iPhone 3G First Impressions and Reviews

[chicagdan]

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

Very, very slippery. Only other negative -- battery SUCKS. Okay, been running 3g and WIFI non stop, but still, 4 hrs and it's almost drained.

Otherwise, it's great. 3G is awesome, huge step up. The iPhone feels much smaller and lighter than the original. GPS works pretty well. A very good, but not essential upgrade.

 

[cecemf]

Agree, but the screen I found it much yellow even palying with the settings,

the sound is definetely better quality in speaker and hear mode but the bottom of the phone is SOOOO UGLY !!!! their is 2 screw and you can see the grey metal of the speakers inside the case so make it look very platis cheap !!!!

Come on apple you could have done better and cover the screw with a caoutchouc or something.

That's my only desipointement of the phone.

I'm I the only one not liking the screen ?

 

[Adrian3300]

Is mine defective??

Does the wake/sleep button on your iphone 3G's have one side slightly raised??

 

[bacaramac]

Wow, I have to say am I glad they went with the new design. I think the new iPhone feels much "warmer" in the hand vs. the cold metal back. Also, the curved back"feels nice" as Steve put in the hand.

I really think Apple made a move in the right direction with this one. I still think the metal is nice, kind of a cool factor, but the plastic is really the way to go. Haven't had much time to play as I have been napping all day to catch up on sleep, but pretty darn good if you ask me.

I think overall the big hit is 2.0 for everyone.

Pros:
1- Nice feel in the hand and it does feel thinner with edges tapered.

2- GPS is really fast and works inside my house. (Wow). It locked on about 30 feet off, but quickly corrected itself. I am sure this will get better with software updates as the Gen1's appear to have better location finding now with 2.0.

3- 3G is easily five times faster in my real life experience and works with just one bar very, very good. This I think is the most amazing thing as edge creeps when you have bad signal.

4- Apps are sweet (Super Monkey Ball). Sega is cashing in on this little gem.

5- It appears the videos, etc play over 3g unlike edge. You can watch keynotes, guided tours, etc and it loads very fast even with one bar.

Cons:
1- It appears with the MobileMe that phone may be a little slow in the contacts menu, but I am not sure if it the 2.0 or MobileMe.

2- Still can't get voicemail, but his may be AT&T vs. Apple. (Update, No working)

EDIT: Added additional points above.

 

[greenmymac]

Wow, I have to say am I glad they went with the new design. I think the new iPhone feels much "warmer" in the hand vs. the cold metal back. Also, the curved back"feels nice" as Steve put in the hand.

I really think Apple made a move in the right direction with this one. I still think the metal is nice, kind of a cool factor, but the plastic is really the way to go. Haven't had much time to play as I have been napping all day to catch up on sleep, but pretty darn good if you ask me.

I think overall the big hit is 2.0 for everyone.

Pros:
1- Nice feel in the hand and it does feel thinner with edges tapered.

2- GPS is really fast and works inside my house. (Wow). It locked on about 30 feet off, but quickly corrected itself. I am sure this will get better with software updates as the Gen1's appear to have better location finding now with 2.0.

3- 3G is easily five times faster in my real life experience and works with just one bar very, very good. This I think is the most amazing thing as edge creeps when you have bad signal.

4- Apps are sweet (Super Monkey Ball). Sega is cashing in on this little gem.

Cons:
1- It appears with the MobileMe that phone may be a little slow in the contacts menu, but I am not sure if it the 2.0 or MobileMe.

2- Still can't get voicemail, but his may be AT&T vs. Apple.

I have fallen in love with the new iPhone

 

[Eluzion]

Agree, but the screen I found it much yellow even palying with the settings,

the sound is definetely better quality in speaker and hear mode but the bottom of the phone is SOOOO UGLY !!!! their is 2 screw and you can see the grey metal of the speakers inside the case so make it look very platis cheap !!!!

Come on apple you could have done better and cover the screw with a caoutchouc or something.

