iPhone 3G Review
As an owner of the original iPhone, it was a tough decision whether to upgrade or not to the new 3G iPhone. It is a lot like the original iPhone, but with a number of small improvements.
A lot of people wonder whether they should upgrade or not to the new 3G iPhone. In the end, I decided to upgrade, and, overall, I'm happy with the choice.
The 3G iPhone retains all the elements that made the original iPhone a success: support for web browsing through both wifi and the cell phone network, integrating a cell phone, camera, mp3 player, and internet appliance all in one seamless, beautiful, and easy-to-use device. The design is classic and beautiful, the touch screen user interface is a pleasure to use. And web browsing on such a small device actually works remarkably well.
The main improvements (in my opinion) of the 3G iPhone are the upgraded 16GB flash memory and the GPS. The fact that it's on a slightly faster 3G network is nice, but generally not a very noticeable improvement most of the time. The extra memory is great to have, as it lets me store a much larger selection of podcasts to listen to. The GPS is also great to have for getting around- I use it all the time! One other minor improvement is the normal-sized headphone jack, a very welcome improvement. Early reviews were critical of the battery life. However, Apple fixed those battery issues with a firmware update. I find that with normal use (and I use it a lot), the battery lasts almost 2 days, which is about the same as my original iPhone.
The real game changer for the iPhone (both original and 3G) is the new Apple App Store. In just a few short months since Apple allowed 3rd party applications to develop for the iPhone, there has been an explosion of wonderful applications available. The iPhone is now a new software platform. To have the power of a fully internet-connected computer in your pocket is a truly wonderful thing.
In my opinion, the iPhone is still the best choice of all the smart phones available. Apple got nearly everything right with this product, and the 3G iPhone, while mostly evolutionary, continues to improve on a great product.