3GWeek - Asia’s Mobile News

The true iPhone 3G from Apple comes with HSDPA built in. Faster web surfing.

Okay, the iPhone 3G (we used to call it 3G iPhone previously) has officially come. No more buzz on it shape, features, technology, and whatsoever all bloggers want from the Apple’s team. Here, I’m going to review it for details. About its design, features, network, or anything I can catch from all blogs out there, Apple web site plus a video from CNet in YouTube. Oh my, Kevin Rose did the right thing, iPhone 3G with 8 GB storage will cost only $199 with two years contract in all 70 countries around the world. Can’t believe it. Now I have a dream gadget to buy.

3G iPhone Colors, Design, Display, and Dimensions

Surely, iPhone 3G is still a beautiful candy bar with a glossy plastic material. Note that for such a mass cellphone, plastic should be a better choice than the Swarovski Crystal. Its dimensions is a great one. You’ll get 4.5 inches (115.5 mm) in height, 2.4 inches (62.1 mm) Width, 0.48 inch (12.3 mm) in depth. And finally, it will cost you a little calories since it comes with 4.7 ounces (133 grams) in weight. Wow! Have you ever feel it before?

I smell something wrong here though; it is stated that iPhone 3G is slimmer or thicker than its 2G version, but with that dimensions, nothing is different since the iPhone 2G comes with 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm. Fortunately, the weight has decrease to 133 gr, which is 2 grams lighter than the previous version.

iPhone 3G now comes with two available colors, white and black. However, people who want to carry on that snowy white should pay more since it will only available for the 16 GB version. But you shouldn’t worry too much. It is just similar like Adidas or Nike high class shoes at $299.

With 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display and 480 x 320 pixel at 163 ppi (pixel per inch), Viewing everything on iPhone 3G will get even better and better. Since it will fly around 70 countries, Apple has included a support to display multiple languages and characters simultaneously. Traditional Chinese and Korean are two of them. Wait a minute, a Korea language interface? Could it be? Viva Asia!

iPhone 3G in black knight or snowy white? All are beautiful.

3G iPhone Multimedia

When we talk about Apple, audio should come first. Thanks for Apple team, they had built the earphone jack on the left top of iPhone. It means that everybody could enjoy music as easy yet comfortable as possible. People gave Steve Jobs a pretty crowd applause when he showed this. Me too! Besides its popular earphones, iPhone 3G will let their users to record something with its microphone too. This gadget support various audio formats such as AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 1, 2, and 3), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV. A pretty complete line up. Thanks again by then!

Flickr and Geotagging on 3G iPhone

For Flickr lovers, iPhone 3G provides you with 2 MP camera. It seems that Steve Jobs and Co’s didn’t get interested yet on “megapixels war” among other vendors. Yeah, never mind. To cover up this tiny 2 MP, Apple has built a geotagging features that let users give their photos with geographical data (including but not limited to latitude, longitude coordinate, altitude, bearing, and place names) before they publish it to websites or RSS feeds.

YouTube via 3G iPhone

Times for YouTube fans now. This iPhone 3G gives you a compatibility for various video formats such as .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file. Just like the previous iPhone version, this 3G one also support special viewing of YouTube.com. No wonder if this is a better experience if only we compare it to other mobile browser in other mobile phone. With HSDPA, streaming all videos in YouTube will be seamless enough. However, just remember that you will also pay the bill for all of the data you had downloaded to your wireless carrier.

3G iPhone Network and Hardware Technology

This year most-anticipated gizmo is ready to take any action on such network like these one; UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) and GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). For wireless connectivity, Apple has bundled its baby queen with Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR.

Note from Apple iPhone official site:

iPhone 3G uses a technology protocol called HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) to download data fast over UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) networks. Email attachments and web pages load twice as fast on 3G networks as on 2G EDGE networks.1 And since iPhone 3G seamlessly switches between EDGE, faster 3G, and even faster Wi-Fi, you always get the best speeds possible.

The benefit of 3G technology is that it will let users to talk on the iPhone while they do other significant things such as browsing the web, checking your email or RSS feeds, using maps form its GPS, etc. In short sentence, “Dude, we’re multitasking“.

Various favorite web sites are on the right track.

iTunes is still the best media player on iPhone!

