Apple iPhone 3G Review

When I set out to write my review of the original iPhone last year, I found myself in the uncomfortable role of spoiler. The unjustifiedly positive early reviews from Apple fanatics at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today were so out of touch with reality that I was determined to set things right: connection kit The iPhone was not the perfect device trumpeted by these guys, who appeared more interested in protecting their close relationships with Apple than with providing readers with accurate reviews they could trust. The iPhone experience on Windows, circa mid-2007, was a disaster, and no amount of whitewash could cover it up. My review reflected that, and provided Windows users--i.e. the majority of iPhone customers-- sim cutter with what I feel is still the most thorough and accurate coverage of the device available anywhere. I'm not blinded by the reality distortion field, and you shouldn't be either. Obviously, the message was received. When the second generation iPhone, the iPhone 3G, shipped last month, the same three tech reporters from the same three mainstream news publications published their reviews, first, as usual. ipad mount But for once, their reviews of an Apple product weren't overly positive. If anything, they were largely reserved. Sure, all three of them love the thing. They are, after all, Apple geeks. But they didn't go over the top for once, and all of them pointed out some actual flaws. And yes,wholesale watches since you're asking, I'd like to think I played a role in that, implicitly or explicitly. OK, enough patting myself on the back. It's time to examine the Apple 3G and my goal here, as always, is to simply tell it like it is. I'll ruin the surprise up front by stating that the iPhone 3G, like its predecessor, is excellent and innovative, but flawed. Not deeply flawed. But flawed. For those few million people who did purchase an original iPhone, the upgrade picture is a bit hazy. Despite some high profile improvements, most of the new features in the iPhone 3G are oddly hobbled in different ways, and the overall expense is higher, making the upgrade economics fuzzy. For those who do not yet own an iPhone, the iPhone 3G is approaching no-brainer status. No, it's not perfect. But it's so much nicer than any other phone currently on the market, flaws and all. But then that was true of the original iPhone, at least after a year's worth of free software updates. The iPhone 3G is like the iPhone ... that goes to 11. Before jumping in, I'd like to mention led watches a bit about Apple's naming conventions. The company has historically used the "G" naming convention with its iPods to denote generations of devices. So the original iPod is the iPod 1G while the next revision is the iPod 2G, and so on; the current iPod classic is the iPod 6G because it is the sixth generation version of the product. Confusingly, the iPhone 3G appears to use this same naming convention. But led watch hat's not what the G stands for in the iPhone 3G's name. That is, the iPhone 3G is not the "third generation" iPhone. In fact, it's arguably not even a second generation device though two key hardware additions--3G network support and very basic GPS functionality--arguably put it over the top in that sense. From a hardware standpoint, the iPhone 3G is really a 1.5 generation device: The underlying hardware is identical to the previous version but for the addition of a few different chips only. The G in iPhone 3G, as it turns out, refers to the device's compatibility with 3G wireless networks, a feature we'll discuss later in this review. A new pricing model Here's the iPhone 3G's ugly little secret. It's peel 520 expensive. As in really expensive. As in, you-thought-the-original-iPhone-was-expensive-but-Apple-was-apparently-just-getting-started expensive. In my original iPhone review, I decried the cost of that device, which included an enormous upfront cost ($500 to $600, depending on model) plus egregious monthly fees thanks to its non-optional data plan (a minimum of $71 a month in the US). Apple, unbelievably, advertises the iPhone 3G as being less expensive than its predecessor. This is untrue. Yes, the iPhone 3G does come with a more reasonable up-front cost ($200 to $300 in the US), a fee that is more in line with other similar devices. But the monthly fees are unbelievably expensive, and even more expensive than were those of the original device (a minimum of $86 a month on the US after taxes and fees if you choose the cheapest possible SMS package, which was previously free). Do the math, and you'll see that the total minimum cost of the lowest-priced iPhone ipad stylus from early 2008 over two years is about $2100 (this included SMS). But the total minimum cost of the lowest-priced iPhone 3G with the smallest SMS plan (now a separate option) is about $2265 over two years. So the lower upfront cost of the new device is actually mortgaged out over the two year service agreement, making the overall costs more expensive than ever. It's more expensive. (Even if you drop SMS it's more expensive at $2205.) That said, I'm mostly OK with the pricing. Potential iPhone customers are making an explicit decision about mobile computing and it's very clear that these people end up using the mobile Internet functionality on the iPhone much more than do other smart phone users. That the costs are spread out over a longer time period will appeal to a lot of people. After all, this is how most Americans pay for cars, homes, and other big ticket items. Put another way, the iPhone 3G is expensive but is arguably worth the price. My complaint here has more to do with the way Apple is marketing the new christmas decorations 2010 pricing model. It's not really cheaper than before. It's more expensive than ever. A new purchasing model In addition to the new pricing model, Apple has changed the way that customers acquire the iPhone 3G. This was done, ostensibly, to please its wireless carrier partners and to prevent people from unlocking the iPhone 3G to use them internationally. From a purchasing standpoint, the big change is that phone activation now occurs in-store. This means you won't walk out of an AT&T or Apple retail location with a useless hunk of metal and plastic, which was certainly the christmas decorations case with the first generation iPhone. (You couldn't even make a non-911 phone call on the thing until you activated it at home.) "We want people to leave the store with their phones up and running, and leave them with a buying experience similar to what they're used to with other phones," an AT&T spokesperson said, explaining the change. Sure enough, there were huge activation problems on the day that the iPhone 3G launched, causing enormous waits and unsatisfied customers. But that issue has long since subsided. When I finally did get an iPhone 3G earlier this month, I was in and out of the AT&T store within minutes.