UK mobile phone reviews - Apple iPhone 3G S Review

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Reviewer: Sumreen Shirwani - Dublin, Ireland
Date: 6th Jul 2010

- Zoom is in Accessabilities.
- ON the Zoom option.
- Double tap the main screen with three fingers.
- If you want to increase the Zoom, drag your three fingers upward.
- If you want to minimize the Zoom, drag your three fingers down.

Thanks & let me know!

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Reviewer: Ruairi - UK
Date: 23rd Jun 2010

The iPhone is mostly a good mobile phone that has many applications & lots of memory. Although there are a couple of things I don't like:

- The way you can't multitask (which should be in the 4G coming out next month).
- The camera has no zoom.
- There is no video calling capabilities.
- Battery life dramatically decreases using apps.
- Signal is not totally great.

Cities are best but my Sony Ericsson C510 got 3 bars more than the iPhone in the exact same position. Hopefully in the 4G most of these problems will be resolved & hopefully this helped convince you to wait until 4G to buy an iPhone. Don't do what I did, rush into it & buy the 3G S when two months later they reveal the 4G.

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Reviewer: Igor Goldkind - Oxford, UK
Date: 20th May 2010

I reported my iPhone stolen Monday morning to O2 & was promised a call back in order to take my £25 deductable to dispatch my phone for net day. No one called me back. After numerous calls Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, still no call back. No one at O2 or O2 insure can take my payment if I call them nor will they dispatch my replacement phone until they've collected. I speak to supervisors both at O2 & O2 Insure who constantly apologise & then promise me someone will call me to take payment in 15 minutes, half an hour, one hour, end of day. Nothing ever happens. I've been lied to & fobbed off. Don't take this insurance out with O2 Insure, they are a living nightmare. I will be going out today & purchasing another iPhone which I will return within 14 days once O2 Insure gets its act together & sends me a replacement phone. Atrocious service! Beware! Don't take out insurance with O2 Insure.

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Reviewer: Anon - Switzerland
Date: 19th May 2010

Incredible tool! Amazing handling with a superb design. You get so addicted!

I recommend it to anybody.

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Reviewer: Matt - Manchester, UK
Date: 12th May 2010

I have had the iPhone 3GS for almost 1 year now & I have to say that there are way more positive things about the phone than there are negative things.

For those who keep complaining about the battery life, I have no problem with that as I don't see the problem of having to charge a phone that I am using a lot during the day to phone, text, surf the net, take pictures & play apps. Any phone which you use so much is of course going to need a charge every day. If anyone can find me a phone which can be used all day for all those previously mentioned functions & doesn't need a charge every day, please do tell me as I have yet to find one on the market.

The only negatives I can find about the phone is that the Bluetooth does suck as it can only be used to connect to other iPhones, & also it can't properly multitask except for listening to music & surfing the net or playing some apps.

The positives about the phone have to be: large clear screen, touch function is very good to use, music player is awesome, camera is very decent, endless amounts of apps that can enhance the iPhone, great memory size to store lots of photos, music & apps, still looks very stylish & the battery life is very good for what it can be used for.

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Reviewer: Jamie - Newport, UK
Date: 11th May 2010

It is the best phone ever.

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Reviewer: Mel - Manchester, UK
Date: 23rd Mar 2010

I have had this phone now for 4 months. I have to say I tried every other touch screen phone before my purchase but had to succumb to the fact that this was the best. I tend to change my phones every 8 to 9 months or so because I am very easily bored but I cannot see me becoming bored of the iphone 3gs any time soon. For me it has everything you could want in a phone. Fantastic music player. Large screen for surfing the Internet. A camera that is more than adequate at taking a decent snap. Easy to text or send emails. A screen that you can actually see in bright sunlight unlike a lot of the competition. I have an in car charger so I haven't had a problem with the battery. I had the Nokia Sirocco & the battery life on that was awful it would just die without warning so there are phones out there with poorer battery life. I did everything I could to not get this phone because I like to be different from everyone else but in the end I just had to have it because it was most definitely the best all rounder & it still looks good.

