Despite all of the buzz we’ve seen lately, including a hastily-assembled firmware update, it seems that that hardware in the iPhone 3G is pretty solid.
A Swedish company decided to find out, and took their iPhone to a test facility made for this kind of thing. They ran a variety of tests on the phone, as well as on a Sony Ericsson P1 and a Nokia N73. The testing confirms that they’re all about equal.
So what to make of it? It seems to me that we might be looking at some software issues, a fact that Apple essentially gave away when pushing out the 2.0.2 update. Hopefully their next update can continue to improve on it, since the hardware appears to be in good shape.
For those of you having problems with 3G reception and dropped calls, help is apparently on the way. After a few days of bickeringa bout whether it was a hardware or software problem, Apple seems to be working on a firmware update to fix the problems.
According to IntoMobile, this fix will be part of the 2.1 firmware. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring it out more quickly as a 2.0.2 update, but that remains to be seen.
Slightly modified design — thinner body, more tapered edges
Free upgrade to version 2.0 for existing iPhones, though they obviously won’t get 3G or GPS. $9.95 to upgrade your iPod Touch.
The bad
Still no MMS. Why?
No native video support, though I presume that you’ll be able to download an app to handle it.
No 32 gig version.
No front camera for live video chat, as was suggested in a few places.
Same camera on the back. I was expecting an upgrade there.
All in all it looks to be a very solid update, but nothing remarkable. I was very impressed by the $199 price, but that’s tempered a bit now that I know it requires a two-year contract.
Now, do I try to get the new iPhone or do I keep using my N95?
It’s not a huge surprise, but Gizmodo has revealed the official launch date of the 3G iPhone. From their site:
someone very, very close to the 3G iPhone launch has told me that Apple will announce their new model at the WWDC Keynote on June 9th.
Also, the phone won’t be available at a fixed price point, meaning carriers will be able to offer discounts if you sign a contract. That seems like a good thing for everyone, since the majority of iPhone users signed contracts anyhow.
It’s been widely reported that the online Apple store has completely stopped selling iPhones. This would seem to indicate that the 3G iPhone is coming soon. It’s widely believed that the new iPhone will been unveiled at WWDC 2008 (June 9-13), but now it appears the phone may be released before then.
TechCrunch points out that in addition to the online store being out, 02 in the UK has stopped selling phones, and many folks have had difficulty purchasing them in stores.
Also, 3G support is apparently no longer a 99% certainty — it’s 100%.
According to TG Daily, the pricing structure for the 3G iPhone will be:
8GB – $399
16GB – $499
32GB – $599 (maybe)
The phone will feature a slightly thinner body and a less “plasticky” case. They expect the phone to be released at WWDC 2008 (June 9-13), which lines up pretty well with the other guesses we’ve heard of “60 days” and “sometime in June”.
The experts say it’s coming this summer, but signs are pointing to a 3G iPhone in a matter of days. After hearing word of iPhone shortages GigaOM called many Apple stores, randomly selected, and were told the same thing every time — “sorry, we are out of iPhones”.
They think a 3G iPhone could be announced as soon as today. We’ll see.
Despite all of the buzz we’ve seen lately, including a hastily-assembled firmware update, it seems that that hardware in the iPhone 3G is pretty solid.
