Anand Reviews the Apple iPhone 3G
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 16, 2008 8:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Look and Feel
The iPhone 3G feels slightly bigger all around, but Apple sloped the edges more to mask some of the increase in dimensions. The back also protrudes out more, making it feel like a larger device in your hand, but not uncomfortably large.
If the old iPhone felt perfect in your hands, this one is going to feel a little big. If the old one felt small, the iPhone 3G is going to feel perfect. It’s really more of an anatomy question to anything else.
The back is now glossy black or white plastic, although the white back is only an option if you buy the 16GB phone. Everyone I was in line with seemed to want a black iPhone 3G, I went for white as a tribute to the original iPod...that and it just looks different in my opinion, I’ve always had black or silver phones.
Ditching aluminum for plastic meant that weight went down ever so slightly (135g down to 133g). Compared to a Blackjack or most other smartphones, the iPhone 3G is definitely heavy, but it’s something you get used to over time.
The plastic back does make the phone feel less likely to slide out of your hand, whereas the old iPhone did feel slippery thanks to its brushed aluminum backside. I have no idea if this thing will actually fly out of my hand less than the original iPhone (which I have launched a number of times), it just feels like there’s more grip.
Out with the old and in with the new
The back does feel far less durable, and while my old screen never scratched, I do expect to mar the pretty white backside of this thing as I’m not big on protective cases. I tend to go through technology fairly quickly (my old iPhone is going to my dad), so I’d prefer not to deal with the added bulk of a case.
Yes, it still gets greasy as ever
The front of the iPhone remains largely unchanged, you’ve got a single home button and a large multi-touch screen. The screen itself does appear to be different from the original iPhone, but size, shape and resolution remain identical:
The original iPhone (left) vs. the new iPhone 3G (right) - note the slight difference in screens
The rest of the buttons on the iPhone 3G are identical in number and function to the first iPhone, you’ve got a power/lock/silence-calls button at the top right of the device, a ringer switch on the left side and a volume rocker. The buttons are now chrome and have a slightly more distinct feel during their operation.
The headphone jack is no longer recessed meaning you can use any 1/8” plug in the iPhone 3G.
Ohwowthankyou.
The recessed jack on the original iPhone didn’t bother me at first since I always used my iPhone earbuds. As time went on I’d forget my earbuds and have to use something else or if I’d find myself at someone else’s house without a way of plugging my iPhone into their receiver, it sucked.
The original iPhone looked and felt like something that was meant for 2007, and I’d say that the new iPhone continues the trend. It’s a very modern looking phone and I do actually prefer the way the new back looks, although I liked the smaller size of the older phone (admittedly I do have small hands, good for overclocking things).
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Sunrise089 - Friday, July 18, 2008 - link
Wow I wish I had first comment here so I could get a response.In Anand's otherwise near-perfect review, he talked about Exchange support but didn't cover my #1 iPhone question: does Exchange support work without the $45 Enterprise Data plan? I can't for the life of my get a conclusive answer if the Enterprise plan is required for exchange, or just required if the iPhone is going to be purchased or paid for through a business.
araczynski - Friday, July 18, 2008 - link
i'm still holding out for the day the iphone comes with some real screen resolution.if the N810 can do much better than this, why can't the almighty apple?
sleepr0 - Friday, July 18, 2008 - link
Lets see:- The 3G doesn't fit the old cradle and the cradle is not included - $15.
- Old cover doesn't fit - $20.
- Unlimited data up $10/month.
- Text up $5/month.
- Cellular triangulation works nearly as well as GPS.
- 3G not significantly faster than Edge and all the new users will take a load off of the Edge network, freeing up bandwidth and making Edge a bit faster.
- Battery life worse.
I'll wait for Version 3, thanks.
wvh - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Why do you buy a new phone when you are happy with your old one – it has pretty much the same functionality anyway? What is wrong with all those people who buy something just because Apple (or whoever) releases it? All these morons queueing up, did they all accidentally happen to break their phone the day before?It's a nice in-depth article, no remarks there, I've just heard enough already about this consumer hype. It's just talking people into fake needs.
Blast me for being negative, but you know I'm right.
michael2k - Friday, July 18, 2008 - link
The problem is that people aren't happy with their old one, and it doesn't have the same functionality, so that is why they queue for the iPhone. So essentially all your base assumptions are wrong.There is nothing wrong with these people; there is something wrong with the RZRS et al they already own, because they were broken the minute they bought them. No accident, they were just made that way.
Giacomo - Friday, July 18, 2008 - link
No, actually you aren't right. You could be, if we were here to make free-philosophy, but that's not the case, we're here to talk about hardware (and related).So then, you are accusing the mass of an excess of "hype" around the iPhone, and well, while it's definitely true that many of those people will buy it for "trendy" purposes, there are surely others (like me) who are about to buy it because they just like it and could benefit from it. In my particular case, I have lost my iPod Mini (...) and my cellphone is at its 4th year of life, with the keyboard almost died (intense 20.000+ sms usage in these years). The iPhone, by simply being, to me, an iPod which calls and writes sms, is great to have both the devices in the "main" pocket.
Full comfort over the whole year (no matter what clothes I'm wearing, the front/right pocket does ALWAYS have my cellphone inside, and thanks to the iPhone, the iPod as well), a brilliant keyboard for my heavy SMS usage, and I could be happy without anything else. Plus, there's something else actually, and I'll surely enjoy.
If we had to think like you in your post, we should all tell you: Why do you read Anandtech? You can live with a 5 years old PC without problems nor upgrades, if you just use some Office, browse the web and check your mail. If you game, well, that's energy consuming, money-wasting, time-wasting, and you should quit. But, of course, none in here would say that to you, neither would I.
Regards
Giacomo
scottwilkins - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
First, I've had AT&T for years. Never stepped in a store, and never talked with them about a purchase. They were very helpful and darn quick about replacing my wife's phone when it died. AT&T is the easiest to work with (and I work with most of them because I support a lot of folks on different networks) Plus, the AT&T signal in the places I go beats out all others hands down. So for you to say their signal is bad is very objective and quite stupid, since you did it only probably in one room and not overall.Also, your indications that other phones can't do what the iPhone can do are all false. One thing the iPhone CAN'T do that many many other phones can do is change. It can't change it's interface to suit other purposes, it can't change it's battery, and it can't change carriers. The 3G's only add over the old iPhone is 3G and GPS. All other features are software, and now available on the original iPhone. So an upgrade is useless until you contract is up.
Apple is a closed box. I prefer freedom.
michael2k - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Uh, with a soft interface and touchscreen, the iPhone is just about the only device where it's interface can change as needed; you get two buttons when in Camera mode, 20+ in Calculator mode, 26+ in note-taking mode, etc.Ryl3x - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
I will buy at lunch. I read alot of reviews over the web including sites that dedicate themselves to phones. I found this to be one that i could relate to. Thanks.DeesTroy - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
My younger brother works for Garmin. You almost certainly won't get voice directions, at least not for free. The licensing agreements with the few companies that make the maps used in mapping software (e.g. Navteq) are very specific about what you can and can't do with the maps they provide. The mapping companies currently charge significantly more if you want to do voice directions. Nokia's purchase of Navteq makes a huge lot of sense given what one can do with maps, a GPS, and Internet all in one package. All of this is probably part of the reason that Garmin is getting into the phone business with the nuvifone.