We managed to get our hands on the new 3GiPhone during the launched date amidst the chaos and the long standing, waiting for O2’s sluggish server to process our details. A usual 20 minutes job took them almost 2 hours processing which left us wondering why we people endure this madness just to get our hands on this device. Probably by now, you’ve seen our “Unboxing” and “First Look Video”, now we’re going to give you our personal review of the new 3G iPhone hoping that it will help you decide whether to upgrade and get this much hyped iPhone3G or be contented with your old iPhone.

First to notice is that it’s almost identical to the original iPhone, same home screen menus and same user interface except that the back is all black unlike the old matt silver metal finish of its predecessor – it also comes in white but only for the 16GB model. The back is made of plastic but it feels solid though and not flimsy at all. The edge is trimmed so it gives you the impression that it is thinner. It measures 4.5×2.4 inches in width and 12.3 mm thick and about 133 grams in weight. So it’s actually thicker and wider but less lighter compared to its predecessor.
On the side you can find the silent ringer switch and the volume control button. At the top you can find the 3.5 mm stereo headphone mini jack (which is a good improvement from the 2.5 mm headphone mini jack of the 2GiPhone), the sim card tray and sleep/wake button . At the bottom you can find the dock connector, the built in speaker and the microphone.

Display
It has got a 3.5 inch widescreen display and the same multitouch functionality we used to love in our original iPhone. We notice that the screen is much clearer and detailed as compared to its predecessor.

Connection
Of course one of the major changes here as the name suggest is the addition of 3G network which is faster than EDGE. So now you can surf the net with twice the speed of the original 2G iPhone. We tested it and it definitely loads faster than the original iPhone. You can get up to 500-800kbps download speed compared to just 100-200kbps download speed of the older EDGE network. But the use of 3G network in this device is solely for the speed connection only. It could have been better if Apple just put a front camera so we can utilise 3G for making video calls as well.

Google Maps with aGPS
Another major improvement is the integration of Assisted GPS also known as aGPS to Google Maps application in this device. By using aGPS, searching and locking your location is much more accurate compared to GPS alone. aGPS uses cell signal of cell network provider to help GPS if its weak. And it’s actually quick and speedy finding our position with much better accuracy than the 2GiPhone during our test. And with aGPS on board, the camera can now give you the option to geotag your photo.

Camera
Camera unfortunately is still 2 megapixels, when in fact, other mobile maker is rushing to maximise the power of their Smartphone’s shutter just like the upcoming SE c905 which has got an 8 megapixels’ shooting power. With the aide of GPS, you can now geotag your photo, meaning the location where you took your pictures will be stored in the photo but sadly though, you cannot use it with Google Maps application for finding directions. Add to that is the lack of video recording support which to our dismay is pretty much standard to most of the mobile phones nowadays.

Battery Life
Battery life is very significant to an iPhone because unlike the other, it doesn’t have a removable battery. And as expected, it was drained faster with 3G network switched- on compared to using EDGE. But hey, that’s the price you pay for getting an extra boost download speed. You can remedy this by simply switching the 3G “OFF” in the Network Setting and just switch it back if you want to show-off to your friends or when you’re out and desperate to go online.

Software
The new iPhone3G is running v2.0 software which is a big improvement for the device. One of the major improvements with this software is the support for the 3rd party applications via the so called App Store. They have got about over 500 applications to choose from and about 26% are totally free.
The new software version also supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. It will push email, calendar, and contacts to your iPhone3G from your corporate account if they’re using Microsoft Exchange server.
Other welcome additions are MobileMe support (needs subscription), the ability to delete and move multiple e-mail messages, scientific calculator, support for PowerPoint and office documents and the ability to search contacts. You will get the same application in your 2GiPhone if you updated to 2.0 version, but of course without the HSDPA and GPS functionality.

Cheaper
Yes, it’s definitely cheaper compared last year when they launched the original iPhone. You can get the 8GB model for 99£ and the 16GB model for 159£ with the cheapest 18 months contract and all tariff includes unlimited internet access and data plan. You can even get them for free if you sign for a much higher contract.

What We Don’t Like
They made some significant improvements but still a lot of things need to be done.
No MMS support although its pretty much standard nowadays, even the entry level smartphones has MMS functionality.
Video recording support is still absent.
Its 3G but no video call support.
Bluetooth function is very limited – still you cannot transfer files from other Bluetooth device.
No PIM support – hopefully there’s a 3rd party application that offer this.
Camera resolution is still 2.0 megapixels.
No Flash support

Conclusion
Although we expect more than what it actually offer, still we recommend you to buy the iPhone3G. Even the latest so called iPhone killer in the market today cannot compare to iPhone’s smooth and believable user interface and its seamless integration to our day to day functionality.
That’s about it for now and watch our video version of this entry.