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Here at Blackberry Centre, our users are real users that use their Blackberries everyday.
We don’t just review for the sake of it, we actually put the devices through their stride.
The much hyped Apple Iphone 3Gis a show case of beauty, style and sophistication. Never had there been such a launch of a phone whereby customers started queuing outside O2 and the Carphone Warehouse at the crack of dawn.
When we finally got the phone after a 3 hour queue, we were disappointed to find out that due to server overload on the day of launch, we were unable to actually use the Iphone as a phone. In fact, it took O2 (the exclusive network provider for the Iphone 3G) three days to finally activate the device onto their network.
The touch screen on the Iphone works quite well, not perfect, but quite well. In fact, it is quite comfortably the best touch screen phones currently available. However, to those that have used or are using touch screen phones, it remains a doubt as to whether you can actually call up or dial a number as quickly as on a phone with keys. But that said, it was still relatively easy and responsive to use to make calls.
Call quality is OK, but one thing I did notice was that it took a while to actually get connected when making a call of which other users have noticed as well.
The email side was quite impressive. The new Iphone 3G has Microsoft Exchange Support and this was quickly put to the test. The phone synced well with the mail servers and typing emails was relatively straight forward. The Iphone 3G has a neat system that predicts the word that you are attempting to type (as the touch screen can lead to typo’s) and works very well. SMS/texting is a similar affair to emailing and allows texting to multiple (group) recipients. The only immediate downside is that you cannot forward texts on nor can you copy and paste text (the same with emails).
The battery life can only be described as poor. I have to charge the phone a good 2 to 3 times a day with proper usage, usage of which my Blackberry can last 2 to 3 days. The superb quality screen does indeed have its drawbacks and it appears that it totally canes battery life. No matter how much you tweak the settings, the battery life is mediocre if you intend to use the device fully.
The online Apps Store is a revelation. There are already so many authorised applications available that there is really something for everyone to get into. My personal favourite is iPint.
The Pro’s
- Absolutely gorgeous design
- Unbeatable fun and cool factor
- Superb web browsing capabilities
- Support’s POP3 and Exchange mail
- Apps store will keep you busy for ages
- GPS comes in quite handy
- Superb touch screen
- Camera not bad for 2MP
- Price
The Con’s
- Poor battery life
- Email although good is still not as fluid or user friendly as a Blackberry
- 3G surfing on O2 is not as fast as everyone thinks
- Scratches easily
- Cannot copy and paste text
- Cannot forward SMS
- Cannot send picture/video messages
- Contacts list can be confusing when calling a contact
- Camera quality could be better
- Camera could do with a flash
- No video recording
- Can take a while to connect a call
There may look like a lot of deficits, but what it does well on, it does very well. A refreshing and useable rival to the Blackberry which will no doubt be a top seller.
Apple Iphone 3G Review
