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Full Review of the iPhone 2 On Launch Day

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the dock-not-included dept.

With the launch of Apple's brand-spanking-new 3G iPhone today, Engadget has a great review of the product and many of the prominent features. The review has quite a few good pictures and is not shy about technical details, but I guess they would know a fair bit about it, having ripped one apart yesterday. "The wireless industry is a notoriously tough nut to crack, and it's become pretty clear that the first iPhone wasn't about total domination so much as priming the market and making a good first impression with some very dissatisfied cellphone users. With the iPhone 3G, though, Apple's playing for keeps. Not only is this iPhone's Exchange enterprise support aiming straight for the heart of the business market, but the long-awaited 3rd party application support and App Store means it's no longer just a device, but a viable computing platform. And its 3G network compatibility finally makes the iPhone welcome the world over, especially after Cupertino decided to ditch its non-traditional carrier partnerships in favor of dropping the handset price dramatically. $200? We're still a little stunned." Update 17:17 GMT by SM: The guys over at Engadget also pointed out that Apple is having some severe problems with their iTunes servers and many customer are being sent home without their sync complete for new iPhones.

23 of 420 comments (clear)

  1. More Expensive by lessthanjakejohn · · Score: 5, Informative

    It actually becomes $160 more expensive over the life of the contract.

    1. Re:More Expensive by EvanED · · Score: 5, Informative

      You don't have to get a data plan do you? It is possible to get the phone for $200 and then use one of the bacis phone service plans, correct?

      No, you can't.

      Not even if you are buying a used iPhone from someone; you have to get the iPhone package. In fact I *just* closed the window I had with an AT&T support chat asking this question.

    2. Re:More Expensive by svnt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He was refering to the raise in the cost of service for the new phone that will end up costing you $160 above what "phone service" used to cost you.

      Ok, 160/24 = $6.67 per month. Or a premium of 12% over your minimum plan with the EDGE iPhone.

      Your data rate increases by (absolute worst case) a factor of three, even while moving at highway speeds (3G > EDGE). Standing still it's four to ten times as fast. I fail to see how it's a bad deal.

    3. Re:More Expensive by warrior · · Score: 5, Funny

      I live in the United States where a lot of people try to appear to have money when they don't.
       
      There, fixed that for you.

      --
      Intel transfer the difficult from Hadware to software, for get more power, programmer need more technology. -- chinaitn
    4. Re:More Expensive by CmdrPorno · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Your data rate increases by (absolute worst case) a factor of three..."

      No, the worst case is if you live in a non-3G area, and your data rate increases by nothing, but you still have to pay for the 3G plan.

      --
      Sent from my iPhone
    5. Re:More Expensive by Fulg · · Score: 5, Informative

      I believe you can switch your iPhone SIM card over to some dumb phone, adjust your plan to include unlimited data for dumb phones (costs less than unlimited data for smart phones)... and then put that SIM card back in the iPhone.

      A word of warning to anyone wanting to try...

      For Rogers in Canada, the "cheap data plans for generic phones" (say the $7 all-you-can-leech instead of the "big" plan for iPhone) is locked to the IMEI number of your phone. The carrier has a list of IMEIs of all the phones it sold to subscribers.

      When you power up a phone with a SIM card inside, the IMEI is transmitted to the carrier. If the IMEI is unknown (your phone is "unapproved") the cheap data plan is not in effect, and you pay through the nose.

      This is all in the fine print that no one reads, though not that explicitly :)

      --
      gcc: no input sig
  2. Be warned.... Don't lose your iPhone by Andruil · · Score: 5, Informative

    A friend of mine works for a company selling the iPhone 2. According to him if you lose your iPhone 2 you will 1. Have to pay full price to get a new one (not too surprising imo) and 2. Re-sign up for a 2 year contract... Also according to him the employees have been instructed specifically to not mention this fact to customers. Pretty screwy to me. Then again I am ignorant of how most cell phones work so I don't know if this is standard or not. I'm assuming based on his reaction its not.

  3. quick, someone start complaining! by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's more expensive over the life of the contract than the previous model!
    It's not just a plain cell phone!
    It doesn't run Linux!

