[B Gallagher]

Hello all,

I'm considering picking up an iPhone 3G sometime in the next few months. I was just wondering if people here could post their thoughts of what it's like to use. I've read a few reviews back when it first came out, but was hoping to get some feedback from those who would have been using it for many months. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Maflynn]

How do you envision using it? Ultimately it all comes down to usage and expectations.

I bought my iPhone last december and have been quite please with nearly all of that the iPhone has to offer. The only thing that dislike about the iPhone is its battery. I'm used to not worrying about charging a phone any from 3 days to almost a week. My 3 year old backberry holds a charge longer then my new iPhone - 3 to 4 days. I've improved things by turning off the 3g component, turning on the airplane mode when feasible. All in all, I can easily get two days out of a single charge, perhaps three if I really got aggressive with that.

I tend to use my iPhone for email, little music (very little, since I still have/use an ipod classic), surfing the web, and some light games, bejeweled for instance.

I'm generally very pleased with my decision to purchase the iPhone and I don't have any regrets. Aside from the battery that I just mentioned it has exceeded my expectations but as with any electronic device YMMV

[Big-C]

I'd say that the iphone has been a game changer for me. I use it for nearly everything I can: audiobooks, music, movies for when I take a flight (I can fit 4 movies + TV shows on 16gb model), the camera (not great, but is always available. The various To Do apps are stellar (you'll have to decide which is best for you), and the fact that I can choose which one I want is fantastic. Games are a nice diversion, and the internet works great for me. I am using mobileme, so the need to synchronize by plugging into my desktop is greatly minimized. Having photo's of my family easily accessible was great too.

Last week I took my first trip without a laptop and relied on the iphone for everything, and it went off without a hitch. Not one single problem. I was extremely pleased, and was able to travel extremely light. I was the only one at the conference room table jotting notes on the phone and emailing them to myself for later review.

While the battery doesn't last for days (I charge nightly), it lasts longer than any smart phone I've ever owned, and I certainly do more with this phone (listed above) than I've ever done with other smart phones.

Negative comments: I wish the camera was better, especially with all the photo manipulation apps out there. I wish ATT service was ubiquitous with full bars of 3g everywhere I went even underwater, but that's not the case either. Keyboard: to each his own, but I had no problems reading/writing email from my iphone.

For my situation/life, the iphone has exceeded my expectations. After reading all that, I feel like some huge geek. Time to go outside...

Anyway, good luck.

[Todd Madson]

I'm a pro apple person anyway but after four years of blackberries I've finally got a phone I actually enjoy using.

No complaints here.

What are you waiting for?

[ide3308]

Agreed, I have countless friends that have the 3g phone and they all love it. One uses it as a stereo constantly and her battery lasts for a few days. I have a Touch but play with theirs all the time. You won't regret it, especially if you live in a big city with a 3G network.

[shifuimam]

I love mine. A ton. And I'm not remotely a pro-Apple person, so to speak.

I use mine constantly for on-the-go web access for stuff like price comparisons. Just this past weekend we used mine so that the boyfriend's family could check out Outback Steakhouse's menu in order to place a curbside pickup order. It's GREAT for stuff like that.

I also use it with my work's Exchange server, so I always have access to email. That was indispensable on Sunday, when we had some major issues with a production website...I wouldn't have been in the loop nearly as quickly without my iPhone alerting me every time a new email came in.

It's also great for playing games while on the porcelain throne.

[mduell]

What's your priority?

Great for browsing the web.
Ok for apps (the apps aren't that good but they're easy to find).
Poor for messaging.

[shifuimam]

I would disagree...I've found some awesome games, and the official AIM client is pretty rad. I also use TwitterFon and the Facebook app fairly regularly, and an app to keep track of mileage and gas costs for my car.

I have no problems using the keyboard, but I also have tiny girly hands. Boyfriend has big man hands, though, and he hasn't had any issues, either.

[B Gallagher]

Wow. Firstly, thank you all for the rather in-depth replies. Exactly what I was looking for.

I txt/SMS quite frequently. I don't call too much, but that may change. I'm starting work next month, so will be looking for a great way to keep all my contacts and schedule with me at any time. Having a MBP and a MobileMe account already, an iPhone seems to be the best way to keep everything in sync.

