I finally got my hands on a Belgian unlocked iphone 3G after paying 525€ for the 8Gb version and waiting 10 days to get it from Iphone vendor and mobile operator Mobistar. It was bought for my pleasure and comfort, but since I have it, why won’t I review it?
The Iphone will be the first device I review, so I won’t use the default criteria but I will just write a short story about its features.
Immediately after the delivery truck came I opened the package and found limited documentation (but who needs that since you can find all info online). In the package was also a cable to connect your Iphone with your computer or to plug your Iphone in the power outlet. I also found an earphone and a tissue to polish the screen.
I booted the Iphone and it asked me to enter an unlocked SIM card and connect the Iphone to Itunes. So I went to the nearest city from where I live “Aalst” and went to a mobistar center where they sell SIM cards and subscriptions for the Iphone. I chose a 30€/month package which features 3 hours calling time a month, 300 text messages and 100mb bandwidth, yeah Europe is expensive. The Apple reseller not far from the mobistar center provided me with a sleeve for my Iphone for 10€ since that wasn’t included.
When I came home I immediately plugged it into the USB-port of my Macbook and Itunes opened, asking to enter some information and my Itunes store account info. I didn’t update since I’m scared that an update to version 2.1 would screw everything up (I heard a lot of scary stories from people who updated their Iphone 3G to version 2.1). I added some music and a movie to test this and also synchronized with my Ical and Adressbook. So this is also happening automatically for your comfort.
I finally booted my Iphone 3G for real this time. The touch screen features are very nice. I’ve never seen such excellent use of a touch screen in any device. Writing text messages on an Iphone is something you have to get used to, its not easy for people who never used an Iphone before, but after a couple of hours you will have mastered it. The Iphone is very handy to keep track of your activities, everything is displayed nicely in the calendar. You have a fully operational multi-tabbed browser (Safari) without the ability to display flash applications. YouTube uses flash as well but you have a special youtube player for this. The mail is very easy to set up, just connect your Iphone to your computer and it will synchronize your mail accounts.
The Ipod software on the Iphone are incredible, perfect 3D coverflow and beautiful sound even without an earphone.
By default the Iphone hasn’t got any games or catchy ringtones, so its not meant for 11-16year old boys or girls who wanna be cool. It’s meant for college students, webmasters or businesspeople. You can download or buy applications and games through the application store at very reasonable prices.
The only things I miss is are a way to send MMS messages and a mobile office tool that can manage xls, doc and databases, aside from that the Iphone 3G is a must have tool for people who want a smartphone with an easy stylish interface and a lot of possibilities. 9/10!
One quick hint : When you are in the vicinity of a Wifi connection, use that instead of 3G, it’s faster and it’s free.
