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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The gadget to convert Apple doubters, 28 Jan 2010
This review is from: Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB UNLOCKED Mobile Phone (Electronics)
I have never previously been anything other than disappointed with any new mobile phone - they tend to sound great and then turn up plastic-y, heavy and technically disappointing. But this? A thrill from the moment you get the box (that lovely Apple packaging) - and it just keeps getting better. It looks beautiful, feels beautiful and is so damn sensible (or as Apple call it "intuitive"). Yes, it has all the sexy gizmo things that techies rave about, and hordes of apps etc etc. But the thought which has gone into making the thing easily usable is mindblowing. There are somewhat retro things like a real volume control (a whisper thin bit of chrome, that is just obviously a volume control - but only if you are looking for it) and a silence button (that has a red bit underneath which shows whether the ringer is on or off). The calls come up on screen with big easy questions like "Accept call" and End call" - you couldnt misunderstand what to do with this phone if you tried! In fact I would call it the perfect mobile phone for the technically challenged (though they might not need a lot of the other features!). Another bit I like after switching from a Samsung is that the speaker slot is a proper speaker connection not a proprietary, so you can use your lovely noise cancelling headphones or whatever.The touchscreen keyboard is fantastic - I had really not believed that it could work, but the number of false keys is really low,and the device often recognises what you are trying to say anyway.
On the slightly more "business" front I was dubious about ability to sync with outlook which is vital, but it couldnt be easier, or work better. Likewise ability to view word/excel/adobe dox - simply not a problem. In fact with the ability to switch to landscape view, I find reading adobe documents easier than ever before. In fact, having become a microsoft person simply through years of exposure which has led to a huge comfort zone with microsoft things, I am seriously considering shifting to apple next time I get a computer - or at least getting an ipad!
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171 of 193 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And, yes, it is better, 21 Jun 2009
This review is from: Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB UNLOCKED Mobile Phone (Electronics)
This is my third iPhone, and they just get better. But going iPhone is as much a lifestyle choice as about obtaining a piece of technology, and it's worth considering if this is really what you want to do before you do it.
Before the original iPhone came out, it was thought to be an iPod which also did phone calls. Interest hotted up when it was announced that it would come with free web-surfing. On launch, the interface was found to be smooth and intuitive, despite the relatively lowly specs for the camera, internet connection (just Edge, back then) and omission of expected features such a tethering, video recording and cut&paste.
The version 2 software changed all that, with the introduction of the App Store. Although it was released at the same time as the iPhone 3G, with its faster network coverage, it was really the App Store that changed the game. Apps, at an average of 59p, range from the simply bonkers to the business critical. On my phone I have an audio spectrum analyser, a pro-audio recorder, a document scanner, Facebook, Twitter, Le Monde, the Bible and a load of games that rarely get played. Plus one or two that get played a lot. This isn't just a mobile computer -- the access to audio, web, wifi, motion and tilt sensors, along with the famous swipe and pinch controls, makes it a unique hand-held environment for doing basically anything an app programmer can imagine.
So, if the 3G, with the version 2 software, was so good, what has the 3Gs got?
First, the version 3 software plugs the holes left by version 2. We now have a really useful copy and paste, the option for landscape keyboards in any application, a search function across the entire system, calendar subscriptions, voice memos, multi-media messaging, sync-able notes, and a load of other tweaks. Some of these things could be had with 3rd party apps before, but now they are built into the system. Version 3 is a free upgrade to any 3G or original iPhone user, so don't imagine you have to buy the 3Gs to get it.
The hardware itself has got five things going for it: video, voice control, compass, better camera, but, above all, speed. The speed hike doesn't seem like a killer feature, until you actually start using it. It's about twice as fast as the iPhone 3G, which, for demanding apps, especially games, really starts to make a difference. Oh, one more thing: up to 32 GB of memory. Suddenly watching video on the go is a serious possibility, you can really store your entire CD collection, and there's loads of space for promised big apps like the TomTom for iPhone.
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So, to what extent is it worth going iPhone? Essentially, it seems to me that there are three kinds of users out there.
There are people who want a simple device for making and receiving phone calls, and maybe texting. The iPhone makes great phone calls and great texts, but it's a lot heavier and more cumbersome than a phone you can get free with any contract. If you just want to make calls, don't get the iPhone.
Then there are people who insist on having the highest specced, most powerful thing which is available at any one time. These people have always been the fiercest critics of the iPhone, complaining about its camera, its network connection, the lack of a physical keyboard, lack of tight integration with Enterprise servers, and so on. If you are one of these people, you are unlikely to be happy with the iPhone for long.
The people who really benefit are people who want to bring together two or more gadgets that are either already in their pocket, or they would like to be. If you've got a phone and an iPod, an iPhone is more convenient. If you've got a paper or electronic organiser, the iPhone will do it better, and will link it to your computer. If you have a portable games console, the iPhone now beats most portable games consoles. If you want to surf the web and get email, the iPhone generally does it better than the Blackberries (unless you are on an Exchange Enterprise server, in which case the Blackberry is king).
