iPhone 3G Review

Let's look at the hardware. The new case is made of smudge-able plastic. The effect is that the case, feels lighter, warmer and thicker but also cheaper than before. And in your hand, picking up a slightly warm iPhone, it feels almost more organic. The new case is lighter but actually thicker; and feels quite durable. It is easier to send send radio waves through this case than the previous case—very useful as this phone has many more radios.  

The screen is slightly warmer in color temperature, slightly brighter (even when considering decay over time) and the daylight viewing is better, but it's the same 3.5-inch, 480x320 resolution screen. And it's still gorgeous.

Oh, the headphone jack isn't recessed anymore, so you can use whatever headphones or adapters you want. And the lock and volume buttons are recessed slightly more and are metal.

To mention the 3G is to bring up painful memories, the time I've lost waiting for web pages to load on the iPhone, or standing on street corners waiting for maps to load.

Our tests in AT&T's aggressively built-out NYC area showed the 3G connection is 4.8 times faster than the old EDGE connection. When you turn off 3G and do an EDGE-to-EDGE test between older and newer models, they both perform the same. The GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900) and UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900 and 2100 MHz) cellular radios have the advantage of some design improvements, including the use of the steel ring around the screen as an antenna and the electronic transparency of the now all plastic back.

Wi-Fi reception is better. In a side-by-side test with the old iPhone, we walked away from an access point, the old iPhone's connection died at 100 feet and the newer one lasted to about 120 feet. And there's a new Airplane mode that turns off cellular but powers up Wi-Fi for airline internet.

At the end of a day with lots of email and browser use, or media playback, my old iPhone would be begging for a serious dock charge. How does the iPhone's 3G connection affect that? 

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