That's my only desipointement of the phone.

Yikes, that is a big difference. I guess Apple has to cut cost somewhere. Cheaper screens.

 

[jecapaga]

to sum it up without writing a book - I believe that everything is better overall except the battery. I charged it fully at 9 and by 1ish it was half full to where I wanted to charge it again. other than that I am well pleased with this device. Feels better in the hand, the plastic is not cheap looking, screen is fine, speaker quality much much improved (external) I think the speaker volume on the headset still lacks a little volume.

is that what you were looking for?

That helps! thanks for your thoughts.

 

[bacaramac]

Yikes, that is a big difference. I guess Apple has to cut cost somewhere. Cheaper screens.

Read the other thread, it sounds like if you restore Apple has fixed this. Screen is the same everyone if not brighter.

 

[ttopp]

my findings

ok managed to get a 16gig JOY.. ok 3g compaired..

lighter.. brighter.. audio, some say its improved but i had my old and new play the same tune at the full setting and no noticeable difference at all.. wifi reception is better and it is lots faster. the feel of the new one is better and the plastic looks (i think) better than the old metal one though its plastic, colored metal may be better time and scratches will tell..

i have found that safari quits lots.. just on its own (crashing) any one else noticed this? i havent played with it lots but about 6/7 times its just quit...

hope this is just a wee teething prob...

 

[twynne]

I've had several problems today with Safari as well... extremely sluggish when music is playing in the background, and has quit several times for no apparent reason. When accessing my 1Password bookmarks it once froze up completely and I had to force it off.

Even with these quirks I really love it already, and I'm sure these are 2.x quirks that will be resolved in time.

I do overall find it less responsive than my Touch, but accept that 1) it's also a phone so it's 'doing' more things at any given time and 2) it's an entirely new firmware with a lot of changes under the covers.

 

[ubercool]

The white one is so unique in it's look and appeal. Black is everywhere but take a look at the white one and you will drool!

I'm with you, I'm getting white, as soon as the lines die down.

 

[snverhallen]

I'm just wondering when you buy the iPhone do they have to open the box to activate it? Or how exactly does that work, because to be honest I would want to be the one opening up my brand new iPhone.

Thanks,

snverhallen

 

[bacaramac]

I'm just wondering when you buy the iPhone do they have to open the box to activate it? Or how exactly does that work, because to be honest I would want to be the one opening up my brand new iPhone.

Thanks,

snverhallen

Yes, the AT&T store I went to removed the plastic in the back room and brought phone out to cashier. The just popped screen protector up and plugged in phone to unBrick (which didn't work withe iTunes store down). I unBricked at home.

 

[strangelogic]

Better

I really think the 3G feels much more balanced in the hand.

I got the white one - hoping it won't show scratches or fingerprints as bad as black. Also, I don't think the plastic makes it feel cheaper - It still feels like a really solid little block of technology. I think the tapering will help it when it falls (seems to have helped my MBA the other day too when it fell crashing to the ground) so it sort of rolls on impact...

The current location on the maps is a little annoying - it asks for permission to let maps use your current location (maybe there is a preference to always allow) - I don't know if the maps app is different on the 3g due to GPS or the same - but while it seems to work well it goes through some 'gyrations' as it locates you, personally would prefer it just leaves the current map alone until it 'knows' where you are (it sort of does a general or high-level view with a pulsating 'target' and then zooms in as it closes in on your location) ...

Overall - well worth the 6 hours spent getting it.

btw - the employee cut the plastic off the box, and then handed the box to me to let me open it and pull the phone out... I thought that was a better approach than taking it out and handing it to me - allowed me to actually do the 'honors' and then pass it back to him to activate it - which went smoothly...

 

[kj123492]

1. plastic is awesome, not prone to scratches at all/cheap feeling
2. i think my accelerometer has problems.. it doesn't go to landscape very easily i have to like shake it.. a bit annoying

 

[Sphyrna]

Does the wake/sleep button on your iphone 3G's have one side slightly raised??