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Reviewer: Brendan - Newry , UK
Date: 16th Mar 2010

I Have had an iPhone 3GS phone for 8 weeks now. Prior to this I have used Nokia phones for 13 years.

The iPhone is basically an iPod touch with a SIM card, & it functions that way too. Whilst there are issues over poor battery life the biggest drawback has to be the iPhones inability to pick up signal from the network provider. On countless occasions I have had little or no signal on the iPhone whilst a £60 Nokia phone is receiving 4 bars of coverage (on the same network at the same time in the same place). There has to be something wrong with that.

I have complained to Vodafone for 7 of the 8 weeks I have owned the iPhone. I have had 2 exchange phones in this time also. Thankfully, I am getting the opportunity to change to a proper phone, a Nokia.

My advice is simple. If you want something to play music, utilise apps, play games etc etc. It is fine. If, however like most people who buy a PHONE you actually want to talk to people or maybe send an email, don't even think of buying an iPhone.

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Reviewer: Gold - Essex, UK
Date: 11th Mar 2010

I've had my phone for 5 months now & I am still loving it!

I use it for my emails daily which is very easy to use, I use it as a sat nav (using the standard map on the phone which constantly updates your location). The RAC traffic updater app which is a lifesaver! Safari, Sky sports score centre, YouTube, iPod, eBay, the list is endless & Everything is so easy to use!

One bad point is the battery, which won't last long if you're like me & need to use it all the time.

Apart from that, the iPhone 3GS is by far the best phone you can buy!

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Reviewer: Matt - UK
Date: 19th Feb 2010

Simple really.

Buy an iPod touch for all the apps (i.e. The only reason people buy iPhones).

Then buy yourself a better Smartphone which:

- Won't need charging every 12 hrs.

- DOES stand out in the crowd (BAAAA!).

- Lets you take the battery out.

- Won't freeze.

- Can take decent photos.

- Doesn't need plugging into a PC to do ANYTHING.

- Can Bluetooth with other phones (except iPhones of course! ).

Or just be a sheep & throw money away!

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Reviewer: Nvj - UK
Date: 13th Feb 2010

Had the iPhone 3GS one month today & thought it was only fair I gave an opinion on its positive & negative points, of which it unfortunately!

Positive.
- Texting. Easy, quick, simple. No more stacks of separate messages, they're all in one folder. No more will you forget what the other has typed half way through a new message, because it's right in front of you.

- Touch Screen. Really, really responsive. More responsive than most phones I've noticed & therefore it makes typing a dream.

- Home Screen. One quick swipe to the side & you have another page of your apps, which makes finding things really easy. Easy to navigate, easy to use.

- Camera. For a 3 megapixel camera it's actually brilliant. The zoom & angle you can get on some shots make you think it's actually a digital camera, especially when taken on the large screen.

- Being an iPod. It does very well. This is probably however the only thing it multi-tasks as you can listen to your music whilst texting, playing games, emailing etc. Music's still simple to navigate although there is no longer the option of being able to organize the icons along the bottom such as Artist, Genre etc. All are set for you as they weren't on the iTouch & to access songs you have to go through the Album screen, still fabulous however.

- Contacts. Are now nicely laid out & you can add email/home addresses, making finding someone to text, email, call a lot easier. Also, being able to add photos & then scale them is a nice touch.

- Emailing. If you do use email (which I do partially) the mail option's very nice. Being able to send & receive email on the go from wherever you are (providing you're chosen provider allows Internet within your contract or PAYG) is easy & very simple to use.

- Design. Whilst sitting next to me now, it looks like something I'd want to pick up. Also, with its curved edges, sits beautifully & quite snugly in the palm of your hand. It generally looks attractive & when out & about with one, you still do find you get admiring looks. My 3GS is in black, but in my opinion, both colours suit the phone.


Unfortunately, the negatives, of which are minor niggles.

