Disappointment mounts over iPhone 3G

Now 48 hours after the launch of the 3G iPhone user feedback is streaming in, and complaints are mounting. Some seem trivial, such as the yellow cast on the 3G iPhone screen (apparently intentional), but some appear devastating, such as the extremely poor battery life from the phone, especially when using Exchange Activesync and 3G simultaneously. Many users are reporting the phone not lasting even till the early afternoon off the charger. The advice appear to be to disable the 3G access, which negates the defining feature of the new iPhone 3G.

Further complaints center on the lack of turn by turn navigation, despite having GPS on board, new lag in the interface, especially when scrolling, poor 3G coverage despite AT&T claiming the opposite, and no improvement in Youtube video quality over 3G, despite the higher bandwidth. Some issues seem to caused by a direct money grab by Apple – the new iPhone does not come with a dock, and does not fit the old iPhone dock. Also the iPhone 3G does not charge from many 1st and 3rd party universal docks and chargers which happily charged the iPhone 2G, meaning these accessories would need to be replaced at significant cost (and profit to Apple of course).

Of all the complaints, it seems the poor battery life will be the one most troubling, exacerbated as it is by the lack of a easily removable battery. One would have to see whether the long queues to buy the iPhone 3G will be replaced by similarly long queues to return it before the 30 day grace period is up.