iPhone 3G = More Bars

[Kaido]

I've always had mediocre-to-terrible service with my first-gen iPhone. My wife switched jobs and got zero reception at her new workplace. She's a nanny and a cell phone is an important tool to have, so not having service was not working out. We were going to switch back to Verizon, but discovered that Apple has a 30-day return policy on the iPhones, so we decided to try the new 3G models for a week to see if they worked better. And BOY do they ever!

First, I get much better service. I got 5 bars at the mall (inside the Apple Store, even), where I used to get zero to 2 bars. At home, I got zero bars to like, half a bar lol. Now I get a 4 bars. Calls are much much much clearer. The volume is louder. Speakerphone is still pretty useless, but at least I have a real headphone jack now! Yay! The shape is very nice, I like the smooth, tapered feel - it's a bit easier to hold. 3G is still pretty slow, but it's faster than EDGE, which is nice. I can actually download free apps within a minute or two now instead of 2-6 minutes.

The battery life is also much better, but that's probably because I've had my first-gen iPhone for nearly 2 years without a battery swap. The phone was 1/2 charged when I opened the box and I used it all afternoon, got a 20% battery left message, and kept right on using it on and off for another few hours. Still haven't gotten that 10% left message!

So overall, I'm very pleased with the upgrade. If you have a first-gen iPhone and your reception stinks and the battery is starting to go out, definitely think about an iPhone 3G. I can't remember the last time I got 5 bars consistently on my first-gen, lol. Whoohoo! 😀

 

[tefleming]

I don't want to pay $15 / month for better reception.

 

[Illusio]

Originally posted by: tefleming
I don't want to pay $15 / month for better reception.

I assume you mean the pricing plan between the 1st gen and 3G iphone. If so, the $15 a month is worth it for 3G alone.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi

Originally posted by: tefleming
I don't want to pay $15 / month for better reception.

I assume you mean the pricing plan between the 1st gen and 3G iphone. If so, the $15 a month is worth it for 3G alone.

Isn't only $10/mo a month more? I thought the first gen was $20/mo for data

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: Dark Jedi

Originally posted by: tefleming
I don't want to pay $15 / month for better reception.

I assume you mean the pricing plan between the 1st gen and 3G iphone. If so, the $15 a month is worth it for 3G alone.

Isn't only $10/mo a month more? I thought the first gen was $20/mo for data

Yeah I think it's $30/mo for 3G data. Can't say I'm super excited about the price increase, but this is really my only "luxury" item so I'll go with it 😛

 

[tefleming]

First gen data includes 200 texts (which costs $5 to add to the 3g.)

3g is only beneficial if I'm away from Wifi, which I'm not often enough.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: tefleming
First gen data includes 200 texts (which costs $5 to add to the 3g.)

3g is only beneficial if I'm away from Wifi, which I'm not often enough.

For me, it was all about reception. The new plastic backing is really making a difference (dunno if the antennas are better or not either), but I hardly ever lose service now. Call quality is much cleaner now, the volume is slightly louder, and the speakerphone is now usable in a quiet car.

 

[Kmax82]

I still wish the speakerphone was louder. It's better than the 1G iPhone, but still unusable in my car while I'm driving. I will have to say that overall, I'm happy with the 3G, just wish that it had a few changes. But I'm sure those will be implemented one by one over the course of the next 10 years of iPhone development.. haha.. 😀

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
I still wish the speakerphone was louder. It's better than the 1G iPhone, but still unusable in my car while I'm driving. I will have to say that overall, I'm happy with the 3G, just wish that it had a few changes. But I'm sure those will be implemented one by one over the course of the next 10 years of iPhone development.. haha.. 😀

Yeah it's not at all usable in my car, but my wife's Saturn is pretty quiet and you can hear it with the radio off. I really didn't want to upgrade until the 32GB model came out, but my wife was going to switch back to Verizon, so we decided to try this first. Now I get reception...yay.