Great OS, Weak Body. Review on Apple iPhone

I recently sold my Apple iPhone 3G and later went to purchase another Smartphone. I'll tell you why I shifted away from Apple 3G and have passed on the iPhone 4 as well... It's valuable to note here that I am someone that travels between the US and India and that I use both Mac and PC computers.

For the most part my experience with the iPhone was a positive one. I purchased this phone because I was solely a mac user and had enjoyed the iPod.  The navigation of the OS was very intuitive and visually based: the applications are very user friendly and image based. Screen is clear and crisp image.

The OS is nice but you cannot adjust the background and some basic colors of interface in the phone.

The phone doubles as a iPod and can store a reasonable amount of music as well.

Downsides to the OS are limitations with iTunes in that all of your music must come through here. Also many applications have a cost through the iTunes store. There are many quality free ones but the best games and apps might cost you. Of course there will be a limit to how many games or apps you want and I spent about $20 and was done with purchasing applications. This was my U.S. user experience.

On Moving to India I unlocked my phone. Then I could alter the interface to a greater degree.  I used Cydia and BlackRain for this. Sadly my paid apps were no longer available so there goes $20. There were reasonably good new apps available through Cydia.  I could say more here about apps., what remained available and what I lost but it is an extended story and you may look that part up on your own. The phone was nice to have in India though here I will make one last app. comment to say that a key benefit of 3G network and iPhone in the US was being able to use Google maps to find your way. In India Google maps is not so accurate and I did not use this feature on my phone. I suspect mapping through Google of India will improve in years to come.On moving to India I shifted to working with a PC as well. Now I could not add music to my iPhone from this computer or work with the computer to phone interface in any way. This means I can't load music, photos, or podcasts from one to another and that's a big downside I think.

Though I was able to unlock the phone and add a Vodafone SIM card, I was never able to figure out how to set up wireless network on my phone. I know it is possible however and one must go and request a special code to have service from Vodafone an an Apple iPhone. This process of activating your service requires going to Vodafone store and speaking with someone in person for best results. So it is time consuming and you must count on getting lucky with someone who can handle your iPhone and your question since Apple is still a less popular brand in India.

So iPhone served me best as simply a more dynamic cellphone in India rather than a smartphone.

On return to the U.S. I sold my phone with plans of purchasing an Apple iPhone 4.  However after reading reviews on this phone and seeing multiple people who's "bullet proof high quality glass" front or back of iPhone 4 which had been shattered I decided the material quality of this phone was poor. Also the antenna of this phone is reviewed to have poor service.

Back to iPhone 3 however: I think this may be Apple's best Smartphone in terms of all around quality.  There are no basic build and body issues to begin with, which seem to be surfacing with the iPhone 4 and this phone was easy enough to carry and use in multiple countries.  It was basically always physically sound within a 2 year time frame of purchase, you can buy insurance and service for this phone for 2 years, and  this phone provided all the tools I was after in a smartphone.

So why when I went to purchase a new smartphone did I pass on getting an iPhone 3? I wanted to purchase a used phone. I had my own phone for 2 years with no issue in durability of body, but my research in purchasing a new phone revealed that many, many used phones were cracking and breaking in the same places: a crack near the charging dock, cracks near the volume button, the volume button sinking on multiple phones.  Of course many had damage to the screen and in all of these cases l a protective shell created for this phone can remedy the weak body. My main concern is to point out that despite the great OS of this phone the physical body of the phone may expire before you are done using it. I have seen this problem with weak and poor choice of fabrication material as an issue across multiple Apple products.  If you are spending $200 USD or Rs. 10, 000 for a phone look for something that will last or for goodness sakes: put your iPhone in a case or it's a garantee you will not get your money's worth.

Final thought: It was a downfall of the iPhone that though Apple's OS and software is great, it's not so great that you have to crack it, that on doing that you loose your applications, and that you have to do some special work here in India to get your wireless service working. If you travel back to the US or to another country you may have to re-lock your phone to have it work on a local carrier. For this reason I give the iPhone only a "good" score. It's not flexible. The other reason for my "good" rather than "very good" score are the body issues listed above.The iPhone is certainly finding stiff competition in Android phones. I'm hoping Apple will loosen up their hold on making this phone so hard to integrate with international carriers. And please Apple: build a phone with a body that will last!!