Apple iPhone 4 GB (AT&T)

This review is for the 1st generation iPhone. For a review of the iPhone 3G see my other reviews.

Advantages iPhone 1.0 vs iPhone 3G:

- at present is its ability to be unlocked for use on other cell carriers. If using AT&T, no advantage

- EDGE data plan is $10 cheaper

I've owned a cell phone since 1992. I've always had a "top of the line cell phone" (I've always had AT&T = formerly Cingular = formerly BellSouth Mobility). I've had some really good phones: Motorola v60 "Vader", Nokia 6102i, and a Sony Ericsson T610. Then I've had some REALLY bad ones: Motorola RAZR, SLVR, Sony Ericsson s710a, Sony Ericsson Walkman W400, & most recently an HP iPaq 6515. In my 16 years of having cellphones, I've had over 100 (yes 100+) different models & makes.

I haven't had signal issues w/ many phones, it's always been asthetics that bothered me or the clumsy interfaces.

With every phone I've ever had, no matter how long I've had it; I always had a problem placing a call on hold & answering another call or joining a call into a 3-way call. With the iPhone interface being so well designed & the features so clearly labeled; I don't have that problem any more.

As for the design, the Sony Ericsson s710a was a beautiful phone, but the way it flipped open was awkward. When you opened it, it flipped upside down. You had to open it, then rotate the phone to use it.

With the HP iPaq 6515, I hated the keyboard. It was hard to see, crowded w/ characters & difficult to use w/ my large fingers. This is the problem I face w/ almost all phones w/ physical keyboards except the HTC 8525; which has the best phone keyboard of any phone. iPhone users should try the pogo stylus.

The iPhone keyboard is clear, easy to use, & once you get use to it - allows for very fast typing. I used it more in the first 10 days of owning my iPhone than I ever used ANY keyboard on ALL phones I've ever owned.

The camera on my Nokia 6201i was great, but it was difficult to use & to get pictures off of.The camera on the iPhone is terriffic - the viewfinder & capture buttons are crystal clear. It's easy to get the photos from iPhone to computer for editing.

Unlike most smartphones - that have Windows Mobile - the iPhone has an intuitive interface that's easy to understand & navigate. There's no need to read a manual - it's just simple to understand.

Before the iPhone I hated text messaging ... I texted more in the 1st 10 days than I have in the last 10 years!

Because an iPhone uses standard iPod sync & charge cables, accessories are easy to find.

Battery life is very good - even when utilizing power draining features like Wifi & Bluetooth.

I can actually use the calculator on an iPhone, unlike on other cell phones where you have to figure out what key corresponds to an add/multiply/divide.

The Google Maps feature is amazing w/ the ability to use satellite data. The GPS integration w/ LocateMe is awesome (upgrade to 1.1.

The weather forecast widget is nice to have - especially in the summer so you can plan your outdoor week or weekend spontaneously.

Only complaints:

- Edge data network is acceptable, but I wish was faster
- I'd really like to see bluetooth data exchange so I could sync an iPhone via bluetooth.
- FM transmitters don't work well due to interference

Invaild complaints:

- the keyboard is hard to use - at 1st it is ... it definitely takes getting used to. Once you start letting an iPhone correct your mistakes & just hitting the space bar, it becomes pretty fast

Plain and simple; The iPhone is the best phone to ever enter the mobile industry.

The design: sleek, sophisticated, and innovative. iPhone has not only changed the technology of the cell phone industry, but also what consumers view to be appealing and the new must-have item. It used to be that everybody wanted a flip -hone. As you already know, this is not a flip phone. But it is a multidimensional user interface with far and away better capabilities than your conventional phones on the market today.

The camera: The camera on this phone rivals those of many single purpose digital cameras made by sony, canon, and their competitors. The difference; this camera has internet capabilities, immaculate phone call reception, and let's not forget about your very own built in iPod.

The keyboard: After playing with this device for twenty minutes or so, I have found the touch-pad keyboard to be extremely easy to use. It may not be ideal for texting while you are driving. But let's face it, thats illegal - your family and friends can wait.

The bad: Being that this is a touch screen device, the oil from your fingers are going to leave traces all over the screen. Fortunately, Apple provides a screen cloth used to wipe away dirt and oil. I have found this to be all I need to restore it factory sealed condition. One other complaint that I have is the storage capacity. Mine only holds 8GB and it has been hard for me to transfer select songs from my 30GB iPod.

Overall: This phone is AMAZING. I would have paid twice what I did if need be. Anyone who is thinking about getting one would be a fool not to. Please take my advice and purchase one of these for yourself. You will not regret it!

