While you’re waiting on the new iPhone 3G due out this Friday, why don’t you check out some of the first reviews on the phone? They come from none other than Walter Mossberg, David Pogue, and Edward C. Baig.

Mossberg has this to say about the new iPhone 3G:

If you’ve been waiting to buy an iPhone until it dropped in price, or ran on faster cell networks, you might want to take the plunge, if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life. The same goes for those with existing iPhones who love the device but crave faster cellular data speeds. But if you already own an iPhone, and can usually use Wi-Fi for data, you probably should hold off and get the free software upgrade before deciding whether it’s worth getting the new hardware.

Mr. Pogue’s comments are as follows:

But it’s not so much better that it turns all those original iPhones into has-beens. Indeed, the really big deal is the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, neither of which requires buying a new iPhone.

And finally, Edward C. Baig’s comments are as follows:

While not everything on my wish list made it onto the new device, Apple has raised the bar with iPhone 3G. To which I offer an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Perhaps what I’m most disappointed in with the new iPhone 3G and in particular with the iPhone 2.0 software is best summarized by Pogue:

Unfortunately, most of the standard cellphone features that were missing from the first iPhone are still missing. There’s still no voice dialing, video recording, copy-and-paste, memory-card slot, Bluetooth stereo audio or phone-to-phone photo sending (MMS)

Come on!!! You’d think they would at least add MMS or video recording capabilities. My goodness, upgrade that darn camera would ya?

OK.. all venting aside, it appears Apple has yet another solid offering with the iPhone 3G. Is it a necessary upgrade for existing users? Not at all. If you don’t need the 3G experience, then you can probably hold onto your existing iPhone (not to mention your cheaper phone plan). If you’ve been waiting to get into the iPhone experience, then the 3G appears to be the way to go.

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