iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 2G – A hands on review

Update: Here is the iPhone 3G vs iPhone 3GS review!

We just got the iPhone 3G in yesterday after ordering it a week or two ago. Today I had the pleasure of reviewing and comparing it with my own first generation iPhone. So now I’m here to give you the low down between the two, and what I like better about each.

The Look and Feel

My iPhone has the smooth metal finish with the black strip on the bottom. The front has a shinny metal bezel which ends around the screen. The buttons are all constructed on plastic and move very easily. The earpiece is back with a black plastic, and the bottom speakers/speakerphone is hidden behind plastic mesh. The headphone jack, is unfortunately recessed.

The iPhone 3G has a smooth glass black finish (also available in white). This finish runs unbrokenall around the 3G, and ends in the same place as mine with the shiny metal bezel. All the buttons on the 3G are now constructed with shiny metal (except the home button). This gives them a thicker feel over the cheap feel of the iPhone’s plastic buttons. Instead of a black finish behind the ear piece, there is now a silver perforated mesh. This same mesh is used for the bottom speakers/speaker phone. A new aspect on the bottom side of the 3G is the inclusion of two screws, which could presumably be used to open the case. The second greatest difference is the new inclusion of a no-recessed headphone jack.

The main difference between the interior and exterior of the iPhone and the iPhone 3G, is of course the backside casing. Another key difference is the shape of the back of the two phones. My iPhone is flat across the backside, with rounding near the edges. On the 3G, this rounding much more pronounced as it take on the form of a drawn out dome that tapers near the edges. The rounded back of the 3G also extends out further than that of the original iPhone. The iPhone 3G is also slightly wider than the original iPhone, though not enough to notice. The screen of the iPhone 3G is also slightly warmer than the original, as was mentioned on the news a few weeks ago.

The Features

The difference in features between the iPhone and the iPhone 3G are not large. The 3g does have GPS, and the capability to download data at higher speeds over the 3G network. After testing the GPS, I found it to be very accurate, finding our location within a matter of seconds. Comparing this to the cellphone tower triangulation on the original iPhone, the 3G is clearly more precise.

The 3G network is much faster than the 2G.  The 3G showed less bars, whereas my 2G showed full bars.  Turning off 3G showed the same results as my iPhone on the 3G.  The 3G was faster downloading App’s and browsing the internet.

Other than the GPS and the 3G network, there is no real difference between the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G as features go.

Overall comparison

Comparing the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G side by side, it is obvious that the iPhone 3G wins as far as new hardware goes.  The only thing that I dislike about the 3G is the black backing.  I much prefer the aluminum backing on my 2G iPhone.  The other thing I dislike about the 3G is it’s more expensive data plan and lack of included text messaging.  I don’t want to pay $15 more dollars a month than already do, so I think for now I will be keeping my iPhone.  I imagine I will wait until the next iteration of the iPhone is out to trade my 2G in. If you guys are interested in knowing more, consider the iPhone vs iPod Touch comparison which is another hot topic!

-Jameson