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iPhone... therefore I am...

11 July 2008

Posted by: Michael Lewis

Topic: Broadband , Consumer & Technology

Tags:    blog  gadget-guru  i-phone  michael-lewis  next-g-network  review  technology

Several months have past since I last wrote about the international phenomenon called the iPhone.

Its been a long wait - but just like the kids eagerly counting down the days until school holidays start - the day has finally arrived.

Apple's iPhone 3G™ is here.

What is it about this product that has captured world attention?

After all, when you strip down the hype and excitement isn't it just a combination of a mobile phone and music player with some other features thrown in?

Sure ... if you accept that the International Space Station is a Winnebago Motor Home with wings ...

The iPhone 3G™ is Apple's rite of passage - acknowledging the strengths of 3G networks, consumer needs, feedback from previous iPhone users - packaged together by the Apple design team.

Let's take a quick look inside and see what’s on offer.

Packaging

In true Apple style, the iPhone packaging is almost as stunning as the device itself. Open the sleek black box (with an actual size iPhone image on the top) and get your first glance of the real thing. Instruction manuals are kept to a minimum. Your user guide can be viewed or downloaded from Apple’s website. A useful insert is “Finger Tips” - more about this in a moment.

Once past the documentation, the charging cradle, power plug and USB cable. Completing the packaging is a cleaning cloth - something you will find very useful.

Last but not least - the SIM eject tool. Gone are the days when I unfold a paper clip to remove my SIM card.

Finger Tips

“Finger Tips” provides you with almost everything you need to know about operating your iPhone 3G™, including:

  • Activating and syncing your iPhone
  • Making a call
  • Creating your favourites list
  • Silence the ring (something we all need occasionally!)
  • Browsing your music in Cover Flow
  • Video controls
  • Message previews
  • Magnifying text
  • Zooming in on a web page
  • Get directions
  • Viewing photos
  • Changing your view

Activation - Getting Started

  1. Your iPhone 3G™ from Telstra can be activated before you leave the store. If you don’t activate it in store, you can do it at home. Make sure you have internet access.
  2. Once you get your iPhone home, you will need to download and install the latest version of iTunes from the Apple (www.apple.com) website.
  3. Connect the iPhone to your Mac or PC using the included cable and dock.
  4. Follow the computer on-screen instructions in iTunes to synchronise the iPhone with your contacts, calendars, email accounts, bookmarks, music, photos, videos and more.

Its that simple!

Navigating around the iPhone

Once upon a time it was considered bad manners to point. That changed with the advent of touch screens. The only stylus you can use on the iPhone is attached to your hand. (Hence the cleaning cloth provided ... )

Apple have introduce Multi-Touch, so that everything you do on the iPhone is controlled by your fingers.

Touch a widget (to select your activity), flick your finger across the screen to scroll through your photos and album covers, zoom in and out of a web page using your finger and thumb. Once you get used to it - you will wonder why phones did not behave like this before.

Any concerns about using a touch screen for typing soon disappear. If you are sending an SMS, the keyboard pops up and each letter you touch is magnified to improve accuracy.

What did Apple add into the iPhone 3G™ that they left out of the earlier (2G) version?

Well to start with, they made it 3G - which for most of us means they made it faster. Then they improved the mapping experience - Google maps, a satellite view, and a hybrid view of both. Turn by turn directions, and you can use the inbuilt GPS and AGPS function to track your progress.

Next they added corporate users to their customer mix - now Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync is supported - providing access to calendar, contacts and push email. If security is an issue, don’t worry. You will have secure access to corporate resources with Cisco IPSec VPN and wireless network services with WPA2 Enterprise and 802.1X authentication. Please see the Apple website for more information on Microsoft Exchange.

Apps Store is where you can get hold of the things Apple did not put on the iPhone as standard. These applications have been designed to take advantage of the features that make the iPhone experience special. Accessed through iTunes, you can find a wide array of games, business aides, lifestyle tools, reference material ... and the list goes on. The good thing is not everything costs - there are quite a few free applications on offer as well. Note that even with the free applications, you may incur download charges on the network.

MobileMe

MobileMe allows you to always be up to date - as it pushes your contacts, emails and calendar to your iPhone 3G™, wherever you are. What a bonus. Far too often I have turned off the PC, left home and realised I needed that email ...

