iPhone Internet Browsing, Buy Now Or Wait For 3G

[TheBigApple]

I'm thinking of buying an iPhone, however popular opinion seems to be wait for a 3g version, as the edge network is slow and coverage is poor.

I have also been told that not all websites are compatible with the iPhone and that's why there is a separate YouTube button, because an application had to be written to view YouTube's content.

I plan to use the iPhone's browser for general browsing, e.g. IMDB,BBC, AV Forums (of course) and checking e-mail. But it would be nice to have the facility to watch movie trailers for example.

I'm not all that knowledgeable on mobile internet and am wondering if any iPhone owners wish to comment on the following.


Have you had any issues with content from any websites?
How have you found the coverage and speed of browsing using Edge


And Finally


Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Edge and 3G.


Thanks

[oasismark]

I dont see what all the fuss about a 3G iphone is...

Browsing over EDGE is not as bad as peopel make out.

I'm not even on EDGE, (just got blue square, not E in it) and it took 20 seconds to fully load www.imdb.com as a test.

www.bbc.co.uk takes longer at 60 secongs since it went all fancy!

Its not broadband speed but for those times when your not near a pc its fine.

No webpage in my life is THAT important i cant wait more that 1 min for it.

It also prolongs the battery life, not having 3G.

I'd prefer to have longer battery life that fasted browsing. IMHO

The browser doesn't suport most plugins, like realplayer or java, so all those sites wont work, but i imaguine they will be included in future updates.

[bimboles]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Edge and 3G.


Thanks

As far as I'm aware EDGE gives speeds of about 230-300kbps where as 3G is in the range of 350-1500kbps maybe even higher on 3.5G.

I have a 3G HTC TYTN, this on average gives me a 3G speed of around 700kbps this is a good speed but the poor browser makes it feel marginally faster than the iPhone on GPRS (30-50kbps). I imagine for general internet browsing the iPhone will feel as responsive as a 3G Windows Mobile phone if it is using EDGE.

Saying that I for one will be trading up ASAP as soon as a 3G iPhone is available. I have only had the 16gb iPhone for a week and even considering it's many limitations, the general OS totally eclipses any offering from Windows Mobile or Symbian.

I only wish I had got the iPhone sooner. I work in IT and at one point I was carrying around my work Windows Mobile, my personal Windows Mobile and an Archos PMP, I have now managed to cut down two cumbersome gadgets into one sleek Iphone (still have to carry the Work WM phone).

[alistair_mitche]

i got a 16gb last week and i have been very impressed. My only concern with edge is that even in London where i work this flits in and out of coverage and as soon as i gets to GPRS it is too sow for comfortable viewing.

Edge is pretty good and no major issues with it. WIFI - great.

With the 3G version no around the corner (Q3 it seems) then it may be worth holding out. The battery issue is crap..3G phones do not have an issue over 2.5g.

[RobM83]

I dont see what all the fuss about a 3G iphone is...

Browsing over EDGE is not as bad as peopel make out.

I'm not even on EDGE, (just got blue square, not E in it) and it took 20 seconds to fully load www.imdb.com as a test.

www.bbc.co.uk takes longer at 60 secongs since it went all fancy!


It's not as bad as people make out, but it took you a minute to load the BBC webpage? THAT'S what people like myself are complaining about! For a phone, you can live with it. For a device that markets itself on being 'the internet', it should be much better.

HSDPA/3G makes a big difference to browsing speed. And since the creation of the iPhone there are 3G chips that are much less power intensive, so Apples reasoning for not using 3G has gone out of the window. An N95 with it's poorer browser loads pages in around half the time an iPhone takes with it's superior browser.

HOWEVER... don't let that one thing put you off buying an iPhone. It's one of a small list of downsides next to a massive list of plus points. And with no guarantee of when the next iPhone will be out, you could be waiting a long time. Equally, it could be right around the corner, but that's the risk you take.

[oasismark]

I just read the reason for leaving out 3G was cos it drained the battery quicker, and if it was a choice id prefer a better battery life.

As i said though, i wasnt even in EDGE coverage, i dont normally get a E in the box anyway. So 1 min for full internet when i'm used to slow and crap WAP websites is great for me.

[sneeks]

I've just attempted the same test with bbc.co.uk and can report identical result of 1 minute for the page to fully load.

If I'm accessing the bbc site outside of an Edge/Wifi area then I select the low graphics version and it is very fast.

[mrm3]

I dont see what all the fuss about a 3G iphone is...

