Apple iPhone 3GS - 32GB - black (AT&T)

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 498 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 1 stars

  Hype reloaded reloaded: (still) 25 % quality, 75 % hype

  by Fil0403 on June 20, 2009

  Pros: Design, interface, multimedia capabilities, speed

  Cons: 3G signal, business features (lack thereof), call quality, Exchange integration, no Flash, no Java, no multitasking, no USB transfer and storage, Office integration, price, Windows integration.

  Summary: Overexpensive, overhyped phone with nice, cool (and also counter-productive) touch-screen interface to show-off. But since when do you call "smartphone" a phone with no Flash, no Java, poor Exchange integration, ...

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  Summary: Overexpensive, overhyped phone with nice, cool (and also counter-productive) touch-screen interface to show-off. But since when do you call "smartphone" a phone with no Flash, no Java, poor Exchange integration, poor Office integration, poor Windows integration, and no multitasking? If you want a phone to show-off and play with fart apps and you have money to waste, get an iPhone; if you want a serious smartphone, do yourself a favour and get yourself a BlackBerry or a Nokia N97.
  
  PS: The "Abysmal" score is to balance with the childish, inflated scores of the usual Apple sheep.

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  108 out of 173 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  A Review for 99% of us

  by Lds73 on July 1, 2009

  Pros: I too was a little apprehensive about jumping in to the iPhone pool (mainly because of the bad reviews on here) but I'm very glad I did. It really is an exceptional phone.

  Cons: Having to pay for Push Notifications

  Summary: Judging by most of the bad reviews by 12 year old kids, I doubt most of these people even own the new iPhone. so let me give you the real ...

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  Summary: Judging by most of the bad reviews by 12 year old kids, I doubt most of these people even own the new iPhone. so let me give you the real lowdown from someone who ACTUALLY owns an iPhone 3gs.
  
  Here's what I love.
  
  * It's an Apple product
  
  It just works. No crashes and easy to navigate. You don't have to jump through a lot of submenus to get where you need to go.
  
  * Call quality / Phone / Coverage
  
  Yep I've heard all the negatives about AT&T's service but I simply find these negatives to be unfounded. I haven't seen my bars drop of the phone yet. I've found the call quality on my phone to be excellent; ppl can hear my loud and clear. No dropped calls as of yet. Don't let the rumors put you off. The other feature I like is dialing favorites so you have quick access to the ppl you call often.
  
  * Processor
  
  Its fast. It's been tested. 5X faster than the G1, 3X faster than the Palm Pre & iPhone 3G. What more do you need?
  
  * Price
  
  When the iPhone first came out I can remember friends paying $500. Now you can pick up the new 16gb for $199 or if you really want to go cheap, get the 3g for $99. What a bargain. Yes the monthly service charges are pricey but most cell services are. You just have to bite the bullet and decide if it is worth it for you. Apple sold 1 million units on its first 2 days because it's a bargain.
  
  * Tethering
  
  You don't have to wait for it. Cnet has a video that shows you how to tether now. It works; I've used it. Here's the link http://cnettv.cnet.com/iphone-3gs-speed-racer/9742-1_53-50073679.html?tag=mncol (Jump to 2m 30s in the video)
  
  * Copy / paste
  
  So easy to use, unlike other phones I have owned. Just tap on the words and drag away.
  
  * Support
  
  Apple care is like no other. I called last night for help with email issue (my fault), they had me sorted in 5 mins. You will see what I mean if you have to call Apple for help with iPhone features. They are friendly and do whatever it takes to make sure your iPhone is setup the way you want it. Try doing that with Sprint India.
  
  * Web browser
  
  Its the best I've seen. All other companies are trying to duplicate it.
  
  * 3G
  
  It's quick. That's all there is to it. It will get faster as AT&T rolls out their new network at the end of the year.
  
  * The app store.
  
  Say no more. You can get so many fun apps that either entertain or are actually useful. Windows & Palm will try to catch Apple in this dept but it won't happen since they are too innovative.
  
  * It's an Ipod. (Did we forget about this people?)
  
