Apple iPhone 3GS Review

Overall Rating

Great screen
Great browser
Loads of apps to do pretty much everything
Copy and paste
Map / Location integration within most apps
Always on data - you will be surprised how much you use it

Battery!
Battery!!
Battery!!!
Did I mention battery?
There are a number of small other problems however they are mostly to do with usability and can be sorted with firmware updates.
Oh and battery (unless you turn everything off or down)

I have long been a hater of the iPhone for so many reasons. Non replaceable battery, no copy and paste, no keyboard, no bluetooth file sharing. I could go on but I won't.

I finally gave in an bought one, and I have to say that it is pretty much one of the best phones out there at the moment. It is truly amazing how easy it is to browse and deal with e-mail.

Most of the improvements on this device are actually to do with the 3.0 software rather than the device itself.

Another interesting points about this phone is that it actually gets better over time. This is not at all like most other phones on the market. The main reason for this improvement is the AppStore. If you can think of something you want to do, someone has probably written an application that does it. If not, someone is already in the process of writing it.

The main problem with this phone and it is a big problem is the battery life! There is loads you can do with the phone to deal with that problem, however most of the solutions require to reduce the functionality of the phone in some way. So you can turn the brightness down on the screen; turn off location services; turn off wi-fi; turn off 3G; turn off bluetooth.

All of these changes seem fine with most iPhone users, however in my opinion turning off all these features removes this phone from being one of the best phones out there. Essentially you have an amazing phone that you can't use any more.

I ended up buying an external battery pack just to get me through the long days when I am not near something to keep the iPhone charged (there are loads of options out there).

I am surprised how much I love the phone, and I am sure I would never want to go back. That said something really, really needs to happen with the battery.

Members' Comments onwarrenkerrigan's Review

• pnadin on 14th Jul 2009

  Totally agree on the battery life. On train journeys I would use it for two hours but this uses most of my battery. If I dont bring a charger I am stuffed.

• warrenkerrigan on 14th Jul 2009

  I have changed my mind about my review. I have come to the simple conclusion that the iPhone is not a phone and therefore you can't compare it to phones.
  
  The previous comment is proof of what I am talking about. If you use a phone on a train for two hours, then you are not using it as a phone. You are using it to do other things. Chat online with your friends, check e-mail, browse the web, use the Facebook app etc, etc.
  
  If you are doing all those things (as I was doing), then you are using a small computer, not a phone. As a phone the battery life is actually quite good. i.e. if you just use it for calls then you will find it comparable to most other phones. The problem is you (or in this case I) just don't use it like that.
  
  There are so many applications on there that use the various radios (Wifi, 3G etc), and other battery hungry devices such as 3G. Every time I open the iPhone it is actually doing loads of other stuff and the problem with all this new functionality is that I do use the iPhone and I use it a lot.
  
  So it is the fact that I am using it differently that is affecting the battery life so much. If you used your laptop without a charger for as long as I use the iPhone without a charger you would expect it to last even less time than the iPhone in most cases.
  
  So in retrospect it is actually not bad battery life.
  
  With that in mind, I still bought a JuicePack Air to get through the day as I just can't stop using the phone all the time.
  
  So do get an iPhone they are fantastic, just make sure you can charge it at every possible opportunity or else buy one of the slide on battery packs.

• Rosiemaggs on 14th Jul 2009

  The only thing that puts me off is the bluetooth - am I right in thinking that you can connect to bluetooth devices like headsets, but you still can't e.g. bluetooth a photo to your pc or another bluetooth-enabled device?

• warrenkerrigan on 14th Jul 2009

  You are correct on the Bluetooth thing...kind of. They have released new Bluetooth functionality to allow peer to peer gaming and data swapping via applications. However it will not allow you to connect to another phone and share files with them.
  
  That said there is a great app called Mover that allows you to do that on a wifi network with other iPhones...not quite as good. There is also an application called Bump that allows you to share contacts with another iPhone by bumping them together.
  
  So there are work arounds...

• Evilbungle on 24th Jul 2009

  It points out the good and bad points of the Iphone but misses out that there are many phones with the good points that do not have the Iphones major drawbacks. i.e the four year out of date camera.

• warrenkerrigan on 24th Jul 2009

  Most people who say that haven't used an iPhone for any length of time.
  
  One of the cameras I got the best use out of was a small Sony DSC-U20. It was only a 2.2 meagpixel camera, but I got some really great shots out of it. I used to call it my pub-cam as it was small enough to fit in my pocket. I am not justifying the poor camera on the iPhone here, I am just saying that for most uses it is actually good enough...more than good enough.
  
  My previous phone was a Nokia N95 8GB and that had a 5MP camera. I didn't use it half as much and the flash was next to useless. It again did the job, but it just made the photos bigger and there really is not that much in the difference in quality at the end of the day.
  
  Bear in mind typical use of an iPhone or camera photo is something like Facebook. The new camera is much better than the old one, especially now that it has autofocus, but like you say it has a long way to go.
  
  The iPhone has become an experience rather than a specs war. Kind of similar to the Nintendo Wii vs the PS3. Technically the PS3 is way better, however the Wii is and has always outsold it. I think the iPhone is just another example of that.
  
  You should try it...you'll like it. Even if like me you didn't want to! And I don't mean try it for an hour. You need to use it for a few days.

• Rosiemaggs on 24th Jul 2009

  Wow, talk about poor battery! Today I have made/received NO calls but have sent about 3 or 4 texts. I don't ever keep bluetooth on. So, despite what I would call very low usage, and despite taking my phone off 100% charge at around 9am this morning, it's now not quite 8.30pm and the phone is about to snuff it. Wow - that really IS poor!

• Evilbungle on 25th Jul 2009

  I have had an Iphone, I bought one a few months ago and found it lacking, particularily thr camera and the battery life, luckily the Iphone is so expensive if you don't like it you can get enough for it second hand to buy yourself a different phone, I know have the G1 which has all the Iphones good points, e.g. intigrated maps, apps store, high speed internet etc.. but is even better (the Iphone starts most of it's tasks by connecting to a google service, the G1 is already there!) Have to admit the camera still is not great but I have a Samsung Pixon on my second line which solves my photo needs.
  
  I will always say if asked that the Iphone is a good phone, I really wasn't trying to attack it, just in my opinion it is not so much better than other smart phones to justify the extra expense.
  
  If you are looking for mini computer performance I recomend the HTC Advantage, it is bulky to carry but has unriveled features as a mini laptop and a battery which lasts a couple of days.

• tacticmac on 25th Jul 2009

  I found this review helpful because I'm having the same problem with my battery