Browsing over EDGE is not as bad as peopel make out.

I'm not even on EDGE, (just got blue square, not E in it) and it took 20 seconds to fully load www.imdb.com as a test.

www.bbc.co.uk takes longer at 60 secongs since it went all fancy!

Its not broadband speed but for those times when your not near a pc its fine.

No webpage in my life is THAT important i cant wait more that 1 min for it.

It also prolongs the battery life, not having 3G.

I'd prefer to have longer battery life that fasted browsing. IMHO

The browser doesn't suport most plugins, like realplayer or java, so all those sites wont work, but i imaguine they will be included in future updates.

3G may sap the power more... but if it takes 10 secs to load a page on 3g instead of 60 secs on edge which uses more power for that webpage?

[jkr284]

3G may sap the power more... but if it takes 10 secs to load a page on 3g instead of 60 secs on edge which uses more power for that webpage?
Yer he only way the iphone would use less power loading web pages is if you type/click the web page you want and turn the screen off, wait 1 min then turn the screen back on lmao. All appleis doing is milking the first batch of customers then they will release the 3g version knowing the first customers are gonna upgrade to it straight away, hell, iphone customers are ditching the 8gb iphone and getting the 16gb lol never mind the 3g. then they will introduce wireless stereo bluetooth support in the gen afterthat, then gps after that. The method works, you iphone users got sucked in.
Ill stick with my touch cruise with spb shell interface, 3g, stereo bluetooth, gps, opera browser 9.5 and thousands of other apps/games. Sorry if im ranting!

[SeedyR]

When looking at news on my iPhone I mostly use the Sky News iPhone site (http://news.sky.com/skynews/iphone/home) that is optimised for EDGE. Loads very quick and it has nice interface.

Also when out and about, I access the BBC News RSS (feed://news.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss091.xml) feed on iPhone. It means I can quickly see the main headlines of the day and if a story interests me enough, I can click on it and be taken directly to that page.

EDGE for me really isn't that bad. Yes I'd like it to be a bit quicker, but generally I find it fine. I can watch youtube on it (yes it takes awhile to load, but once it starts it rarely stutters).

As to whether to wait for a 3G iPhone, well the biggest problem is when that will be. Some are saying as early as June in the States. Personally I think that is too soon, and it will be released nearer the time most Americans start to have their 18 months contracts run out, ie October/November. Of course when do us Brits get it, that's another matter entirely. Whenever it comes out I don't mind as I'm enjoying my iPhone now. It genuinely is the best phone I've ever used and I would now never go back to a traditional phone.

[Johnnie]

Well I'm selling my iphone, although I really like some of the features and the UI, I find it lacking in too many features when compared to my orbit 2.

The most important things for me in a mobile phone are:

The actual phone function (surprise), which is where the iphone is let down by some serious omissions including poor texting features, unable to send pics etc via bluetooth and the lack poor ringtone implementation which is stupidly complicated considering all the mp3 files stored on the device (unless I've missed something?). Virtually all modern phones have decent photo and video capability but it's a bit embarrasing when someone asks you to video something then bluetooth it to their phone!

Decent internet, again the iphone is seriously lacking in features here, no 3g and no ability to be used as a modem for a laptop.

Built-in satnav, I want to just carry around a single device that can be used for all my needs whilst out and about, the lack of built in gps on the iphone makes the maps function much less useful, again my orbit 2 came with co-pilot installed and built in GPS.

I just checked the load time for bbc.co.uk on my orbit 2, with one bar 3g/hsdpa signal strength, opera mobile browser and using open-dns servers it took 15 secs to fully load on my T-mobile WnW sim!

My advice is if you only need very basic phone features ( but with a very nice UI ), don't want to browse the web very often and don't need a sat-nav but you DO want great multimedia features then get an iphone, otherwise I would hold off until a 2nd generation version is released which isn't crippled by lack of features.

[owain_thomas]

The one thing that to me makes more difference than download speeds is just how well integrated all the iphone apps are and how well the UI works. I have never used another mobile device thats as easy and reliable as this. web browsing may be slightly slower than my N95 but the battery lasts a lot longer and when I do look at webpages I can actually navigate round them, see what I need to and get the information I need, all things which the N95 and similar phones struggle with.

there's no one answer thats right for everyone but I'd certainly recommend having a look at an iphone in action before dismissing it on the grounds of a "slow" internet connection

[Bal]

I've just attempted the same test with bbc.co.uk and can report identical result of 1 minute for the page to fully load.