I can't see myself using a spectacular amount of apps, but of course, this may vary after I start using it for a while. Music would probably be the thing I would use it for the least, as I've tried to cut down my headphone usage as much as possible in the past couple of years. Web browsing is a very nice bonus.

My main concern is how much I txt/SMS. I quite like that I can just remember which key works for which letters, and type without actually looking at, and focusing completely on, my phone.

Does typing on the iPhone get a lot better once it gets used to particular words you type out a lot? Also, if you turn it horizontal, the keyboard gets bigger, right?

Thank you again for your comments. Keep them coming!

[Simon]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Poor for messaging.

Nonsense.

Anybody who's used the iPhone KB for a while will be able to type just fine. So far everybody I have heard criticize it are people who have typed on it for ten minutes, had trouble, and concluded it's crap.

[Simon]

The iPhone is simply the best phone I have ever used.

It's easy to find phones with more features or better specs, but they're either unusable or unenjoyable. And as we all know, if it aint easy to use (or no fun to use) you won't use it.

[B Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Nonsense.

Anybody who's used the iPhone KB for a while will be able to type just fine. So far everybody I have heard criticize it are people who have typed on it for ten minutes, had trouble, and concluded it's crap.

Haha, I'm afraid I would be one of those people. I really need to get down to a shop and just try typing on it for half an hour or so.

In all seriousness, how long does the keyboard take to get used to?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by B Gallagher 

In all seriousness, how long does the keyboard take to get used to?

I'd say after about one or two weeks I didn't notice any improvement in my typing anymore.

Now, I'd challenge anybody to a typing contest. Most colleagues at work are quite amazed when they see how fast I can type on the iPhone's software KB. I think once again Apple's implementation with the built-in correction is what sets it apart from other products.

[JKT]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Nonsense.

Anybody who's used the iPhone KB for a while will be able to type just fine. So far everybody I have heard criticize it are people who have typed on it for ten minutes, had trouble, and concluded it's crap.

It isn't the typing that is the issue - if you are heavily into SMS, then be aware that the current iPhone OS has some stupid limitations such as an inability to forward any messages or delete individual messages (it shows you all messages from the same person as a thread like in iChat but you can't delete just one message - you have to delete the whole lot, which is unbelievably ridiculous). Not really an issue for me as I don't text that much and I can wait for them to get off their behinds and fix their crummy implementation in the next update. Also be aware that MMS is not supported (if you bother to use it or have friends that send you them). Again, not an issue for me as I've only ever received one MMS in my life and I certainly haven't sent any.

Anyway, despite its flaws (and they are numerous), my view of the iPhone is that it is still an awesome piece of kit and I now have zero regrets getting one - being able to access the internet from anywhere is quite a life-changer. What I would say, however, is that Apple should hang their heads in shame at the appalling state of the iPhone OS 2.0 on its release (a bug-riddled, crash-athon that really soured my first impressions). It is only now that we are 2.2.1 that things are as good as they should have been at the start - I still have the occasional crash but they are now truly occasional (once a week or so) rather than every few hours.

Btw, I would forget about worrying about typing. Once you start, you quickly get used to the non-physical keyboard and I now type on it almost as fast as I do on a full-sized desktop. Fwiw, I have also found that I much prefer it in portrait view now I am used to it - landscape takes up too much screen real estate and, because I am now more proficient with the portrait view, the keys are actually too far apart in comparison and I end up making more mistakes in landscape.

There are three things to know that make the iPhone keyboard awesome to use:

1. Tap holding

(a) Tap and hold the number button when in alphabet view then slide your finger to a symbol to input it when you release - the view will revert back to the alphabet automatically - you don't have to tap release, select symbol, then tap the now alphabet button to go back to the original alphabet view - this is great for entering numbers, commas, etc. quickly (this works in reverse too, if you need to input numbers in the main with the occasional letter); (b) similarly, you can auto-capitalise letters by tap holding the shift key, sliding to the letter and releasing, without having to set a permanent shift; (c) if you want to insert a special character e.g. é, just tap and hold the appropriate letter then select from the pop-up; (d) if you want to input e.g. .co.uk instead of .com, just tap and hold the .com button when present.

