iPhone 3G - Two Days In

iPhone 3G
Originally uploaded by TheScream.

On Friday, I relented to my temptation and upgraded from an i-mate JasJam which has served me well for 2 years to a new iPhone 3G on Telstra.

Being fairly passionate about technology, i've followed the ups and downs of the iPhone since its v1 announcement in February 2007. I was well aware I could obtain a version 1 model and use it in Australia but I had a requirement to be able to use Exchange Activesync. (this is a Microsoft server technology that pushes email, calendar, contacts etc to your phone) The iPhone v1 software is not compatible with this technology.

So back a couple of months ago at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference 2008 they announced the rumored version 2 software and 3G hardware along with support for Exchange Activesync, I made my decision.

Fast forward to now, I've had my white iPhone 3G 16GB for two and a half days. My thoughts?

Interface

Brilliant. The only point where it fails down is where you want to quickly switch between two applications as you have to go to the home screen every time. Also, there is no cut/copy/paste functionality which can become tiresome.

Applications

We've gone back in time to the heyday of Palm where only foreground applications are actually active and running. This is a fairly frustrating point and I understand why (speed) but disallowing developers to even have a very limited background widget to perform notification tasks or retrieve data in the background is a major step backward.

There is a "push" service coming later in the year that will allow developers to utilise an apple server to push notifications to which will then allow a very small subset of actions on certain events mainly surrounding notifications.

This means that the chances of any true IM applications is slim. Sure, there will be foreground apps like AIM which is already available but switch to another app and it signs you out.

I want to be able to have an app which will wake up my phone to tell me I have an instant message, just like SMS messages.

Physical Characteristics

The phone feels slippery in my hands and I have not yet got a comfortable way of holding it in portrait orientation while typing. Getting a case for it will certainly help but I'm looking at Vaja Cases which take over a month so I'll have to find something off the shelf in the meantime.

One of my favorite "little touches" is the little switch on the left side which instantly switches to silent mode. I have heard, however, some 3rd party apps don't honor this switch and still play sound so be cautious.

Why did I choose white? The back of the 3G is made of polycarbonate. If scratched, this material will show light-gray or white coloured scratches. By selecting the white version, it will continue to look good for longer.

Maps and GPS

Fast lock-on, even indoors, live updating of your position, simply brilliant. However, it can not really be used as an in-car turn-by-turn navigation system with the existing software.

Battery

It look like if you're not doing much with the phone it could last for days without a charge. However, heavy use of the device does seem to drain the battery quickly. I'm going to put this in a category of "sitting in a charging dock when at your desk". Given my usage patterns, I'm going to estimate no better battery life than my Jas-Jam which I charged every night.

WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth

The WiFi is very quick, as is the 3G, in fact, I noticed little difference in speed between the two.

Bluetooth on this device is extremely limited and you can only use it for a headset profile. No syncing, no bluetooth modem, no file or contact transfer.

No file system

Just like the old Palm OS devices, there is no file system as such, well, not one that the end user can access. You can save photos to the photos app and access them when syncing back to your Mac or PC but nothing else. This feels limiting and weird to me.

The Telstra Factor

So why did I pay more and go for Telstra? The iPhone 3G can connect to the mobile network on GSM/EDGE at 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz and the UMTS/HSDPA 3G network at 850, 1900 and 2100 MHz.

Optus, Three and Vodafone use 900, 1900 and 2100MHz for their 3G coverage and most of that is on 900MHz towers, which the iPhone can not use.

Telstra's NextG network runs at 850MHz and covers nearly 98% of the population meaning I'll have 3G coverage where the other carriers will be lucky to get a signal.

Some may argue that you leave the metro area so infrequently it isn't worth the Telstra price, I do go on camps, hunting, etc so I want that flexibility.

I did the calculations of what it'll cost given my usage patterns with Telstra vs Vodafone and Telstra came out $10/month more expensive but with much better coverage. A no-brainer for me to choose.

Summary

Overall, I am very impressed with the device despite its limitations. As more 3rd party apps are released (there are already over 500, 1/3 of which are free) and the Apple Push service becomes available, the iPhone 3G will continue to get better and rectify some of the short-comings I've detailed here.