The right side of my sleep/wake button seems a tad higher than the left side.

 

[aporlebeke]

Major Contacts/Phone use issues (maybe not)

Alright, it took Apple all day just to allow me to activate my new iPhone and MobileMe didn't consistently push my mail until around 3 o'clock today.

My main issue now is that my 3G iPhone is very delayed and mostly unresponsive in the contacts app as well as with the Phone feature. I get to my favs tab but cannot for the life of me get any response by clicking any of the others. Uber-frustrating. Even my old iPhone which I . . . . well what do you know. It's working now . . . great.

Basic summary of today: iPhone 3G launch = Major fail

 

[TouchOfClass]

Didn't get one, yet, but got a chance to play with one at the Cambridge Side Galleria.

-Ringer Volume the same
-Maybe a little slower switching between landscape and portrait, didn't test
-GPS slow and was only accurate to maybe a couple hundred yards, but inside giant mall

 

[DocNYz]

Not sure about the warmer tint yet, but otherwise i love it! I actually kind of like the way it feels in my hand more (but don't get me wrong the aluminum felt a lot cooler than the plastic, but i think this shape is a bit better, and I like the improved signal strength for sure).

Oh, but loopt is not working, it won't let me sign up it's not giving me a text message, did this happen to anyone else?

 

[Hoopdy]

Didn't get one, yet, but got a chance to play with one at the Cambridge Side Galleria.

-Ringer Volume the same...okay
-Maybe a little slower switching between landscape and portrait, didn't testdidn't test so don't comment
-GPS slow and was only accurate to maybe a couple hundred yards, but inside giant mallhow many things are there in a mall to intefere with something such as a gps receiver? ask yourself

My take

 

[ijason69]

Agree, but the screen I found it much yellow even palying with the settings,


the sound is definetely better quality in speaker and hear mode but the bottom of the phone is SOOOO UGLY !!!! their is 2 screw and you can see the grey metal of the speakers inside the case so make it look very platis cheap !!!!

Come on apple you could have done better and cover the screw with a caoutchouc or something.

That's my only desipointement of the phone.

Lets see.....people whine like stuck pigs when Apple make it hard to change the battery. THEN when they address it by not soldering in the new battery and adding TWO, yes 2, not 3, not 5 but 2! screws it suddenly becomes ugly. Lets get a grip people....its 2 tiny screws that lets you do something you couldn't do before!!!

oh and BTW....the red line under the words means you have made a spelling mistake.

 

[aporlebeke]

Overall

Overall with the feel and usability of the iPhone (now that it actually works) it's definitely a huge step in the right direction. Still not being able to picture message (only email pic. messaging) is a bummer and also no voice dialing is a little bit of a downer. I actually found a free app on the iTunes store that was for voice dialing but when I clicked on it, it said it was no longer available?? I noticed the same problem with Tap Tap Revenge as well.

Back to the phone. In regards to the "yellow tint", yeah I do notice it but I combated it by turning up the brightness a little. I know this is going to be a battery hog anyway if I put any more apps on, but I have a car charger so having the screen brighter I don't think will be that big of a deal.

I did like being able to not have to worry about charging the battery for up to 2-4 days but I charge my phone every night anyway so battery life shouldn't be too big an issue. Maybe someone will come out with an app that allows you to fully close some apps so you can save battery as opposed to having the app run somewhat in the background.

I also wished they would have shrunk the button size a little (or allowed you to choose the size w/ a slider in settings or something) to allow for 5 buttons on your main button bar. With so many apps, I'm constantly flipping through pages to find the right thing. Maybe an app organizer app. That would be nice.

The plastic back covering feels good to the touch when you're typing but I don't like it. It smudges easily leaving ghastly fingerprint marks and wipes. It's impossible to make it look nice without touching it. I saw someone tie the use of plastic with wireless connection distance but 120ft. with the 3G iPhone compared to 100ft. with the older iPhone seems pointless and trivial. Oh well.