- Battery Life. In respect of the previous reviews, with everything the phone has to do, processor, graphics card etc, it is partially very good. However, the phone will not last more than one day. One & a half at a push, if you're not constantly using it (which I certainly do). Depending I suppose on your usage, will depend on your battery life, but certainly if you are looking not to have to charge a phone every day, it does let the phone down slightly. I still have to run it down towards the end of a working down with heavy graphic applications, just so it will fully charge for the next day.

- Glitches. Very occasionally [& touchwood it hasn't done this a lot with me] it will freeze. Nothing major, but sometimes applications can become slightly laggy, although the problem will rectify usually immediately.

- Wi-Fi. Having a Wi-Fi network that is hidden & a VPA, I had a problem getting the iPhone to see the network & not keep having to connect with a password every time it tried to reconnect. However, to rectify the problem I had to do a complete refresh of the network settings. Not a major problem but even nowadays, connecting isn't directly instant, certainly after a period of sitting quietly & unfortunately to find it 5 seconds later. Minor, but still worth mentioning.

- Camera effects. Although it is fantastic for being a general camera, it has no black & white, sepia etc effects, nor flash facilities. For being such a high tech [& very expensive! ] phone, you would've thought that Apple could've actually added something as simple as effects onto the camera, instead of having to download a secondary app to allow this. However, it is a minor niggle & if you're not looking for an important camera, doesn't really detract at all.

- Bluetooth. If you're only looking for Bluetooth to connect with a car for calling then it's perfect. However, don't expect to be able to transfer pictures, music or videos, has the facility doesn't allow it. It won't see any other phones & I had a struggle getting the phone to see my laptop. (Although that could be because I run Linux Mint 8 instead of Mac, or Windozzze) Also once it did, I wasn't able to transfer information. A major let down, especially when it comes to wanting to transfer pictures with friends. Again, I had to download a secondary app, which really, I shouldn't have to do.

- Missed Calls. Once you've missed a call, a small icon will appear on the call icon, showing the number you've missed. However, when going to view the missed call, you either have to call that person back, (which you may or may not want to do) or clear your missed calls, as there is no other way to show that you've seen the call, the call icon will still show the number you've missed, even if you've viewed them. Minor, but still little niggles.

- Multi-tasking. No option. As I said earlier, the only multi-tasking it performs is playing music behind any other application. It's not a major thing for me, but sometimes I would like to leave an application up whilst replying to a text, instead of having to leave the application to be taken to the texting screen.


OVERALL as I am sure you're nodding off! A very, very, very, very good phone. Beautiful, fantastic to run, whether business or pleasure bound & generally a dream to have. Yes, its minor points do let it down, but if you can look past those, the phone is a phone owners dream. I personally will NOT be buying the 4G when it is released, as I don't think that Apple will change the phone that much & as the software updates are now free, I will keep the original model of the 3GS & just install the software updates, as in my opinion, this is their best phone yet.

9 out of 10, Get it.

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Reviewer: Alex - Kirkcaldy, UK
Date: 7th Feb 2010

I read a number of reviews before I got the 3GS phone. & a lot o people complained about the battery life. Fair enough I charge mine most days but that's after a lot of use during the day phoning texting & emailing. But give it a brake my laptop needs charged quicker if am surfing & mailing. Using the net on the phone is so simple the apps are great & it's a phone so what more do you want & it's a iPod LOL.

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Reviewer: Harriett - UK
Date: 27th Jan 2010

Really good phone, the touch screen is great & the texting is really easy. There isn't many features on the phone but the app store is fantastic & you can get pretty much anything you may need off there, the camera is good in daylight but it's awful in any other condition but that's due to having no flash :( also the battery life is horrible I have to charge twice a day! & that's not even when it's been used loads :S & they have made everything so awkward! If you want to make a photo album is HAS to be done on a computer & then if you have a picture in the album you don't want you have to connect it to the comp & delete it from there! But other than that I do love the phone, its quick & does everything you need it to do & more. Man I love the app store :).

