Apple iPhone 3G Review
Share this page:
The iPhone 3G seems to use the same 2 megapixel camera as found in the original. There are no options, and the user cannot record video. Pictures turned out above average; under artificial light there was graining and in bright sunlight some of our photos had a blue tint to them, but overall color representation was good and lines were well defined.
 |  |  |
Outdoor Samples | ||
 |  |  |
Strong Light | Medium Light | Low Light |
Indoor Samples | ||
 |  |
Again, the iPhone 3G remains unchanged. The iPhone is of course also an iPod, and it still has the incredible interface found on the first generation iPhone as well as the iPod Touch. Album art looks gorgeous, and Cover Flow is still pretty darn cool (as long as your music is properly tagged with art.) Videos look amazing on the iPhone’s large, high-resolution display. Everything just works, and while we have a video codec support gripe with Apple in general, the iPhone is still the undisputed king of multimedia phones.
 |  |
The YouTube app is still present, and allows the user to view top videos, mark favorites and search for any video. It was groundbreaking on the original, but is merely another feature in today’s market. This is a great example of how the iPhone changed the mobile industry.
 |  |
Software:
 |  |  |
Apple App Store | ||
 |  |
AIM | |
At launch there were hundreds of applications available, but we downloaded a few of the most popular ones to see how they worked. First up was AIM, which finally gave us a first party instant messaging solution for the iPhone. In theory it’s a good application, but in practice was buggy at best. The MLB At Bat app was better, offering scores and video highlights for each game. The information was near real-time, and videos of scoring plays and defensive gems were usually up within ten minutes or so. The only thing it was missing was an alert system; we’d like to be able to customize our favorite teams and get scoring alerts instead of having to manually pull the information. Sports Tap is a good fee app for comprehensive sports scores and news. It not only covers the major US leagues, but others such as F1, English Premier League, AFL and more. The AP and New York Times each have a free news app that delivers the latest headlines to your handset. The AP Mobile News App is more comprehensive, offering not only national headlines but also local news, sports and showbiz info.
 |
 |  |  |
Apple prides themselves on their simple to use, rock solid software. To our surprise the iPhone 3G wobbles here. 98% of the time it runs smoothly, but as noted earlier we’ve had the phone lag on us here and there, and downright reset a few times. It’s not as laggy as Windows Mobile can be, but it has not been as solid as the original. A major gripe we have is with syncing. Every time you plug the phone in it backs up your data, which is to be expected, but the process can take upwards of 10 minutes. There is no good reason for this, and our Windows Mobile phones can completely sync usually in under two minutes.
On launch day iTunes servers crashed, creating even longer lines, customer headaches and bricked phones. Throw in continued MobileMe issues and Apple seemed more like Microsoft on July 11th. And speaking of which, for as much as they bash Vista and its constant security pop-ups, we’re getting pretty darn frustrated with being asked if apps can access our location and entering our iTunes password every time we go back to the App Store and download something.
Share this page:
Related phones
88 Comments
1. (unregistered) posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:55 0 0
huh... so that's an overall rating of 8 for the I-Phone 3g and a 9 overall rating for the Dare well, i guess apple managed to rock the world again...... or not so much
2. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 10:08 0 0
as was brought up in the dare comments, as well as the vu, the ratings for each phone are individual. here, they were probably rating the 3g in light of the original. with the dare they said they were rating it compared to the other phones vzw offers. i dont think anyone in their right mind would think the dare is a better phone than the iphone
7. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 12:26 0 0
LOL wow the most ignorant comment ever. i happen to like the dare better, but i guess i must be crazy.
9. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 12:49 0 0
hey, is the contacts tab a standard tab now in the home screen or is it an app you can delete. cause i have seen mutliple pictures of the iphone 3g and never before have i seen the contacts tab
16. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 16:11 0 0
Ok, so lemme get this right. It's compared to the original iPhone. Well, the original iPhone got an 8.8, while this new and fabulous 3G recieved an 8.0. Also, read the last sentence in the conclusion. Apple dropped the ball. BTW...The dare actually holds signals and makes calls fast. Under signal reception only rated a 3. Sorry, I'll keep my dare. Might be a little less in the UI department (according to the fanboys). But I know I can trust Verizon to make my calls with my PHONE, and I can trust the Dare to give me the rest of the capabilities I like to have for entertainment.
