My 3G iPhone Review (EDGE RULES)
August 13, 2008
When the first iPhone was released I got my hands on one two hours after it went on sale. This time it took me two weeks to finally get on my hands on the 3G. It wasn’t for lack of effort, but the mandatory in-store signup slowed the process to a crawl meaning that there were still lines last week at my local Apple store (I haven’t been this week, but Best Buy is going to start selling them). Now that I have had my 3G iPhone for a couple of weeks I thought it was time to offer my thoughts.
First, the speed is quite a bit faster. Side-by-side comparison with my father’s EDGE iPhone saw at least a 25% speed increase. We were never able to witness the 100% (i.e. double) speed increase Apple claimed. I suspect this is due totally to AT&Ts network here in Dallas. The problem is that the speed increase is only available in 3G areas - my house, church and work are not covered that well by 3G (i.e. all are within the Dallas city limits). When I try to connect to websites and applications the connections are often impossible to make without switching back to EDGE. So in theory the 25% speed increase is certainly not worth the limited coverage one will experience in a top ten US city.
Second, the phone consistantly drops. I can’t take calls at my desk when 3G is enabled. I can’t take calls downstairs in the cafeteria when 3G is enabled. My wife, who got the 3G at the same time, has experienced more and more dropped calls - something she did not experience with EDGE. When I drive on the tollway I will drop a call at least three times (once around Lemmon, another time around Mockingbird and then again around Lovers Lane). This was not the case with EDGE.
Third, the battery is always empty. I have BOSE charging stations (i.e. that connect to our stereo system) throughout the house. Over the past year I have made it a habit to place my phone in the charging station in whatever room I happen to occupy. This meant that the phone was a) always in the same place (I lose things) and b) always charged. Guess what, the new 3G iPhone is incompatible with the BOSE charging station. Are you kidding me? What changed? Why doesn’t that work?
Finally, in the end the 3G iPhone has been a huge disappointment for me. It cost me a few hundred bucks, $10/month more than my old iPhone and has LOTS of problems. But I found a solution. In the Settings/General menu you can turn off 3G and go back to EDGE. I did this yesterday and my iPhone worked like my old one - like a champ. WTF? So I have my old iPhone back for a few hundred dollars more. My advice, buy the new 3G iPhone ONLY if you don’t have the old iPhone (the new iPhone with EDGE enabled is an awesome phone - the best I have ever owned). Dump your Nokia or Ericsson POS and get in the game.
