Apple iPhone 3G Cell Phone Review - Value & Comparisons

Value (4.5)
The Apple iPhone 3G is available exclusively from AT&T in the United States. The price for the 8GB model is $199 with a two-year contract and the price for the 16 GB model is $299 with a two-year contract. Much has been written about the actual cost of the iPhone. As we've pointed out already the total cost over the course of two year's is actually higher than the original iPhone, despite the drop in up-front cost. This is because AT&T has upped their data rates and have stopped including text messages.

This brings the iPhone's contract costs in line with other smart phones from AT&T, but we always encourage customers to think about the long term, and in this context the Apple iPhone 3G is not a better value than its predecessor, in fact its a worse value. Throw in the fact that we had AT&T customer service agents telling us that we had to purchase a text messaging plan, which is simply strong arm tactics that show the worst of the wireless industry and we're not inclined to be charitable here. If you buy the iPhone 3G know that you'll be paying more, no matter what Apple says about "half the price".

Of course you'll also be getting a bit more, in terms of software functionality and also hardware with 3G and GPS. Overall we think it's a better value than the $500 and $600 iPhones of a year ago, but probably not as good a value as the $400 iPhone of a few months ago, especially when you consider that those iPhones will also get the software upgrades.

Comparisons

Samsung Instinct - The Instinct is Sprint's response to the iPhone, a capable touch sensitive device with GPS functionality and a handsome interface. The Instinct has a lot going for it, but in the end it doesn't match the capabilities of the iPhone despite being better a few areas (like the ability to provide turn by turn directions). That said we do think it's a better value than the iPhone at $130 with Sprint's Everything plan covering all your voice and data usage. If you're on Sprint and don't want to leave, the Instinct is a solid competitor. If you're not married to Sprint the iPhone will probably serve you bettter over time.

LG Dare - The Dare is Verizon's response to the iPhone, to be fair it's one of many touch screen phones they've released recently. This is a closer call than the Instinct versus the iPhone because the Dare is simply one of the most capable non-smartphone devices we've seen in a long time. It has a relatively easy to use touch screen interface, a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera that takes much better photos than the iPhone 3G's camera, and take video to boot, and the music and video, although not as good as the iPhone, is still very good. If you don't want to leave Verizon we say go with the Dare, you'll be very happy. If you're a free agent try out both devices and see which one suits you better. There's no clear winner here.

Nokia N95 w/ US 3G - The N95 is one of the most capable phones on the planet. Sporting the powerful Symbian S60 operating system it has access to a wide variety of third party applications without the peculiar restrictions Apple places on iPhone apps. It's camera is also miles better than the iPhone. This might seem like an easy call, but one thing closes the gap considerably, the software interface. S60 is one of those aging smart phone platforms that is in need of a serious face lift, the iPhone's software by contrast is quick, attractive and actually fun to use. If you're looking for power go with the N95, but if you want a less complicated, more comfortable phone experience the iPhone 3G is for you.

BlackBerry Curve 8320 - Last year when we looked at selecting our phone of the year it came down the the original iPhone and the Curve. We choose the iPhone because of the impact it had on the industry, but it was a close call. Even aging a bit now the Curve is still one of the most solid devices on the market. Running BlackBerry OS, it's an emailing powerhouse and its camera is slightly better than the iPhone 3G's. Of course with the iPhone 3G getting support for Exchange server there's less of a clear cut difference between business versus fun, but if you want no-nonsense and solid as a rock go with the Curve. If you want something a bit flashier pick up the iPhone 3G.

Apple iPhone - It seems like just a little while ago that we were all mesmerized by the introduction of the first iPhone. Almost everyone realized it was a game changing device, although we all realized that it had some serious flaws as well. We all dreamt that at some point in the near future we would get an updated iPhone that would solve all these problems and make it the perfect device. We're here to tell you that the iPhone 3G is not that phone. Some of the biggest upgrades that we talk about in this review come courtesy of the iPhone 2.0 software upgrade, which the original iPhone will also receive. That leaves GPS and 3G as the biggest additions to the game (and possibly better signal strength but we don't test that). In exchange you lose battery life, which is one of the most important features of any phone. In our minds it's close enough that we don't recommend all the first gen iPhone owners rush out and get the new one, especially considering the added costs. The original iPhone is just a year old, it will continue to be a solid phone with nice new software for quite awhile longer.

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