Apple provides a 60 day free trial for MobileMe - so why not check it out.

YouTube

When I first heard about YouTube I wondered why anyone would be interested in someone else’s home movies? Then I had a look at it, and was hooked. There are so many videos to see - including “how to” guides, music clips, historic events, and my favourite – magic tricks. And with the iPhone’s wide screen, there is never reason to be bored again whist you are on the go.

iTunes

Let's not forget where the iPhone came from. As a music device, the iPhone 3G™ is the evolution of previous iPods. Scroll through your album covers, listen to your pod casts, sing out loud whilst sitting on public transport - whatever takes your fancy.

Technical Specs:

  • Dimensions: 115.5mm x 62.1mm x 12.4mm
  • Weight: 113grams
  • Colour: 8GB - Black
    16GB Black or White
  • Network: UMTS 850/1900/2100Mhz
    GSM/Edge 850/900/1800/1900Mhz
    WiFi 802.11 b/g
    Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
  • GPS: Assisted GPS
  • Display: 3.5” (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
    480 x 320 pixel resolution at 163 ppi
    Multi language and character simultaneous display
  • Camera: 2 megapixel
    Photo geotagging

As with all innovative devices, there are many out there who are quick to criticise the iPhone, without recognising its strengths.

Let me address some of their comments:

You can't upgrade its memory.
Correct - the iPhone 3G™ comes in two configurations - 8GB and 16GB. Then again, Apple have never made the iPod upgradable. Its nothing new. My suggestion - if you think you are going to fill 8Gb easily, go for the larger unit. Simple.

The battery is sealed - I cannot change it.
Correct. Again, this is nothing new. Since the first iPod hit the market all those years ago, the battery housing has been sealed.

There is no stereo bluetooth headset support.
Granted, this would be nice - but I can’t see Apple giving up its brand franchise - those thin white cables attached to so many ears around the world that are as recognisable as the Coca Cola ribbon or the Nike tick. Watch this space - it won’t be long until third party offerings will free you from the cables.

The camera is only 2 megapixels
Fair criticism - considering the number of handsets out there that have 3.2 - 5megapixel cameras today, Apple could have provided a better solution. Remember, the higher the megapixels the larger the file size. Then those detractors complaining about storage capacity and memory will have even more to cry about.

Bottom line - there are many more great features than shortcomings.
I for one am looking forward to giving the iPhone 3G™ a go. Will it be the right phone for you? I can’t answer that. But it’s a fairly safe bet that within a few months, when you walk down the street, the person to your left and right will be using one.

When I get some more quality time with the iPhone 3G™, I will update this blog with my ongoing impressions.

Until then, thanks for reading and as always, I welcome your comments.

Tell us what you think:

Comments

First commentLast comment

Richard Pontifex
4 comments
15 July 2008
4:50PM

Comment Permalink

I did ask this in the "? iphone 3G world shattering" blog without response, but hoping you can followup in relation to use of the iphone 3G in the 99% of Australia (the land mass) not covered by mobile towers every 10 km, now the iphone has landed in Australia. Are there any car kits coming to market that: 1. will make use of an external aerial that inductively couples to the iphone 3G (since it doesn't have a direct input)? 2. supply power to the iphone 3G (since long distances from a tower seem to rapidly flatten a 3G phone battery)? 3. allow input of music from the iphone into a car's stereo system, suppressing the music when a call comes in (seems to involve bluetooth which the iphone has)? My own response from the Bury company was the confusing: "Dear Richard, many thanks for your enquiry regarding our Bury product range. For the iPhone 3G is isn?t a cradle in Planning. Best regards Dean Taylor --Bury-Infoline-- Bury GmbH & Co. KG Robert-Koch-Str. 1-7 32584 Loehne www.bury.com

Bruce Kempe
1 comment
15 July 2008
4:55PM

Comment Permalink

Please note... There is no charging cradle included in the retail box version of teh 3G iPhone. Cradles can be purchased after market for anywhere from $80.00 AU upwards.

Michael Lewis
22 comments
15 July 2008
5:21PM

Comment Permalink

Thanks Bruce - my mistake. The charging cradle is not included in the pack. I have been advised that it is available through Telstra stores stocking the iPhone 3G at a retail price of $34.95.

