So it’s a month since the iPhone 3G launch, and I’d love to be able to say that it’s been a great month with this new device. But it hasn’t. It’s been a great 21 days with the new iPhone.
On the 10th July I decided that I wouldn’t be getting up early on the 11th July and queueing with the crazies. However, I did go out to a Carphone Warehouse store at noon on Friday, only to be told that there were no 16Gb models left. However, if I sighned up there and then I could have it couriered to me for Monday 14th july. This seemed reasonable to me; I didn’t want to queue, andI already had a first generation iPhone so knew that I could upload the 2.0 firmware to that and have a look at the new features.
Only the iPhone 3G wasn’t delivered on Monday the 14th, I didn’t even get a phone call to let me know. When I chased this on Tuesday, I was told to call central distribution. On speaking to them, I was told that my iPhone would be with me by Friday 18th. On Thursday 17th I received a phone call that it wouldn’t be with me until Friday the 25th, and would I like to opt for an 8Gb model instead since they had loads of those. I contemplated this for an hour or so, and then said no, I’d wait for the 16Gb model.
In the end, it arrived on Monday 21st July. It’s incredible that Apple didn’t foresee this demand and build more units. Even if they delayed the worldwide rollout until 1st July, I’m sure they would have sold a lot more than the reported 1 million units in the first weekend. There could be fiscal reasons for getting these sales into the 2nd quarter of 2008, or there could be the free international marketing from the frenzy outside the various Apple and carrier stores worldwide.
There are loads of reviews of the iPhone on the web, so I’m not going to do one here. If you’ve never seen one, go and see one. They’re great. The Apps Store is a real addition to the iTunes Store, with loads of applications ready to download. My favourites here are Bloomberg, WordPress for iPhone, Super Monkey Ball and PacMan.
I’ve renewed my £35 per month contract and paid £99 for the new iPhone. At that price, I think they may well achieve serious market penetration. I’ve been a long time fan of BlackBerry and Sony-Ericsson, but unless these devices morph into something similar to the iPhone, their market share will definitely fall.
