Apple iPhone 3GS - 16GB - black (AT&T)

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 39 reviews Back to product review
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• 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

  3.0 stars

  "An amazing piece of technology"

  by forkboy on August 10, 2009

  Pros: Simple and elegant design; quick response to opening apps; intuitive interface; call quality; ease of use for camera; landscape mode for native Apple iPhone apps; feels and appears solid/well-built; battery life (if you use power-saving techniques)

  Cons: Much of the App store; syncing process in iTunes not as intuitive as it should be; the usual suspects: no Flash support, no multi-tasking (which is the one I'm most bothered by, but knew it going into this relationship);

  Summary: The decision to purchase the iPhone was difficult. There are more and more competitors hitting the streets every day and Android (or some version thereof) seems to be enjoying a place in the sun.
  
  That said, when I sat down and poured over the research and data I had accumulated over a month or so (plus reading the endless reviews of such products on CNET and Gizmodo, etc.) I came to the conclusion that no single device was exactly what I wanted and that "compromise" was the name of the game. In the end, the iPhone won out and while I have 30-days to make my final decision I have, after 11 days of ownership, decided I will keep this device.
  
  The lack of Flash support sucks, but so few phones have even Flash Lite support that I remain hopeful Apple will rectify this situation in a reasonable amount of time. I also hope they get round to offering multi-tasking (even limited to a certain number of apps), which I believe to be their biggest omission - and if it's a matter of battery life then by-gawd make the damn thing a couple of millimeters thicker!
  
  If you're a power-user then no doubt battery life is going to be something of an issue, but as a non-power, but frequent/regular user I'm able to get about 1.5 - 2.0 days on a single charge. There are plenty of ways to conserve battery life that do not impede you from doing pretty much anything you want. You just may have to turn some things back on (and then off). At night I forward my calls to my house phone (cuz we still have one, but I really don't want it) and turn off 3G, wi-fi and location services. I also put it into airplane mode and give the battery a break. I typically leave off all these connectivity services until I need them, opting instead to let the EDGE network do my e-mail fetching (with push turned off). You can make the battery last longer if you're willing to go through the process of turning things off and on as needed. A pain in the ass, I agree, but not completely unreasonable.
  
  I wish they had gone to an OLED screen. Not that there is anything wrong with the one on the iPhone, but it was time and should have been done.
  
  The App store, in my opinion, is filled almost entirely with crap. Maybe 5-10% of anything on there is of use and/or quality. The reviews say it all....it seems like most apps are rather crash prone or don't quite live up to the user's expectations.
  
  My biggest beef with the iPhone (and again, I knew this going in) is how poorly it handles the ability to remind you of important dates (b'days, anniversaries, etc.). Between iCal and Contacts (and Address Book in the Mac OS), the options are quite useless. I expect MUCH better from Apple on this point. My previous phone, the Palm Centro, had a simple, but not particularly elegant way to remind me of tasks, appointments, events, etc. that gave me great control of over how, when and how often I was reminded of said things. The iPhone and the related apps fail miserably. For a device so geared towards interaction it is inexcusable that Apple has so clearly dropped the ball in this area and appears to care not one wit about doing anything to fix it.
  
  So...like most every other smartphone out there, it's not perfect. It has both strengths and weaknesses. But I can say this...I haven't had this much fun with a consumer electronic device in years. It continues to amaze me at what I can do with it. It's not unlike the feeling I had when I purchased my first computer. It was as if a whole new world was open to me.
  
  Being an avid reader of all things consumer electronics/tech oriented, I am rather jaded about new this and new that. But the iPhone has, despite its problems and issues, brought a big freakin' smile to my face.
  
  At least until the AT&T bill come in ;-)

  Thank you for submitting your feedback!

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• 1 reply to this review

• reply by: rob1261 on September 20, 2009

  How much research can you have done. The Palm Pre offers all of the missing features you want from the iPhone.

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