I'm not the type of person who has to have every new high tech toy they come out with. I don't even have an Ipod, a palmpilot, or bluetooth gadgets for my old phone. But when I broke my Razor phone I figured what the heck. So for my birthday my wife bought me the new Iphone.

This handheld all in one machine is absolutely amazing! The phone has an amazing capacity for information 8gb holds everything I could ever need on a phone with 6gb to spare! I can carry my photo album from a recent vacation by simply loading the pictures right onto my phone. The picture viewing is incredible making sure the picture is always right side up. The screen is so clear the pictures look incredible. Not mention how easy it is to scroll through the pictures by just rubbing on the screen.

The weather feature allows me to see the weather not only for my hometown but for any other cities I select in the US! So if I'm planning a trip my phone can tell me the weather before I get there.

The notepad feature allows me to make notes and lists about all the things I need to do and remember! Now I don't loose the list or forget anything at the grocery store.

The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but is much better than the 3 letters per number on your typical phone.

The internet is still a little slow but with such an easy to use browsers I'm not complaining about the speed too much!

I can access my yahoo mail with the click of a button its so easy to use its ridiculous!

The phone book is cleaner and easier to use than my Razor was, it makes sending emails or making call very simple.

The voice mail feature is great, I can see the number who called and click on it to hear only that voice mail, so I don't have to listen to the ones I know what they are, or are going to be about.

I don't use the Ipod much although it will be nice to use on those occasional jogs. However I do use the ipod to store cute movies of my son stumbling around the yard or all dressed up in his Halloween costume.

The maps feature is nice and easy to use, like everyone else I anxiously await the GPS feature to arrive.

The calendar is easier to use and easier to read than my old phone, with that and the notebook I don't need an appointment book anymore.

The camera is also a nice upgrade over my old phone I don't know what megapixel it is but it takes nice clean photos.

The battery life is very good for having so many power draining features, and being able to charge it while its connected to my computer is a great feature.

The last feature is the calculator, what an improvement over older phones the touch screen is super easy to use. I do with there where more options to use with it, like a mortgage calculator or annuities calculator. But with the internet at my finger tips I guess I can search for one online.

All-in-all this phone is one of the best purchases I've made in a while. This is definately the device of the future.

When this phone was originally released it was sold for a hefty 600 dollars, the reason for the msrp on this device in Steve Job's own words "its 3 devices in one; an internet device, music player, and a cell phone" with this kind of thinking my laptop should be worth a fortune after all its a...

Internet Device
Word Processor (that supports cut and paste...sorry iPhone you didn't get that feature)
Gaming Console
Porn Storage Device
Email and Internet Messenger
Multimedia
CD Copier
etc.......

The Gods honest truth is, there are already phones out that that do EVERYTHING the iPhone does for 2/3rds the CURRENT price of the iPhone (400 Dollars) whats even better is that you don't get Apple's glitchs and problems as well as (here comes the biggy) A NON REPLACEABLE BATTERY, God knows you were really thinking about buying a 600 dollar doorstop when you bought that iPhone did you? Sooner or later people will just have to come to terms with Apples reputation for making bad products that appeal to those with a zeal for trends rather then quality multimedia/communications devices.

Fact: iPhone is only available through ATT (unlocked phones have voided warranties, BAD IDEA)

Fact: In 2002 ATT told its customers how much they really loved them by raising their cell plans Mid-Contract and fine printed a clause to cancel their contract as a reperation for their breach of contract. Basically they said we are rasing your bill EVEN though you have a contract with us and if you don't like it go somewhere else.

Fact: Average time on hold with AT&T for ANYTHING is between 25 minutes to an hour.

Unless you really need to store a ton of songs on the phone you aren't really getting anything more out of an 8gb or 16gb. The plus side to the 1st generation is that the data plan is $10 cheaper and if you are a sneaky one like myself you can get the phone unlocked so that it's actually $5 cheaper than that for the data plan which also allows you to use it on any GSM sim network.

I've had the phone for about 6 months and it has become a part of the way I live. That might be a bad thing but anytime a product revolutionizes the way you conduct your life you know it's worth the money. If you're wary about getting one because you don't think you can figure to how to use it just know that it is the most user friendly phone on the market that I've come across (except for that Jitterbug commercial).

I'm usually against Apple product but this really does surpass all the hype and commercials. One drawback, only the 3G iPhone has a universal headphone jack. The 1st generation iPhone only works with Apple iPhone headphones.

