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Apple’s iPhone 3G: The Verdict

Apple’s iPhone 3G: The Verdict

Apple’s iPhone 3G is out, the euphoria has died down a little, and the verdicts are surfacing. Business Week’s Olga Kharif opines that the new and improved iPhone is definitely a winner compared to the original, but needs a little more polishing. The subsequent verdicts have been based on her experience with the iPhone 3G.

Price-wise and capability-wise, the new iPhone 3G is comparable to Research In Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Curve, and Samsung’s Instinct. However, maintenance costs make iPhone more expensive. The new iPhone, on an average, would need maintenance costs upto $100 per month, which would be on par with what one would spend on a Samsung Instinct every month, and much higher than the $30 a month for the BlackBerry Curve.

Design-wise, the iPhone 3G is nicer looking because it’s sleeker than the original iPhone. It fits neatly into the palm because of a new curved back.

The software of the new iPhone 3G is the best part about it, says Kharif. Features such as sending photos received via mail directly to photo albums, and the availability of keyboard languages in 20 different languages make it a good choice across ethnicities. The Safari browser allows eight tabs to be open at once, unlike any other smartphone.

However, the coolest thing that the new iPhone brings along is the Apps. There are hundreds of them to choose from. At the same time, Kharif finds iTunes to be a disappointment, mostly thanks to the complexities involved with it. Luckily, or maybe not, the Indian consumer will not face this issue in the near future, since it isn’t available here yet.

Another downer is iPhone 3G’s GPS, which isn’t fully integrated with the preloaded software. Next in the line is the smartphone’s 152-page user manual, without which, a user might be left dazed and confused. Apple also conducts tutorials at stores in the US for users to get over their iPhone 3G dilemmas.

Other downers included 3G connectivity problems with regards to the Microsoft Exchange servers, and the touch-screen, which takes some getting used.

All in all, the review finds Apple’s iPhone 3G to be good, but not quite the perfect smartphone that woos every individual. But then, no device is perfect, and its usefulness is relative. It should be interesting learn about how the Indian masses rate this Apple product once it’s launched with its full-fledged services here.

[Thanks: http://www.techtree.com]