If I'm accessing the bbc site outside of an Edge/Wifi area then I select the low graphics version and it is very fast.

strange that, takes me 27 seconds to bring up www.bbc.co.uk using EDGE.

The news page takes around 17 seconds.

[kl4rky]

unless you spend most of your time in 3g areas then waiting isnt worth it, and id guess we wont see the 3g version in the uk untill next year. i was concerned that the iphone would be slow, but i got one last week and overall its great, i just want to browse the net, nothing major, but i find it much faster than my 3g viewty, which is down to the browser. you can use far more websites with the iphone, hell i browse and post on here with no problems, can do that on any other phone ive owned (unless you have a magnifying glass and a whole day to spare)

plus its been said they will make the 3g the more expensive and put a 32gb drive in it, discontinue the 8gb and move the 16gb down a bit. i bought the 16gb for this reason, slightly better resale value in a years time. ive really got into apple products, had an imac now have a macbook pro and now the iphone, and yes you pay more but you get a hell of a lot more!!

[Sy1441]

Is O2's 3G coverage not a bit ropet at the moment tho ? Im sure i read offcom were fining them if they didnt get it sorted pronto.

[tdenson]

strange that, takes me 27 seconds to bring up www.bbc.co.uk using EDGE.

The news page takes around 17 seconds.

Just timed it on mine and also exactly 27 seconds

[smokescreen]

3.5g (HSDPA) makes most time sensitive tasks such as SSH sessions or Terminal services over a wireless much more possible. Latency drops from 250ms~ (3g) to 90ms or less on 3.5g.

As for speed, i'm not sure how you could really put up with a EDGE network once you've had a taste of HSDPA on the move, it really is significantly better even if it means losing a bit of battery life overall... but as someone rightly said, if your phone is processing signals for less time, you'll not only have a better experience but more likely better battery life.

[tdenson]

3.5g (HSDPA)
As for speed, i'm not sure how you could really put up with a EDGE network once you've had a taste of HSDPA on the move, e.

Having had a taste of the iPhone on the move, for me the difference between a conventional smartphone and the iPhone is the following. Imagine you were given a choice of going through life either blind but allowed to run around as fast as you like, or with sight but restricted to walking. Which is the richer and more satisfying experience ? To me the advantage of the 3G speed is totally offset by having to stumble around the user interface on e.g. a Nokia.

[owain_thomas]

Having had a taste of the iPhone on the move, for me the difference between a conventional smartphone and the iPhone is the following. Imagine you were given a choice of going through life either blind but allowed to run around as fast as you like, or with sight but restricted to walking. Which is the richer and more satisfying experience ? To me the advantage of the 3G speed is totally offset by having to stumble around the user interface on e.g. a Nokia.

excellent analogy - that's exactly what the difference feels like between the iphone and "faster" phones.

[RobM83]

Whilst the UI on the iPhone is fantastic, that's a somewhat sensationalist comment! Browsing on a Nokia is very simple, you open the icon from the main menu (same as iPhone) and you enter the address in the address bar (same as iPhone). The only difference is the fact you don't have touch screen on Nokias like the iPhone and the page doesn't scale as well. It's not as slick, pretty or feature packed, but it's every bit as easy to use.

[owain_thomas]

Whilst the UI on the iPhone is fantastic, that's a somewhat sensationalist comment! Browsing on a Nokia is very simple, you open the icon from the main menu (same as iPhone) and you enter the address in the address bar (same as iPhone). The only difference is the fact you don't have touch screen on Nokias like the iPhone and the page doesn't scale as well. It's not as slick, pretty or feature packed, but it's every bit as easy to use.

I think it's a pretty fair assessment really, I lost count of the number of times I tried to get some information from the web on my N95 but had to give up because the page wouldn't load or it was too hard to get around using the d-pad (ultimately this is what lead me to ditch it). So far this has NEVER happened to me on the iphone. Also, entering an address on the number pad of a nokia takes a lot longer than on an iphone - probably enough to eat into any time savings made by having 3G!

Have you owned an iphone? That's not meant to be a dig but I think that a lot of people would be surprised just how big the difference in usability is compared to other phones. If you have had both and prefer the nokia then fair play - they are very different phones and do different things better. Would I like to have GPS and 3G on my iphone? of course I would, but I'd also like it to be free and have an everlasting battery. until then, for me (and a lot of other people), the iphone is the best balance of usability and features out there, YMMV.

