Apple iPhone 3G Black (8 GB)

I've never been much for cell phones. I don't have kids, a lot of friends, or a big shot career, so there's no need for anyone to call me when I'm not at home. By and large, it's kind of liberating not to be a slave to a cell phone, but I will admit that they do come in handy sometimes. When my husband Bill and I came back to the States from a two year stint in Germany, Bill decided to pick up a couple of iPhone 3G (8GB) smartphones. I have to admit, after using this phone for the past couple of months, I really like it... but not so much for the sake of making phone calls.

The basics

The iPhone obviously can be used to make phone calls. However, because it's a smart phone, it can be used for a lot of other things, too. For instance, I tend to use mine for texting, something I never really did with the other cell phones I've had. It's very handy to be able to type a message to Bill when he's on his way home from work, asking him to pick up something from the store. I can also check email, surf the Net, listen to Internet radio, take pictures, check the weather, or play games with my iPhone. It really is a handy gadget to have around.

Cost to use

Bill purchased our iPhones for $99 each, plus a contract with AT&T, which is, at this writing, the iPhone's only service provider. For both phones, we pay about $120 per month for service (this is with a 15% military discount). This price includes 550 shared minutes, unlimited data, and 200 text messages per month. Unused minutes roll over to the next month. Calls to each other are free. Since I have no social life, I never even come close to using up my minutes.

Ease of use

I rarely use my iPhone for phone calls. Every once in awhile, someone will call me on my cell-- usually family members that haven't yet memorized my home phone number. So I tend to use my iPhone for other things. For instance, sometimes I'll take it to my bedroom when I feel like watching TV and surfing the 'Net. I've downloaded some fun--and free-- applications that are fun to kill time with. I like the Google application, which allows me to search the Web using my voice. I also like Pandora, which allows me to listen to the radio for free. Sometimes, I'll update my Facebook with my iPhone. All I have to do to access the features on this phone is touch the screen. I will admit that it took some practice to get used to the keyboard on this phone, but now that I have, I find that sending texts is a snap. And as long as I zoom in on the screen, I can read things on the Internet easily. My iPhone came pre-loaded with the Safari search engine, but adding other search engines is very easy to do.

One thing I have noticed and don't like so much is the email feature.  iPhone will check my two main email accounts.  However, I don't use the phone every day, so it will find emails that I've already deleted from my main account.  I usually spend a few minutes getting rid of those old messages and that can be tedious and time consuming, especially when I get a lot of spam... in other words, every day.  Also, sometimes it's tricky to touch the screen in just the right spot, particularly when I'm trying to zoom in on a Web page so I can read it easily.  But that's a minor frustration, really.

Battery life

I usually charge my phone every couple of days. My iPhone came with a cable that plugs into the wall or the computer. I notice that the phone needs to be charged more often than my other regular cell phones did. Bill says that's because the iPhone uses WiFi, which runs down the battery. I also tend forget to turn off my phone, though it's easy enough to do. Just press and hold the button on the top right corner of the phone until you get a prompt on the screen telling you to slide an on screen red bar. Supposedly, this phone offers about 5 hours of "talk time", but I almost never use it for talking.  I burn up a lot of battery power just playing with all the neat applications.

Durability

The iPhone is small, lightweight, and made of plastic.  Bill uses a case for his, which he purchased separately at the Apple store.  He claims that he bought the case because he's always dropping things.  I, on the other hand, prefer not to use a case.  So far, I haven't had too much trouble with the phone getting scratched up or dented, but then, I can carry it in my purse. 

Bells and whistles

Granted, my iPhone is the lowly 8GB model, so it doesn't hold as much "stuff" as the 16GB model does. Still, I think it does a lot for a phone. I can use it to write notes to myself, watch YouTube, take voice memos, check maps or stocks, store photos, or use the calculator.  I like the fact that it's really easy to store phone numbers and other contact information for friends and family.  That makes calling people a snap... I never have to worry about forgetting someone's number, at least the ones that I have stored in my phone. This phone will also hold iTunes, though I have so many of them that I never download them to my phone because I would burn through 8GBs of memory in no time.

Using iPhone as a phone

One of the reasons I never got into using cell phones is that I never used to think they offered as good a sound quality as landlines do. I'm here to tell you that my iPhone does, in fact, offer great sound quality. I can easily hear people who call me and they can hear me. However, I don't think the iPhone is as comfortable to hold as a regular phone is. For that reason, I still prefer my landline or even Skype for important phone calls. That makes me a bit of a Luddite. I'm sure someday soon, landlines will be completely obsolete and I'll have to change my ways.

Another cool thing...

Though we haven't quite switched over from PCs to Apples yet, my husband and I are slowly turning into an Apple family. I find the iPhone works great with other Apple products such as the iPod, iTunes, and Apple TV. Moreover, it also works great in my new MINI Cooper S Convertible, which is specially equipped to handle Apple products.

Overall

I like my iPhone 3G (8GB) phone. I don't think I'm quite at the point at which I can't live without it, but I do find it to be very practical, relatively affordable, easy to use, and all around fun to have. Maybe soon, I will be at the point at which I will want to upgrade to more memory, but for my purposes, this model of the iPhone works just fine. I highly recommend it.

For more information: http://www.apple.com