iPhone 3G - The Dawn of New Era

At last, after months of waiting and speculations the next generation iPhone 3G or iPhone 2.0 is here. It is thinner, lighter, cheaper and claimed to be twice as fast as its predecessor. Apple has blessed iPhone 3G with GPS and has improved audio and reception quality. Other features of the 3G iPhone are Contact Search, iWork document support, bulk delete/move, saving images from an email, scientific calculator, parental controls, added languages, various input types, etc.

Its overall look is same as earlier version with same 3.5-inch display, the only difference being its curved back panel. The back panel is plastic as opposed to chrome in original iPhone, Which has a quite positive effect on the reception quality. There is no secondary camera for making video calls which will leave a few unhappy. The main camera also was not improved as it still has same 2 megapixel camera as the previous model.

Apart from what a normal smart phone functions, it has few key functions like customizing Home screen, Visual Voicemail, a chat-style view for SMS etc. Beside these still there isn't any cut and paste and it also lacks in Multimedia messaging (MMS) and voice dialing which is quite bizarre. you can also enhance your iPhone functions by adding new application from apps store. But wait, these doesn't comes free, you have to pay money to use the applications as only few of them are free.

On the battery front, talk time has decreased to 5hrs from 8hrs earlier, but this implies only when on 3G network. On 2G It has a increased talk time of 10hrs an increase from earlier version. The battery is still not user-removable, so a new battery involves a trip to an Apple service centre.

Thanks to 3G technology you can now access web faster than earlier. It supports popular email servers and providers — including MobileMe, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo! Mail, Google Gmail, and AOL — and most industry-standard IMAP or POP mail systems. The best part of this new version is that it packs a built-in GPS system which comes in quite handy. Although, if you already own a first generation iPhone don't despair, as all is not lost yet. You can upgrade the firmware to version 2.0 for enhanced experience. The new firmware is just around the corner (scheduled July 2008).

The iPhone 3g will sell for $199(around Rs 7900) for the 8GB version and $299(around Rs 11900) for 16GB version and the price will be the same all over the world. The 16GB variety will be offered in another color choice too - pearl white. The Launch date for iPhone 3G is due on 11th of July. For starters it will be available in 22 countries, later it will be further expanded to over 70 countries worldwide before the end of the year. It is expected to be released in India around November by Airtel, for which booking already have started.

Many of the Apple's competitors will be relieved that the iPhone is certainly not good as it should be. It still lacks in some key functions and there is a lot of room for improvement. Still, I think that iPhone 3G have more than enough punch to impress and sell well in the market.

Earlier I wasn't impressed by its older brother because of its high price tag and low feature set, so I never thought of owning one. The latest version has changed my perspective, and the foremost reason was "price" assuming there's no hidden cost. The affordable price tag in particular will be a motivating factor to generate demand, especially in developing countries like India. As the price would be same all over the world, shelling out 11,900 odd Rupees for a 16GB iPhone which double up as a ipod wouldn't be a bad deal at all.