Following on from my last post, I was clearly wrong. There was clearly no shortage of people waiting to sign on for a new iPhone 3G (the pic attached shows my local O2 store at 7.55am 11/07/2008), although I’m sure there will be many more when it finally becomes available on PAYG. It’s also fair to say the majority of folks queueing on Friday morning were waiting in line for their free upgrade, which O2 were unable to organise online.

O2’s shambolic launch paved the way for further disappointment when many realised just how limited the O2 3G network is (nothing like as broad as Orange or 3’s). This certainly puts a dent in the device’s usefulness, from a portable browser point of view. There will inevitably be unlocks available soon allowing different sims to be used but this rather defeats the point of having a generous ‘unlimited’ data plan from O2…

Those grumbles aside, onto the phone itself. It’s still large and appears largely unchanged but certainly feels better in the hand than the previous model (thanks to slightly bevelled edges).
It remains a joy to use. Having used an N95 8GB for the last few months I’d forgotten quite how outdated, frustrating and convoluted the Nokia/Symbian user interface is until I switched back to an iPhone. The Symbian faithful may defend their devices (arguably like zealots) but my personal experience is that there is simply no comparison. If you want a device you can actually use, the iPhone, despite it’s ungainly form factor, is a far, far better device.

I’d also concede that the iPhone camera, measly 2 Megapixel as it may be, also seems to take better snaps than I ever managed with the N95 8GB (sporting a 5 Mega-pixel camera). This needs to be tested further but it would seem 2.0 iPhone software has certainly made the most of the available hardware. Proof, if ever it were needed, that mega-pixels are a poor indication of image quality.

The applications available so far for the iPhone 3G are a varied bunch. Favourites of mine are Garagebuy, WeDict (Dictionary) and eReader (so much better on an iPhone than N95 it’s not even funny!). There’s also a complete works of Shakespeare available absolutely gratis for fans of the Bard.

Finally, here are a few thoughts about what I’d personally like to see in 2.0.1 or via some 3rd party apps…

iPhone 2.0.1 Wishlist

Podcasts app. Rather than download Podcasts through iTunes (PC or Mac) and then sync it would be great to download direct over Wi-Fi/3G.

Switcher. This is a program that is available for hacked iPhones. Launch the app and you get a list of services you can turn on or off. I’d like to see a quick switch for Bluetooth, 3G and WLAN.

Alternatively…

Profile Manager. It would be good to have user definable switchable profiles. Again accessed like switches. For example a list may look like this:

General (default)
iPod mode (same as airplane mode, no network services)
Meeting (as general but with silent alerts)
Home (WLAN on, 3G off)
Work (WLAN off, 3G on)
Economode (WLAN off, 3G off)
etc etc.

Not to mention some obvious ommissions:

Copy and paste
The ability to forward contacts as vCards/SMS messages
MMS capability – I mean really, just what is the delay here??

Related Troubleshooting…
In case anyone is googling to find out why their iPhone won’t hook up to their Orange Livebox 3240, this is probably why…
I also had some trouble hooking my Orange Livebox 3240 router up to the iPhone. The problem I had was ‘WPA or WEP’ was selected under the Livebox menu (Configuration > Advanced > Wireless). Ensure this is switched to ‘WPA security only’. Then re-enter your security key. Once this is done, harmony should be restored to your world.