New 3G makes old iPhone obsolete Freshman Trevor Sutley not only makes phone calls but also plays games, downloads applications, and listens to music on his new iPhone 3G. - Camille Getz Monday, December 15, 2008 By Camille Getz Advertising You just got the newest cool electronic item and you can't wait to show it off at school. You’ve had it for only a few days, and you figure that nobody you know could have anything newer. But one night, while surfing the Web, you see that already a company is advertising the release of a better, faster, cooler product than your now out-of-date one. Apple products are the perfect example of this "newer-is-better" industry. It seems like just about every week, Apple releases a new iPod, computer, or now, the iPhone. Thirteen people in the high school own iPhones; four have the original, and nine have the iPhone 3G. An ongoing argument is whether the original iPhone is better than the new one or vice versa. Though both revolve around the same idea (combining a touch screen, phone, camera, text messaging, Internet, and more into one handheld device), each has qualities that enhance or diminish the iPhone experience. Freshman Grace Mehta and senior Amelia Phouaiphanith have the original iPhone. Even with its revolutionary features, Phouaiphanith has some problems with it. "I don’t like the keyboard. It doesn’t work with big hands," she said. Mehta doesn’t like that "there aren’t many ringtones to choose from." The iPhone also can’t take videos. "I also don’t like auto-correct; it’s really annoying," she said. Auto-correct checks each word you write and corrects it by capitalizing letters and adding apostrophes. Many people find it bothersome when texting. There are also programs on both iPhones that Mehta feels she doesn’t need. "I don’t want 'Stocks,'" she said. "But you can’t delete it." Every iPhone comes with certain applications, like the Stocks program. Others, such as Maps, Weather, Notes, and a calculator are built-in ones that you can’t delete. There are, however, applications such as games that can be added or deleted. But overall, Mehta says she is perfectly happy with her iPhone and has no desire to buy the new 3G. "This one works fine," she said. Phouaiphanith does like one thing about her iPhone: a program called "'MSN Messaging.' But it’s a program I got from hacking [the iPhone]." Freshman Trevor Sutley owns the new iPhone 3G. "I like the games," Sutley said. "I also like that it’s an iPod and a phone in one. And the storage capacity is good." Both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G come in 8 GB and 16 GB models. You can fill the space with pictures, songs, videos and applications. Sutley feels that the 3G does have some drawbacks. "I don’t like the fact that you can’t text in landscape mode [having the phone flipped to the side so that the content you’re looking at gets bigger and wider]," said Sutley. "There’s also no 'forward' button in texting, and you can’t send [multimedia messages]." One plan for the original iPhone costs about $40 a month. However, the actual phone is a whopping $399. The 3G costs only $299, but the monthly charge is slightly more. Sutley’s bill is $45 a month, plus extra money for minutes. The 3G has a more expensive bill because of its new "3G capabilities." These 3G networks, which are more like advanced service providers, connect with the iPhone to make browsing the Internet, checking emails, and using GPS navigation much faster. The original iPhone does not have these capabilities, making basic Internet browsing slower and less enjoyable. Though buying an iPhone is exciting, beware of the technical problems associated with them. "I had to take mine to the store two times," said Sutley. "Once the screen turned white and the other time the heat sensor wasn’t working. Whenever I got a phone call, the screen would go black and I could never end a call." Mehta also had a problem. "On the second day, it kept saying 'no service,' even when there was," she said. "They said it had some kind of 'phone tumor.'" Phouaiphanith has had troubles with hers, too. "After a year it starts to freeze," she said. "It's also happened to all my brothers. And I also have to have a really thick case for it because it cracks so easily." Even though Phouaiphanith regrets buying her iPhone, both Mehta and Sutley are happy with theirs. "[The 3G] is a good price," said Sutley. "I really like it, and I’d recommend it," he said.

Back to the articles list