Anand Reviews the Apple iPhone 3G
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 16, 2008 8:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Issues with the first iPhone (and Apple’s great support)
My mom’s iPhone was the first of anyone’s I knew that needed replacing. She dropped it on concrete and while the phone still worked, it was dented up pretty bad. Her phone was damaged early enough that Apple didn’t have tons of replacement iPhones on hand, so it took around 5 days for a new phone to get mailed to her. Surprisingly enough, Apple actually replaced the phone free-of-charge, but she was without her phone for about a week.
Despite a mostly positive experience with my first iPhone, after a few months I needed to have it replaced. A very small bubble developed in the screen and given that it was a defect, Apple replaced my phone on the spot. I didn’t have to wait at all or even provide proof of purchase, I walked in with a broken phone and I left with a working one.
That wasn’t the last replacement iPhone I had, here’s the list of issues I’ve had with the original iPhone:
- Tiny bubble appeared in the screen (Apple replaced the phone, free of charge)
- Vibrating buzzer worked intermittently (Apple replaced the phone, free of charge)
- Poor reception (Apple replaced the phone, free of charge)
- More tiny bubbles appeared in the screen (this just happened, need to go to Apple)
The iPhone hasn’t been problem-free, many of the replacement phones actually had more problems than my original one - but each time, Apple took care of it with less pain than any other company I’ve ever seen at work. Customer satisfaction was top priority and I never left without my problem resolved. If I made my Genius Bar appointment ahead of time, within 20 minutes I was walking out of the store with a new/refurbished iPhone.
I expect that many of these recurring problems will be addressed by the hardware changes to the iPhone 3G, as each time Apple has to refurbish a phone it eats into those lovely iPhone profits. But even if the iPhone 3G is just as prone to hardware issues as the previous one, it seems like Apple will take care of you.
This is actually a benefit of forcing all warranty issues to go through Apple, you have a hardware manufacturer that will take care of you directly, whereas dealing with AT&T to fix your phone problems has always been far more of a pain in my previous experiences. Apple’s primary concern is to make sure you’re happy with its product, so bring in a broken phone and leave happy, whereas AT&T is a little more concerned with making sure you pay your monthly bill and less interested in fixing other companies’ problems.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
55 Comments
View All Comments
michael2k - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Like it or not, the iPhone is hardware.AnandTech is run by Anand, and whatever strikes his fancy (be they MacBook Airs or iPhones) gets reviewed.
imaheadcase - Monday, July 21, 2008 - link
"Like it or not, the iPhone is hardware.AnandTech is run by Anand, and whatever strikes his fancy (be they MacBook Airs or iPhones) gets reviewed. "
Yes its hardware, so is a toaster..I away his review on the latest model toasters that come out, as well as the top of the line flashlights... i rest my case.
robinthakur - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
Its sad that you aren't realistic enough to know that currently lots of people are looking for a decent and unbiased iPhone 3G review, and Anandtech (A technology site I recall) offers a very good and highly technical review, the best I've seen. Where's the issue there? Are you annoyed that the iPhone is again in great demand and in the news? Its hardly the iPhone's fault that the HTC *fill in this weeks model* garners about as much press attention as a comeback by Kelly Clarkson, its fundamentally outdated and playing catchup to the new kid on the block.Griswold - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
You really need to roll over and die.at80eighty - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
you ungrateful morons don't seem to get a simple fact. this site is FREEAnand & Co. owe you nothing & yet they keep putting up good/great articles
Lately all i see is whine & cheese about how anandtech has lost its hardware focus , while commenting in 'the third' article of hardware
more often than not this is a one stop place for getting your info. don't like it , don't click.
and im not a mindless fanboy - someone here was recently criticizing the AT staff over something , but he made clear , precise & constructive points why he felt so - and thats a good way to go about it. your stale WAAWAAWAA is just a stupid annoyance
Dennis Travis - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
VERY well said. Almost the exact words I was thinking.Keep up the EXCELLENT work Anand and Staff!
imaheadcase - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
What he said, roll over and die.Brianoes - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link
What are you talking about? I think that Anand's article provides one of the, no, the clearest and most consise iPhone article, and I'm done hunting for them to learn some more random details that I may have been interested in. His conclusion was not the standard three paragraph garbage you see on most other review sites - thanks for the really in depth final conclusion and summary.The first and last good iPhone review I've read, coming from an iPod Touch user for the past three months.
Brian
imaheadcase - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - link
What am i talking about? I guess you are oblivious to the fact that the iphone is a niche market. Like every smart phone out there. Yet they review a iphone and no other phone? You know why they don't review others phones..because there are millions of sites that do that all the time.Stick with actually HARDWARE analysis like next to Anandtech on top of page. Leave the phones/cars/apple related stuff/ game reviews, etc to other sites who do it 24/7.
Goty - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - link
I think there needs to be some emphasis in the section dealing with reception on the fact that coverage is STRONGLY influenced by where you are. When I was at college, a large number of my friends were Verizon customers, but most dropped Verizon and switched to either Cingular/AT&T or regional carriers because Verizon coverage in the area was practically nonexistent. None of their phones got reception in any of the buildings on campus or in any most of the apartment complexes, and signal strength in open air was limited to one or two bars at best.