PC World — Is the Apple iPhone 3G "twice as fast at half the price," as Apple's marketing boasts? Or is it a slow, faulty, overhyped device that drops calls and doesn't reliably or consistently connect to AT&T's network, as a consumer's lawsuit claims?

The truth lies somewhere between the two extremes, in my experience. I bought an iPhone 3G on July 18, one week after the smart phone became available in stores. 'This week and next I'll give you a recap of my experience using the device thus far. First up, a look at the e-mail challenges I've faced (and resolved). Next week, I'll focus on the iPhone 3G's battery life and other issues.

Two Geniuses, One Phone Call

The first problem I encountered with my new iPhone 3G was trying to send and receive e-mail. The iPhone's Mail program would work correctly for a day or two. Then, inexplicably, the spiral that appears at the bottom of the Mail program's screen, next to "Checking for mail," would spin endlessly.

I decided to seek help at the Genius Bar in San Francisco's Union Square Apple store. Apple's Genius Bar is a free, by-appointment tech support service, located in its stores.

I arrived early but had to wait about 10 minutes past my scheduled appointment time. I explained my problem to the Genius. He tinkered with my iPhone's e-mail account settings, but the problem—which was now constant—remained. After about 10 minutes, he shrugged and suggested I call AT&T and check my iPhone 3G's Mail settings for my e-mail with them.

Before I proceed, a note of clarification is in order here. My primary ISP is AT&T, the landline phone company, not the AT&T wireless division that provides data and cell phone service to iPhones. I get my home-office DSL service and e-mail account from the AT&T landline/Internet division. I was trying to use my iPhone 3G to check e-mail sent to that account.

I called AT&T's tech support for DSL customers but they couldn't help. So I made a second Genius Bar appointment, this time at San Francisco's Chestnut Street store, which is smaller and less busy than the Union Square location.

The second Genius suggested I go home and restore the iPhone through iTunes using backup. You have two options when restoring an iPhone: You can restore it to its previous state using the backup iTunes creates when you sync. Or you can restore the phone back to its default factory condition without using the backup. The second option wipes all your data off the phone, and you start over from scratch.

If restoring using backup didn't work (it didn't), the Genius said I should restore the iPhone without the backup. And if that didn't work, I could bring the phone back to the store for a swap.

I tried restoring without backup, and still the problem persisted. I wasn't keen on having to swap my iPhone for another unit. I couldn't be sure they'd have a replacement in stock. And besides, the replacement would have been a refurbished iPhone, the Genius told me after I specifically asked him if I'd been given a new phone.

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