Unveiled in the last few weeks, and coming soon to buy in certain markets from July 11th, the Apple iPhone 3G is easily one of the most hyped up mobile phones ever. But can it live up to the hype, or will this supposed saviour of mobile phones be less than we all hope it will?

Apple iPhone - a new phone evolves

The earlier incarnation of the Apple iPhone caused a bit of a stir in 2007, when it was first announced to an expectant public. It's fair to say that no other mobile phones had been talked about and theorised about up until that point. This would be Apple's first entry into the market, and a lot was being bet on it. Apple fans shouted that it would be the best phone in history. Opponents, before it was even announced, said that it would be underpowered, and grossly overhyped. Last year, we found out, as Apple set loose this new evolution in mobile phones into the world.

There was no doubt that it was different, and there was no doubt that it was unique, but unfortunately, it was also clear that it was full of design choices that were... well, not brilliant. Take for example, the 2 megapixel camera, that completely lacked autofocus, flash and video recording, a huge mistake in the world of modern mobile phones (especially when the LG Viewty, a phone that wasn't even billed as an iPhone beater and was sold purely on its 5 megapixel camera, turned into one of the biggest selling mobile phones of last year!). The most damning missing feature in the first iPhone, however, was something that has become pretty standard in modern mobile phones: 3G. Which is a shame, as the iPhone has an amazing web browser, unfortunately crippled by the slow data speed.

However, now, there's a new version coming, and this one DOES have 3G. It's called the Apple iPhone 3G, but has it erased all the flaws from the first iteration...?

Apple iPhone 3G - showing other mobile phones how it's done?

Unveiled on June 9th, the Apple iPhone 3G is the successor to the first iPhone, and like its first incarnation, it claims to set new standards in the technology of mobile phones. But can it live up to that claim? Can it truly be the best thing the world has ever witnessed?

Well, no. It can't. But the issue is NOT that it's bad... the issue is that the does come sooooo close to being the best mobile phone in the world, but a couple of design choices have yet again spoiled it. Yes, you get 3G for the first time, and that IS a great thing, but other things haven't been rectified. The camera still comes in at a lowly 2 megapixels, and lacks autofocus, and all the rest, which is... well, not great. However, the things that HAVE been sorted out have been sorted out in a big way. The 3G is super-fast, and it makes this new stand head and shoulders amongst other in the world today. And it has GPS built in, which is a great thing to include. Ok, it might not be perfect, but there's no doubt; in the world of mobile phones, the Apple iPhone 3G is definitely ONE of the best you can buy!