Humble Potato
3 comments
15 July 2008
7:21PM

Comment Permalink

The iPhone's nifty, but I'd hate to use YouTube or other data-intensive apps on Next G! At $2 a meg on prepaid, an average YouTube clip would cost $20 to watch! Viewing the SMH or Age home page would cost $2 a go. $2 per page! Yes, I know Telstra is advising people to get a data pack - but $30 for 80 megs? Virgin is doing 1 gig for $15, and Optus is doing similar. This is all really sad since the iPhone should be what gets people used to mobile browsing. It won't at those sorts of data prices. Get real, guys.

Dave Kain
4 comments
16 July 2008
8:24AM

Comment Permalink

Let's not forget that iPods these days can do more then play music, they can play video too. With the touch screen instead of a keyboard you are getting pretty much the max screen size you can get for a small device. My fianc?e like's her ipod and her nokia, and it's no big deal for her to have them in a seperate device. I on the other hand don't carry around a bag, so anything that saves on available pocket space is a benefit to me. Yes some of the phone functions are missing, MMS for example...but when I think back over the last couple of years I really wouldn't of used it more then once every couple of months. For me the device will be used as an iPod first, internet device second, and traditional phone third. Those with other priorities will look at the phone a completly different way. It's not going to be the best phone for everybody, but for some of us it's not just hype.

Shane Bartholomew
1 comment
16 July 2008
8:43AM

Comment Permalink

my biggest problem is the iphones memory is only accessable by itunes,you cant use it like a portable hard drive, which is what most multimedia phones with high storage are generally used for transfering apps and documents - no office suite also hurts it and the fact it has a 2 mega pixel camera is a null point when you look at the fact it has no digital zoom , no video recording function and no low light optimization , it looks great but looks to be marketed for teenages with the functionality of a business phone

JL Mas
1 comment
16 July 2008
11:23AM

Comment Permalink

Great bit of advertising, though not as objective as I'd have preferred. The 3G iPhone: As a 3G phone, it won't earn a blue tick anytime soon, and battery life is always an issue As mobile media device, it IS an iPod touch at its heart...therefore it's brilliant! As a gaming platform, there's potential aplenty and growing fast As a GPS navigator, software and hardware are ok, but don't throw away your Tom Tom As a camera, for spontaneous snaps 2 MP passes (photographers want 10MP now anyway) As a touchscreen toy, there is no better and they ALL collect fingerprints like crazy As a fashion accessory, it's an Apple, so it goes without saying! As a mobile business platform, it's still lacking on software and answering email it fiddly As a mobile web browser it's good if you can afford data usage rates (unlimited data plan please?) In short, it's one of the best (if not THE best) all-in-one mobile devices available in Australia today. If you have the 2G version the upgrade may not be enough to draw you in, but if you're currently carrying a pocket full of electronic gadgets this may be the thing you've been waiting for...and you'll look more trendy to boot! If you're a bit more of a business user (like me) you'll find this less useful for email management than your Blackberry. Also, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from HTC! They have a Touch Pro that I HOPE we get here in Australia on NextG. The full QWERTY keyboard and features that rival or surpass the iPhone would sell me in a second! All said, competition is much stronger in this space and promises to be evolutionary, if not revolutionary, for consumers over the next 12 months. Today, however, there is only one Apple and for a style that speaks for itself, this is a must have item.

Walter Berger
1 comment
17 July 2008
9:25AM

Comment Permalink

Shame the Phone is not called the "iPhone NextG". Unless you look at the specs you can't actually tell that it can operate on the 850 NextG Network in this review.

Michael Lewis
22 comments
17 July 2008
10:49AM

Comment Permalink

Walter - would be nice I agree. We are limited on how we can represent the product in the general marketplace given Apple's branding guidelines. (You might note that all carriers worldwide are showing the same image.......) Our advertising (catalogues and press) do show the Next G logo along with the Telstra logo.

Michael Lewis
22 comments
17 July 2008
4:12PM

Comment Permalink

Richard, we are currently evaluating several car kit options for the iPhone 3G - and are definately taking into account the need to charge the device, utilise an external antenna and the ability to have your music available through the car sound system. Watch this space.

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