And despite the 3G upgrade, there's no front-facing camera for video conferencing.
But, gripes aside, the new iPhone has one more very attractive trick up its sleeve: price. True, you'll need to sign yourself up for £75 a month to get a 16GB model for free, but the most you'll pay for one with O2 is £159. That's at £35 a month, and if you're happy with the 8GB model, you'll only pay £99.
Not a bad offering really, though it would be nice to have the option of getting one with other carriers. There is of course the argument that Apple should have released a 3G iPhone in the first place. It was obvious to everyone and their dog in Europe that 3G was an essential for an all-singing, all-browsing, all-downloading device like the iPhone, but the boys and girls in Cupertino chose not to.
You need a Wi-Fi connection to access the iTunes App Store
Was it so they could be assured of a clutch of early sales from the damp-crotched fans who'd get a phone from Apple even if it ran on clockwork, and then fork out again once it was brought up to a worthwhile spec? Quite possibly, but if you do already own an iPhone the new one isn't a compelling ugrade unless you're a frequent GPS user or you often find yourself surfing the net away from Wi-Fi hotspots.
Like a number 15 bus, there'll be another iPhone along soon, much the same as this one but addressing a few new issues and maybe, just maybe, it will show us a brave new advance like the original iPhone's awesome screen. Until then, though, Apple is really just catching up with its competitors.
Verdict
The iPhone is still a lovely object, and the latest incarnation with 3G, AGPS and push email at least brings the spec up to offer a decent comparison with the best Windows Mobile and Symbian smartphones. But failure to keep up with some of the basics - MMS, video capture, Bluetooth stereo - means the shine is beginning to wear off the iPhone's fancy display. Apple will need to get its screen-pokin' finger out to keep up with the competition.
Apple iPhone 3G
COMMENTS
Shock horror! iPhone owners dont believe MMS is relevant
MMS not relevant to iPhone owners - news at 11. If you've already bought an iPhone, or just happen to be a rabid Apple fanboy (see Ty's posts), then chances are MMS isn't relevant to you. This is no great surprise really - why would anyone who is a fan or owner of a device be sympathetic to features that they don't even have?
MMS isn't usually a make-or-break decision for people, but it is something which is industry standard and has been for years. Arguing about the cost of sending them, the quality of the image/video or whatever is a diversionary argument. The fact is - MMS is an instant delivery, guaranteed service which is supported by every phone I've ever seen since 2002. Email is not a guaranteed service, nor is it typically instant, and it relies upon the recipient actually proactively reading their email on their phone. There have been countless examples that people have made in these comments about where MMS *is* relevant in their lives, you can't just dismiss them out of hand because it doesn't fit with your/Apple "vision".
MMS *just works*, which - bizarrely enough - is why it is an industry standard. As I said previously - if you're going to argue against MMS by posting a whole host of contrived arguments about cost, relevance in the modern world, etc then you might as well make the exact same arguments for doing away with SMS as well and just use email for everything. I mean if some random friend can read their email and see your picture messages that way, why bother sending archaic 160-character limit txts to them either?
The big issue I have with MMS being absent on the iPhone is not so much my desire for it personally but the fact that it is something that could so easily be implemented in software. There is no excuse whatsoever for MMS not to be supported officially by Apple already on iPhones. The attitude towards MMS, copy and paste (don't tell me a company the size of Apple with the experience it has in the industry can't design or tweak a UI to support something so simple), etc is at best arrogant and at worst insulting.
It's true that people can (and should) vote with their wallet, no one is being forced to buy an iPhone. This is a review however, and an review would be remiss if it didn't point out the shortcomings in the thing it was reviewing. That's what having an objective opinion is all about - not just swallowing whatever Apple Inc put in front of you as the gospel truth without question, reason or logic.
I Love The iPhone
Simple solution, if you don't like the iPhone, then just don't buy it, don't whine and whinge on here complaining that it cannot sent MMS or it has a 2mb camera and that it cannot video record! The iPhone is not aimed at the teenage/chav market, and for those who cant film their happy slapping and upload it directly to youtube! I have the 1st gen iPhone - brought from my mate who has a 3G iPhone and i have to say it is the best phone i have ever possessed - it saves me from carrying my iPod and a separate phone - where invariably i miss most of my calls! When apple have made the amount of phones that Nokia et al have made - then maybe people will have the right to complain - until then get over it!
So do people want a perfect phone
I have a iPhone 1gen and I like it. I don't get why people become so pro apple or anti apple. It's not a religion. I like my phone but phones such as the nokia n95 have a few more features. No phone will be perfect I suspect the flame war is about apple not iPhone.
2 Days and It's going back
I have and Ipod Touch 16GB so I had very high expectations of the iphone 3g.
I have to say after 2 day's its being returned.
The interface is laggy, wifi intermittent and gps less than accurate (moving 2 doors down, then 300 metres into a field while I sat in my garden)
The signal is seriously poor when 3G is enabled and I have yet to recieve an audible alert to keypresses, text messages or email despite restores and reconfigs.
The mail push is fantastic by 1.1.5 ipod touch gets email just fine and doesnt need charging every 5 hours.
Seriously nice looking phone, but pay £35 a month for something less than ready?
I'll come back in 12 Months for the inevitable iWorkPhone.
Objectivism
To be perfectly honest while many of you are posing an objective argument, I suspect quite a few among you are simply using objective facts to back up an opinion based on kneejerk reaction or whatever side of the apple fence you happen to be on.
Personally with apple's mac range I see only one reason to buy any of their stuff - there is a (debatable) style to them. If I had money to burn then yes I would fork out almost two grand to get a hold of a laptop with a 17 inch screen. That said however, would I really want to tar myself with the same dirty brush as every pseudo intellectual tard sitting in Starbucks somewhere right now, declaring to the world that they are a writer? Probably not.
I do however have an iPhone, because I like to be able to do email and web on the move properly. I also hated my blackberry because its media player sucked. I shun windows mobile because I like to be able to use my phone on the move and I don't want to have to stand still and poke at my phone with a stick.
No tribal approach here, just personal choice on the per device level, that's how it should be.
Paris because some macbook users are equally as vacuous as the "dog in my handbag" crowd.
