Pros & Cons Of iPhone 3G
Amit Chowdhry | Wednesday July 9, 2008 | 15,538 views
Three publication companies have played with the Apple Inc. (NASDASQ:AAPL) iPhone 3G and have written their opinions on the pros and cons of the device. The three companies are AllThingsD, USA Today, and The New York Times. Here is some of the aggregated information from all three reviews:
AllThingsD: Newer, Faster, Cheaper iPhone 3G by Walt Mossberg
Pros
1.) The price for this phone is more reasonable ($199 & $299 vs. it’s $399 & $499 predecessor)
2.) The 3G “iPhone is much, much faster at fetching data over cellphone networks because it uses a speedy cellular technology”
3.) The new iPhone “mostly keeps its promises”
4.) “I found that doing email and surfing the Internet typically was between three and five times as fast using AT&T’s 3G network as it was with the older AT&T network to which the first iPhone was limited.”
5.) Louder audio capabilities
6.) Exchange ActiveSync is fully functional. Changes made in Outlook are instantly reflected.
7.) “In my tests, in Washington and New York, I got data speeds mostly ranging between 200 and 500 kilobits per second. By comparison, the original iPhone, tested in the same spots at the same time, mostly got cellular data speeds between 70 and 150 kbps on AT&T’s old EDGE network.”
8.) AOL Radio, AIM, and Truveo work very well.
9.) App Store
Cons
1.) The battery drains quicker than the old iPhone.
2.) To use Internet on the new iPhone, AT&T has raised data plans by $10. If you have a 2 year plan, that is an additional $240 that the user has to pay. This contradicts the $200 savings that you get from the old iPhone.
3.) Echo effect created when using Bluetooth
4.) Built-in camera is only 2 Megapixels and video cannot be recorded.
USA Today: Apple’s new iPhone 3G: Still not perfect, but really close by Edward Baig
Pros
1.) Between visual voicemail, built-in iPod video, amazing browser, and “with GPS newly added to the mix, this handheld marvel has no equal among consumer-oriented smartphones.”
2.) “Messages and calendar entries are ‘pushed’ to the device, so they show up right away, just as they do on other computers. With your employer’s blessing, set-up is a relative cinch.”
3.) Layouts for international keyboards: ability to use finger to draw Chinese characters
4.) PowerPoint support
5.) Move or delete multiple e-mails at once.
6.) Physical appearance: similar, but a bit more curvy.
7.) GPS: “I was pretty impressed by the accuracy on the new device as I drove along in my car, searched for nearby pizza places, and requested directions.”
8.) Sound is better.
9.) Stronger parental controls.
10.) App Store
Cons
1.) No video.
2.) No Bluetooth stereo dial or dial with voice command.
3.) No access to speedier 3G in parts of editor’s New Jersey neighborhood.
4.) lacks physical keyboard.
5.) No longer receive pop-up warning to delete a movie to free up space after watching.
6.) Still no zoom or flash on camera.
7.) Only USB circuitry is supported, not FireWire.
8.) Flash, Windows Media Video, and Java is not supported when browsing the Web.
9.) No expandable memory slot.
The New York Times: For iPhone, the ‘New’ Is Relative by David Pogue
Pros
1.) “The huge, bright, touch-sensitive screen made it addictive fun to rotate, page through or magnify your photos, videos and Web pages.”
2.) Surf the Web and talk on the phone simultaneously (not offered with old phone).
3.) AT&T will expand 3G supported areas over time.
4.) “You sound crystal clear to your callers, and they sound crystal clear to you.”
5.) “The four-function calculator now turns into a scientific calculator when you rotate the phone 90 degrees.”
6.) App Store
Cons
1.) “iPhone Mania will be considerably more muted. That’s partly because the mystery is gone, partly because the AT&T service costs more and partly because there aren’t many new features in what Apple is calling the iPhone 3G.”
2.) Not many 3G network areas.
3.) “Te iPhone’s G.P.S. antenna is much too small to emulate the turn-by-turn navigation of a G.P.S. unit for a vehicle, for example.”
4.) No copy+paste.
5.) No MMS phone-to-phone photos sending.
6.) Battery Replacement = $86
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