iPhone 3G: what we really think, one week on

More work needed then, but don't expect Apple to fill this gap. However, with continued rumours of a TomTom app for the iPhone, the solution can't be too far away.

Short back and sides

While we're on a slightly lower ebb, it's also a good time to talk about the camera, which remains poor. While having a basic camera for direct image emailing is a good idea, many will say that Apple shouldn't have bothered.

However, the general look of the iPhone's back and sides has been improved, and the black/chrome theme is carried throughout – the look and feel has been improved a lot, just by the addition of the hard plastic back (though we bet you'll scratch it a lot more) while the standard headphone jack should have been the plan all along.

Apps and the App Store

Apple's App Store and implementation of applications within the iPhone 2.0 firmware has stood up to our consistent testing despite one major problem: there aren't the number of productivity apps we'd hope for – even the Google app is simply a portal page to its services – clicking on Blogger within the app simply launches Safari and opens the standard Blogger homepage.

Fun stuff abounds, with Bubble Wrap and iPint hilarious, while Shazam's app takes the music-recognition tech to new heights (useful last Saturday) and Apple's remote software controls iTunes over Wi-Fi.

So, while there's been some good work from some developers, we're very surprised at the low level of participation from many of the bigger industry names.

However the good thing is that, like the iPhone's 2.0 firmware itself, the standard of apps can only improve. So the one thing that disappoints is the GPS then, while yes, the battery life could do with improvement.

Would we still recommend the iPhone 3G after its days of hard worn use? Undoubtedly. Despite foibles remaining and the plethora of competitors it's still head and shoulders above all other smartphones. And it will be for some time to come – unless the Nokia Tube was designed on.