Yea, what the hell. I thought this site supported Apple? Crappy camera? The same speakers?

Unless you're in low light the camera actually has GREAT quality. And if you payed attention to WWDC or the guided tour you'd know that it has improved audio.

Apple's whole theme is premium product; premium price. Sure it might be a little costly but it's going to be a great device and I don't think you should be talking people out of buying it.

@Tannerozzy - Maybe you haven't noticed; publicly Apple fans are very defensive of their favorite brand. But in private they will nit pick to death on the most minor of details because they have come to demand a very high standard.

I feel like the 3G iPhone is a huge failure. It has very limited additional capabilities. The v1.2 software along with the App store however is HUGE and is what the iPhone should have been to start with.

I'm also in the UK and I'm happy with the whole experience. The tariff is fair and comparable with other networks, the fact that we can upgrade only a third of the way into an 18 month contract is pretty special too.

I don't mind paying £160 for a 16Gb iPhone 3G either, because I sold my 1st gen iPhone on eBay a week ago for £233, not much less that what I paid for it in January :)

The only thing I will wait for is the availability of a suitable InvisibleSHIELD -- the 3G ones aren't out for a week or two and that's only in the US, I'd imagine.

I don't think Erica is a Mac fan thats the problem. Do a Google image search for "Erica Sadun". You'll find her talking about how great The Zune is! Wow!

Here's one link:
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2006/11/16/five-zune-secrets-you-need-to-know.html?page=last&x-order=date

maybe apple is smarter than you, erica...

- where are you going to put the lens for a 5 or 3.2 mp camera. i'm sure you already know that image quality is in the optics not the silly megapixel rating. buy a sony if its that important.

- 3g should have been in the first one, but that wasn't apple's fault. they couldn't have gotten the number of radios they needed even if at+t's 3g network was up to speed [it wasn't].

- gps in your hand/phone is great and many more people will realize how much in a couple weeks.

- how long have you been involved with apple? i would think long enough to know this is how they do things. and no, you don't have any clue when the next bump will occur to the model line. the best chance is that we'll see a 32gb model in 6 mo. in fact why don't you continue to tell everyone to wait for the next bump every six months erica. no one would ever buy anything.

- i can't understand why everyone has tunnel vision about the at+t plans. the iphone plans aren't exclusive [save vvm], nor were they on first gen. this phone costs the same as every other smart phone plan... yep, really. same as blackjackII and centro and etc. yes, there's a little mail-in rebate right now for those [hmmm,i wonder why??], but normally the totals on the receipt and monthly bill are identical.

deal with it people! our dollar doesn't go as far as it could right now. thanks to ... well i won't get into that.

"If the speed issue isn't do-or-die for you, this is the upgrade to skip." -es

what do you mean? network speed is the ONE thing that has an effect on how quickly every function on the phone works.!.

erica, this article sucks.

do or don't get the phone i don't care. i wouldn't use this article as a basis for your decision.

@jacob - I realize my post is somewhat hypocritical, but I have to ask. How does your post have anything to do with what fishbert said?

I think he just wanted to get high on the comments list. It's annoying behavior, but at least he kept it brief, eh?

i mentioned the camera ;) didn't realize comment hierarchy was so important, eh?

It's not called the newPhone. It's the iPhone 3G. It's a revision of the old one.

I admit that some things could be better but all in all it's still the best phone in the world, and it has the vast majority of changes that people wanted in the first place. Now those same people are bitching about how they didn't change it.

It's a platform, not just a phone. The software will always be the biggest change. I don't know what you expected.

I agree. I have a 1st gen and other than 3G and GPS, I see no reason to upgrade. The software is the big upgrade and I get that for free. If it was for not for the increase price in data plan and the in-store activation, I might break down and buy one. I think it is responsible to say no need to get this version if you are happy with the current model. Of course, if you are new to the iphone, jump in the water is warm. You will love the phone, but I doubt you will love the wait in the line to get it. Have fun.

But you know what happens when you assume ...

yeah - dumb ass comments like yours appear =)

You can buy the iPhone from at&t sub-free for $599