What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
02 SEP 2008
Apple iPhone 3G 8GB
No company engineers,, manages and then reaps the rewards of the hype machine quite like Apple.
So many column inches have been written on the Apple iPhone, and this, the 2nd-generation 3G model in particular, that it seems almost silly to be going over it again.
But as sure as something rises to the top, as the iPhone undoubtedly has done, rival models will emerge to
try and steal its crown.
A drop in price, but not in qualitySo, we’ll recap what’s new. The stand-out feature is the upgrading of the web-access from the ‘2.5G’ EDGE technology to 3G – this means faster Internet browsing.
Apple has also ditched the recessed headphone jack, so any ’phones will fit, while there’s now GPS on board plus iPhone Software 2.0 for accessing the App Store, which allows you to download any number of third-party developed software.
Last, and very probably least, the back panel is no longer silver. Or rather, it is silver on the 16GB phone; but it’s black on the 8GB version.
Even better news is that, despite the price drop, the iPhone 3G sounds better than ever. It was a class-leader for sound already, and now, especially when listening to Apple Lossless or WAV files, it’s an undeniably punchy, open and brilliantly subtle delivery.
Couple that with the startlingly good video quality from the 3.5in screen and the unrivalled touchscreen control interface, and the Apple 3G remains a massively covetable, multi-talented device.