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!

Giant iPhone 3G display, spotted at the Apple Store, Birmingham, UK. Click for full sized versions on flickr.

Well, according to his Wikipedia entry,

John Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26, 1774–February 18, 1845), was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced the apple to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance of apples.

He was so popular that a festival is held in his name every September in Johnny Appleseed Park, Ohio.

John also has his own entry in the built in Mac OS X dictionary:

It would seem therefore that John Appleseed is being put across by Apple Inc. as some sort of icon, potentially representing the upcoming launch of the Apple iPhone across the globe.

And it’s not just Apple, even Mark Cain from MIMvista – who demoed a new iPhone medical imaging app at WWDC 2008 earlier this month – used the name Johnny Appleseed! In fact, he goes on to show a “fusion of a CT and PET” scan of John Appleseed!

Besides iPhone, John is also featured in the Mac OS X Leopard TextEdit icon where he signs a letter bearing the words of the (now old) Think Different advertising slogan.

Dear Kate,

Take care,
John Appleseed

At first glance, it may seem like this functionality is missing in Pages.app but to get font previews, simply click on the cogwheel (settings) icon in the Fonts window and click on Show Preview. The top of the window then expands to show a preview of the font selected as shown below.

Tip: To bring up the Fonts window press Command + T or click on the Format menu then Fonts and then Show Fonts.

So, your message would look like this:

*0# I’m on my way, see you in 10 mins.

Don’t worry, the recipient will not see this *0# code at the start of the message as it is automatically deleted by the network before delivery. But as soon as the message is delivered to the recipient you will get a text message back (for free) confirming the delivery status of the SMS.

If you are on a different network, the short code may be different.

I personally only use this short code for mission critical text messages but hopefully the new iPhone 2.0 firmware will bring ‘SMS delivery request’ as a built-in option within the settings.

[Via iPhones Talk]

A better quality version of the video is available from my .mac web gallery.

Captivating display promoting the all new iPod nano. Spotted at The Apple Store on Regent’s Street, London.

We know just how it feels!

Apple makes it clear in their press release that use of the 7,500 Wi-Fi hotspots (provided by The Cloud) on the iPhone in the UK is subject to a fair use policy.

Most of us naturally assume that this imposes a limit on the number of GB one can use. However, looking at the Terms and Conditions for the service provided by The Cloud, the fair use policy does not necessarily impost a bandwidth limit! It mainly draws attention to unlawful/unethical activity and breaches of copyright.

From their knowledge base, however, they clearly indicate that they have set some common sense bandwidth usage guidelines but no actual transfer limit is specified. We’ll have to wait and see how this limit plays out and whether it is reasonable.

Section 14 of the Terms and Conditions

14. The Cloud’s Acceptable Use Policy

14.1 When using the Service you agree to the following policy, which is intended to improve the use of the Service by preventing unacceptable uses. We do not actively monitor your use of the Service. Similarly we do not exercise editorial control or review over the content of any web site, electronic mail transmission, newsgroup or other material created or accessible over or through the Service provided. However, we may remove, block, filter or restrict by any other means any materials that, in our sole discretion, may be illegal or may subject The Cloud to liability or may breach this policy.

14.2 The Cloud may co-operate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrong. Breach of this policy may result in the suspension or termination of either access to the Service or other actions as detailed below.

14.3 The following, without limitation, are examples of breaches of this policy:
Your use of the Service to:
- transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, libellous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
- harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way;
- transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under non disclosure agreements);
- transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that infringes any intellectual property right or other proprietary rights of any party;
- transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.

14.4 If you are aware that a person is in breach of this policy, we should be grateful if you would e-mail The Cloud at webmaster@thecloud.net with the date, time and place of such breach (and any other information that you think would be useful).

14.5 The Cloud may take any one or more of the following actions, or other actions not listed, at The Cloud’s sole discretion in response to complaints:
- issue warnings: written or verbal;
- suspend your account;
- terminate your account;
- bill you for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges, with a minimum administrative cost; or
- commence legal proceedings against you.

This service on its own is worth £125 in value over the 18 month contract period (at £6.99 a month). So maybe we shouldn’t be so harsh on Apple for charging more for the iPhone in the UK.

Will I have free Wi-Fi access in my area?
You can look up the location Wi-Fi hotspots in your area here. Here’s the coverage in the centre of Birmingham:

The access points are located within pubs, hotels, restaurants and even public phone booths. I can hardly wait to be enjoying the free Wi-Fi on my iPhone while out on the town!

For the times when you are out of the range of a free Wi-Fi hotspot, you can always use the slower internet access via EDGE which is also free on iPhone (if you are amongst the 30% that’s covered).