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Reviewer: Celia Sherman - London, UK
Date: 24th Jan 2010

I've always wanted an iPhone but was put off by the cost. I was planning on buying another Nokia but I had to admit that I didn't find the Symbian OS particularly user friendly as I was forever digging around menus & pressing buttons etc. The high end Nokia phones have very good cameras, for a phone, but what I didn't like was the fake shutter sound which I couldn't turn off & the fact that the flash was always on by default which often meant more button pressing & menus before I could take a shot. The silly shutter sound attracted attention sometimes, & I don't like being gawped at by others. So the camera is a compromise, but with the purchase of a few apps from the App Strore, the iPhone camera becomes a retro Polaroid, Holga or whatever.

The features I really like about the iPhone are the large screen, the Safari web browser is miles better than Opera mini, the attractive user friendly interface & the brilliant iPod, music, video experience. I can download free podcasts, including video podcasts, from the iTunes store & it all downloads & installs perfectly. There are plenty of free apps from the App store too. I also use the calendar & find it far more attractive & easy to see at a glance what I have planned for the week or the month or whatever.

The downsides, maybe the camera but then the Nokia was too annoying. & does anyone really ever print out their cameraphone pictures. How many megapixels does anyone really need to send a photo of their cat's silly antics?

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Reviewer: Anita - Kent, UK
Date: 18th Jan 2010

I've always been a girl for buttons, but I couldn't resist the temptation that is the iPhone any longer! I use my phone mainly for texting, photography & organising my life in general & here are my personal good & bad points.

Good.
- Really responsive touch screen technology.
- Brilliant colours, simple layout.
- Fantastic fun packed & useful apps (I am app happy at mo!).
- Good sound quality.
- Very user friendly.
- Texting, though I have lost my buttons (which has cut my speed texting down) I am actually getting on really well with the touch screen qwerty, just takes some getting used to, however it's def a more responsive & accurate keyboard to other touch screens!
- Loving the compass & GPS Maps (geek moment!).
- The camera, despite being only a 3MP (boo) doesn't actually take that terrible a picture, I was quite surprised.

Bad.
- Only a 3MP camera? & there is no flash as it states above. I hear the 4Gs will have a 5MP, that's a little better I guess but that doesn't help me right now with my wee iPhone. I am going to have to buy a digital camera to make up for it.
- Ringtones, can't use your iTunes (ridiculous) though apparently there are ways round it, but this should just be a done thing!
- My phone is my life's organiser MUST HAVE so these points are picky & not really anything to moan at, but as my life's organiser these are my niggles & this is my review so I will mention them! You have to download a to do list, & these come without a reminder alert (as I need reminding to check!) the calendar alerts are either an irritating sound or nothing, I would of liked a vibrate alert, that goes for all the alerts too. I would also like birthday reminders, again with vibrate alert. I have a memory of a fish, which is why I rely heavily on my alerts, which is why these tiny little niggles have made their way into my bad points.
- I can't find the integrated FM radio. I know you can download radio apps, & I have downloaded Kiss, but how can I get Radio 1?

So, my overall view, the camera could be better, the personal organiser elements could be better & the alerts & tones should have more options HOWEVER this phone is fun fun fun packed, really smart, really responsive & leaves me feeling 'look at me I have an iPhone & love it!

No phone will ever be perfect, we all have our different wants & needs for our phones, but despite all my personal bad points, I love this phone, I think it's awesome & I would definitely recommend it!

PS I haven't mentioned battery life, but I think people need to get realistic, with EVERYTHING this phone provides & does, the battery is going to take a battering, we can't have it all, otherwise I'd be able to eat all the junk food & chocolate I like & have a size 12 body!

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Reviewer: Neil - Northants, UK
Date: 16th Jan 2010

Some people have complained about poor battery life but I have found the battery performance to be good considering the amount of use it gets. I had the HTC Hero before this & the battery life on that was terrible especially if you had email setup to check for emails hourly. The touch screen is brilliant, so responsive & the scrolling is great too. Yes it could do with a better camera with a flash but nothing is perfect. Also the app store has around 100, 000 apps as compared to the Android Market with around only 20, 000 apps. For me nothing compares.

