iPhone 3GS Review

Ok so I have been using the iPhone for a couple of weeks now and thought I would share my thoughts on it. Yes this is my opinion so if you don't care or don't want to know stop reading, but the beauty of the internet (thanks Al Gore) is that I can push my opinion upon all of my friends.


Ok for a little history, I have been a cell phone junkie (no relation to azcellphonejunkie ) for the past 10 years. I have had many many cell phones during that time (Moto V60i, LG Vx-600, Moto V710, Moto E815, Moto MPX-220, BB6750, BB7750, Treo 700, Treo 750, Moto SLVR L7, HTC 6700, HTC Mogul, HTC Touch Pro, iPhone 3gs) with several different carriers (Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint). Ok so that is my credibility on reviewing cell phones (as if I need one since this is the internet).

Now to get to the point at hand. Review of the iPhone 3GS:
Pros:
- Overall touch functionality. Works much better than any previous touch phone I have used.
- Internet browsing is phenomenal. Much better than any other cell phone I have ever owned. The "Pinch" to zoom in and out is great. I can visit and use sites that I could not on my previous phones. Basically I can use the internet on the iPhone without getting frustrated.
- Voice Command. This works very well. I would say works a bit better than Microsoft Voice command.
- The App Store. This is great as pretty much whatever you want is at your fingertips. If you want a meaningless fun time killing game, you've got it. If you want a meaningless cool thing to show off to your friends, you've got it. If you want a useful app like your AT&T usage or your insurance info, you've got it. In other words there is almost something for everything you need.
- Supports corporate email. Supports syncing with Exchange. If it could not do this I would not have purchased it. You can search the GAL, however it is one step to hard in my opinion, but it can be done.
- Very quick and easy to use "vibrate" mode. Simply flick the physical switch on the side of the phone and you are in vibrate mode.
- The built in apps. Comes with a Calculator, Clock/Alarm, Google Maps, Weather, Stocks, etc.
- Pretty neat text messaging interface
- Just the inherent touch usability works great
- Visual voicemail is really cool. Being able to see at a glance who left a vm is awesome
- Video editing. Very neat built in utility to edit video on the fly.
- IPod functionality. Typical IPod interface which works well for me as my car stereo supports an IPod.

Ok now for the Cons (I have to believe Apple did not spend much money on market research as there are some pretty basic functions that are missing)
- Not able to add custom ringtones for text messaging. Even after several software updates (I am on the latest version 3.1) this is still not an option.
- Due to the amount of corporate email I receive it is not an option to turn on a notification every time I receive an email. Therefore I have become a custom to a visual notification at the top of my Windows phones that I have a new email. The only way to know if I have a new email is to hit the power button on the phone, then unlock the phone, then look to see if I have a new email. I would like to be able to hit the power button and by looking at the lock screen know if I have a new email.
- I would like to be able to utilize the "Horizontal" flipping function with my thumb. What I mean is I have become a custom to being able to flip through messages using a left>right motion with my thumb. On the iPhone I have to go to the top of the screen and hit the previous/next button.
- In the "Phone" app I would like to be able to view my "Favorites" with the pictures I have associated with.
- In the phone app I would like to be able to start dialing a number and any contact that matches the number of name (from the letters associated with the number) pops up. Again I have become used to this from Windows phones. Basically if the contact is not in your favorites, or you can't use voice command it is hard to dial a contact quickly.
- I would like to be able to view the current day’s calendar appointments at a glance. Maybe on the lock screen or something.
- Camera has not zoom or a flash. I have never been an advocate of utilizing my phone as a camera but these two things are pretty common now a day on cell phones. Very surprised they are not included.
- Can't utilize themes unless you Jailbreak the phone.
- Can't easily turn on/off Comm utilities. You have to go into settings then a sub-menu to turn on/off Bluetooth, WI-Fi, Location info. Again if you jailbreak the phone then you can download an app to add this functionality

So in summary it is a pretty useful smart phone that could be improved. I do not regret switching as it performs the functions I need and is very useful with cool apps. However the Touch Pro is the most comprable Windows phone I have used.

 

I didn't mention the reception/call quality as that is more dependent on where a person lives. In my area all three carriers that I mentioned have good reception/quality. The one thing I have noticed with AT&T from both times I have been with them is I typically have a better signal inside of buildings (I have to assume this is GSM related). Like in my house on Verizon/Sprint I get 0-1 bars, but with AT&T I get 2-3 bars. Now if we are talking about data coverage I think Sprint/Verizon has better 3G coverage than AT&T. I have noticed my iPhone switching between Edge and 3G quite often, whereas my previous phones, I rarely saw it switch to 1X. Then again though most of the time it switches I am in a building so I still have a signal (even though it may be edge) and with the other carriers I would be dropping calls.

 

Wow that lock screen and mail icon are exactly what the doctor is ordering!!! Now I will just have to wait for the new redsn0w since I updated to 3.1 already (don't ask why cause I really don't know why other than that is the way I am programed to update to the latest and greatest) So no jailbroken apps for me right now.