Got up at 5am this morning, was 18th in line and got a shiny new 8gb 3g iPhone. They had PLENTY in stock, but I'm glad i got there early, it was a hot day and the line was a good 200 people long by the time the store opened.
I'll just do a quick run down of the different points that have stood out to me today;
FEEL
I like the feel better, it just seems to fit better in your hand. Less of a feeling that its going to slip out at any moment like the previous Gen, partially I think due to the plastic vs. aluminum as well as the new shape.
BUILD QUALITY
Superb, just like the first one. Nothing creaks or cracks, its very very solid. Even the plastic back feels thick and solid. So far the black does show fingerprints and smudges pretty well, but they wipe off VERY easily, even with my shirt or shorts. That being said, you only REALLY notice them when in direct sunlight. In most situations, I really don't even notice it at all.
SCREEN
A warmer version of the previous gen, almost a bit of a yellowish tinge, compared to the bluish tinge to the previous gen. Colors seem more vivid and natural to me, Contrast is improved IMO as well. You do lose some detail with the higher contrast, but IMO its a welcome trade off as to my eyes it looks better.
INTERNET
Well its supposed to be faster, but AT&T has dragged their asses with 3G here in Sarasota for well over a year now. It was originally supposed to be turned on in early 2007, then late 2007, then spring 2008, then summer 2008. Well, its was still not on. I called twice last week and was assured by corporate and a local store that 3G would be turned on any day, and would definitely be on by 3G Launch day. Well, its not. Now they are saying hopefully next week, but no later than mid August Bastards, I know the people I spoke to have no control over it, but AT&T is just really crappy with turning this on. So for now, its the same as the old, Edge.
GPS
Have to say, I'm impressed. Locked on my position within 3-4 seconds and was even able to very accurately track me while speeding down the highway going 75mph. Maybe its a function of where I live (not many obstructed views of the sky down here), but it was spot on accurate and fast. Even with edge loading google maps, it was pretty darn quick. The ability for apps to locate you and provide personalized info is just fantastic. For example, with the Flickr app - Exposed. You can actually have it find pictures taken nearby (it looks up your location, then grabs geotags from around the area). It worked amazingly well. Or with the Weatherbug app, you don't have to add your city, it finds it for you. Small things, but it makes things just that much easier.
PERFORMANCE
Unfortunately this was an area I wasn't expecting a difference as the internals are the same, but for some reason there is. Scrolling feels sluggish at times, as if its working on trying to get everything loaded, but its just not as smooth as it used to be (I notice this more in my Contact list than anywhere else), i've even noticed some delays in selecting items in the Contact list right after I scroll (Scroll to a contact and tap it... Wait 1 sec..... It turns blue and loads).
Unfortunately Apps seem to be quite unstable as well. Not the standard Apple provided apps, but the third party apps. I was under the impression that the App Store allowing native apps was supposed to improve stability, but so far many of the apps have been crashing (some on load, some a few minutes in). Roughly 1/3 of the apps i've tried have had issues. My old jailbroken iPhone was more stable thus far.
Now, one thing I must note, this may all be a product of the iPhone 2.0 Software, I haven't seen it on a first gen iPhone so I dunno if the problems exist there as well. But thus far, I'm disappointed.
UPDATE: I ran an iTunes Restore and this seemed to cure nearly all of my performance issues noted above. Dunno if I just had a bad OS build out of the box, but thus far the restore has made a noticeable difference.
CONCLUSION
So in conclusion, Am i happy with the new iPhone? Absolutely! I am glad to be back and working with a phone that fits my needs perfectly. That being said, I'm not without disappointment with the bugs so far and the issues with AT&T, but I have faith that both companies will get them straightened out with time. Its a great phone, so I'm willing to cut them some slack to get it working right.
UPDATE - 7/15/08
So i've had the phone a few days now, went on a trip to Philadelphia with it and even had the good fortune of AT&T turning on 3G in my area this weekend. Well, 4 days in now, and I have to admit, I'm starting to have some regrets with this phone.
My problems stem around 2 primary issues; Battery Life & Signal Strength
On the original iPhone, I could easily go a day with heavy usage (1-2 hours talking as well as 1 hour or more just playing with it) and by the end of the day it would have at least half its battery, usually enough to nearly make it through a 2nd day depending on usage (it was usually 10% by the end of the 2nd day).
Well the 3G iPhone just kinda sucks in comparison. It was fully charged at 9am when I disconnected it from the power, I used roughly 20 mins of talk time and 15-20 minutes of playing with apps today, and now at 7pm the battery has about 1/4 remaining, I have doubts it would even make it through the night in standby. Thats roughly 10 hours to what I would consider a point that it needs to be charged, and without much usage, thats not good.