Until Apple fixes the bugs, connection problems, and currently slow speeds of MobileMe (although it has gotten significantly faster using the online interface since this morning) I must say I'm very disappointed. Apple is better than this but AT&T definitely helped the problems of today.

 

[Hoopdy]

Overall with the feel and usability of the iPhone (now that it actually works) it's definitely a huge step in the right direction. Still not being able to picture message (only email pic. messaging) is a bummer and also no voice dialing is a little bit of a downer. I actually found a free app on the iTunes store that was for voice dialing but when I clicked on it, it said it was no longer available?? I noticed the same problem with Tap Tap Revenge as well.

Back to the phone. In regards to the "yellow tint", yeah I do notice it but I combated it by turning up the brightness a little. I know this is going to be a battery hog anyway if I put any more apps on, but I have a car charger so having the screen brighter I don't think will be that big of a deal.

I did like being able to not have to worry about charging the battery for up to 2-4 days but I charge my phone every night anyway so battery life shouldn't be too big an issue. Maybe someone will come out with an app that allows you to fully close some apps so you can save battery as opposed to having the app run somewhat in the background.

I also wished they would have shrunk the button size a little (or allowed you to choose the size w/ a slider in settings or something) to allow for 5 buttons on your main button bar. With so many apps, I'm constantly flipping through pages to find the right thing. Maybe an app organizer app. That would be nice.

The plastic back covering feels good to the touch when you're typing but I don't like it. It smudges easily leaving ghastly fingerprint marks and wipes. It's impossible to make it look nice without touching it. I saw someone tie the use of plastic with wireless connection distance but 120ft. with the 3G iPhone compared to 100ft. with the older iPhone seems pointless and trivial. Oh well.

Until Apple fixes the bugs, connection problems, and currently slow speeds of MobileMe (although it has gotten significantly faster using the online interface since this morning) I must say I'm very disappointed. Apple is better than this but AT&T definitely helped the problems of today.

You need to lower your expectations...you seemed relatively happy in your review. Apple did a fine job with the iPhone and the plastic backing is better than a ugly black block on the back.

 

[animenick65]

well guys I bit the bullet!! I waited in line for about an hour or so at the providence place apple store. They were great and when the specialist had a problem getting my number to port, he and a manager stayed on the problem and worked through it until it was solved.

This little guy is a great device. The 3G is fast. ATT still needs to take care of some of the patchy spots though. Overall there is good coverage in my area. Call quality sounded great on both sides of calls.

Battery life issues are something we are going to have to learn to live with with this device. Keeping things like wifi off when not near a connection and switching to edge when you know you aren't going to be next to a power source forvawhipe, are things we are going to have to practice. I always sync my iPod in the morning so charging every night is something I practice anyway.

The screen certainly isn't cheap. It is warmer but not a dark shade of yellow others report. The warmer screen makes the UI look nice but I think they could have backed it off a little.

Build qulity is nice and the device fits my hand well. The plastic back is a smudge magnet but is very nice.

This is a great device and I think I will learn new and amazing things to do with it over the coming weeks. And by the way, this review was typed on my new iPhone while I sit here at the beach and watch the sun set. A nice peaceful end to a hectic day!

 

[mark34]

After so much waiting and anticipation and the server debacle this morning, I now have everything operating properly and have downloaded a number of great apps. All I can say is that this is a fantastic device. Just amazing. MobileMe is working perfectly (well, the web based interface is still touchy, but the push aspect between my work Outlook, my MacBook Air, and iPhone is beyond perfect.

I want to give special mention to Pandora. Free and extremely cool and works flawlessly over 3G. So far I have been quite pleased with 3G speeds. I have gone back and forth between 3G and WiFi and haven't noticed much of a difference when I am not paying attention.

I have not read this whole thread, so I wonder where everyone has come out. I wanted to write my opinion, then I will go back.

This thing is great and I am happy with my choice to go with white. No fingerprints!!!