The Apple iPhone 3G came out on July 11, 2008, and I was lucky enough to snag one from the Apple Store in Suburban Square (Ardmore, PA).
I’m a previous owner of the original iPhone, so here are my quick impressions of the new iPhone 3G.
The form-factor is slimmer, with a curvier body and a black plastic back. The immediate new features, ie 3G network and GPS are what really (slightly) improve this new model. It also helps that it has double the amount of built-in memory than my original iPhone (16GB).
However, the best part of the new iPhone are the new apps available from the AppStore in iTunes.
I’ve downloaded several apps and am pleased with the quality and fun-factor of using these new apps.
For social networking, I’ve got facebook, myspace and twitteriffic, which work great for checking and using the aforementioned sites.
For games, I’ve got the hit game Super Monkey Ball which looks and plays gorgeously and Texas Hold ‘Em poker which is loads of fun too. Etch a Sketch and lightsaber round out the rest of the game apps I downloaded, and I’m having fun playing games on my new iPhone.
AIM works ok on the new iPhone, but it sometimes crashes my phone and therefore causing a reboot. Also, why can’t it run in the background?
I have a .Mac subscription that is being upgraded automatically to MobileMe, Apple’s new internet push client/web services. I have email, contacts, calendar, and photos being auto-synched/updated on the web, my macbook and on my iPhone. It’s got a few hiccups but when it’s fully working it’ll be great for keeping data synched across the board.
I’m not too happy with the increase in subscription plan (used to be $20/month for data, now it’s $30/month) or the fact that my contract is extended to 2 years, but I feel as though I am getting somewhat of a fair deal.
Waiting in line for the new iPhone 3G was fun. I got there just before 5am and was 25th in line. A few news crews were there from 6ABC and 10NBC (Philadelphia) and the 1st person in line got lavished with tons of media attention. The people in line were friendly and the staff at the Apple Store did a good job getting me setup with the new iPhone 3G.
I also sprang for the Apple bluetooth headset and am pleased to report that it works great. The dock fits the headset and my iPhone, however snugly, to charge up the devices.
One last thing, the battery life is a bit weaker than previous, but I think it’s because I use bluetooth and 3G network, which must drain the battery.
Overall, I’m very pleased, and can’t wait to play with my new iPhone!