In addition to the lower battery life, I'm having major signal issues since AT&T turned 3G on in my area (hopefully something wrong with their end, not mine, but I dunno at this point). With my old iPhone, I would easily get 5 bars anywhere in my house. On a rare occasion it would be down to 4, but almost always 5. So far on the 3G iPhone, I've yet to get above 3 bars, and even that is rare. A good 80% of the time I have either no service at all, or 1 bar. Most calls today went straight to voicemail, something I thought I would be rid of with this phone. Even on my 2nd story where I could always rely on a good signal, I just get squat.
Now, I hope this is simply an issue with AT&T, but I have my doubts. I really like all the new features, but if these two problems hold up, I may eat the restocking fee and wait until the 3rd generation
UPDATE - 7/24/08
Ugh, I was kinda hoping it wouldn't come to this but well, I got a dud. Two major (imo) problems now, one may be fixable via software, the other definitely not.
1. I finally had a chance today to sit down and watch a bit of a movie, was kinda looking forward to killing some time between study sessions. So I put on last of the mohicans, turn the phone sideways, and am shocked at what I see as the dark intro to the movie begins. A veritable ass-load of stuck/burst sub pixels on my beautiful iPhone screen. At first I thought, no way, how could I have missed this? Does my phone have the pox!?! syphilis?! A loathsome venereal disease?!? I saw the one stuck green pixel right when I got it, but it was off to the side, no biggie I thought to myself. So i started brainstorming, maybe something under the screen? Dust perhaps? Smudges? Nope, turned the lights on and inspected. Threw a PS 100% Black picture on there and did the unthinkable, I started counting. I stopped counting at 16. Yes, 16. 16 beautiful, designed in America, made in China, broken sub pixels shimmering their happy little broken pixel hearts away. <grumble> I almost cried.
2. To add insult to injury (maybe my iPhone didn't like me looking at it with such a discerning and disappointed eye today), my phone locked up hardcore about 4 times today. And by hardcore, i mean HARDCORE. Not even using 3rd party apps, twice it happened when I went into settings, the other two times were browsing the Web. Total lock jam, held down the Home/Power for 10 seconds, screen goes black, reboots and I see the nice Silver Apple with all its broken sub pixels around it like little green decapitated worms, and I wait. And I wait. And I wait. Not looking good. Each time, it took my iPhone on the order of ~ 10 minutes to make it back into the OS (to the slide to unlock screen). Did you restore you ask? Why yes, I did, right between the 3rd lockup and the 4th lockup, and I even made sure to keep all the 3rd party apps off.
She's done jim.
My ego is bruised, my eyes hurt from strain, and I have a crappy lemon iPhone with no where to go but home to AT&T.
Hope the replacement comes soon
I'll just do a quick run down of the different points that have stood out to me today;
FEEL
I like the feel better, it just seems to fit better in your hand. Less of a feeling that its going to slip out at any moment like the previous Gen, partially I think due to the plastic vs. aluminum as well as the new shape.
BUILD QUALITY
Superb, just like the first one. Nothing creaks or cracks, its very very solid. Even the plastic back feels thick and solid. So far the black does show fingerprints and smudges pretty well, but they wipe off VERY easily, even with my shirt or shorts. That being said, you only REALLY notice them when in direct sunlight. In most situations, I really don't even notice it at all.
SCREEN
A warmer version of the previous gen, almost a bit of a yellowish tinge, compared to the bluish tinge to the previous gen. Colors seem more vivid and natural to me, Contrast is improved IMO as well. You do lose some detail with the higher contrast, but IMO its a welcome trade off as to my eyes it looks better.
INTERNET
Well its supposed to be faster, but AT&T has dragged their asses with 3G here in Sarasota for well over a year now. It was originally supposed to be turned on in early 2007, then late 2007, then spring 2008, then summer 2008. Well, its was still not on. I called twice last week and was assured by corporate and a local store that 3G would be turned on any day, and would definitely be on by 3G Launch day. Well, its not. Now they are saying hopefully next week, but no later than mid August Bastards, I know the people I spoke to have no control over it, but AT&T is just really crappy with turning this on. So for now, its the same as the old, Edge.
GPS
Have to say, I'm impressed. Locked on my position within 3-4 seconds and was even able to very accurately track me while speeding down the highway going 75mph. Maybe its a function of where I live (not many obstructed views of the sky down here), but it was spot on accurate and fast. Even with edge loading google maps, it was pretty darn quick. The ability for apps to locate you and provide personalized info is just fantastic. For example, with the Flickr app - Exposed. You can actually have it find pictures taken nearby (it looks up your location, then grabs geotags from around the area). It worked amazingly well. Or with the Weatherbug app, you don't have to add your city, it finds it for you. Small things, but it makes things just that much easier.
PERFORMANCE
Unfortunately this was an area I wasn't expecting a difference as the internals are the same, but for some reason there is. Scrolling feels sluggish at times, as if its working on trying to get everything loaded, but its just not as smooth as it used to be (I notice this more in my Contact list than anywhere else), i've even noticed some delays in selecting items in the Contact list right after I scroll (Scroll to a contact and tap it... Wait 1 sec..... It turns blue and loads).