I was among the first to get the 1st generation iPhone, and I was pleased with what it had to offer at the time. Even after the addition of the new iPhone 3G version and the myriad imitators, the original remains a highly functional and prestigious device. If you can find the original 4gb hd version, they can usually be found at a bargain price compared to the 8gb version. The 4gb version can STILL be found on the apple site in the refurbished section from time to time.

Thoughts: 1st Gen (4gb/8gb/16gb, Edge) vs 2nd Gen (8gb/16gb, 3G+GPS)

1. The battery life for both is rather similar. The 2nd Generation iPhone wins, but not by enough to justify the upgrade.
2. The LCD digitizer (touchscreen) is practically the same with both editions--don't expect major changes.
3. The cases and dimensions of the 1st and 2nd generation iPhones are similar, but the 1st gen is "fatter" in terms of overall girth. 1st gen iphones will not fit in 2nd gen cases, and vice versa.
4. The 1st gen iPhone has a recessed phone jack at the top, and will accommodate only apple-style headphone plugs (circular cable inset). The 2nd generation is standardized, and will work with regular plugs without secondary adapters.
5. The 1st gen iPhone has a metallic case on the backside. The 2nd gen iPhone has either a white or black plastic case. The chrome trim remains the same on both devices. The plastic cases tend to scratch easier than the metallic versions, but the plastic looks better and has a better (smoother) feel to the bare touch.
6. Overall function: both versions are very similar, featuring EXTREMELY similar hardware. Aside from the GPS addition in the 2nd generation iPhone models, you will be hard-pressed to notice any differences in overall functionality--but ONLY assuming you're updated to the same firmware version on each device.


What is disturbing about this model:

1. Do NOT let it overheat. Make sure you keep it charged in a cool location with sufficient airflow. This means DON'T put it on fabric. Don't overcharge, and be sure to inspect (check for overheating) regularly. The first time it overheats (it will be HOT to the touch), the battery output will GREATLY diminish (1/2 to 1/3 capacity), and should be changed through Apple.
2. There is NO apple-supplied application for checking and resetting the iPhone battery. This is provided for MacBooks, but not the iPod line
3. All of the iPhone models are EXTREMELY fragile--immediately purchase a case (breathable if possible), or a Zagg InvisibleShield to protect it from scratches and the odd bump/bruise.
4. Internal components are flush with the case, and simple dents will cause components/features to fail
5. DO NOT attempt to open ANY iPhone model for repair if you do not have experience--the cases/trim are prone to dents/bends, and you are likely to scratch/damage internal components if you attempt to replace the digitizer or battery yourself (the most common repairs). It is better to take them directly to Apple stores for repair.
6. Based on who you talk to, Apple will ONLY honor the 1 year manufacturer warranty if the iPhone is linked to an AT&T contract. If you have Jailbroken/Unlocked your iPhone, reset it to factory firmware and specifications before attempting to deal with Apple Repair.
7. No external HD capacity detected--camera only.
8. You have to deal with iTunes to activate and sync music.

This is a great product! But it can be expensive! I'm glad I found www.freeiphoneforme.co.uk where I got mine for free :)

All I did was sign up and then completed one simple offer. I recommend the Inuit free trial offer as it only takes a few minutes to complete and its only a simple trial!

My personal recommendation is the King.com offer as it is quick, easy and only costs $5.

There are many other gadgets I got for free this way, such as consoles, iPhones, iPods, Plasma TV's and the list goes on and on.

Visit: www.freeiphoneforme.co.uk

I hope you enjoy the extra $$$'s saved in your bank account from using www.freeiphoneforme.co.uk :)

www.freeiphoneforme.co.uk

what more can you ask for?! a sleek touch screen phone, with 4gb memory, hundreds of thousands of possibilities the are possible with this amazing device. this will be the best phone purchase in years, and i honestly say this because it is so unique and advanced, do yourself a HUGE favor and purchase this phone! YOU WILL NOT REGRET THIS!

