Sunday, August 24, 2008

How Apple could have made the perfect phone

The iPhone 3G is the best phone ever; right? In terms of having excellent Wi-Fi, GPS, Safari browsing, emailing and iPod the iPhone is first class but these outright features haven't kept everyone happy. The iPhone 3G is really well made but it could have been made a lot better than it is. Keep reading this post to hear my problems with the iPhone that when fixed would lead to what i would call the perfect phone.

1. Lacks certain features:

One of my greatest problems with the iPhone is not what it has but simply what it lacks. The iPhone doesn't have MMS, a copy and paste function, GPS, a camera that takes video (or great pictures) and quite a few other things that we have grown to expect standard in every mobile phone.


2. Camera hardware and software needs work:

The camera on the iPhone is below average 2MP phone standard. Although i agree Apple can't make every feature on the iPhone exceptional i believe to make the perfect phone all aspects of the phone need to be above average. If the iPhone had a slighly better camera and actually came with decent software it would lift the overall standard of the iPhone a lot. The iPhone has no flash, auto-focus, digital zoom, photo correction application or adjustment options in size.


3. Battery life needs to be improved:

Apple went to a lot of trouble with the iPhone 3G to improve battery life (3G uses a lot more than 2G) but the iPhone still doesn't have very good battery life if you use it as the "everything" device it is marketed to be used as. Most users say that it needs to be charged daily if you make a dozen calls, send a few texts, listen to a few hours of music and access the 3G network for email and Safari use. Although a lot of people are happy to charge the iPhone every day one wonders if like the iPod battery after a few months use it would last hardly as long as at the start.

4. Finger prints are a real pain:

Fingerprints on the iPhone are a real problem; most people will find it really hard not to get fingerprints on it and it needs cleaning often not to become a uPhone (Ugly Phone?).

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Apple is new to the mobile phone business and the iPhone 3G is a good phone but with a little extra effort and perhaps some customer feedback the next iPhone model could be the best mobile phone ever made-as the iPhone 3G was hyped up to be.

Although the iPhone 3G does lack certain things and needs some improvement, i do not want to give the impression that the hardware or software has any sort of widespread faults on the iPhone 3G.

For those wanting the latest Australian iPhone information; including the latest pricing and sale figures... stay tuned for my next post!

Cheers, Lachlan.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Should you wait to buy the iPhone 3G?

Sales of the iPhone 3G in Australia and in a lot of other countries are picking up again after a slowdown due to worldwide stock problems and i can only imagine how many people out there are debating whether or not to buy the iPhone now or wait a few months.

5 Reasons to buy the iPhone 3G now:

  1. It's probably the best mobile phone ever made.
  2. You get to use it NOW.
  3. You don't have to WAIT.
  4. Stock could run out later on.
  5. It could be the best iPhone ever made. Some people prefer the original iPod's to the newer ones.

5 reasons to wait and buy the 3G iPhone later:

  1. You have longer to think about whether you actually want it.
  2. Prices will drop both on the actual iPhone cost and service costs for using it as time goes on.
  3. It may become available on more networks.
  4. Apple may bring out a new iPhone (32GB model perhaps) or fix some problems with the current one.
  5. Although hard to believe, a better phone could be made by another company.

I hope these reasons have helped you with making a decision on whether or not to buy the iPhone 3G now or later.

Cheers, Lachlan.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Latest iPhone information: Australian iPhone 3G available from Virgin

Australian iPhone sales are booming and customers are very happy with the actual phone but still perhaps disappointed with the phone bills? Those who have received massive bills on their first months statement should consider upgrading their data pack as this is almost definitely what is giving you the extra expense.

Unfortunately for those who have already bought the iPhone and signed a plan contract all of the first three companies (Optus, Telstra and Vodafone) that have had the iPhone from the start have now dropped some of their plan prices by around 10% (as i predicted they would on my earlier posts).

However for those who haven't yet got the iPhone unless you want to wait till Christmas (expect a further drop of pricing by around 30%) now is the BEST TIME TO BUY THE AUSTRALIAN IPHONE 3G!!

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In other iPhone 3G in Australia news...

Virgin has now joined the initial three companies selling the amazing phone and is offering the Australian iPhone 3G on plans that are actually very competitive in terms of pricing and plan flexibility. Virgin is targeting it's sales at the young (the 15-25 age group) by offering decent data plans unlike Telstra and Vodafone.
Here are the main plans for both the 8GB/16GB iPhone 3G models as taken from the Australian iPhone 3G Virgin website page on 10/8/08.

8GB iPhone plan involves: $70 package per month over 24 months which includes:
-8GB iPhone
-$520 monthly included credit
-1GB Data each month

16GB iPhone plan involves: $74 package per month over 24 months which includes:
-16GB iPhone
-$520 monthly included credit
-1GB Data each month

Virgins plans are similar to Optus' in terms of offering a 'fairer' amount of data. If you would like to compare the Virgin plans with the other three check out my post on Australian iPhone pricing (some plans may have changed slightly-see company websites for updated information).
The only downside with Virgin at the moment is a delay on iPhone stock. According to their website:
"The iPhone is so hot, it'll take a little longer to get to you. Order now & we'll email you as soon as yours is on its way. 8GB black/16GB white are arriving weekly, 16GB black is due late August."
But for existing Virgin customers looking for an upgrade or for those who like the look of their caps the addition of Virgin to the list of companies selling the iPhone 3G in Australia can only be a good thing!
Happy iPhone-ing!
Cheers, Lachlan.