iPhone 3G First Impressions and Reviews

[Blue Velvet]

Did you just get an iPhone 3G? Post your first impressions here.

[bryng]

A few quick impressions ...

I picked up the white. It is dead sexy. The plastic back is really nice and doesn't feel cheap or like a step back from the chrome.

The screen is a bit nicer than on my iPod Touch. The contrast is definitely better.

Web access over 3g (in New Zealand) is pretty snappy. GPS works pretty well, but it's definitely not turn-by-turn.

When plugged into iTunes, it gave me the option to simply use the settings from the iPod Touch for the iPhone, which saved a lot of messing about with tickboxes.

It definitely feels nicer in the hand than the original iPod. The proportions and tapering make it a nice, balanced object to hold.

Best of luck to all peoples who are trying to pick one of these up. It is well worth it.

[Blue Velvet]

^Thanks.

Got any pics? Post 'em here.

[luckygyrl83]

Does it feel slippery at all? Im still debating about a case.

[meagain]

BRYNG - I beg of you.... please take tons of pics of the back on your White. There's hardly any pics anywhere on it. Please?

[jwa898]

Can you please post some pics of the white one. I am still undecided between white and black and would love to see some real world pics of the white one.

[PhightinPhils26]

A few of you asked me to submit my review to Blue’s sticky so here it is... I put all the big points of the entire thread together into one easy to read post... Here... we... GO!

First: No sign of front camera, and unfortunately, no current sign of MMS. The sim ejector tool is made of metal.

Screen: Looks GREAT! I think it looks BETTER than the original. Very crisp, clean imagery. Doesn't seem to have the negative black issue. The touch sensitivity also seems quite a bit more responsive. The user interface seems faster with little to no lag when opening applications.

Audio: I wouldn't define the iPhone 3G as - Louder. However, it is certainly A LOT more clear. For phone calls it sounds better on both the earpiece and the speaker phone. Music sounds a bit more full. You unfortunately cannot change the sound prefs for mail, cal, etc.

Feel: Overall, it feels solid. Yes, the back is a finger print magnet, but what item in your arsenal that is a glossy finish isn't? Plus it easily wipes off The plastic doesn't feel cheap. However, the top button, vibrate switch and volume control seems A LITTLE on the chincy side but on the same token they feel like they are made from some kind of metal/plastic hybrid. I took a key to the back twice and gave it a few swipes back and forth each time and didn’t see any visible marks.

GPS: It only took about 5 seconds to get a lock. It does not work without cell service because it needs that to download the maps. While walking it tracks your signal well. However, I was disappointed when I got in the car and took a drive as the blue dot stuttered along “jumping” to a new location every few seconds. I recommend turning GPS off when you aren’t using it to conserve battery life.

General Notes: The contacts app exists and is on the second page and I didn't see a way to hide it. As lame as it sounds the calculator is AWESOME! No landscape SMS. As expected the App Store was not functional at first try, but is apparently up now... There is no Flash Support yet. You cannot access iTunes over 3G, still only WiFi... I was hoping this would change so you can get any song you want on the go, maybe this will change. Beggars can't be choosers.

[zed2]

Calendar/mail still does not understand .ics attachments so if someone mails you an invite from ical your phone doesn't know what to do with it and you're forced back to a desktop to access it.

I guess this might change when mobileMe comes online, but only for e-mails sent via it.

--Zed

[dmelgar]

How is the reception? Especially compared to a razr2 v9 (which is the best I've heard of).

[nolatron]

I'm interested in hearing about how the AOL AIM client works from the app store. Does it maintain a connection pretty good?

I'm guessing this a direct to AIM client, with no proxy like the sidekick uses so I'm wondering how it handles network drops and what not.

Thanks.

[TouchOfClass]

I just want to know if the ringer volume is any louder then iPhone 1G

[kovalchuk71]

Is typing any "snappier" with the 3G?

[edtorious]

Originally Posted by bryng

A few quick impressions ...

I picked up the white. It is dead sexy. The plastic back is really nice and doesn't feel cheap or like a step back from the chrome.

I'm curious, did you originally wanted black? I wanted black, but now i'm not sure but I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

[spinstorm]

I was lucky enough to go and check out my locak o2 store and was surprised to see 2 3G iPhones on display to play with!