2. Double tap the shift key - converts it into a caps lock

3. Auto-correction - on the whole, it works extremely well. So long as the correct letters you meant to type are in close proximity to the ones you actually entered on the keyboard, you can type apparent gibberish and the iPhone will still get the right word for you. Additionally, you don't have to type "don't" to get it, just "dont" and an apostrophe will automatically be added for you - the same applies to many other contractions and I is auto-corrected from i, etc.

There are two annoying exceptions to this generally excellent behaviour - "its" is always, always, always auto-converted to "it's" and "f*ck" (n.b. not the asterisked version) is always converted to duck.

4. (I know, I said three)... the way the character pops-up above your finger when you tap a letter. From what I have heard, other onscreen keyboards on other phones don't do this and you would be surprised at what a difference to your typing proficiency that seeing what you hit with your finger makes. I can say this because I occasionally hit a bug that causes it not to happen when typing in passwords in some apps! A "did I or didn't I press that" moment is not something you will want to experience.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by ide3308 

One uses it as a stereo constantly and her battery lasts for a few days. .

Few days ? I can hardly believe that claim, even if it was in airplane mode.

-t

[osiris]

Overall the iPhone is amazing - email, apps, browsing, etc. It is an amazing piece of technology.

My negatives:
The battery is rather poor - I can milk 2 days out of it if I just check email and voicemail.
I actually bought a cheap external battery to supplement real world use (which kills the battery in less than 12 hours)

Also, no picture messaging. It's arguably insane to rely on a non-instantaneous medium for delivery of something that could be instant. I've waited over 12 hours to receive a pic that someone five feet from me just sent.

If you can get over these two picky issues, I think you'll love the iPhone.

[gradient]

It's the best phone I've ever had, hands down.

On the battery life side of things, I don't have any issues. I regularily get 2-3 days on one charge with regular browsing, constant emailing and slightly less then frequent voice calls. What makes the biggest difference is turning off wifi if you don't need it and lowering the brightness of the screen. It's too bright turned all the way up anyway - I usually keep it at 50% which makes a HUGE difference in battery life.

[B Gallagher]

Thanks again for all your comments - I went down and had a play with it for a while yesterday - typing turned out not to be much of a problem as I expected, at least not speed wise. I am just so used to blindly typing out SMS while I'm walking, and not really being able to do that will take a bit of getting used to.

The battery issues people have mentioned don't bother me too much. My current cellphone was bought in December 2005 in Japan, and needs charged on a daily basis. So even if the iPhone can only give double than that, it's still a huge plus for me.

Picture messaging I've barely used. So I don't see that being much of a problem.

The lack of copy & paste still confuses the hell out of me, but hey, there's always future software updates. With that, I've read someone saying that if you don't need it right now, wait, as there will likely be a new one released in a few months. But, honestly, aside from storage, I can't see there being much available on the new one that isn't on the current model. And what would be new, could always be added with a software update, right?

What typing methods do you use? Single finger, multi-finger? I'm right handed, and holding the phone with my left, and typing with my index or middle finger on my right hand seemed to work well.

Since it can't delete single messages, only whole conversations, does anyone know what the message storage limit on the iPhone is?

Thanks again. I'm feel much more confident about getting one than I was a few weeks ago.

[B Gallagher]

Oh - and if you have any suggestions or comments about cases/screen covers, please let me know too. Greatly appreciated.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by B Gallagher 

The lack of copy & paste still confuses the hell out of me, but hey, there's always future software updates. With that, I've read someone saying that if you don't need it right now, wait, as there will likely be a new one released in a few months. But, honestly, aside from storage, I can't see there being much available on the new one that isn't on the current model. And what would be new, could always be added with a software update, right?

For some reason, I wouldn't count on copy & paste. I taste spite.

Originally Posted by B Gallagher 

What typing methods do you use? Single finger, multi-finger? I'm right handed, and holding the phone with my left, and typing with my index or middle finger on my right hand seemed to work well.

I use my index finger most of the time, sometimes the thumb or middle finger help.

