iPhone 3GS review

I recently purchased an iPhone 3GS with 16GB of memory.  This is my first iPhone and my first experience using Apple’s multi-touch interface.  I have never used an iPod touch either.  I purchased the iPhone  for the purpose of learning Objective-C, Cocoa and doing iPhone Application development.  Up until this point my experience with Smart phones has been limited to using and programming Palm OS & Windows Mobile Smart phones.  This post covers my personal experience with the iPhone.

User Interface: I am very impressed with the user interface.  It is very easy & intuitive.  I intentionally left the manual inside the 2″ x 3″ x 5.5″ box.  I wanted to see how much of the features I could access without any hints.

Display: My experience watching the high resolution 3.5″ diagonal widescreen display was great.  The screen was viewable from many different angles.

Multi-touch screen: It took a little getting used to.  But I’ve seen other people use it before, so it wasn’t too difficult to figure out. 

Sound:  The sound is very good.  I’ve listened to it with & without headphones.

Phone Service: So far, I have no complaints.  The phone is usable as a phone 🙂  I haven’t had any interruptions in service.

Connectivity Networking: The 3G network and WiFi have been reliable and easy to use.

Connectivity BLUETOOTH: I paired the iPhone with a BLUETOOTH Car Kit – Jabra Cruiser  SP710.  The pairing was flawless.  I didn’t need a manual to do this.  Of course prior knowledge of how to pair BLUETOOTH devices with phones helped.

Connectivity USB: I’m currently using it with a Windows XP computer and iTunes for updating information.  So, far so good.

GPS: I tried out the maps using the built-in GPS.  This is very cool.  Especially when you’re trying to figure out where to eat in close proximity.

Camera:  it was very easy to use.  When it launches, it asks if you want to record the location information.  Geotagging, what a great concept.

Slide Unlock: I have one issue so far.  The slide to unlock feature is inconvenient.  It’s not so easy to do it as a one handed operation.  Is it calibratable?  It would be nice if you could do a throw slider button gesture across the slider so it would be a simple operation.  This is my only complaint right now.

App Store: I have downloaded a few free apps.  So far the experience has been painless.

iTunes: I have watched some of the education videos available from Stanford University.  The audio & video quality has been excellent.

iPod: I own a lot of my CD’s.  After I figured out how to download the Albums into the iPhone they’ve been working fine.

Summary:  In a word, “WOW!!!”  My first impression of the iPhone has been an excellent experience.  I love the User Interface.  I’m still learning of course, so my opinion might change.  As I explore the features and applications, I’m sure I’ll have more to say about the experience.

To see all the details about the iPhone 3GS visit Apple iPhone Technical Specifications

About Wes Johnson

Wes Johnson is a software engineer with extensive experience developing desktop applications. He has also developed firmware for consumer electronics and OEM boards. His experties is C and C++ programming.
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