I am surprised more people have not seen demo units yet!

My impressions?

First of I think it looks slicker and cooler than the old phone - I think white would look really good (pity I am getting black tomo lol). The plastic seems a really substantial hard layer and I think it would be very hard to scratch but nevertheless I am going to put a protective layer over it!

The phone is wider and you can notice a more substantial black border on either side of the screen which make the screen look smaller which is strange at first.

I wasn't able to test out anything else as it was in a store. I tried locate me (although there was no way GPS would work inside a shopping centre) but that didn't seem to work at all. Likewise I turned off wi-fi to try the 3G connection but again nothing happened! maybe the cellular data was turned off on the demo units.

I am very excited about tommorrow now - although I am getting it delivered I am sure loads of people will have got their phones from stores before mine is delivered!

Remmeber that the phone has to be paired with an iTunes account before you can download from the appstore so take a laptop with you if you want to use the appstore before you get home!

[woodekm]

On the ringer switch, is it still only "ring" and "Vibrate? No Silent?

Also if the phone is in airplane mode (phone off) can you still access the internet (via 3G or wifi)?

[Nicholie]

Originally Posted by woodekm

On the ringer switch, is it still only "ring" and "Vibrate? No Silent?

Also if the phone is in airplane mode (phone off) can you still access the internet (via 3G or wifi)?

I can confirm over wifi (believe this is mentioned in the guided tour) unsure on 3g.

[03sho]

Originally Posted by PhightinPhils26

You cannot access iTunes over 3G, still only WiFi... I was hoping this would change so you can get any song you want on the go, maybe this will change.

How do you access it through wi fi anyways?

[Rybold]

.
You have to enter in numeric codes and link it to your iTunes before you can use it.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SPtjVPxQcvY
.

[iCantwait]

Just been using one, alot lighter, speakers same, not much louder.


Assisted GPS is good because its satellite AND gps, so it you cant get a signal, it used cell towers. it GOOD NOT BAD

white is one sexy, clean beast

[iphoneblack]

it is kind of funny. i bought a magazine that included a detail iphone 3g review 2 days ago in Hong Kong. It was a iphone v.s iphone 3g review. They claim it is U.S verison. I guess they got it from AT&T somehow.

Anyway, here are things that amazed me.

iphone 3g Wifi is few sec faster
screen is MUCH better (display and touch)
speaker is MUCH better (but the bottom looks ugly)

another interesting thing is iphone 3g boot up time is slower than iphone

[PCMacUser]

Originally Posted by iphoneblack

another interesting thing is iphone 3g boot up time is slower than iphone

That would simply be because the 3G was running v2.0 of the software...

[iVoid]

So for those with the new iPhone... does it lay flat when you place it on a table display up? Does it rock left-right when using the touch screen?

[Harley05]

My question is how did the purchase go?

Do they have sign and go? or do you have to tether/unbox in the store etc?

How long did it actually take to complete your purchase?

Thanks

[enigmatut]

Originally Posted by Nicholie

I can confirm over wifi (believe this is mentioned in the guided tour) unsure on 3g.

I highly doubt we'll be seeing 3G allowed on planes anytime soon. "3G" is the wireless providers network, meaning that the signal is received from the cell towers, meaning that it carries voice and data (simultaneously, no less, which is a notch about EDGE). So in order for 3G to be allowed on planes the airlines would have to allow regular voice usage ... which probably ain't-a-gonna happen.

WiFi on planes will be accomplished, I imagine, just as it is on busses, trains, and ferries: the transport has a connection of some sort (satellite, typically) which is shares via a wireless router. Presumably airlines do this because of they can strictly control the frequency, bandwidth, etc of the wireless signal being passed through the plane.

[MattSeven]

Originally Posted by enigmatut

WiFi on planes will be accomplished, I imagine, just as it is on busses, trains, and ferries: the transport has a connection of some sort (satellite, typically) which is shares via a wireless router. Presumably airlines do this because of they can strictly control the frequency, bandwidth, etc of the wireless signal being passed through the plane.

Just fwiw, there are plenty of private jets that have wifi on them. I had a client that owned a Gulfstream and it was part of the options. It's just not very reliable or economical when you start adding many users to it.