New, Faster, cheaper iPhone 3G

. . . On Friday, Apple is launching a second-generation iPhone, called the iPhone 3G, which addresses both of those problems, while retaining the look and feel of the first model's hardware and software.

The base version of the new iPhone costs $199 -- half the $399 price of its predecessor; the higher-capacity version is now $299, down from $499. Yet, this new iPhone is much, much faster at fetching data over cellphone networks because it uses a speedy cellular technology called 3G. And it now sports a GPS chip for better location sensing.

The company also is rolling out the second generation of its iPhone operating system, with some nice new features, including wireless synchronization with corporate email, calendars and address books. And there's a new online store for third-party iPhone programs that Apple hopes will make the device usable for a wider variety of tasks, including gaming and productivity applications. This new software and store will also be available on older iPhones, through a free upgrade.

The iPhone 3G is hardly the first phone to run on 3G networks, and it still costs more than some of its competitors. But overall, I found it to be a more capable version of an already excellent device. And now that it's open to third-party programs, the iPhone has a chance to become a true computing platform with wide versatility.

I've been testing the iPhone 3G for a couple of weeks, and have found that it mostly keeps its promises. In particular, I found that doing email and surfing the Internet typically was between three and five times as fast using AT&T's 3G network as it was with the older AT&T network to which the first iPhone was limited.

Now isn't that interesting....it wasn't so long ago that I made that exact claim about the limitations of the old iPhone and was met by posts that I didn't know what I was talking about.

The iPhone (when taken in context of the total package pricing) is actually more expensive than the old iPhone. Jobites sure don't know how to do basic business math.

Last point - when will the Jobites finally get tired of not being able to replace their own batteries?

Now isn't that interesting....it wasn't so long ago that I made that exact claim about the limitations of the old iPhone and was met by posts that I didn't know what I was talking about.

No one on FR said that the EDGE was as fast as 3G... they said that EDGE was usable and sufficiently fast for most purposes. The iPhone's WIFI was and is faster than 3G. I know that was what I said.

The iPhone 3G is still limited in that the 3G network only covers about 6% of the area that AT&T and EDGE cover. Most of those are in major metropolitan areas. The iPhone will step down to EDGE when 3G or WIFI are not available.

The iPhone (when taken in context of the total package pricing) is actually more expensive than the old iPhone. Jobites sure don't know how to do basic business math.

And who says it isn't. It is less expensive up-front but more expensive in the long run. The cost is $15 more per month ($10 more for data and $5 for text messaging) but $200 less expensive to purchase. That results in a net increase of $160 over the two year contract. Because it is now being subsidized by AT&T, the data rate is the same as it already was for their other smart phones. Voice rates remain the same. For that extra $10 for data you get the added advantage of higher connection speed and GPS.

Last point - when will the Jobites finally get tired of not being able to replace their own batteries?

I've never had the need in the year that I've owned my iPhone. The battery lasts long enough to get from charge to charge. I've never even had to use my car charger. if I did find such a need, there are inexpensive supplemental battery powered chargers available that will recharge the iPhone on the go that I could carry. I don't need it, so I don't.

I've been testing the iPhone 3G for a couple of weeks, and have found that it mostly keeps its promises. In particular, I found that doing email and surfing the Internet typically was between three and five times as fast using AT&T's 3G network as it was with the older AT&T network to which the first iPhone was limited... The iPhone 3G is hardly the first phone to run on 3G networks, and it still costs more than some of its competitors. But overall, I found it to be a more capable version of an already excellent device. And now that it's open to third-party programs, the iPhone has a chance to become a true computing platform with wide versatility.

...but because it doesn't split the atom and cure cancer, it's a huge waste of money. ;')

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