Apple - iPhone (8 GB) Cell Phone Review

I bought the iPhone after the price drop, knowing it was time to upgrade my old Motorola Razr.  I continually asked about the 3G network, if it might be available, and was told that the phone is really quite fast on the EDGE network, but also picked up wi-fi (thank goodness for that).  Trying it in-store, it WAS fast (but I correctly guessed that they had not only near perfect reception there, but also wi-fi.  Outside the store, NOT on wi-fi, it's like surfing a fast dial-up connection, but being as that I mostly use the web features either in my office or at my shop, I'm wi-fi, so it's all good.

The iPod feature is VERY COOL, especially with the larger screen, but the inset jack isn't quite so cool-- you either need to use the generic iPod earplugs that come with it, or buy a new adapter if you want to use better headphones.  Also, when watching video, beware-- that pretty big screen eats up battery life.  Camera usage too-- nice camera, with no zoom or much control, but it takes good pictures and eats up energy.

Phone reception is OK.  At first, I'd heard it was poor, especially on speaker phone, but noticed that the first firmware upgrade I installed addressed both of these issues, increasing speaker phone volume and normal headset volume.  I've really had no real reception problems to speak of, but have had phones that just sound a little bit better.  Bluetooth sync was a breeze, and sounds great.

The calendar, email, texting and surfing features are all enhanced by the smart keyboard.  I had no idea what this keyboard actually was capable of until I watched an Apple video on it, then matched what I was seeing in the video to what it was doing under my finger.  Takes a little while to master the little virtual keys, but it's well worth it, and better than the old method.  However, at this time, you are limited to only Apple's inphone software-- due to attempts to prevent hacking and to protect the OS (firmware upgrade 1.1.1, September 2007), no 3rd party apps are allowed, making the so-called all-in-one nothing more than a fancy iPod/phone combination with bells and whistles.  However, due to the consumer outrage at this, Apple has decided (we'll see) to allow 3rd party development and applications, starting in February 2008.  Again, we'll see how true that holds.

Finally, ringtones and battery life.  The iPhone comes with a good selection of standard ringtones, but if you want more, you'll need to buy them for $2 each at iTunes (though you CAN make your own).  Battery life for me has been decent.  I could probably squeeze 6 hours of actual straight talk time out of one charge, but add web browsing, and other toys, and standby, and it usually ends up being about 3 hours over 3-4 days.

Overall, I'm not dissatisfied in the least having forked over the $400.  It's still the phone that others are trying to copy, despite its drawbacks.