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Apple iPhone 3G

Love it or loathe it, it's here

Even so, you'll still need a Wi-Fi connection to access the iTunes Music Store - presumably so O2 and the other official won't get narked with Apple because of humungous downloading on unlimited data plans.

The other big idea is Assisted GPS, backed by the rather wonderful Google Maps. We had no trouble getting a fix on our corner of north London and had fun plotting routes to all sorts of places we needed to visit, this time with rather more accuracy than the old version's Wi-Fi hotspot-based triangulation could manage alone.

Apple iPhone 3G

Now with GPS - and much more accurate Google Mapping

The iPhone screen lends itself well to map applications, and, like us, you'll soon find yourself pinching and zooming for all you're worth. You could use it in the car in place of a dedicated satnav, since the screen is big enough, but with no voice direction we wouldn't recommend it. No, you'd better keep your eyes on the road, and rely on the iPhone to help you find your way around when you're in pedestrian mode.

Apple claims the reception problems that some early iPhone adventurers reported have been sorted out. We tried it in various parts of the capital and didn’t come across any problems. Battery life seems to be much the same as the old 2G iPhone, even when running 3G and GPS.

There's also a few new features going on under the bonnet. Apple's new iPhone OS 2.0, for one thing, which is also available as a downloadable upgrade for the original iPhone. Tweaks include a search facility for contacts, which are now officially accessible through a menu icon of their own.

The iPhone Application Store is a new section in iTunes, and it's got a decent selection of official third-party commercial and freeware apps available to download.

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