  * Battery Life
  
  What?? Yes I think the battery life is good. Compared to your old cell phone it will seem short. Yes you will have to charge it every night but my iPhone gets MUCH better battery life than my small laptop. Think about it, this is a mini computer you have in your hands the battery is very small so the fact is can hold a charge for about 24 hours is pretty amazing. We're never far away from a charger so just hop on Ebay buy the USB car charger, wall charger kit and charge whenever you need to. It's just part of having new technology. One thing that does concern me is with batteries, the more you charge them, the less charge they hold. Will this constant charging of the battery lead to quick replacemement? Only time will tell but you do have a 1 yr warranty should this happen.
  
  * Email
  
  Super easy to set up and if you use Outlook it will sync right up to your email accounts and sets them up automatically. Exchange server is easy to set up also. Blackberry does have the upper hand with the way it organizes messages into 1 folder and also with Push notifications. Being a business user however, I don't find it unmanageable.
  
  * Texting
  
  Landscape mode texting is fast and yes MMS is coming but if I need to send a photo, I just email it. I don't use MMS much so lack of it doesn't bother me at all.
  
  * Camera / Video
  
  Again it just works plus once you take a photo it pops up as a small thumbnail right on your lower toolbar for super easy access. I hear video editing is cool but I haven't used it and probably won't.
  
  * Bluetooth
  
  Very easy to us. I use it along with my Garmin Nuvi in the car. Very cool for hands free driving without having to by one of those expensive and ugly blue tooth headsets (yes people, you look retarded walking around with those things in your ears!)
  
  * There are many many other great features of the iPhone which I haven't played with yet but the above one's are the feature I would want to know about in a review. For instance if you have Sirius you can listen to Howard Stern through your iPhone.
  
  What would I change? Hmm.. I would like to have Push notifications for email without having to pay for Mobile Me. You can only have your email auto check every 15 mins. This is probably to save battery life as each email check uses juice. I would also like to see a removable battery but that probably won't happen for some time.

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  47 out of 62 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Negative Reviews CAN'T be from Actual iPhone Users

  by Goldie0197 on July 10, 2009

  Pros: 1. Speed is Awesome
  2. iTunes (being able to download videos
  3. Picture and video clarity
  4. Graphics
  5. Text message thread graphics
  6. Cool Apps
  7. Ease of setting up phone
  8. Ease of touchflow
  9. Mobile Me
  I will explain everything else below

  Cons: 1. Lack of MMS
  2. Not being able to customize SMS, email, voicemail tones
  3. Lack of any call filtering software. I enjoy my privacy
  4. Lack of any type of in-store insurance plan like other carriers
  5. Battery life

  Summary: I don't think I would have liked the iPhone 3G because of lack of copy/paste as well as MMS but I don't understand the negative reviews with ...

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  Summary: I don't think I would have liked the iPhone 3G because of lack of copy/paste as well as MMS but I don't understand the negative reviews with the new 3GS. Keep in mind I've only had it for 3 days and now I realize why there was a line wrapped around the mall the day this phone came out. It took me this long because of the negative reviews I've read on this website. But an review I read a few days ago convinced me to buy. It stated that most iPhone reviews are probably from people who don't actually have the phone and just repeat what others have said. Plus everyone that I've physically met who had an iPhone swears by it. So I took the chance and now I realize what all the hype was about. Now let's get down to the basics.
  
  Several reviews have stated that people can't get signals on their phones. Well the representative at the Apple store showed me a digital map of signal strength in the entire US. I was able to view signal strength to all places I go on a regular basis and signal strength was the same on my Verizon phone. Unless one lives out in the country, I don't see people having to drive a mile from their homes to get a signal as some reviews have suggested.
  
  I've downloaded videos, put 16G of music on phone and I haven't had any issues with phone overheating.
  
  The camera takes good photos although it has no flash. I was told that it's the best camera on a phone which it is not. The Samsung Omnia through Verizon has a 5MP camera with a super bright flash. This is the phone I currently have but will be turning off soon. My new iPhone is replacing it. I will keep it for another few days and compare signal strengths in certain areas between the two. Signal strength and call quality (at this point) is the only reason I'd take the iPhone back. But if everything continues to go the way it is now, I AM KEEPING THE IPHONE. No other phone compares.
  
