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Five Reasons NOT To Buy The 3G iPhone

To be sure, the 3G iPhone announced during yesterday's WWDC keynote is a big improvement over the original. But there are still a few detractors to keep certain people away. Here are five reasons explaining why you may want to avoid the 3G iPhone.

5. The Camera. Apple made no improvements to the camera at all, and not even to the camera's software. Many of the world's top converged devices have cameras that range between 3 and 5 megapixels. The iPhone's 2-megapixel shooter is really a bare bones camera for such an advanced device. There's also no flash and no vanity mirror. On top of that, the software controlling the iPhone's camera includes no ability to make any adjustments to the shooting process or the camera's settings. You can't dial down the resolution, the quality, adjust white balance, or perform any other changes that even "free" phones can make. That's just poor. Perhaps Apple is relying on third-party app developers to create better camera software. Personally, I'd rather have Apple-developed camera software, and Apple didn't deliver.

4. The Price. Yes, the price. I know the device costs $200 less than it did yesterday morning, but that's not taking into consideration the additional $240 you'll be paying for that data contract over two years. The total cost to own the device for two years just went up by $40. If price was the only thing keeping you away from the original iPhone, just know that it ain't cheaper at all. Of course, you can't forget the new rules. 3G iPhones need to be purchased and activated in AT&T or Apple stores. No unlocking, two year-contracts mandatory.

3. Still no keyboard. The iPhone's software keyboard has documented issues. It's simply harder to use than Apple says it is. I've owned an iPhone for a year and still have trouble with it. So do many others.

2. Lack of other upgrades. Still no stereo Bluetooth, still no MMS, still no video recording, still no character counter in the SMS app, still no IM capability, still no cut-and-paste, etc. Many of these features may be offered via third-party apps in the future, but that is not known for certain.

1. The 3G radio. Yes, I am going to complain about the 3G radio. Apple stuck a UMTS/HSDPA 3G radio in the iPhone. Kudos to Apple for at least making it a tri-band radio, meaning you'll be able to roam between North America, South America, Australia, Europe and many other regions of the world and still have access to 3G. But Apple could have done better. How? What about including a radio that can handle AT&T's HSPA network, meaning faster uploads for all those pictures and emails? What about supporting faster versions of HSDPA. Right now, the iPhone's 3G radio supports the middle HSDPA speed, which is about 3.6Mbps for downloads in optimal conditions. Other 3G phones available on the market support 7.2Mbps downloads. The 3G iPhone may in fact have a 3G radio in it, but it is not quite as zippy as others. Apple could have put the best chip in there. And it should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyway: If you don't live in an area blanketed by AT&T's 3G network, upgrading to 3G won't do you any good.

Update: Some of the source information I had for the original article was incorrect. It turns out, the iPhone's 3G radio supports up to 3.6Mbps downloads, which is better than the 1.8Mbps I originally reported. The text above has been changed to reflect that correction. It still, however, does not support HSPA upload speeds.

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