32. (unregistered) posted on 15 Jul 2008, 17:39 0 0
So true fellas! 3G is close to epic fail :-) So much hype for nothing. I kind of feel bad for all the idiots in those lines to grab this POS and get raped by ATT and APPLE for mediocre device. DARE just destroys iphone no matter what fan boys say. I have Dare and I used iphone before and there is no comparison! And don;t tell me ... well it wasn't 3G ... big deal same brick with just a little more hype. No thanks :-)
60. (unregistered) posted on 19 Jul 2008, 09:52 0 0
I actually went into the store to test the Dare out. It is horrible. The review must be written by Verizon fanboys, just like most of the articles written on website. I've been a Verizon customer since '98, spend over $100 month, and would gladly pay my termination fee to get the new iphone. There really isn't a comparision at Verizon... Tired of waiting.
80. (unregistered) posted on 29 Jul 2008, 17:46 0 0
Best phone, hey come on now. If just going for basic phone features, iPhone is not that rich in features and I doubt that it has best reception and sound quality among all other phones. It's a fine product but when somebody is claiming something to be the best when there is hundreds of choices... I am sure you know also what is the best car!
3. xev (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 10:20 0 0
maybe not necessarily better, but why go through the hassle of switching carriers if you can get a somewhat similar experience and phone on ur current network, be it Verizon or at&t. both Dare and iphone 3G are good on their own grounds. but i agree that the new iphone wasnt worth switching for so many people that already had the original. besides there were ways to get gps on it anyways.
4. tgijosh (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 10:40 0 0
Still this phone has something the dare and vu dont have. The ipod on this phone is amazing and thats what seperates from the pack for me. As a train commuter it cant be beat, not having to carry 2 devices.
8. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 12:35 0 0
I'm in Boston, and taking the train means going underground, so I always turn off my phone because I can lose about one bar of battery in 20-30 minutes underground due to the continuous "searching for signal" (I currently use Verizon). I've heard the battery on this isn't great, combine that with playing music and searching for a signal for the trip there and back... I doubt I'd be able to use this to replace my phone + iPod (which plays for 10 hours on a charge) combo, no matter how convenient it is to have it in one package.
12. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 14:55 0 0
battery is quite good on the iphone..... But when you turn on 3G it's another story... But still beats everyone else in terms of battery life.. http://www.pcworld.com/article/148348/3g_iphones_mediocre_battery_life_still_beats_rivals.html
14. (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 15:20 0 0
If you're currently with Verizon you might want to check out the Pearl. You can turn the phone aspect off and just use it as a music player.
28. (unregistered) posted on 15 Jul 2008, 16:14 0 0
up to 8 gig of memory on the dare and you don't have to be stuck with DRM music. you can also now do the Rapsody subscription ans even if you buy from VZW peice by piece it's still 3 million songs at .99 ea or 1.99 over the air direct to the phone... yeah, i-pod on your phone is so much better
74. JAS39 (unregistered) posted on 21 Jul 2008, 11:09 0 0
Why don't You use flight-mode then???
5. ri0t (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 11:12 0 0
Not for nothing, I think the wow factor is still there overall for the iphone. The UI on this device alone puts all other touchscreen UI phones from LG, Samsung etc. to shame. The app store itself has some awesome apps that take advantage of the iphones accelerometer and fast processor. Overall I still think this device is ahead of it's time in many facets. Lastly, if you are that stuck on verizon being the better company over at&t well all well and good for you go with the Dare or Voyager then.
6. high hoe ontario (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 11:40 0 0
I waited for the iPhone 3g and now that I am using it to post this comment I have to say it is the best phone I have had so far. I love it
11. chunnertyme (unregistered) posted on 14 Jul 2008, 13:57 0 0
I have Verizon...checked out the Dare. Didn't really like it (the UI). Walked over to the Apple Store and picked up the 3G in white. So far, I love the phone. Yes, there are some issues but, the UI is so slick and it's still the best out there.