3G iPhone Network Compatibility issues

Can I use it in my country which network standard like this or that? Well, say thanks to Apple engineers in Cupertino, they had made this one to meets worldwide standard. This means that every iPhone users out there will be able to use their favorite gizmo practically anywhere on this earth. Wow! Hey Asian, you should pay attention to this one.

3G iPhone software

Say what? Email, Calendar, Browser, Contact, yeah you name it guys. Anyway, be patient. Let’s take a look to iPhone 3G email first.

3G iPhone Email

Apple claim that email on iPhone 3G offers a viewing experience that mimics the desktop-class email one. iPhone 3G does support all of these things; rich HTML format, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG, and finally Apple’s egocentric software iWork. Plus an original iPhone feeling with tap to zoom screen.

For individual users, take a look your account on Yahoo! or Gmail without having to worry on anything. Apple has made this iPhone 3G to support various email provider such as Yahoo! Mail, Google Gmail, and AOL. Plus support for industry-standard IMAP or POP mail systems that make this one is also good enough for they who don’t use the three musketeer email provider up there.

For enterprise users, fear it not. iPhone 3G has come to support Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, with this feature users will get all the benefits of push email. Watch out Blackberry!

3G iPhone Safari Web Browser

Safari oh Safari. One of the fastest browser I’ve ever use has get it special portion on this iPhone version. Apple’s team promise you a view of web page the way it is designed to be. And more! Safari has an ability to sync your bookmark from your PC or Mac. We love it to be. Unlike its desktop version that push you to click the [ctrl] + [+] button, this one only need your tap or pinch to zoom the web page. But not just that, Safari iPhone 3G version also let you to view web page in landscape or portrait mode by rotating the iPhone at 90 degrees. Simple. Purely human!

As a Safari fanboy, I personally has nothing to worry on its design. So you must check and use for yourself too. But the rockstar features on this mobile app is a compatibility to work on and on with SSL and Cisco IPSec VPN. With this features, iPhone users may have a chance to access their corporate intranets wherever they are. Business people wil love it. Again, watch out Blackberry!

iPhone 3G version of Safari on action!

3G iPhone for Enterprise Application and Business Users

With iPhone SDK, enterprises are able to develop and deploy their app as secure as possible. However, unlike Android, Apple keep encouraging every enterprise or individual to put their apps on the dashboard of App Store first. So that this app could live side by side with other app too. Good plan though.

For manager or anybody who run a life like those one, iPhone gives you features that simplify the way you act around stocks and weather information. And also a handy note to keep you in touch with the most urgent stuff from your daily life. Grab it boss!

3G iPhone Battery Power

For traveler or business people, battery is one of the most important part to be considered before buying new phone. Apple had answered this problem with their iPhone 3G by providing a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Is it good enough for you? Check this fact sheet first.

1. Standby time: Up to 300 hours
2. Talk time: Up to 5 hours on 3G or 10 hours on 2G
3. Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G or 6 hours on Wi-Fi
4. Video playback: Up to 7 hours
5. Audio playback: Up to 24 hours

3G iPhone Price and Availability

Note on your car bumper or MacBook cover that this iPhone 3G will be available on July 11, 2008. There are two model with different prices. The Black iPhone 3G with 8 GB storage at $199 and The Black or White iPhone 3G with 16 GB storage at $299. On his speech, Steve said that both prices are the maximum price tag of iPhone 3G on 70 countries worldwide including Africa. From those 70 lucky countries, Japan and Hong Kong will be the first Asia region to meet and greet this wonderful handset on that July 11. While other countries like India, Singapore, Qatar, Jordan, and Philipphines will also find this iPhone 3G after that date. Apple haven’t made any announcement yet on this issue. I am sure that this is the field for mobile bloggers to become yet another rumor-mongers for iPhone 3G.

Games on 3G iPhone. Have some more fun!

Disclaimers:

This is not a hand-on review. I review it by taking what Apple have stated at their official web site. Of course, with my own word and style. Thanks. Hope Steve will bring it on to Indonesia. Yeah, I wait for something like this. Be careful Nokia!

Source: iPhone 3G speech by Steve Jobs | Apple iPhone offcial site

Image courtesy of Apple and Slashphone