Unfortunately Apps seem to be quite unstable as well. Not the standard Apple provided apps, but the third party apps. I was under the impression that the App Store allowing native apps was supposed to improve stability, but so far many of the apps have been crashing (some on load, some a few minutes in). Roughly 1/3 of the apps i've tried have had issues. My old jailbroken iPhone was more stable thus far.
Now, one thing I must note, this may all be a product of the iPhone 2.0 Software, I haven't seen it on a first gen iPhone so I dunno if the problems exist there as well. But thus far, I'm disappointed.
UPDATE: I ran an iTunes Restore and this seemed to cure nearly all of my performance issues noted above. Dunno if I just had a bad OS build out of the box, but thus far the restore has made a noticeable difference.
CONCLUSION
So in conclusion, Am i happy with the new iPhone? Absolutely! I am glad to be back and working with a phone that fits my needs perfectly. That being said, I'm not without disappointment with the bugs so far and the issues with AT&T, but I have faith that both companies will get them straightened out with time. Its a great phone, so I'm willing to cut them some slack to get it working right.
UPDATE - 7/15/08
So i've had the phone a few days now, went on a trip to Philadelphia with it and even had the good fortune of AT&T turning on 3G in my area this weekend. Well, 4 days in now, and I have to admit, I'm starting to have some regrets with this phone.
My problems stem around 2 primary issues; Battery Life & Signal Strength
On the original iPhone, I could easily go a day with heavy usage (1-2 hours talking as well as 1 hour or more just playing with it) and by the end of the day it would have at least half its battery, usually enough to nearly make it through a 2nd day depending on usage (it was usually 10% by the end of the 2nd day).
Well the 3G iPhone just kinda sucks in comparison. It was fully charged at 9am when I disconnected it from the power, I used roughly 20 mins of talk time and 15-20 minutes of playing with apps today, and now at 7pm the battery has about 1/4 remaining, I have doubts it would even make it through the night in standby. Thats roughly 10 hours to what I would consider a point that it needs to be charged, and without much usage, thats not good.
In addition to the lower battery life, I'm having major signal issues since AT&T turned 3G on in my area (hopefully something wrong with their end, not mine, but I dunno at this point). With my old iPhone, I would easily get 5 bars anywhere in my house. On a rare occasion it would be down to 4, but almost always 5. So far on the 3G iPhone, I've yet to get above 3 bars, and even that is rare. A good 80% of the time I have either no service at all, or 1 bar. Most calls today went straight to voicemail, something I thought I would be rid of with this phone. Even on my 2nd story where I could always rely on a good signal, I just get squat.
Now, I hope this is simply an issue with AT&T, but I have my doubts. I really like all the new features, but if these two problems hold up, I may eat the restocking fee and wait until the 3rd generation
UPDATE - 7/24/08
Ugh, I was kinda hoping it wouldn't come to this but well, I got a dud. Two major (imo) problems now, one may be fixable via software, the other definitely not.
1. I finally had a chance today to sit down and watch a bit of a movie, was kinda looking forward to killing some time between study sessions. So I put on last of the mohicans, turn the phone sideways, and am shocked at what I see as the dark intro to the movie begins. A veritable ass-load of stuck/burst sub pixels on my beautiful iPhone screen. At first I thought, no way, how could I have missed this? Does my phone have the pox!?! syphilis?! A loathsome venereal disease?!? I saw the one stuck green pixel right when I got it, but it was off to the side, no biggie I thought to myself. So i started brainstorming, maybe something under the screen? Dust perhaps? Smudges? Nope, turned the lights on and inspected. Threw a PS 100% Black picture on there and did the unthinkable, I started counting. I stopped counting at 16. Yes, 16. 16 beautiful, designed in America, made in China, broken sub pixels shimmering their happy little broken pixel hearts away. <grumble> I almost cried.
2. To add insult to injury (maybe my iPhone didn't like me looking at it with such a discerning and disappointed eye today), my phone locked up hardcore about 4 times today. And by hardcore, i mean HARDCORE. Not even using 3rd party apps, twice it happened when I went into settings, the other two times were browsing the Web. Total lock jam, held down the Home/Power for 10 seconds, screen goes black, reboots and I see the nice Silver Apple with all its broken sub pixels around it like little green decapitated worms, and I wait. And I wait. And I wait. Not looking good. Each time, it took my iPhone on the order of ~ 10 minutes to make it back into the OS (to the slide to unlock screen). Did you restore you ask? Why yes, I did, right between the 3rd lockup and the 4th lockup, and I even made sure to keep all the 3rd party apps off.
She's done jim.
My ego is bruised, my eyes hurt from strain, and I have a crappy lemon iPhone with no where to go but home to AT&T.
Hope the replacement comes soon