[tdenson]

Whilst the UI on the iPhone is fantastic, that's a somewhat sensationalist comment! Browsing on a Nokia is very simple, you open the icon from the main menu (same as iPhone) and you enter the address in the address bar (same as iPhone). The only difference is the fact you don't have touch screen on Nokias like the iPhone and the page doesn't scale as well. It's not as slick, pretty or feature packed, but it's every bit as easy to use.

As it happens I carry around a Nokia and an Orange SPV as well as my iPhone - the Nokia because I can't use the iPhone as a modem to my laptop, and the Orange because I am using up the remainder of a contract, so I regularly use 3 different UI's. I actually really like the SPV for the way it does things like predictive text lookup of contacts. However the Nokia is hopeless particularly its handling of contacts. Every time I do something for the first time on the Nokia it's a case of delving through menus for ages until I find what I want.
Your comment above "the only difference is that you don't have touch screens on Nokias" is just so very revealing of a mindset that doesn't "get" the iPhone. This, and the way the touch interface is implemented, is the very raison d'etre for the iPhone. The big thing with touch sensitive buttons is that they can be context sensitive and indeed are used that way to great effect. For example I have recently had cause to use my iPhone to set up 3 way conference calls and it is just so easy. There is no going into menus - when you are in a call there staring you in the face is a button saying "add call". You tap that and call a 3rd party, then a button appears saying "merge calls". It really couldn't be easier.

[RobM83]

Have you owned an iphone? That's not meant to be a dig but I think that a lot of people would be surprised just how big the difference in usability is compared to other phones. If you have had both and prefer the nokia then fair play - they are very different phones and do different things better. Would I like to have GPS and 3G on my iphone? of course I would, but I'd also like it to be free and have an everlasting battery. until then, for me (and a lot of other people), the iphone is the best balance of usability and features out there, YMMV.

Yes, I do own an iPhone. I bought it after selling my N95 8GB, so I think I'm in a pretty good position to comment.

I never said I prefer the Nokia, I much prefer the iPhone (design and UI wise, not technology wise) as I thought my comment about it's superior UI would have shown. But the point was the comment about how hard Nokias are to use is simply not true.

Before the iPhone came along, what did people use for mobile internet? I don't remember people refusing to use their Nokia or Sony Ericssons because it was too hard to work out how to use the internet.

Using a Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung.. most modern phones really.. for internet browsing is not as good as the iPhone for sure, but unless everybody has suddenly got far dumber overnight, it's not exactly hard to enter an address into a phone web browser.

[tdenson]

Yes, I do own an iPhone. I bought it after selling my N95 8GB, so I think I'm in a pretty good position to comment.

I never said I prefer the Nokia, I much prefer the iPhone (design and UI wise, not technology wise) as I thought my comment about it's superior UI would have shown. But the point was the comment about how hard Nokias are to use is simply not true.

Before the iPhone came along, what did people use for mobile internet? I don't remember people refusing to use their Nokia or Sony Ericssons because it was too hard to work out how to use the internet.

Using a Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung.. most modern phones really.. for internet browsing is not as good as the iPhone for sure, but unless everybody has suddenly got far dumber overnight, it's not exactly hard to enter an address into a phone web browser.

RobM83, my apologies, my posting above about you not "getting" it is probably a bit misplaced, and I agree, a year ago I would have thought the N95 was the bees knees. Nevertheless, in my opinion Apple have rewritten the rule book since then, and particularly the latest announcements on SDK and Enterprise features are dynamite, I would be very worried if I was in charge at RIM.

[RobM83]

For sure, I don't disagree, the iPhone has given a lot of manufacturers a problem when it comes to the current Mobile Internet craze. With Nokia developing S60 Touch and Sony Ericsson tarting up Windows Mobile though, I don't think Apple will have it all their way for too long though. It's a good thing mind you, as the people who benefit are us, the people buying this stuff! :)

[tdenson]

For sure, I don't disagree, the iPhone has given a lot of manufacturers a problem when it comes to the current Mobile Internet craze. With Nokia developing S60 Touch and Sony Ericsson tarting up Windows Mobile though, I don't think Apple will have it all their way for too long though. It's a good thing mind you, as the people who benefit are us, the people buying this stuff! :)

Yes, I will be the first to applaud a phone better than the iPhone. Apple need the competition, they are getting far too arrogant.