  Using iTunes to download videos, etc is the coolest thing. And the videos are crystal clear as well as the sound quality.
  
  Battery life seems to suck. Using downloaded apps drains the battery extremely fast. Just talking on the phone is ok. I will have to keep a charger at work, home, and in the car. I'm not sure if I can go an entire day without charging the battery.
  
  What phone in 2009 doesn't have have MMS? I mean really. This boggles me. This is something that should have been on the 1G phone. My grandmother's 29 dollar phone can send MMS. Get on the ball AT&T.
  
  Believe what you see on the iPhone commercials. On several other commercials, you'll see small print at the bottom of your TV screen when they show screen images on the phone that says "screen images simulated". They do this to present the appearance of clear pictures and videos. The iPhone commercials are 100% true. The phone does all it claims to do in the manner it claims to do it in. Within 15 seconds, I opened the phone, searched movie times and locations, and was watching a crystal clear preview of the movie (just like watching TV).
  
  The GPS maps are awesome. I can do everything from finding restaurants, to attorney, to police speed traps all from my location INSTANTLY. With my Verizon, they lock these capabilities and you have to use their crappy VZ Navigator. The iPhone is much faster and cooling doing this. Also AT&T doesn't charge an extra $10 a month like Verizon.
  
  Speaking of money. My plan with AT&T is cheaper than with Verizon. I have the same amount of minutes but since Verizon charges that $10 extra to use the GPS on the Samsung Omnia it puts that bill over.
  
  I'm sure I will be able to write more after having the phone longer but after 3 days, the iPhone is worth it all. I'd never thought that I would ever get a way from Windows based phones but so far the iPhone kills everything else. I wrote this review to help people who are on the fence like I was. One of the determining factors was that everyone who I physically talked to who had iPhones, love them. Now I see why. If my opinion changes, I'll come back and revise my review.
  
  Updated on Jul 13, 2009

  ok, it's been a week and I love the phone more and more each day. I've travelled throughout the state of Virginia and believe it or not but I actually got better reception on my iPhone than my Samsung Omnia. I was not expecting to get better reception but I'm not complaining. I have one more test before I turn off my Omnia and that's when I go home to my house in NC since where I live is sort of in the country. If signal strength is still the same on the iPhone then keeping it is a no brainer. The phone downloads music, videos and apps extremely fast; no complaints there. Voice activation has recognized my commands all but once. And I was in the mall then so still no complaints. The games for this phone are awesome; graphics unmatched. I would rate the phone a 5 but I can't do that without MMS capability but that's on AT&T not the phone.
  
  Improvement(s) -- 1. Camera needs to be able to zoom. 2. Need to be able to customize SMS and email tones. That's all I could find.
  
  Updated on Jul 20, 2009

  ok. I just spent the weekend at my home in NC. It's out in the suburbs and surprisingly I got 5 bars about 95% of the time. I was on the extended network but there was no difference in call quality. This was the last hurdle for me as far as if I wanted to keep the iPhone compared to my Verizon Samsung Omnia. It's a no-brainer; keep the iPhone. There were pockets down I85 where I got no signal with the iPhone. I picked up my verizon phone and was immediately able to make a call. So thumbs up to verizon on their network. But these 1-2 minute pockets on no signal isn't enough to make me take the iPhone back to the store. The rest of the 98% of the trip, I got good signal strength. In summary, keep the iPhone and don't believe the blogs where people are trashing AT&T's signal strength. Or better yet, get the phone for the trial period (like I did) and test it for yourself because like everything else in the world "results will vary." The iPhone is great for me between VA and NC
  
  Updated on Jul 27, 2009

  ok, the phone is still the best on the market by far. Now that I've travelled more places, I realize the network isn't as good as Verizon's. I think the motto's of both company's are correct. Verizon has the most reliable network while AT&T has the fastest. If I go down any backroads with too many trees, my calls fail with the iPhone. Also, I signed up for MobileMe which is a great program. It allows my iPhone to sync with my laptop over the air. It also allows me to locate my iPhone through it's GPS in case I lose it. Google MobileMe to learn more. It's cool but there are some snags with the program. There could be actual snags or user-error on my part. I haven't figured it out yet. There is no way I'm getting rid of this phone especially since they can be jailbroken and used with another carrier. I met a guy that had his iPhone on T-Mobile's network.
  
