Anand Reviews the Apple iPhone 3G
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 16, 2008 8:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Moar Louds
Apple made several mid-life adjustments to the original iPhone, including giving it a louder external speaker. The change was mild but noticeable; if you compare my friend’s original iPhone that has never been replaced, to my latest refurb, there’s a noticeable difference in speakerphone volume.
Even the best iPhone I ever had however could not match the volume level of the iPhone 3G. While the speaker was basically useless on the first iPhone unless you were in a very quiet environment, the iPhone 3G’s speaker works like it should - it seems loud enough to actually be useful. Indoors the speakerphone works perfectly, the problem comes in when you use it outdoors or in any other area with a lot of ambient noise. I found myself having to hold the speaker to my ear in order to hear the speakerphone while outdoors.
The old iPhone speaker grill (left) vs. the new iPhone 3G grill (right)
The microphone and speaker on the iPhone 3G are no longer covered by the phone’s exterior plastic, they are simply recessed and covered by a fine mesh grill. While the old iPhone was never quite loud enough even at full volume, there are some situations where the iPhone 3G is too loud at full volume.
The initial revision of the iPhone 3G has been giving me some troubles with sounds - randomly the phone will stop giving me SMS alerts. It’ll still vibrate and make all of the other noises, but if I get a SMS I won’t get anything, no vibration and no alert. I’ve had the SMS alerts disappear three times on me now; a reboot will fix it and the last time it happened, the problem just resolved itself. I’ve also had an issue where the phone lock and unlock sounds stopped working. I’m hoping these are firmware problems, because Apple currently doesn’t have enough stock for me to just walk in and ask for a replacement.
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michael2k - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Like it or not, the iPhone is hardware.AnandTech is run by Anand, and whatever strikes his fancy (be they MacBook Airs or iPhones) gets reviewed.
imaheadcase - Monday, July 21, 2008 - link
"Like it or not, the iPhone is hardware.AnandTech is run by Anand, and whatever strikes his fancy (be they MacBook Airs or iPhones) gets reviewed. "
Yes its hardware, so is a toaster..I away his review on the latest model toasters that come out, as well as the top of the line flashlights... i rest my case.
robinthakur - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Its sad that you aren't realistic enough to know that currently lots of people are looking for a decent and unbiased iPhone 3G review, and Anandtech (A technology site I recall) offers a very good and highly technical review, the best I've seen. Where's the issue there? Are you annoyed that the iPhone is again in great demand and in the news? Its hardly the iPhone's fault that the HTC *fill in this weeks model* garners about as much press attention as a comeback by Kelly Clarkson, its fundamentally outdated and playing catchup to the new kid on the block.Griswold - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
You really need to roll over and die.at80eighty - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
you ungrateful morons don't seem to get a simple fact. this site is FREEAnand & Co. owe you nothing & yet they keep putting up good/great articles
Lately all i see is whine & cheese about how anandtech has lost its hardware focus , while commenting in 'the third' article of hardware
more often than not this is a one stop place for getting your info. don't like it , don't click.
and im not a mindless fanboy - someone here was recently criticizing the AT staff over something , but he made clear , precise & constructive points why he felt so - and thats a good way to go about it. your stale WAAWAAWAA is just a stupid annoyance
Dennis Travis - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
VERY well said. Almost the exact words I was thinking.Keep up the EXCELLENT work Anand and Staff!
imaheadcase - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
What he said, roll over and die.Brianoes - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link
What are you talking about? I think that Anand's article provides one of the, no, the clearest and most consise iPhone article, and I'm done hunting for them to learn some more random details that I may have been interested in. His conclusion was not the standard three paragraph garbage you see on most other review sites - thanks for the really in depth final conclusion and summary.The first and last good iPhone review I've read, coming from an iPod Touch user for the past three months.
Brian
imaheadcase - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
What am i talking about? I guess you are oblivious to the fact that the iphone is a niche market. Like every smart phone out there. Yet they review a iphone and no other phone? You know why they don't review others phones..because there are millions of sites that do that all the time.Stick with actually HARDWARE analysis like next to Anandtech on top of page. Leave the phones/cars/apple related stuff/ game reviews, etc to other sites who do it 24/7.
Goty - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link
I think there needs to be some emphasis in the section dealing with reception on the fact that coverage is STRONGLY influenced by where you are. When I was at college, a large number of my friends were Verizon customers, but most dropped Verizon and switched to either Cingular/AT&T or regional carriers because Verizon coverage in the area was practically nonexistent. None of their phones got reception in any of the buildings on campus or in any most of the apartment complexes, and signal strength in open air was limited to one or two bars at best.