[eTron]

3G of course
Thinner
Black plastic back
All metal buttons
Same display
Camera
Flush headphone jack
Much improved audio
GPS

300 hours standby
10 hours 2G talktime
5 hours 3G talktime

(copied from another thread)

I'm a little disappointed in the new iPhone personally. Would have liked to see more than 3G and GPS. The rest is all software and can be upgraded on the existing iPhone. How about a better camera, notes syncing, to-do list app / syncing (maybe app store and free hopefully), more apps with landscape mode keyboard... many more, but won't complain too much as I am still getting the white one.

Oh yeah... Stereo Bluetooth? Nothing mentioned there either... and MMS?

[aepple]

the biggest problem i had with the iPHONE beside no GPS was the service provider, at&t is the worst in my area (NY/NJ). Verizon is the best, i end up getting the voyager, unless you live in a area with good at&t service you'll end up having a good phone with bad service. I get reception where ever i'm at with verizon and i never get a drop call.

[frdmfghtr]

I'm pretty satified with the new specs, but no so much so that I'm ready to put my current iPhone out to pasture. Cell-tower triangulation works good enough for my needs, and the data speeds are also fast enough for my main use--email.

What I am seriously looking forward to is the OTA sync of calendar and contact info via .Mac (MobileMe and me.com are horrid, horrid names--I'd expect that from Microsoft). In fact, I finally paid for my trial account today to lock in my @mac.com email address.

[@pplejaxkz]

Originally Posted by aepple 

the biggest problem i had with the iPHONE beside no GPS was the service provider, at&t is the worst in my area (NY/NJ). Verizon is the best, i end up getting the voyager, unless you live in a area with good at&t service you'll end up having a good phone with bad service. I get reception where ever i'm at with verizon and i never get a drop call.

I don't own an iphone or an at&t serviced phone, but my girlfriend does. And we both live in NY and she gets terrible service in a lot of places. It's the only thing holding me back from picking up the new iphone, but even that is not enough. I plan on getting the phone regardless.

[eTron]

Originally Posted by aepple 

the biggest problem i had with the iPHONE beside no GPS was the service provider, at&t is the worst in my area (NY/NJ). Verizon is the best, i end up getting the voyager, unless you live in a area with good at&t service you'll end up having a good phone with bad service. I get reception where ever i'm at with verizon and i never get a drop call.

I couldnt agree more about the provider. AT&T is the worst provider I have ever had by far. I actually switched from Verizon to get the iPhone. I don't like talking on the phone and avoid it usually so it didn't matter that much. I get dropped or crappy reception at least once or twice a day and I only use it 2 or 3 times for calls a day... thats sad. Verizon was awesome! More problems with AT&T in a week or two than a whole year on Verizon.

[alligator]

Do we get to keep our .Mac e-mail addresses? I don't want to switch it to .mobileme.

[Helmling]

Yeah, surely they'll let us keep them.

[Visnaut]

I might get a 3G iPhone, but only if Rogers or Fido have a reasonably priced data plan here in Canada. That's it; because on hardware specs alone, the new iPhone doesn't make me want to upgrade from my 1st-gen iPhone. The speed and GPS may be nice, but as others have mentioned, the improvements are mainly in software, which I'll get anyway.

What would have made me want to upgrade would have been a higher-res camera with flash, video capture, and a forward-facing low-res camera for video chat.

[mduell]

The iPhone 2.0 leaves me looking forward to the new iTouch.

AT&T only (monthly cost, customer "service"), no physical keyboard, and no tethering aren't going to work for me. I'll take the BlackBerry Bold on T-mobile instead.

Also, the need for Apple to approve apps eliminates a lot of cool possibilities; slightly worse than BBOS (unsigned apps can use limited APIs), but a lot worse than WinMo/Symbian which can do things like phone as an access point.

[giggs11]

Wish it had MMS and Bluetooth File Transfer. Other than that, fairly satisfied, although everyone already knew it would have 3G and GPS. For $199, I can't complain.

I'm thinking I'll go with the 8 GB version. I have over 50 GB of music and videos, so the higher end one wouldn't store everything either. No point for me to get the larger one.

[Simon]

No tethering is a bummer, but I was certain we wouldn't see it anyway.

Leaving the camera the way it was is cheap, but since I don't use cell phone cameras anyway, I personally couldn't care less. The 3G, GPS, and battery life are very nice. IMHO the biggest disappointment with this release is 8/16 GB instead of 16/32 GB. I hope this will change soon. I'm anxious to see the iPod touch 2.0. Not being locked to a single carrier and an expensive plan as well as getting a 32 GB device will likely win me over.

[Randman]

I've gone from getting one for sure to waiting and seeing how reports are over the next month. Might be worth it to wait for 2.1 already having one.

[Stogieman]

Yeah, I was disappointed in the storage size. I was really hoping for a 32Gb model. My current 1st gen iPhone will hold me off until the next release. The only thing I will be missing is the 3G and GPS.