Originally Posted by B Gallagher 

Since it can't delete single messages, only whole conversations, does anyone know what the message storage limit on the iPhone is?

I don't know - perhaps the limit is based on available free memory. It's asinine to keep conversations in a single string imo, I'd hate to lose a conversation because I hit a limit.

Originally Posted by B Gallagher 

Thanks again. I'm feel much more confident about getting one than I was a few weeks ago.

You'll love it, and once you get over the games & fart apps, you might actually find the iPhone quite productive. cheers!

[ph0ust]

you can't go wrong with it in my opinion. i just switched from my blackberry curve a week ago. my thoughts are:

1) best cell phone i have used (i am talking about the phone part). while it takes a step or two more to make a call, the call quality, feel in my hands and during-call functions are way better than any other cell phone i have ever had.

2) the apps are just awesome. there is an app for almost everything. makes things really, really convenient.

3) judging from the unveiling of the v3 OS today, things are going to get way better.

if you have a mac, it is even more enticing as it integrates so damn well with a mac that it is a no brainer.

if you get one, you will almost definitely be happy. good luck.

[- - e r i k - -]

As far as I can tell there is no limit on how many messages the iPhone can store - unlike other phones that use a separate memory area for text messages, iPhone can use the whole lot. And since texts don't take up a minuscule amount of space, that's a whole lot. Think more than you could write in a lifetime.

Oh yeah, and pretty much any grievances with SMS (forwarding, deleting) is now fixed in 3.0.

So what's left to whine about really?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

So what's left to whine about really?

Somebody will complain that in 3.0 you still can't send an MMS to several people at once if it contains more than one photo and at least two ringtones attached to it. We will have a two page discussion about how crucial this is for business users®. Business users® will then proceed to point out that the iPhone is fun for games and stuff but without that feature it will never work in the corporate field. Meanwhile somebody will have a screenshot of a new secret BB with a web browser that for the first time supposedly won't suck. Somebody will point out that Google has announced this very feature for Android v12 to be released in 2018. A flame war will then ensue over the question if RIM will still be around by then.

You don't seriously think there won't be enough left to whine about, do you?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

So what's left to whine about really?

Oh and BTW, Flash whining 2.0 has just been kicked off in the other thread.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by tvaughan 

any online details available

You mean apart from the Apple website and the complete video stream of the presentation?

[B Gallagher]

Thanks again to all those who posted here - I got myself a white 16GB iPhone one week ago, and absolutely love it.

[kylef]

Glad to hear it - I've just upgraded from a 2G to a 3G and find it incandescently better!

[Gator Lager]

Ok I was going to bite the bullet and finally get a iPhone tomorrow. I was reading online about the rumors about the next gen iPhone.

My current AT&T POS cell phone is fully functional. But I'd like to get an iPhone (since I have the ability to purchase something one day and the next day they come out with the newest better bestest thing )

So the question is.
Is the iPhone due for the next mod/upgrade anytime soon?

[Simon]

June.

[B Gallagher]

Yep, June is what all reports seem to say. I would have waited, but my old phone was dying.

[Gator Lager]

thanks for the reply's.

Oh well, I've waited this long. Ain't gonna kill me to wait a wee bit longer.
come on june.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Gator Lager 

thanks for the reply's.

Su're thing - your welcome.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Su're thing - your welcome.

Awe'some.

-t

[Simon]

Were s'o funn'y tod'ay. Yippee!

[Spheric Harlot]

It may have been too subtle, but at least I *tried* to make it look grammatically sound.

[Simon]

That really made a difference!

[kenna]

June, June, June!!!

[kookie]

As many people were looking forward to the new iPhone 3g But the PRICE was a put off to many .There was many negitive points when it came out but I still wanted one. When it came to my birthday to my great suprise I was given a iphone 3g on pay as you go.Now I could see for myself , despite NO bluetooth not being able to send pic text etc ,It could however send emails but whos mobiles has email not many , Basicly not as good as my old mobile did not care it looked great! used more than my old mobile looked great! Got it moneys worth out of it wouldn't change it for any other phone best ever!
happy kookie

[wake266]

it will blow your mind.