  Updated on Aug 4, 2009

  ok I'm going to break this update in to two updates because each update is only alllowed 1000 characters. Here it goes. MobileMe is FANTASTIC. I won't type all the details here but google it. I LOVE MobileMe and it works exactly as advertised and it's super fast. I can sync wirelessly and interchangeably between my work computer, home computer, and iPhone instantly. On a more sour note, I just discovered today the iPhone has no type of task manager. Tasks cannot be added or deleted from the phone and have to be typed on the computer and synced to the phone. Also DO NOT get the apple bluetooth earpiece. It's worse that the 1st generation bluetooths back in 2004. This is a music/media/fun phone first and a business phone second. I previously had a windows-based phone which is business first and fun second therefore if you want to manage several tasks and have an extremely busy calendar, this phone is not for you. But there are apps that can be downloaded for your every need.
  
  Updated on Oct 24, 2009

  This is response to kendrickmeadows. You're right. The iPhone is not a smartphone. You can't customize the iPhone as much as you can a smartphone. I've actually been able to download apps to convert my iPhone to perform some of the capabilities as an iPhone so I'm still happy. Smartphones are business oriented first and fun phones second. The iphone is fun first and business second. Now that I've had the iPhone for a few months now, the only things I can't do with the iPhone as I could with my smartphone is, I can't customize my text message tones and email tones. Other than that, I can do all other things that a smartphone can do. Of course I had to find apps for that but I'm ok with that because now I have the best of both world. I have the fun, easy, user-friendly phone out of the box and (with apps) I have the smart, business-oriented phone. You can't beat it. Apple still needs to drop At&T though. Getting ringback tones on AT&T is so hard compared to Verizon.
  
  Updated on Oct 24, 2009

  In response to darkcocoa50. To me, to pay the early upgrade fee depends on when you are eligible to upgrade. I would probably wait if I were you because by the time you are eligible to upgrade, there may be a new version of iPhone. It seems Apple is rolling out new versions about every year and a half. Since you "love" your current phone, I'd wait and get the next generation iPhone for a cheaper price (upgrade) than get this one and pay more for it. I hope this helps.
  
  Updated on Oct 24, 2009

  In my original review, I put battery life as a con. I'd like to retract that now. Battery life has not been a problem. I can't go multiple days without recharging but I can go all day (from about 5:30 in the morning to 7:30 at night when I get home) without recharging. That's pretty good considering I'm looking at videos and doing a lot on the phone throughout the day. I'm actually surprised that I'll still have 30%, 40%, sometimes 50% battery life when I get home, especially since the phone stays connected to the internet.
  
  Updated on Oct 24, 2009

  Lastly, for those of you who don't have bluetooth, I bought this contraption (don't know the name of it) from the Apple store that allowed me to connect the phone to the speakers of the car which in turn allows to to play the iPod, listen to apps (such as Nav apps turn by turn directions, Trapster, and Pandora, etc.) This is sooooo cool. I no longer need satellite radio. I can listen to internet radio, which unlike satellite radio, is customizable via my iPhone through the speakers of my car. I can also place and receive phone calls through this contraption. If you have auxilary plugs in your car, you should get good sound quality, if you don't then you'll have to get the contraption that's tunes to the FM radio which is still pretty good but can have some rough spots. It's still worth it to me. I don't know the name of it but it costs $99 at the Apple store and all you do is plug it in to your cigarette lighter and you're ready to go.

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  28 out of 36 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Apple should leave AT&T

  by springlove21 on June 19, 2009

  Pros: nice apps, battery life a little better,lots of memory

  Cons: slow, bad reception. no multi-tasking, no turn by turn, dropped calls

  Summary: i would of gave it more stars if it apple was with another carrier

  Summary: i would of gave it more stars if it apple was with another carrier

  23 out of 43 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Poor quality of a great product

  by walked08860 on June 21, 2009

  Pros: Fast phone lots of great features. The camera is good the internet is fast. There are lots of great aps that use the new features well.

