iPhone 3G reviews roundup: We're not jealous, honest

By Andrew Lim on 09 July 2008, 12:09pm

A privileged few US journalists have managed to get their hands on a 3G iPhone weeks before it's officially due to go on sale -- we strongly suspect they've got pictures of Steve Jobs -- and they've put their reviews up for the rest of us to gawk at. As expected, most of them like it and there aren't too many huge surprises -- but there are a few interesting morsels of information.

Starting with Walt Mossberg's review for The Wall Street Journal, Mossberg points out that it looks very similar to the original iPhone, but comes with a curved plastic back instead of a flat metal one. 3G makes browsing the Web much faster than the original iPhone's EDGE, but Mossberg points out that it drains the battery very quickly.

The new iPhone also allows you to access your work emails over Exchange, but there is a drawback. According to Mossberg, "While you can have both personal and Exchange email accounts on the new iPhone, if you synchronise with Exchange calendars and contacts, your personal calendar and contacts are erased," which is disappointing.

Moving on to David Pogue's review for The New York Times, Pogue explains that while you can access 3G via AT&T's network, there aren't many regions in the US with the service, which may also be a problem for certain areas of the UK. Both Mossberg and Pogue also point out that they're not exactly happy with the contract the iPhone 3G comes on, which happily isn't as good as the deal we get here in the UK.

Finally, Edward C Baig from USA Today simply loves the iPhone 3G and doesn't have many bad things to say -- other than pointing out that you still can't shoot video with it, use a Bluetooth stereo headset, or dial with voice commands. He hopes third-party developers can fix those problems.

Overall, they all seem to love it, which is hopefully a good sign of things to come here in the UK. Make sure you keep coming back to CNET.co.uk for 3G iPhone updates, as they'll be coming thick and fast over the next few days. -Andrew Lim