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Reviewer: John London - UK
Date: 6th Jan 2010

People who comment badly on the iPhone are really commenting on their own ability to understand the infinite possibilities that are offered with Apps.

With the apps I can:

- Locate any coffee shop within 5 miles & be guided to it via the phones GPS.
- I can remotely access my computer from afar & control it's mouse.
- Shoot video & edit with effect in the phone, then upload to all my social media accounts at once.
- Take a yoga class that plays in HD on my TV.
- Swap information just by bumping my phone together with my wife's.

If you have a bit of intelligence & imagination then this is the phone for you. If not, get a BlackBerry.

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Reviewer: Liam - Essex, UK
Date: 30th Dec 2009

I've had this phone for about 8 weeks now after upgrading from the iPhone 3G & I have to say it has got some useful improvements. The new processor which is supposedly 2 times quicker is much better & opens apps so much more quickly. The camera has been improved to 3 megapixels & has auto & manual focus, & my personal favourite thing is the new coating on the screen which reduces smudges :).

Overall it's a pretty good phone especially for iPod which is my main use of the phone alongside texting! I would give it a 9 out of 10 rating & recommend it to most people from light users to heavy user because it's suitable for everyone.

My main drawback to this product is the still 5 hour 3G battery life but the edge battery has been improved to 12 hours which makes up for that!

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Reviewer: Fozlur Rahman - Edinburgh, UK
Date: 21st Dec 2009

The iPhone is a great phone. Personally I have the 32GB version, in White. It looks amazing & some of the functions are spectacular.

However battery life is a bit annoying as it diminishes really quickly if you use the phone for different things such as calls, music, Internet, etc.

Even though the phone is advertised to do many things, realistically it's kind of impossible. However the iPhone is the iPhone so it's easily forgiven. Just lower the brightness setting an you will be fine.

Another thing which is upsetting I that the phone is worth over £500 at least there should have been a flash with the camera?

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Reviewer: Paul Galli - UK
Date: 15th Dec 2009

This phone is amazing. Don't bother getting ANY other as you WILL regret it! What with the phone being so good & the apps store outstanding, why get any other phone? The iphone 3gs is more of a computer than a phone. One word to sum this phone up. FANTASTIC.

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Reviewer: Tj - Redcar, UK
Date: 12th Dec 2009

I have had lots & lots of funky phones before, BlackBerrys, Omnia, HTC, Nokia etc. The iPhones is great & would have got 100% across the board but for goodness sake Apple!

PUT A DECENT CAMERA on the 2010 upgrade. It's rubbish. A Nokia N95 has a better camera.

Come you guys get it sorted. Apart from my minor rant, the iPhone has to be the greatest phone to hit the marketplace.

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Reviewer: Emma - Newport, Gwent, UK
Date: 31st Oct 2009

I have always looked at iPhone series with dislike & have never really been interested in having one due to fact no Bluetooth for file sharing & not able to have MP3 as ringtone, well I have done a 180 turn & now own one of these beauties & I love it, makes me wonder why I waited so long.

I looked on apple website & when I seen properly what it could do I thought must get one. I find the battery quite fair, mine lasts well over day & half that's with plenty of playing round as well. Camera is acceptable taking better pictures in daylight but a little bit dark in evening with lights on etc, but found app called flash for free on app store & it brightens up any pictures taken brilliantly. Next issue Bluetooth for file sharing, found I don't really use this much & you can send whatever you want to your phone by USB cable when syncing anyway, so not bothered at all about this surprisingly. Then found app to use MP3's to create 30 second ringtones for your phone, which was free by the way now I have loads of MP3's to choose for ringing tones. Texting is brilliant & easy as phone recognises mistakes & predicts what your going to type so corrects for you. Screen scrolling is so fluid & smooth & will go as quick as you want to scroll. It's nice & loud so you will hear it when in bag. Loads of free fun apps to get, even the paid ones are very cheap.

