Reviewing the iPhone - 8mths on…

With the imminent release of the new 3G iPhone, I have been thinking a lot about my current iPhone - which I bought back in October last year. And I have to say, it still rocks for me! So far it has been reliable, highly functional, and a joy to use. Even at v1.4 of the firmware (and v2.0 is coming), it pretty much does everything I need - flawlessly…

So what have been the highlights for me?

The Interface (GUI) - clearly a differentiator for anything Apple, the iPhone touch-based GUI with Mac OSX roots is a delight to use. The high-quality graphics and intuitive user interaction are a major plus. Add the ability, really for the first time, to be able to see and interact with a standard webpage, and you have what is turning out to be sea-change in user expectations of mobile device capabilities.

Syncing - like all iTunes Syncing with my previous iPod etc, it just works. My calendar is always correctly up-to-date, my contacts are accurate… This is a far cry from my previous experiences with other Smartphone-type devices, and a very welcome change.

Connectivity - whether it’s Edge or WiFi, again it just works. It figures out all the networking going on underneath and just gives me the data connection I need. If WiFi is available, I get connected with good speed. If it’s not, I get Edge, albeit much slower. But for iPhone optimised pages (like Google News) or RSS feeds, it is more than acceptable.

So overall, am I happy with my current iPhone? Absolutely - best mobile device I’ve used so far - period.

Am I planning to upgrade to the new 3G iPhone when its available? Probably, not because I have to have the faster speeds, but simply so I can pass my current phone on to my wife. Otherwise, I am pretty happy with the status quo.

Of course this negates the Steve Jobs Techno-lust factor - i.e. when the new phone is finally announced, the associated fanfare will be designed to make you want it so bad you drool… It will no doubt be that much… thinner or blacker or shinier…cooler!

So while the current phone is just pretty damn good, the new one will be that much better. If you love your iPhone now, will you be able to resist the new one?