  Cons: Apple and AT&T are not working together well. If you're in the US you can't use the new picture messaging feature because AT&T is not supporting it. Also I am now going to go on to my 3rd 3g s in two days. My year old original phone is better.

  Summary: If apple can ever get this phone to work it will be awesome. If AT&T ever gets with it you'll actually be able use all the features. ...

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  Summary: If apple can ever get this phone to work it will be awesome. If AT&T ever gets with it you'll actually be able use all the features. Don't buy one unless you want a huge headache and an unreliable phone. I've never had 2 phones break on me in 2 days. And apple seems not to care. Their customer service is poor and their product in this case poorer.

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  14 out of 25 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Apple is not listening to their customers desires.

  by jckmj23 on June 9, 2009

  Pros: Speed
  MMS
  Tethering
  Voice

  Cons: Speed - Because AT&T probably won't deliver. Should have been there all along.
  MMS - Because AT&T will charge too much. Should have been there all along.
  Tethering - Because AT&T will charge too much
  Voice - Should have been there all along

  Summary: The speed that can be attained from the hardware is very good; however, AT&T probably has a lot to do with that, and they have been far behind ...

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  Summary: The speed that can be attained from the hardware is very good; however, AT&T probably has a lot to do with that, and they have been far behind the curve for a long time, Did the Apple powers-that-be pick up on the laughter directed at AT&T yesterday when they were one of the only carriers who were not going to be able to service their customers without a litany of excuses and delays. Also, it is great that Apple is finally giving us some options that have been standard on other phones for a long time. And yes, it is nice that they do it in a cool way. But, those standard options should not be the primary selling point at WWDC. Not matter how you slice it, MMS is something that should have been on the phone all along. Don't make it out like you are actually giving us something amazing.
  
  When I weigh the pros and cons, Apple is really not giving me anything. If I factor in the absurdity of doing business with AT&T, then I really don't have an overwhelming reason to continue to use the iPhone after my contract expires provided I find a decent alternative. I am on the fence.

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  17 out of 34 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 5 stars

  Good: Games and Surfing, Bad: Business, Productivity

  by thelawnetwork on July 4, 2009

  Pros: It's pretty, plays music and video well, excellent web surfing capabilities and office tools, slick looking, 3G and AT&T coverage better than expected

  Cons: Poor battery life, Apple's stifling of development, business applications limited, no drag and drop disk mode, everything revolves around buying services and things from Apple, no spam filter, no real utilities, cost of service versus other carries

  Summary: On one hand, it's a lot of fun to use the phone. Media playing is excellent as is web surfing. Phone is very responsive. On the other hand, if ...

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  Summary: On one hand, it's a lot of fun to use the phone. Media playing is excellent as is web surfing. Phone is very responsive. On the other hand, if you've ever used a Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile or other device, it will quickly become apparent how poor the iPhone compares in some areas. For example, no spam filter - really, no joke. Read all the articles trying to use Gmail to redirect email because Apple hasn't gotten around to that part yet and won't allow developers to touch their perfect invention.
  
  In some ways the phone is innovative and others it is 50 steps backwards. There is no disk mode - you can't drag and drop and synchronize files like you could with any PDA almost 15 years ago.
  
  Apple closes off areas to send you towards revenue producing goods and services to the point where it's ridiculous. Document synch pushes you toward an Apple service. Registering the phone requires you to get into a financial relationship with Apple. Getting an application requires one click purchasing in the iTunes store. Everything revolves around going to iTunes and, of course, seeing what Apple has to sell. I'm all for revenue opportunities but to a point.
  
  Battery life is noticeably poor. So far I haven't gone a day where battery life hasn't hit 50% - and that is with zero talk time. I'm guessing that by dinner I'll be at 30-40% battery life and there is no way that the phone will last through any part of a second day without a full charge.
  
  I've put up a complete business review of the iPhone 3GS at thelawprofessor.com in case anyone is interested.
  