Overall I am loving this phone & totally converted. The iPod function is awesome too. Get it.

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Reviewer: Lucifer - Antrim, UK
Date: 10th Sep 2009

I have long been a Nokia follower & was looking towards the N97 for my next phone though the iPhone 3GS had came out & was starting to look at it & read the reviews from 3rd party sites, it was tough choice to make though the right one, I choose the iPhone 3GS & boy am I glad I did since I learnt what it can do (especially jailbroken) 75000 apps (official apps) to date & rising every day (OK so there's a lot of rubbish there to) though the phone is really a piece of kit you won't have a bored minute with this in your mitts, the words of there's an app for that really are spot on, design wise I can't fault it OK some say it's a bit big though what do you expect for what it has inside the black or white shiny surface, the qwerty keyboard is a dream to text with (even the fat fingered people can't complain simply turn it landscape for the larger keyboard) I haven't put this phone down since I got it a month ago (some complain about you can't have more than 1 app running at a time well there's a app for that) I can't see any phone beating this at all & with apple updating the software it will take some time till there is one, my only complaint is the battery I am charging it every day though I must say it quickly charges which helps & it depends on how much you use the net & some power draining app I.e. Nav apps (which I must say most are spot on & easy to use) all in all I am 100% happy with my choice & would easily make the same choice & right one again.

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Reviewer: Lucifer - UK
Date: 2nd Aug 2009

Love it, love it, love it! Does everything I want & more. I have had it one week & it's better than everything I have ever used. Easy to use, reliable & stylish. Battery lasts a day even with me playing with it lots, highly recommended!

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Reviewer: Sophie - Windsor, UK
Date: 30th Jul 2009

I am so confused, I have been advised by a fellow mobile phone lover that the new iPhone 3G S can only open ONE app at a time, come on this can't be true, any new advice would be appreciated.

I am usually a BlackBerry Smartphone user but I want a touch screen phone with all the latest & the VERY best technologies currently available.

I was set on getting iPhone 3G S but now looking at HTC Hero & even the LG Viewty Smart as the price & deals are VERY attractive.

Thanks for any help in advance, bye Sophie.

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Reviewer: Anon - Italy
Date: 24th Jul 2009

Bluetooth is rubbish, can only be used to pair up headsets not transfer files. Battery, dies every couple of hours. Running on full features last 5.5 hours. Asolutely cunning phone, pestering. I would be patient & wait for a new iPhone to come out. This is horrendous!

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Reviewer: Kirsty Edwards - North Wales, UK
Date: 24th Jun 2009

Got this on a upgrade last Friday when it was released, it's now going back. I have always rated Sony Ericsson, but thought I would give this a go.

It's good points are.
- Large screen.
- Good graphics.
- Apps.
- Back up to iTunes.

Bad points are.
- VERY poor battery life! Sometimes requires charging twice a day! You can turn things off to reduce the use of the battery, however what is the point in having things if you are going to switch them off!?
- You can't have an alarm & turn the phone off, you need to put it in flight mode all night which helps to use some moreof the battery.
- No flash on the camera & it's only a 3.2 mega pixel.
- No zoom on camera either.
- The qwerty keyboard is OK, but you have to be careful not to hit other letters although you can turn it on it's side.
- You can't just put any of your songs as a ringtone due to the copywrite with Apple. There are ways around it, but you have to get the song, edit it & change file name etc.
- Pain having to sync to the computer.
- Too big.

Definitely not for me, but obviously fantastic for others!

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Reviewer: Richard F - Brentwood, UK
Date: 20th Jun 2009

Received my Apple iPhone 3G S Friday morning & have not put it down, it really is a smart piece of kit, stunning design with & so easy to use. The QWERTY keyboard for messaging is so simlple to use & easy to learn & get the hang of, as are all the apps that are available.

Will update on progress once I've had the iPhone a while but recommend you all, get one.



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