Here are all the things I've noticed from owning 4 original iPhones and 4 iPhone 3G's. Also, I've seen a lot of iPhones as most of my friends have them, so I've grown pretty familiar with their strengths and weaknesses. Here are my findings. Enjoy.
I've made my post color-coordinated to label the positives and negatives of each phone.
Green = Positive
Red = Negative
Black = Neutral
Original iPhone:
The Back:
- Doesn't crack but, it will dent if hit hard enough.
- Feels great in your hand
- No smudges or fingerprints
- Heavy duty feeling
- Headphone jack is recessed (only works with a limited amount of headphones without the use of an adaptor)
- Plastic antenna cover feels flimsy or cheesy (also looks like it doesn't belong)
- You can feel where the plastic antenna cover and the aluminum meet.
- The body of the iPhone is slightly narrower than the 3G.
- The matte finish on the back makes it slip around in your hand easier (easier to drop)
The Screen:
- The glass actually feels different (this is hard to explain)
- Virtually no light leak
- Dust cannot get under the glass because the digitizer is glued to the glass
- Harder to replace if you smash it (also more expensive)
- The screen is calibrated to a whiter (cooler) profile
- The black areas are a little too deep (negative black... blacks kinda shine at you)
The Buttons:
- The home button has a deeper click feel
- The volume, silence and power buttons won't scratch
- The silence switch won't break off because it's made of one piece of plastic
Reception:
- Gets worse reception than the iPhone 3G (usually by only 1 bar I've seen)
- Can only pick up EDGE data
Misc:
- Call volume and ringtone volume aren't as loud
- Dust can build up in the speaker holes
- Much harder to take the iPhone apart for self repairs
- Compatible with FireWire for charging
- 3.0 Users won't get MMS or A2DP
- Comes in only Silver color
- Longer battery life
10 Positives
14 Negatives
3 Neutrals
iPhone 3G:
The Back:
- The plastic cracks and scratches easily
- Feels great in your hand
- Easy to smudge or get fingerprints on it
- Not as solid feeling as the metal
- Headphone jack is NOT recessed (works with any headphones)
- Unibody back is a lot better than the 2-tone back of the original.
- Glossy finish on the back lets it stick to your hand better (less likely to slip out and drop)
The Screen:
- A little wider than the original iPhone
- Gaps between the metal bezel and screen can cause light leaks
- Almost all the iPhone 3Gs I've seen have the glass raised on at least one side
- Generally brighter and the blacks look a lot better
- A slight yellow tint (I actually prefer the yellow over the blue tint)
- A lot of 3Gs have scan lines (some people will know what I'm talking about here)
- Glass feels a little different (again, hard to explain)
- Dust can easily get under the screen
The Buttons:
- Being all chrome, they can scratch easily
- The silence switch has been known to fall off some iPhones (it's only glued onto a pice of plastic.)
- Home button feels squishier (doesn't click as hard)
Reception:
- Great reception!
- Gets 3G and GPS signals
Misc:
- Call volume and speaker volumes are louder
- Dust won't likely clog up your speakers because they've got a metal mesh on them
- Much easier to disassemble and repair screen issues (even get dust out!)
- Won't charge on a FireWire cable
- 3.0 will enable MMS and A2DP (Apple says that this is due to hardware differences between the 2 models)
- Comes in Black or White colors
- Worse battery life (mainly due to 3G and GPS)
12 Positives
11 Negatives
4 Neutrals
And there you have it. The pros and cons of both devices. The original beats the 3G in some areas but, the 3G beats the original in other areas. I guess it depends on what you're willing to live with with (features vs. build quality). I have a hard time deciding which iPhone I like better.... Hehe, I'm always switching back and forth (but I can because I have both... heh).
I hope this is educational for everyone. The reason I made this list is because I've experienced both iPhones a heck of a lot and I picked up on things I've noticed.
I've made my post color-coordinated to label the positives and negatives of each phone.
Green = Positive
Red = Negative
Black = Neutral
Original iPhone:
The Back:
- Doesn't crack but, it will dent if hit hard enough.
- Feels great in your hand
- No smudges or fingerprints
- Heavy duty feeling
- Headphone jack is recessed (only works with a limited amount of headphones without the use of an adaptor)
- Plastic antenna cover feels flimsy or cheesy (also looks like it doesn't belong)
- You can feel where the plastic antenna cover and the aluminum meet.
- The body of the iPhone is slightly narrower than the 3G.
- The matte finish on the back makes it slip around in your hand easier (easier to drop)
The Screen:
- The glass actually feels different (this is hard to explain)
- Virtually no light leak
- Dust cannot get under the glass because the digitizer is glued to the glass
- Harder to replace if you smash it (also more expensive)
- The screen is calibrated to a whiter (cooler) profile
- The black areas are a little too deep (negative black... blacks kinda shine at you)
The Buttons:
- The home button has a deeper click feel
- The volume, silence and power buttons won't scratch
- The silence switch won't break off because it's made of one piece of plastic
Reception:
- Gets worse reception than the iPhone 3G (usually by only 1 bar I've seen)
- Can only pick up EDGE data
Misc:
- Call volume and ringtone volume aren't as loud
- Dust can build up in the speaker holes
- Much harder to take the iPhone apart for self repairs
- Compatible with FireWire for charging
- 3.0 Users won't get MMS or A2DP
- Comes in only Silver color
- Longer battery life
10 Positives
14 Negatives
3 Neutrals
iPhone 3G:
The Back:
- The plastic cracks and scratches easily
- Feels great in your hand
- Easy to smudge or get fingerprints on it
- Not as solid feeling as the metal
- Headphone jack is NOT recessed (works with any headphones)
- Unibody back is a lot better than the 2-tone back of the original.
- Glossy finish on the back lets it stick to your hand better (less likely to slip out and drop)
The Screen:
- A little wider than the original iPhone
- Gaps between the metal bezel and screen can cause light leaks
- Almost all the iPhone 3Gs I've seen have the glass raised on at least one side
- Generally brighter and the blacks look a lot better
- A slight yellow tint (I actually prefer the yellow over the blue tint)
- A lot of 3Gs have scan lines (some people will know what I'm talking about here)
- Glass feels a little different (again, hard to explain)
- Dust can easily get under the screen
The Buttons:
- Being all chrome, they can scratch easily
- The silence switch has been known to fall off some iPhones (it's only glued onto a pice of plastic.)
- Home button feels squishier (doesn't click as hard)
Reception:
- Great reception!
- Gets 3G and GPS signals
Misc:
- Call volume and speaker volumes are louder
- Dust won't likely clog up your speakers because they've got a metal mesh on them
- Much easier to disassemble and repair screen issues (even get dust out!)
- Won't charge on a FireWire cable
- 3.0 will enable MMS and A2DP (Apple says that this is due to hardware differences between the 2 models)
- Comes in Black or White colors
- Worse battery life (mainly due to 3G and GPS)
12 Positives
11 Negatives
4 Neutrals
And there you have it. The pros and cons of both devices. The original beats the 3G in some areas but, the 3G beats the original in other areas. I guess it depends on what you're willing to live with with (features vs. build quality). I have a hard time deciding which iPhone I like better.... Hehe, I'm always switching back and forth (but I can because I have both... heh).
I hope this is educational for everyone. The reason I made this list is because I've experienced both iPhones a heck of a lot and I picked up on things I've noticed.
