first thinking about buying the phone I thought the touch display would be covered with smudges from my fingers all the time and I would have to clean it every day. After a few days of usage this doesn't concern me anymore. When i hold the phone in front of me i dont see the smudges, but if i tilt the phone and look at it from the side i can see where my fingers have been. This actually surprised me, i thought it would be much more dirtier than it seems to be.

Camera

In this iPhone 3G Review you also get to know a little something about the camera. It is surprising to me that Apple could not come up with something better. The pictures are okay but what i have seen from other mobile phones make me believe that they could have included something better. I took some pictures with the iPhone camera, check them out below to make up your own mind about the quality.



These pictures are straight from the iPhone, no post processing done.

Conclusion

I have been using this phone for a few days now and the only negative thing i have to say in this iPhone 3G Review is what i already stated above, and maybe the lack of MMS capabilities. Apple apparently want us to send mail instead of MMS. Update: in iPhone OS 3 Apple have now added MMS capabilities. About time!.

All in all i think this is a really good phone, it is almost like a handheld computer, if i was on vacation i am sure i would manage my communication with only this device, it got mail, fantastic web browsing, games, music, video, pictures and more because of App Store. Maybe not one of the best cell phones out there, it all depends on what you use your phone for. I am sure though the phone will be even better, with new software upgrades. I do not regret the purchase at all and i would strongly recommend this phone.

I hope you liked this iPhone 3G Review, check out more pictures i took of this device below. The last picture show the phone next to one Nokia N82 for comparison reasons.

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