So, I have had MANY phones over my years of cell phone use and am a very high use Realtor. I recently dumped my VX6700 PDA after having bought a iPhone. NO KIDDING... one day of use (it isn't hard to figure out) and there were no tears shed deactivating my PDA. Although, I have kept my Verizon account (AT&T's coverage is sketchy in my area) I am using the iPhone for the features as well as the phone occasionally. PC user? Great... it seamlessly syncs your outlook calendar and contacts into iCal and with the click of a button in the itunes "info" tab while your iPhone is USBd with your desktop. No problem adding contacts or calendar items in the field as the iPhone syncs back to your desktop. THE ONLY ISSUE I found with this was some users having older versions of Windows and Microsoft Office (XP version of Outlook) may have troubles getting this function to work properly. I am running Vista with Office 2007. In Office 2007 (Outlook) Microsoft has fixed this function due to the huge variety of iTune subscribers... and it is seamless. You absolutely won't believe the features on this phone. Most everything you could have imagined has been considered and implemented. Open PDF documents or Word documents in the email function. The only 2 drawbacks to it over a PDA with Cellular/Data internet connection is that the Wi-Fi may not work in a cement type building. As long as you have a good Wi-Fi connection to pull from (you might be hard pressed NOT to find one as it seems to have a greater range for searching networks) you are online. The other is that there is no way to save any documents on it as a storage type device like you can with the Windows operating system of a handheld PDA. I have to say... I am a DIE HARD PC fan... This phone has made me an APPLE LOVER! You won't be dissappointed with the phone. Now if we could just get it out of the hands of AT&T and more widely distributed!

This phone was outstanding, my family has 4 phones on our plan and I never should've upgraded from this phone to a new latest and greatest! The battery life was superior to every phone I have used! I always had an outstanding signal! No dropped calls. The clarity was great and the ease of use was a great headache saver!

It was very slim and extremely durable. It was dropped on a couple of occasions and it never missed a beat.

Great phone. Highly Recommend to all.

Good luck.

As an online seller The Camera Hunter managing camerahunter.com thecamerahunter.com thecamerahunter.net and ebay ID's camerahunter and thecamerahunter I am online all the time. I have a wireless laptop that I keep in continual use and find very handy.

I was all set to buy 4 of these but the AT&T/Cingular service stopped me.
After many years of poor customer service from AT&T I swore them off forever.
I'm sure it's a great gadget but I am waiting until the price comes DOWN and the service contracts cease, then I will make my purchase.

The time will come when we can make our own service choices.
The time will come when we can use these wireless gadgets with no contracts.

I will wait until that day comes to spend my hard earned money on what I consider to be a luxury item.

My experience with Apple in the last year has been absolutely perfect. I have purchased several iPods, a desktop computer, a laptop, and now the iPhone. The quality of all these devices is great, with many features intelligently designed into each product.

The iPhone continues to impress me each day. First of all, let me preface by saying this is only my second cell phone, the first being a Motorola flip back in the day. Second, I must also preface by saying I HATE cell phones (until now.)

I basically needed a phone in case of emergency. I had read poor reviews on iPhone volume, clarity of calls and lack of 3G access. As of this writing I have found no fault in the volume of the phone. As for call quality, people I talk to say they are unable to distinguish that my calls are not from a land line. I think people forget that cell phone quality is based on location from cell towers and it isn't fair to knock the iPhone based on ones poor location.

As far as lack of 3G? Well, it doesn't bother me because I don't and have never intended for my phone to be a laptop, thats what I have a laptop for. I WILL say, however, that the internet experience blows away ANY other cell phone out there using a mobile Windows device (and Yes, I am a windows guy, too.)

The ease of use of this thing is amazing! I put it to the "wife" test (not gadget inclined) and she was able to perform nearly every function I quizzed her on. Her only handicap being her long fingernails, which the touch screen does not recognize.. You need to use the end of your finger.

I was also impressed with battery life. I have been tinkering with this thing for hours after work and am able to surf the web via wi-fi or edge for hours without needing to charge. I disregard other reviews criticizing the iphone battery life compared to other phones because the only true comparison would be against the next wave of iPhones. Quite simply there isn't another phone out there that compares.

The only things I hope to have on future iPhones are 1)More than 8GB/Expansion slot for SD or Micro SD cards, 2)user replaceable battery.

Not exactly worth the wait unless it was for fun. At Least for me it was fun talking about all the hype and expectations to others in line.

As expected iPhones are selling like hotcakes on ebay but as the hours go by, the ending prices leave the sellers to break even, if you factor in the ebay fees, paypal fees and FREE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING offered by many. In my opinion it was not worth the wait for RESELLERS. Plus there is no shortage for at least another 1 week as reports are saying APPLE expected a high purchase turnout...they had 6 months to prepare.

UPDATE: Attn BUYERS...you can actually get the phone cheaper than the $599 plus tax (8gb) at the apple store. Some of the eBay listings are ending around $620-$630 shipping included if your lucky enough. Thats a savings of $10-20 and no waiting in line. So BUYERS don't be so sad if you couldn't get a hold of one to resell on ebay...in fact many are losing money when you factor in all the expense and time. The real winner is eBay with those fees.

