GPS

First Impressions of iPhone 3G

Between waiting in line for 9 hours and the great iPocalypse activation debacle I barely had a chance to use my new iPhone 3G yesterday.  I finally set it up today and started playing with it.  Here are my first impressions:

The iPhone 3G itself feels lighter and softer than the original iPhone.  It is, of course, the same weight as the original, but the soft plastic back makes it feel lighter in my hand.  Does anyone else get the same sense?  As previously reported, the speaker is much improved.  My phone is noticeably louder when it rings and I can actually hear the person on the other end of the line when I use the speaker on a call.  As has also been mentioned, the call quality while on the 3G network is noticeably better.  I have not had anyone comment to me that I sound better or clearer, but I can tell the difference on my end.  Very nice improvement that I wasn't necessarily expecting.  3G data access is much faster than EDGE from T-Mobile, which is what I was getting previously.  It's not quite broadband, but it's not too shabby at all.

The Maps application works as advertised when outdoors.  I have not been able to get GPS location to work while inside any building, although I'm not so sure that it's supposed to work indoors.  Is this common with most GPS-enabled devices?  Outdoors, however, the GPS is super accurate and tracks right along with you as you move.

MobileMe push syncing has been mostly working for me today.  There's been a bit of lag between my devices and the "cloud", but I think the culprit is my iMac and not the iPhone.  I'm so glad to finally have other-the-air syncing on my iPhone.

The biggest addition to the iPhone ecosystem is obviously the App store.  I've been able to install and test about 10 applications.  Browsing and installing applications from the iPhone and iTunes on the desktop are equally easy and straightforward.  All of the apps I tested except for one ("Where") worked without a hitch.  I don't think the App store has been getting nearly enough buzz.  In my opinion, its importance to and impact on the mobile industry is second only to the iPhone itself.  I believe the coming months will bring a number of experiences to the iPhone that most thought weren't possible on a mobile device.

Overall, the iPhone 3G was worth the wait and deserving of the hype.  It in combination with iPhone software 2.0, MobileMe / Exchange, the App store and location services should have Motorola, RIM and all other mobile device makers very worried if they're not already.