The Apple Files

Written on October 12, 2008 – 7:33 pm | by ash.matadeen |

I recently retired my first generation 8GB iPhone and upgraded to the 16GB 3G iPhone. Read on for my 8 comparison points.

1. The Grip

2. The Headphones Port

3. The Buttons

4. The Dock

5. The Screen

6. The Built-in Speaker

7. 3G speeds

8. GPS

What feels different?

1. The Grip

The first thing I noticed when I got my hands on the 3G iPhone was the fit in the palm of my hands. The plastic back of the phone provides a lot more grip than the metal back of the first generation iPhone. It feels a lot more comfortable to hold and will rest quite safely in your hand without any grip even when held almost vertically. Now, I don’t have to worry as much when texting on the go, even with just one hand.

2. The Headphones Port

The next improvement – from my experience – is the headphones port. The first generation iPhone had a recessed headphones port which meant you could only use the basic set of iPhone/iPod ear buds because most other headphones would not fit the port. Not so with the 3G iPhone. The port is level with the case and fits any 3.5mm headphones jack which means I can now use my noise canceling headphones with my iPhone without using a clunky headphone adaptor.

I must say however that the headphone port on the 3G iPhone feels unnaturally tight when plugging the headphones in/out. It made me wonder whether this tightness could be the cause of the cracks in the case that some users have experienced.

The recessed headphone port does looks more elegant though. It might explain why Apple went for it in the first instance.

3. The Buttons

Not much to note here except that the buttons are much softer to press. This was specially noticeable with the sleep/wake button on the top right.

4. The Dock

Unlike the first generation iPhone, the 3G iPhone does not come with a dock in the box. This is now sold as an accessory for an extra £19.

5. The Screen

Next up is the screen. It is essentially the same size but I found the colours on the 3G iPhone to be more vivid than on the first generation iPhone. This was specially noticeable with photos.

6. The Built-in Speaker

Not much to note except that the speaker in the 3G iPhone is noticeably louder.

7. 3G speeds

This could well be the main reason to upgrade, specially if you have good 3G coverage in your area. I was very impressed with the 3G browsing experience as it felt very similar to browsing on Wi-Fi! It’s in fact fast enough that you can stream music over 3G with the Last.fm App and have it start playing within 5 to 15 seconds.

8. GPS

As for GPS, like for most people, the lack of real-time turn by turn directions is disappointing. However, as one would expect, in comparison to the first generation iPhone, the ‘locate me’ function within Maps.app is a lot more accurate. And from my experience of using GPS on mobile phones, it’s pretty fast too. In the dark ages, my Nokia N95 used to take at least 10 mins to lock onto a GPS position but that’s a whole other story.

So, with GPS on iPhone, I see it as being mainly for the uber-cool location aware apps like Loopt, at least until Apple brings out navigation software or who knows, maybe even the iCar!