Now about the most talked about phone of the year.

I waited till I got home to my favorite reclining chair. As I snugged in comfortably, I began the slow process of unraveling the neatly packaged 5 inch by 8 inch box. Eager to see how APPLE packaged this product as they do so well with all their products I noticed it was nice and compact. I had a feel of a luxurious item. Neatly snugged on top the IPHONE!! Completely wrapped in protective plastic on all four sides. As I slowly peeled away each plastic lining it was gleaming with shine. Kinda wanted to wear a glove so not as to leave any finger marks. FIRST reaction...It was Lighter and Smaller than I had expected after reading all those specs online for months. With a push of a button the thing came alive. Next reaction...the display takes full advantage of the phone's size, and noticed the brilliant colors, sharp graphics, and fluid movement. Impressive....

The touch screen learning curve was about 10 minutes...I thought it would take longer to get used to but it was fairly easy. Using the keyboard function was different from my Blackberry. The ease of using two thumbs depends on how big your hands are...The iPhone being compact, felt a little too small for the average American hand.

I made my first call to my best friend (to show off) and the sound quality was on par with my palm treo. Voice sounded natural and fluid with no break or blips...

I checked my email and it was expected like all the reviews say, slow but not terribly slow, I guess sit depends where your located.

Well it still hasn't been 24 hours yet so I will update more as I progress in learning more about the IPHONE...

Is it a must buy? Only if you like to hear...
"Ooh look hes got the new iPhone", while sipping coffee at starbucks.
Or when you walk into the office monday morning.."whoa you got the iPhone!?! Let me see"...and have half a dozen finger prints on your iPhone by noon.

Overall the phone looks great and works great.

IF YOU FEEL MY REVIEW WAS DECENT ENOUGH TO READ PLEASE CLICK YES BELOW THANK!

This was a brand new phone and works perfectly. Easy to use once it's unlocked. It's a very organized and simplified product. I highly recommend.

I am always skeptical about new things by nature but I must say that this phone is awesome, fast & fun.

I had the iPhone 3G for about week, the battery is horrible and the back casing is made of plastic, unlike the Original which is made of chrome and has a great battery life and is well worth the price. Beware get the original or wait until the third generation comes out. No to 3G

Doing business with this ebayer was smooth and easy. I would definitely be a repeat customer. Thank you!

I love the fact you can carry your own personal playlist wherever you go along with the convenience of a cellphone and web browser all in one compact bundle. I like its sleek look as well.
I dislike the battery span it doesn't hold a charge well and I hate the fact that apple tries to monopolize its cellular use; if there's an update for the newest firmware via itunes and you update it'll lock the phone thus locking complete use of everything entirely, annoying.

The phone is in great condition. I was unlockable.

The iPhone allows audio conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. It only supports Voice dialing through third party applications and video calling is not supported at all.

The iPhone includes a visual voicemail (in some countries) feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list. AT&T, O2, T-Mobile Germany, and Orange modified their voicemail infrastructure to accommodate this new feature designed by Apple.[citation needed]

A music ringtone feature was introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007. I was able to create custom ringtones from songs purchased from the iTunes Store for a small additional fee. The ringtones can be 3 to 30 seconds long from any part of a song, can fade in and out, pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, or loop continuously. All customizing can be done in iTunes, and the synced ringtones can also be used for alarms. Custom ringtones can also be created using Apple's GarageBand software 4.1.1 or later (available only on Mac OS X)[63] and third-party tools.[64] Custom ringtones are not supported in some countries.

The phone is useless. It worked fine for about a week and a half and then all of sudden the screen went black and I haven't been able to turn the phone on or charge it and use it. It doesn't work at all. The seller has been helpful and I received everything as scheduled. It was sold to me "as is" and the seller had done some repairs on the phone before he shipped it to me. And it did work ok for a while, but now it won't work. It's junk.

I love this phone. It is the best phone I have had so far. It was relatively easy to unlock and jailbreak with free software the I found in the internet. It works great with T-Moblie; I have had no problems in this respect. The reception is excellent. Also the AppStore is amazing. I have downloaded tons of free games and other useful apps. After only a week, I was completely dependent on the calendar and use the notes feature often. The cradle charger is handy because you just set it in. There is no finding the cable and then finding the slop to plug it into. Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase.

I text message, check my E-mail, view eBay, store my calender and more in this phone. Its kind of delicate since it comes with the touch screen but I can drop it a few times without damaging it.

Buy this phone!!! you will regret it if you dont! i just bought 1 and right now the only thing going through my head is OMG~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!