    1. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Funny

      LOUD NOISES.

    2. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by RabidMoose · · Score: 5, Funny

      Things cost more than they used to! Young people swear!

    3. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by LandDolphin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "You have to sign up for a contract!"

      I think that's a pretty valid complaint. Being locked into a contract lowers the companies desire to offer decent customer service when compared to how they would want to treat you if you could just switch providers whith a phone call.

      --
      Spelling and Grammar errors have been added to this post for your enjoyment
    4. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by Captain+Spam · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's not just a plain cell phone!

      Y'know, that used to be one of my complaints about ridiculous phones like these. I always said that the durn thing should make phone calls, and that should be the primary functionality of it. Plain and simple.

      But then I realized that nobody wants to call me anyway, so maybe what I want really IS a portable computing platform that just happens to have a cell phone buried in it somewhere just in case. :-)

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    5. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I salute you, good sir, for defying the caps filter.

    6. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by maxume · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maaaaaaaatlooooooocckk.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    7. Re:quick, someone start complaining! by Tyketto · · Score: 5, Informative

      Simple solution.

      Purchase the unsubsidized phone. Apple is selling the phone outright for $399 (8G) and $499 (16G) without the contract. If you don't want the contract, or are unable to upgrade your phone with them at this time, you can still buy the iPhone outright.

      BL.

  4. .. sent home without their sync complete by stretchpuppy · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's if you ever get past the line to even get a phone in the first place.

    iPhone 3G lines make DMV look like baskin robins.

  5. as an admitted apple fanboy, i must say.... by spoot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am completely sick of hearing about this thing. everyfarkingwhere you turn it's 'iphone-iphone-iphone' arghhhh. of course I might be singing a different tune if 1) I had a job and the economy was doing ok so I could afford one 2) knew someone i could actually make a phone call to. but oh how I do want to hold it's shinyness in my filty little hands and multi-touch it's glassy goodness. Unfortunately I have to buy groceries this month and pine for the days when I had a decent credit score.

    1. Re:as an admitted apple fanboy, i must say.... by D+Ninja · · Score: 5, Funny

      I am completely sick of hearing about this thing. everyfarkingwhere you turn it's 'iphone-iphone-iphone' arghhhh. of course I might be singing a different tune if ...

      Don't you mean you might be singing a different iTune?

  6. Re:The big news really is the 2.0 software by QuantumRiff · · Score: 5, Interesting
    3G is $10 more and doesn't include the 200 messages I can already send

    Yeah, so why the hell is that? you can have unlimited data, sent at very fast rates, watch streaming video, check your mail, etc, but those little 140byte packets, sorry, those are $0.20 each...

    --

    What are we going to do tonight Brain?
  7. Re:Sitting At Home With a Paperweight by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I just sold my soul and gave $200 to AT&T, I'd really like to play with my iPhone.

    And you're not even allowed to play with it by yourself without activation?

    Try and tell me that the future wouldn't be darker with Apple at the helm than Microsoft... Just try.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Re:Be warned.... Don't lose your iPhone by AstrumPreliator · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was going to buy an iPhone 2 but my friend's mother's brother's cousin said that his kid knows someone who works for Apple and he said the iPhone 3 should be out by Christmas. So everyone buying the iPhone 2 is getting suckered.

  9. Re:Has Apple jumped the shark? by Admodieus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Two months is a really early time for a price cut of $200.

    --
    "It's a reverse vampire...they....they crave the sun!"
  10. Apple, cut the BS with iTunes by Miladinoski · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I mean seriously, you buy a phone and then you need to go home and activate it through some software?

    What if I don't run Windows nor Mac?

    I mean, Apple, cmmon ..
    That means that obligates me to have a computer running the OS you choose. Or installing another OS just for activating it.

    What's next?
    Will I be obliged to have 4 gigs RAM to move my pics to the PC's hard disk?

    P.S. I know I could just go to a friend and activate the phone, but will you just go to his house to use his computer and you have your own at home?

    --
    [insert lame sig here]