DISCLAIMER: I DO have a love affair with Apple products. The following blog may appear to be slightly harsh, but it’s only because I truly <3 these products and take my iPhone'n very seriously 😉
Okay. As many of you are already aware, Apple officially announced yesterday the released of the newest addition to the iPhone family: The iPhone 3G S. The past few months I have been very heavily anticipating a new/better designed phone to replace the current 3G model. I will just say that my initial reaction was not so good…
I remember sleeping overnight at an AT&T store about a year ago to get my hands on a brand new 3G. As the first person in line, I was one of the very first people in the Nation to get a chance to operate an iPhone on AT&T’s 3G network. The faster processor and the ability to work off of a faster network did wonders for Apple’s new phone, but I still felt like there wasn’t enough of a change to warrant all of the buzz.
As I began to use the phone everyday I noticed several things that I really didn’t like about the current design and performance. I don’t really want to say that they were things I “hated.” Why don’t we just say, “strongly disliked?” Sounds good.
In my personal opinion, the 3G was more of the same. There was a great advancement in the speed of the device, but I still feel like Apple didn’t address some of the following key shortcomings:
-Terrible Battery Life (I found myself charging far too often.)
-Quiet Speaker System (What happened to being able to annoy an entire room with the Ninja Turtle’s theme song? Not to mention barely being able to use with Speaker Phone!)
-New Design? (Essentially the same look, but features an annoying rounded back.)
-Plastic Back (New to the 3G. However, very easily damaged and feels very “cheap.”)
This might seem a little nit-picky, but I really do feel that Apple missed the boat on this major re-design. As the months went by, I was incredibly hopeful that Apple was working on these “issues” and hopefully we would see a release of a newly designed phone that would knock our socks off! As of today, I am little frustrated…
The new 3G S boasts a faster processor, 3-Megapixel camera, video editing on the go, voice control and voice dialing, and a compass. Now, I would never say that these features aren’t cool, but does it really warrant the $200 upgrade and signing away your life to AT&T for another two years?
I guess what discourages me the most is that the biggest improvement for the iPhone is going to be the 3.0 Software Upgrade. You don’t even have to have a new iPhone to take advantage of this! So, essentially the only difference to having the new 3G S is faster processing speed and the ability to edit video on the go? Sure taking video is pretty cool, but not when you are in fear of running down your battery life because the phone only seems to last a few hours in between charges.
Sorry to be cynical, but it just doesn’t seem that this new iPhone has very much going for it. I would have loved to see some sort of aesthetic change. After all, this is Apple…isn’t it??
Alright everyone, my rant is over. Check out the blogs and consult the internets. Let me know what you think! Did you think I was too cynical?? Feel free to email me at nate@iresq.com and give me your opinion. Hit the blogs! Let Apple know what you think. They are listening.
-The Man of the Hour