[ajprice]

Only real disappointment is the same spec camera. Will the SDK allow video capture apps so that it CAN be used for video? (I'm guessing that the same spec means still no video in the standard phone). I'm not bothered with a front facing chat camera, I've got one on my W850i and never used it. 32GB would have been nice.

The new pricing is a lot better:

8GB
£99 on £30 and £35 tariffs
Free on £45 and £75 tariffs

16GB
£159 on £30 and £35 tariffs
£59 on £45 tariff
Free on £75 tariff

I know there's a difference because of price subsidy etc, but a £99 phone on a £30 contract is a lot better than the old system (£35 minimum tariff and £269 handset price).

After the $199 announcement yesterday I was thinking the UK conversion would still be pretty bad (I was expecting it to be £129 minimum handset price, as the $199 is equivalent to an 8GB iPod nano).

There may well be an iPhone in my future in September when my contract is up.

[DigitalEl]

I wouldn't say I'm "unsatisfied," but I have some concerns and am disappointed about some things.

Disappointments:

- That plastic back. MacBook plastic on something carried as much as a phone. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
- 16 GB max? I was hoping for 32. I'm tired of having to "manage" my media.
- Camera is still lame. I want One Device to Rule Them All. A 2 MP, flashless camera doesn't cut it.
- And did I mention that plastic back?

Lastly, I was hoping the rumors about MobileMe being Apple & Google getting into bed together further were true. Just this year, I switched to Gmail, moved my pics to Picasa and had pretty-much abandoned .Mac for everything but syncing. Now Apple's bringin' it with slick Ajax web stuff. I'll definitely spring for MobileMe, but probably only for The Cloud. I can't imagine leaving Gmail. It's PERFECT... Best mail ever. And Web Gallery is crazy slow compared to the simplicity of Picasa.

Here's to hoping Google releases a native Gmail application that I can use in place of iPhone's Mail.app.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by DigitalEl 

That plastic back. MacBook plastic on something carried as much as a phone. Seems like a recipe for disaster.

Who says it's the same type of case as the BlackBook? Do we have any kind of confirmation or is that just your guess?

On Apple's iPod gallery pages and in the new TV ad the back looks a whole lot shinier than the BlackBook to me.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by DigitalEl 

Disappointments:

- That plastic back. MacBook plastic on something carried as much as a phone. Seems like a recipe for disaster.

That seems like a premature remark. without having it in our hands, there's no way to know if the plastic back will be a "disaster" beside most of the iPhones I've seen are in a case, so who cares about the back of the phone

- 16 GB max? I was hoping for 32. I'm tired of having to "manage" my media.

Agreed but I suspect the cost of memory is the major contributor here, they're pushing the lower cost aspect and you cannot have both.

- Camera is still lame. I want One Device to Rule Them All. A 2 MP, flashless camera doesn't cut it.

Oh please, I've never seen a good picture taken from a phone camera. I'd rather pictures with a digital camera that was designed to capture great pictures, not make phone calls.. There's no replacement. Having a camera on a phone can be nice from time to time but it certainly doesn't come close to what a Panasonic TZ5 can do

- And did I mention that plastic back?

Yes and the point still stands - does it even matter. Majority of people use a case [that I've witnessed] and we have no idea of the plastic's durability. I've heard a lot of complaints about the back of the older generation of iPhones getting scratched easily. There's no pleasing people it seems.

Lastly, I was hoping the rumors about MobileMe being Apple & Google getting into bed together further were true. Just this year, I switched to Gmail, moved my pics to Picasa and had pretty-much abandoned .Mac for everything but syncing. Now Apple's bringin' it with slick Ajax web stuff. I'll definitely spring for MobileMe, but probably only for The Cloud. I can't imagine leaving Gmail. It's PERFECT... Best mail ever. And Web Gallery is crazy slow compared to the simplicity of Picasa.

Here's to hoping Google releases a native Gmail application that I can use in place of iPhone's Mail.app.

I'm glad they didn't. I hate gmail, I don't like it at all. Also apple already has a product called aperture. It would send mixed messages if it started using picasa .mac isn't for everyone and if you're happy with google. Great, but that doesn't mean that apple needs to embrace google apps just because you like them

Here's my $.02 on the iphone
In general, I'm liking the specs. Overall looks like apple has done a great job, as usual, in designing it. The battery life seems a little meager with the 3g but I suppose you cannot have thinner and a larger battery. I'll wait till apple starts selling it before deciding if this is for me or not.

[lpkmckenna]

Everything seems better, but lack of BT info is unfortunate. And the fact that "flush headphone jack" is a feature is pretty ridiculous.

[Simon]

Well judging from this pic they certainly aren't using the same material as for the BlackBook.

[PHoynak]

The one thing I see is that there is no dock included now. If you want one you have to pay $49 extra. That cuts into the savings off the 1st generations cost. I will have to see one in person to decide if the plastic vs metal back makes a difference.