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