[unique]

i got my iphone after seeking advice, demoing and searching for a new phone with the main feature of being able to access and use the internet, mainly to check "news" and articles as they are updated on online forums like this one. i asked online and the iphone and n95 were the main two phones that were named, apart from pda's

after checking out the phones in the flesh to access the sites i used for myself, i found the main let down for the N95 was having to use the numberpad for entry of text. i hardly sent txt's because it was a PITA to type, and it was frustrating as i'm normally a fast touch typer. this issue ruled out a number of phones as i felt that a qwerty keyboard was essential for the use i required

the other issue was the way that the web pages were displayed on the phone, they didn't display in a satisfactory manner to me. i did wonder why people mentioned the N95 so much as it seemed so feature loaded, but i get the impression you can use other browsers to get a different experience, but the keypad is still a let down, and i think the screen was a fair bit smaller

the salesman then asked me about the iphone, and took out his personal phone and showed me, which i was fascinated by as it did exactly what i wanted. i never imagined buying the iphone and i feel apple products are overpriced and have unnecessary limitations built in, when competing products are usually cheaper and can do much more. the pricing of the iphone also put me off, particularly the £35 a month contract on top of shelling out £270. i did my reasearch and found i could unlock/jailbreak the phone instead and i went down that route and got a good retention sim only deal with o2 instead

i was concerned about a newer iphone coming out, but i could keep on waiting and waiting and in the meantime not have a phone to do what i wanted, and so far there is still no real sign of a 3G model coming out

as i don't have wifi at home or at work, edge and gprs internet access is my main connection, and i find it more than sufficient for my needs. the actual speeds depend on the quality of the signal in the area you are in, presumably this would be the same with 3G handsets. the best way to check speeds it to ensure you have a good signal first, and then see how long pages take to load. of course some sites will take longer than others to load if they have ad's etc

i'm personally happy with the choice, i like the size and neatness of the phone so it fits in my shirt or jean pocket, it's not scratched or marked, the 3rd party apps are great, i don't have to carry a seperate mp3 player anymore, and the built in touch keyboard is great for internet and SMS use. i can now send txt's to people quickly and easily, and access my favourite websites, seach and reply to posts, and my emails are sent direct to my phone without me having to go online to check. the way the screen resizes and zooms is really great, you see pages in a very similar way to being on a normal pc. i was a bit concerned about the lack of 3G before i got it, but thats not a concern anymore

one other thing i noticed was at first i used it a lot, but now i've chilled out a bit with it so only use it when i need it, so the initial use in the first few days or weeks may be more than normal. in normal use of accessing webpages it's perfectly usable. it's just slow at times if you don't have a good reception

[smokescreen]

Having had a taste of the iPhone on the move, for me the difference between a conventional smartphone and the iPhone is the following. Imagine you were given a choice of going through life either blind but allowed to run around as fast as you like, or with sight but restricted to walking. Which is the richer and more satisfying experience ? To me the advantage of the 3G speed is totally offset by having to stumble around the user interface on e.g. a Nokia.

Blind? The iphone is a nice device, but I still rather use my mobile road warrior - a dell 640M with a big battery on the back. I dont browse on mobile devices as its just too painful, even with a bigger screen.

So for me, speed anyday, as I really do have a need for it.

[tdenson]

Blind? The iphone is a nice device, but I still rather use my mobile road warrior - a dell 640M with a big battery on the back. I dont browse on mobile devices as its just too painful, even with a bigger screen.

So for me, speed anyday, as I really do have a need for it.

Of course, I would rather browse on my MacBook, but it's a big trade off to have to carry a laptop computer with me, not just the weight/size, but also the security implications. I find myself less and less dependent now on having a laptop with me, particularly with the seamlessness of syncing my various datasets between my laptop and iPhone.

[smokescreen]

Of course, I would rather browse on my MacBook, but it's a big trade off to have to carry a laptop computer with me, not just the weight/size, but also the security implications. I find myself less and less dependent now on having a laptop with me, particularly with the seamlessness of syncing my various datasets between my laptop and iPhone.

As much as I'd like to, I simply cant work without a laptop. There's just no replacement for a keyboard. Mine weights about 2.5kg with the bigger battery so isnt too bad, and as for security i've taken measures to protect the systems involved e.g. securely tunnel my net connections, etc.

[tdenson]

Mine weights about 2.5kg with the bigger battery so isnt too bad, and as for security i've taken measures to protect the systems involved e.g. securely tunnel my net connections, etc.

I was thinking more of simply getting it stolen. Even if everything is locked down from a privacy point of view, it's still a big hassle to replace and get everything back onto another.

