The Life and Blog of MacGeek Pro

One month ago, I stood in line with all the other crazies, and bought an iPhone 3G. I had been planning to write a review straight away, but my anniversary and the birth of my son occurred within days of getting the iPhone. Since an entire month has gone past, I feel very comfortable in giving a well-informed review of the iPhone 3G. 

Initial Impressions

My activation process experience was bittersweet. Apple’s servers had melted down by the time I was able to sit down with a Genius. Therefore, I was given the option to take my iPhone home to activate it. I happily took that option, as it meant my iPhone was not unboxed before my eyes by someone else.

I quickly went down the block from the Apple Store in Omaha and got a coffee at Scooter’s Coffeehouse. I found a nicely lit seat and began the unboxing process. 

After the unboxing I tethered my iPhone to my MacBook to begin the activation process. This is where things fell apart. I was, naturally, experiencing the same thing as everyone else in the nation. iTunes’ servers were still the equivalent of molten lava. So I packed up my things and made my way home to Lincoln, with the hope of iTunes cooperating within the hour.

Yeah. Right. I was finally able to activate 3 hours after I arrived home. I took a nap to pass the time, if you care to know. I mean, come on, I had been awake since 4 a.m.

After activation was complete, things ran swimmingly. iTunes restored all my settings, notes, etc. from the backup of my iPod touch, which I must say, was a nice touch (har har).

After all 10 GBs of data synced back over, I gave it a spin. Phone calls were crisp and clear, which is by far the most important thing. Visual Voicemail is a godsend—I don’t know why phones haven’t had this! All other aspects of the phone performed quite well and up to expectations. 

GPS in Maps is extremely accurate. I am hoping that a future update will bring turn-by-turn directions much like my Garmin. 

Of course, one of the killer features of the new iPhone (or rather the new iPhone OS) is the App Store.

App Store

The App Store is downright cool. Third-party apps definitely fill the gaps (mostly) that Apple left. I have only downloaded 9 apps: 8 free, 1 paid. 

• Twitterrific Premium - My favorite Twitter client from the Mac comes to the iPhone. The premium version is sans advertisements, but there is also an ad-supported free version.
• Facebook - A nice portal to the biggest timesuck ever. :)
• AIM - Everyone clamored for an instant messaging app when the first iPhone was released. I have to admit, I thought I would use this more, but I don’t.
• Exposure - A nice interface for viewing photos from Flickr.com.
• Now Playing BoxOffice (currently unavailable) - This app gives you movie ratings and local showtimes. Unfortunately, it was mysteriously removed from the App Store. Rumor has it that it is relaunching soon under a new name: Now Playing. Now Playing has been released on the App Store.
• Remote - This nifty free app from Apple allows you to remotely control your iTunes library or Apple tv from your iPhone. This is probably the most well made app on the App Store right now.
• PhoneSaber (currently unavailable) - This app taps into the iPhone’s accelerometer to enable motion sensitive lightsaber sounds. It was removed from the app store due to copyright issues, but will return as an official Star Wars branded app soon.
• Tap Tap Revenge - An addictive Guitar Hero inspired game. And free to boot!
• WordPress - An easy way to post a quick blog entry from your iPhone to your WordPress blog.

Glitches and Fixes

The initial iPhone 2.0 software wasn’t without its glitches. I experienced many sudden app crashes (both Apple’s and third party apps), and general sluggishness in scrolling lists and typing. Those were the chief glitches I noticed.

Recently, Apple released the 2.0.1 [and now 2.0.2] software, which has greatly reduced the app crashes and obliterated any sluggishness I had previously experienced.

Summation

Overall, I am greatly overjoyed with my iPhone purchase. Having the Internet in my pocket, along with my music and my phone, all in one handy device is amazing. Gone are the days of always needing multiple gadgets with me all the time. Now all I carry are my wallet, my keys, and my iPhone.