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First iPhone 3G Reviews: Mossberg, Baig, and Pogue

The first iPhone 3G reviews are in from the reporters who have had early access to the iPhone 3G for the past two weeks. While we encourage you to read their reviews in full, we've highlighted some interesting tidbits:

Walt Mossberg / AllThingsD

- "it mostly keeps its promises."
- "more capable version of an already excellent device"
- Battery drained much more quickly using 3G
- Greatly improved audio, much louder speaker
- Data speeds 3-5x faster than original iPhone
- Better voice coverage with 3G. "At my neighborhood shopping center, where the first iPhone got little or no AT&T service, the iPhone 3G registered strong coverage."

Edward Baig / USA Today

- "iPhone 3G: The Sequel, is worth the wait."
- Still no recording video, no stereo bluetooth or voice dialing
- Supports PowerPoint attachments; mass move or delete multiple e-mail messages
- 10-30 seconds to load popular websites on 3G.
- GPS was very accurate
- Speaker sounded better for both speakerphone and music.
- "started receiving low battery warnings toward the end of a busy work day; I found myself charging the device overnight, the same as with the older iPhone."

David Pogue / NYTimes

- Sound is much improved. "In fact, few cellphones sound this good."
- Feels better in your hand due to the curved back
- "According to Apple, the iPhones G.P.S. antenna is much too small to emulate the turn-by-turn navigation of a G.P.S. unit for a vehicle, for example."
- No voice dialing, video recording, copy/paste, memory card slot, Bluetooth stereo, MMS
- "the really big deal is the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, neither of which requires buying a new iPhone."

Top Rated Comments

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47 months ago
So GPS is useless then...
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
Wonder if the bluetooth will be better...
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47 months ago
I was looking forward to the better sound part. Maybe speaker phone will be useful now.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
Was just going to submit the WSJ article!

Mostly positive reviews around.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
When was this information released from Apple regarding the GPS antenna?
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
So, it sounds like the iPhone 3G is a good buy for those who don't have an iPhone, but not necessarily worth a full upgrade for those who already own an iPhone.

Like David Pogue, I'm much more excited about the 2.0 firmware update than I am about the new hardware.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
Overall the reviews sound positive.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago

When was this information released from Apple regarding the GPS antenna?


12:18 PST July 7th 2008.

I really don't know. It probably came with the press kit.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
iPhone 3G with GPS: Know exactly where you are at all times! It can't help you with directions, but at least you know where you are!

I can look around, thank you very much...
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
47 months ago
I agree with David. iPhone 2.0 is the real big deal. 3G is not so much.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives

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