[smokescreen]

I was thinking more of simply getting it stolen. Even if everything is locked down from a privacy point of view, it's still a big hassle to replace and get everything back onto another.

I was thinking stolen too. Its imaged every week, and sync'd everytime it touches the VPN so its not that bad in my case... worst case scenario, someone tries to crack RSA 4096-bit encryption whilst I reimage another laptop for use. Re-imaging doesnt take long, even if the underlying spec of the system is a little different, doesnt take long to sort out.

[chaz]

sorry if this sounds a bit stupid how do i get this Sky News I Phone Site down loaded on to my i phone and put a button on the face so i can look at it any time thanks :lesson:

[roaster]

sorry if this sounds a bit stupid how do i get this Sky News I Phone Site down loaded on to my i phone and put a button on the face so i can look at it any time thanks :lesson:

In Safari, go to http://news.sky.com/iphone

click the plus sign at the bottom of the screen.

tap "add to home screen".

to move a button, touch and hold until they all jiggle, then drag it where you like (including to a new page of buttons)

to finish adjusting buttons, press home.

Another very useful one to have is the met office's 3 hourly forecast for your local area. You can zoom in onto the exact part of the page before adding to the home screen.

e.g. this is mine:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/sw/exeter_forecast_weather.html

[Johnnie]

As much as I'd like to, I simply cant work without a laptop. There's just no replacement for a keyboard. Mine weights about 2.5kg with the bigger battery so isnt too bad, and as for security i've taken measures to protect the systems involved e.g. securely tunnel my net connections, etc.

You're right of course, there is no replacement for a decent keyboard and as far as I'm aware it's not even possible to use a Bluetooth foldaway keyboard with the iphone.

I don't have many problems browsing the web on my orbit 2 when using opera mobile browser, it would be even easier if I viewed the screen in landscape and used a bluetooth keyboard for data entry.

The only thing that annoys me about Apple products is that they tend to have very limited expansion options, I was considering buying an iMac but discovered that the gorgeous display couldn't be used for any other purpose, if there had been an external input (pref HDCP compatible) then it would have made much more sense!

[arfster]

As for speed, i'm not sure how you could really put up with a EDGE network once you've had a taste of HSDPA on the move, it really is significantly better even if it means losing a bit of battery life overall... but as someone rightly said, if your phone is processing signals for less time, you'll not only have a better experience but more likely better battery life.

I had HSDPA on my TyTN - great at speedtests, but not much else. Very shortly after buying I ended up using it barely at all.

In practice, the Iphone is far better as a net browser, even with EDGE speeds.

[ukpolak]

I bought an iPhone in the states for $400, around £200.. unlocked now on O2.

- Even with GRPS (i.e. square on display) the internet is fast enough to be honest. Even with my previous Nk E65 on O2 with 3G I didn't notice it being 'that' much faster.

- On Edge (i.e. square on display with 'E' in it) it doesn't make that much of a difference, except the YouTube app will not play vids unless it detects either a wifi or Edge connection. Strange but true. Plus I live on the outskirts of Southampton (never seen an 'E' on my phone here) but work in Bournemouth (Edge coverage permanantly).

To be honest, even with bog standard GPRS it is more than adequate. Everything loads up in good enough time, the only 'issue' would be that YouTube app requires Edge/Wifi to play videos (but you can still launch app and search for content with a GPRS connection).

My issues with the phone are more surrounding SMSes... you can't forward text messages, there's no character counter, and you can't send to multiple recipients. Apart from a better camera with flash, as well as 3G chip which are h/w improvements, all the other features needed for v2 are s/w based so no big issue really.

The battery life is a pain, I find it lasts 1 day (Nokias always lasted 2 or 3). However apparently this is because I have wifi set to 'on' all the time. In this mode, it is constantly searching for new networks, thus eating up juice. There's no option to turn off scanning of networks, so you have to actually turn wireless off completely.

I was the first to diss Apple and iPhone etc etc but after playing with one at the Apple store in NYC I had to get one, plus with the exchange rate it worked out a good deal. The phone looks good, web-browsing is great.

[Steve Bate]

My issues with the phone are more surrounding SMSes... you can't forward text messages, there's no character counter, and you can't send to multiple recipients. Apart from a better camera with flash, as well as 3G chip which are h/w improvements, all the other features needed for v2 are s/w based so no big issue really.

You can now send to multiple recipients with the last update 1.1.4.

Steve