  Updated on Jul 4, 2009

  To add about poor business applications, the lack of disk more makes true document sync impossible and none of your business applications can browse the phone to open the documents. Each application must sync its own version of the document in order to be viewed. That's ridiculous. The iPhone lacks good business applications and many of the fill in gaps like utilities are also unavailable because Apple refuses to allow developers to improve the OS (for example, no way to set predefined alarm times for appointments. Current PIMS still don't work directly with Outlook and few good options.)

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  4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  STILL lacks multi-tasking and flash support??!!

  by ssredmond on June 9, 2009

  Pros: Camera is really crappy on exisiting iphone. Will appreciate nicer camera and video.
  
  Speed, perf and battery life improvements are always appreciated.

  Cons: The inability to leave even one app playing while you do something else is rediculous. also, many if not most of the websites i care about use flash, which currently renders them useless. The lack of these two features is inexcusable!

  Summary: Some nice features but still missing absolute must have basics. Pricing is ugly for existing users who already pay out the nose for iphone. Very disappointed.

  Summary: Some nice features but still missing absolute must have basics. Pricing is ugly for existing users who already pay out the nose for iphone. Very disappointed.

  10 out of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  finally it can compete with my $50 phone, lg vu!

  by wolfpacker1993 on June 9, 2009

  Pros: its made by apple?

  Cons: made i apple! lol

  Summary: seriously should've had these things longgg ago, however, if u upgarde your iphone for this one, your stupid, all they did was upgrade the camera...still no FLASH! alow ...

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  Summary: seriously should've had these things longgg ago, however, if u upgarde your iphone for this one, your stupid, all they did was upgrade the camera...still no FLASH! alow it to do videos, put a compas in it (what is it 1508??) and put voice control! LOL how lame!!!!

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  9 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Great features, phone still has issues

  by Zoback on June 25, 2009

  Pros: Fantastic for factor, features and overall coolness. There is nothing that compares to this phone when you stack up all the components and features. Everyone knows how great the app store is and it lives up to your expectations.

  Cons: Phone quality is terribly unreliable, battery life is limited, speakerphone is weak and not very effective. Dropped calls are the daily norm, as is charging the phone in the late afternoon.

  Summary: I have had three iphones now and I can say while the features are all amazing and the app store is fantastic, the phone still lacks the basic component that ...

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  Summary: I have had three iphones now and I can say while the features are all amazing and the app store is fantastic, the phone still lacks the basic component that makes this the best phone ever.
  If you plan on talking on the phone with any level on consistency, the battery will not last a day. My profession requires me to be on the phone constantly and the iphone has awful battery life in this regard. Conversely, when you put it into airplane mode, I have gotten over 9 hours of use out of it, so I guess having the phone/3g on really drains it. The standby time is good, but again, the second you start talking, the battery meter start to dip.
  If I am trying to talk on the speaker phone it is almost comical since it is so quiet, if there is any ambient noise (ie driving in a car) it is near impossible to hear anything.
  I also drop calls daily. I live in San Francisco where cell coverage is great and no matter if I am talking locally or nationally, I will drop on average 5 calls a day which is very annoying.
  Don't get me wrong, I think the iphone is the coolest device in the market, but there are several shortfalls that I have had to deal with. I would recommend the iphone for anyone using it for personal use and/or owns a mac. The sync is fantastic and everything is backed up instantly when I connect it to my computer. If you are a business user, I would probably recommend a blackberry since the battery, call quality and speakerphone all outmatch the iphone's capability. I own and use both types of phones so I don't want to seem like I am pushing one or the other, but the simple fact is that blackberry has the best business device. Now when I am traveling and want to use all the sweet apps and the ipod on the iphone, it really shines. Being able to have one device to be entertained, check casual email and surf the web is great, just hope there will be some place to plug in. Having the ability to hear a song on the radio, use midomi to find out which song it is then instantly download it on itunes is great. The ipod is great, and being able to watch tv/movies makes traveling with it easy.
  Using Google maps to navigate is awful, and the UI isn't as intutive as blackberry's version of google maps. IE searching for "Food near me" the iphone gets confused and the navigation feature works well very rarely.

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  4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

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