I have been using an 8Gb iPhone for the last week and I have some impressions I would like to share with our readers.

First of all I have to say that this is the typical product that you need to touch with your hands before being able to say anything. Several assumptions I made before touching it proved to be wrong.

What I like

• It’s surprisingly fast. And when I mean fast I mean really fast. Probably one of the fastest handsets I have ever had in my hands.
• The User Interface is fantastic. Full stop. (Even if, honestly I found some inconsistencies across applications)
• The virtual keyboard is really usable and error correction is amazing.
• Weight and size are acceptable even if they make the handset sit between the biggest.
• The response of the touch screen is very accurate.
• The screen is one of the best screens I have ever seen on and handset.
• The use of the accelerometer is very smart and consistent across application.
• iPod interface. Fantastic.
• Photos application. I would buy one just for this application.
• Battery life is very good.
• Camera quality is very good and the camera application is quite fast. (Animations are fantastic, just try to delete a photo and verify what I mean)
• gMaps. You have to try it to understand that the touch interface is the perfect match for this application.

What I don’t like

• The handset does not even know anything about the SIM you put in. I admit that if you will follow a standard procedure you will get an empty SIM by definition but this is annoying.
• I miss MMS, definitely. I can understand that in the US they are not used too much but, at least in Europe, I think we need this feature.
• You cannot shoot videos. Just wonder why.
• You cannot install third party applications.
• You cannot install your own ringtones without paying a fee to the iTunes store.
• You do not have an equivalent of the task manager. (Just think at what you can find on Symbian S60 handsets).
• YouTube is not really usable under EDGE coverage.
• SMS application. I personally hate this conversation approach.  Moreover, I do not like the fact that the SMS alert displays the text message.
• You cannot see you iPhone as an external drive on your PC.
• No external memory.
• No access to the iPhone battery. If you will ever need to change it you will need to send it to the service center.
• No support for Microsoft Office files. No Preview like application on board.
• 2 Megapixel camera is a little bit too low for today standards.
• No 3G.

So, Would I buy one with my own money?

The answer is: maybe. I think that some of the thing I like the most will be available on the iPod Touch.

Actually if it was a 3G device with support for third party application, MMS and Video recording support I would be already queuing at the store.

Why do I blog this? Just wanted to update some of my old writing after having one of these in my hands.

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