Living With The Apple iPhone 3G
July 11th 2008 saw the much-anticipated release of Apple’s iPhone 3G, the long-anticipated successor to the original 2G version. The advantages for ‘on the move’ internet browsing were so apparent that many observers believe that it was responsible for the lower than expected sales of the 2G version on initial release. Certainly there was a degree of ‘stock dumping’ in the form of a £100 price cut by O2 in the weeks preceding the announcement of the 3G launch date. This led to the bizarre situation where it was cheaper to buy an 8Gb 2G iPhone than the equivalent iPod Touch which lacks the phone technology!
By common consent, the day of the launch was a disaster! Reminiscent of the Heathrow T5 debacle, queues formed at Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores that quickly ran out of stock yet couldn’t even register the phones that they did have. Impatient and frustrated would-be customers were given various explanations and excuses for the failures but, ultimately, the blame must lie with O2. In an attempt to avoid the ‘unlocking’ of phones from the O2 network that bedevilled the 2G version – only possible because the phone was purchased separately from the contract – the contract for the 3G version must be taken out at the time of purchase and for whatever reason, the O2 network infrastructure could not cope with the entirely foreseeable demand. That, combined with yet another ‘system failure’ that saw the loss of manually-collected customer details at the point-of-sale, merely exacerbated the frustration of customers already at breaking point.
With those problems overcome however, does the product merit the hype? Overall, I would say yes. Although some of the features don’t quite live up to expectations – that searching the phonebook sometimes seems to take an inexplicably long amount of time and the ‘swipe to scroll’ interface can lack immediacy are just two examples of areas that I would expect to see improved in a future software update – the majority of the interface and functions simply feel so ‘right’ that it is difficult not to fall in love with the device. Some of the features may seem like ‘data-feed gadgetry’ for the sake of it (I can’t see anyone to whom it really matters relying on the ‘Stock Prices’ or ‘Weather’ functionality…) but there are really useful features too, such as the GPS location facility and the high-speed internet browsing and email functions that are available whenever you have a 3G signal. This really comes into its own if you subscribe to Apple’s MobileMe service with its ability to synchronise your mail, calendars, contact details and browser bookmarks across iPhone, Mac and Windows PCs and MobileMe platforms. This shouldn’t be revolutionary but for the small business user who has not been able to justify the use of a full Microsoft Exchange installation, it is. Give yourself a week of using it and you will wonder how you survived before!
So, what are the downsides? Only one really – battery life! Industry-watchers discussing the 3G iPhone before its release identified this as a likely problem as 3G is much more power-hungry than 2G. To be fair, it’s no worse than other 3G phones with a full battery lasting a day of average usage. The catch though is what’s meant by ‘average usage’. Here the iPhone is a victim of its own success – it’s simply so usable that you just want to keep using it! The 3G, wi-fi and large, well backlit screen all have high power demands and the need to get through a working day on a single charge may, just may, mean that you will have to ration your usage. My solution though would be to invest in a second charging unit for the desk and then not worry about it.
My advice? Get one tomorrow – you won’t be disappointed!!
This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:59 am and is filed under Articles, Hints and Tips, IT Advice . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
