IPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G is a smartphone made and sold by Apple. It was the second version of the iPhone, after the original iPhone. Apple showed it on June 9, 2008, at the WWDC 2008 in the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The iPhone 3G had many of the same parts as the first iPhone but added some new things. These included GPS, faster 3G internet, and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA wireless support. It came with iPhone OS 2, which had helpful tools like push email and turn-by-turn navigation. Most importantly, this system introduced the App Store, where people could download new programs made by others.

The iPhone 3G became very popular. It sold more copies than the first iPhone and helped make the iPhone even more famous than Apple's Mac computers. By the end of 2008, it was the best-selling cell phone in the United States, beating out the Motorola Razr V3. Apple also became the second-largest seller of smartphones, moving ahead of RIM. The next iPhone model, the iPhone 3GS, came out in June 2009.

History

See also: History of the iPhone

The iPhone 3G was launched on July 11, 2008, in twenty-two countries. It came in two storage sizes: 8 GB and 16 GB. The 16 GB version was available in black or white. In the United States, you needed a two-year plan with AT&T to buy it. The 8 GB model cost $199, and the 16 GB model cost $299.

After the iPhone 3GS came out, the iPhone 3G was sold at a lower price. It was $99 with a two-year contract, only in black and with 8 GB of storage. It also came with the new iPhone OS 3.0 software. If you didn’t want a contract, you could buy it without one from AT&T for $499 (8 GB) or $549 (16 GB) in 2009. The iPhone 3G was stopped being made on June 7, 2010, and the iPhone 3GS took its place as the budget option.

In 2008, a company called Import Genius used public data to spot the iPhone 3G arriving before Apple announced it.

Software

See also: iOS, iPhone OS 2, iPhone OS 3, and iOS 4

The iPhone 3G started with the latest iOS software and got updates for over two years. When it first came out, it had iPhone OS 2. This added the App Store, better email support, and other new tools.

In June 2009, users got the iPhone OS 3 update. This added features like sending pictures in messages and copying and pasting text. In June 2010, the iOS 4.0 update came. The iPhone 3G could not use some new tools, but it did get helpful changes like better organizing apps. This was the last update for the iPhone 3G, as later versions needed newer hardware.

Hardware

Main article: iPhone hardware

The iPhone 3G had a plastic back instead of the aluminum back on the first iPhone. It came in black or white and was easier to hold. The phone was a little bigger than the original iPhone.

It had a 3.5-inch screen that you could touch with your fingers. The phone also had sensors to change the screen when you turned it and to adjust the brightness.

Reception

Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal called the iPhone 3G "a better version of a great phone." But he said there were some hidden costs.

Wired, an American magazine, asked people what they thought after the iPhone 3G came out. They got mixed answers, with some people confused about the 3G connection.

The digital media website CNET gave the iPhone 3G a score of 8.0 out of 10. They liked its call quality and how it played music and videos but said it missed some basic features, had uneven battery life, and sometimes had slow 3G connections.

Issues

Dropped calls and slow web connections

Not long after the iPhone 3G came out, people complained about dropped calls and slow web browsing. Studies showed that a specific chip in the phone was causing these connectivity problems.

Apple fixed these problems with a software update, so they didn’t have to recall the phones. This update helped the chip work better, making calls and internet faster for iPhone 3G users.

Even though some users had trouble with connections, AT&T, the main provider for the iPhone 3G at the time, said, "Overall, the new iPhone is doing really well on our 3G network."

Battery drain

iOS 4 came out on June 21, 2010, and it still worked with the iPhone 3G. A report said that after updating to iOS 4, iPhone 3G phones worked more slowly, had shorter battery life, and got very hot.