My feeling is that, ultimately, iPhones and phones like them, and handset-only mobile phones, will drive out the middle ground of 'smartphones' which do many things, but all of them in a fiddly, proprietary way.
In the mean time, the iPhone is stylish, even iconic, and, at the time of writing, the most powerful thing on the market.
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35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great but not quite perfect, 6 Jan 2010
This review is from: Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB UNLOCKED Mobile Phone (Electronics)
I have been using one of these for about two weeks as of writing. So far, I am really impressed with it. I spent afew years (2003-2005) working on development of early touch screen products, mainly on UI (user interface) graphics, so was able to see the potential of the touch screen long before the technology reached the mass market. At that time, the best screens were about £600 each - that's just the screen component, not the electronics and software needed to drive it. How things have changed!
Anyway, if you are new to touch screens then iPhone is quite different to handle. The screen is remarkably responsive and sensitive and, so far, seems resistant to scratches. The UI is intuitive, colourful and generally logical, requiring very little manual-reading to understand and use. The main feature - the phone - is pretty good. I'm not convinced that the sound quality is that brilliant, though I have no particular problem with it. As with most mobiles, the phone uses a contacts list, from which you may select the person to call and the number to use. It's all easy enough. To get it working optimally, it is worth taking time to edit the contact fields properly - putting forename in the forename field, surname in the surname field, etc, and categorizing each number correctly. This just makes it easier to find and call people. Also, it is worth telling it if a contact is using an iPhone, as certain iPhone-to-iPhone call features then become available.
(1 March 2010 update:) The text messages feature is very nice. It presents exchanges of messages as coloure-coded talk bubbles, one after another, so you can easily follow and review the conversation.
Web browsing with Safari is very nice, though Apple's continued refusal to enable Flash in Safari means that most online video won't display on iPhone. Obviously, apple wants the world to use its own format rather than Adobe's. Too bad.
As a corporate user working from a home office, my iPhone is linked to my wireless hub, and to Outlook (on Windows not Mac!) This works really well, with email being pushed to iPhone automatically. iPhone picks up wireless networks as you travel. Just select an unencrypted one to stay connected online. (Push-mail should work no matter which wireless network you connect to.)
The iPod feature is pretty good - especially as iPhone has tiny stereo speakers built-in, which give sound plenty loud enough for around the house, though sound quality can be a bit fluffy at high volume. However, playlist support in iTunes is a bit limited compared to iPod (I have an iPod Classic). Also, play counts don't seem to be added up always when I connect to iTunes. My iPod play counts always update correctly. In other words, songs I play On iPhone don't seem to count in the song popularity stakes.
The camera is nice, especially the video and auto-focus. However, as with most phones, the camera isn't that great compared to a "proper" camera, so I don't really bother using it. In low light conditions the pictures are inevitably very dark, so its lack of flash is quite evident.
Battery life is reasonable, I suppose. Some apps use a lot of power, but that's to be expected. Downloadable apps are a big feature these days. I have to say that, in my view, most of them are pretty awful... badly written code, and cheap conversions of old games from other platforms. The backgammon game is terrible - it plays poorly and it cheats. Compact backgammon neural network software has been around for years and years, and yet we still have these trashy old versions floating around. It's not really good enough. Most of the apps seem to be aimed at kids, and are of the "fun" variety. Of the free apps, I recommend the infamous spirit level, TV guide, battery life tool, and the Amazon app. Of the free games, I recommend "Space Buster" if only for its 1980s electronic musical score.
Voice activation is very nice indeed, even if only from a technological point of view. It recognises what you say WITHOUT needing to be "trained" to understand your voice. So, say to it "play songs by John Lennon" and it will tell you what it is doing, then find and play all songs by John Lennon (if you have them available). Say "call Julie" and it will do so. Very nice. It does get it wrong occassionally, and does mispronounce some words - it says "Bash hunter" instead of "Bass Hunter" for example, but generally it's a pretty impressive bit of software.
After having had one expensive Nokia smart phone stolen (by a light-fingered not-not at Ikea Nottingham, for the record) I am pleaqsed to see that this phone has better security features. There's the option to track its location (for a fee) and the option to wipe its content if you get the password wrong many times. This is no problem for the legal owner, who will (if sensible) have backed up the phone's contents to the PC anyway. Personally, I think it should stop working altogether, and require the user/villain to visit an Apple shop to check their ownership credentials and, if all is correct, re-activate the phone.
Overall, it's a really nice phone and I like it a lot. It certainly has the cool factor, and some significant advantages over the previous model. I am keeping one eye on Google's Nexus but for now I am happy to stick with this phone.
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