The pivotal part of the iPhone is it’s calling features even down to the most basic functions. Here is part 2 of my iPhone review focusing on the device’s calling features.

Call Quality
The overall quality of calls are a very important thing for cell phone users and even more so considering the amount of money the device costs. I am happy to report that the iPhone’s overall call quality is great but not the best I have heard from a mobile phone. Nonetheless I am very grateful for the massive improvement in call quality when using the iPhone compared to my low end LG phone. I would hope that Apple allows real 3rd party Applications onto the iPhone so popular VOIP Apps such as Skype or the Gizmo Project can be installed which would really make the device sing.

I did encounter some static and a sort of robotic tone from some callers that were using cheaper phones but on AT&T’s network. Besides that I wouldn’t say things were crystal clear but you could differentiate the caller’s voice from others easily and background noise could be picked up and identified such as a barking dog or a man and woman talking. Calling a few people on Verizon’s network was no different except the absence of a robotic tone from whoever I was talking to and the lack of static.

Earbuds
I really do like the design of Apple’s earbuds but I have not been impressed by the quality. I have had to replace my original earbuds twice and my mom’s are going out, a strong static and hissing sound is emitted from the buds every now and then on different songs. But for now I’ll see if these are improved in some way quality wise but I give it 3 months before I buy a new pair or different earbuds and a Bluetooth Headset. Either way I still recommend using Apple’s included earbuds if you want to make a call. The sound quality is absolutely superb and the mic is also great. I have had no complaints with it and I like the fact that the mic can be pressed down to hang up or accept a call as well as pausing a song is very awesome.

Speaker Phone
This is one of my main gripes with the iPhone. Oddly it’s very loud for music but not for movies or calls. In addition the speaker is very quiet and must be held close to your mouth for whoever you’re talking with to be able to hear you okay. While docked the problem is slightly reduced as the sound coming from the bottom is projected through the Dock and bounced outwards but it’s hard for any else to hear you. It’s not entirely useless but Apple seems to have run into a problem and really needs to fix this as soon as possible. The varying volumes should be able to be fixed via a Software Update because while at the maximum level of volume music blasts through but conversations are very quiet.

Bluetooth/ Motorola H700
Pairing the Motorola H700 with the iPhone was a very painful experience and a long one at that. First off I followed the appropriate steps to activate discovery mode on the headset and the iPhone went in to discovery mode as well upon turning on Bluetooh. The iPhone detected the device and so did the headset but it took a good 3 minutes before the H700 even appeared in the devices list and had yet to go through the pairing sequence fully.  The status spinner kept on going and going. I know Apple hardware works best with other Apple hardware but I refuse to pay over 100 dollars for a Bluetooth headset when I can buy a used for under 30 dollars at a local swapmeet such as I did with the H700. It’s very frustrating when existing hardware doesn’t work especially with an Apple product when the company’s reputation is very good for ease of use when it comes to 3rd party hardware. Sadly this is not the case and I am unable to fully test the iPhone’s BlueTooth features.

How To Call

Address Book
iPhone’s address book is extremely slick looking and should be for an Apple product. Scrolling through contacts is very easy which can be edited on the fly as well as new contacts can be added. The options to edit a contact aren’t as robust as Mac OS X’s included address book but it will be alright. If you call a certain number frequently it can be assigned to your Favorite’s list (Apple’s version of speed dial but it’s more like a one less step slow dial) directly from the contact’s page. A contact can be emailed directly from address book by simply touching their email address. Text messages can also be sent by touching the Text message button.

Keypad
The iPhone’s keypad is extremely simple which allows the buttons to be bigger than normal. All the pad consists of is 1-9, *, #, Call, Add To Address Book and the iconic delete button. Although there is no tactile feedback Apple did make up for this, kinda. Every time a different button is pressed on the keypad a unique sound is played back but it is very, very hard to differentiate between all 12 of them. The best use for this is to know whether or not you hit a button that will be in the phone number.

Visual Voicemail
Visual Voicemail is simply one badass feature of the iPhone I simply love and one that actually cranks up the volume on the speaker (please Apple fix this!). It’s very simple and straightforward. If one of your contacts leaves you a message their name will be displayed. But if a stranger leaves you a message and you would like to know more about them you can get more info on them such as where they called from and anything else if they put it into their iPhone’s address book and yes this information can either create a new contact or be tacked onto an existing one. From the Visual Voicemail you can check deleted messages, change your greeting and of course call them back. Deleted messages are never really deleted (think Mail.app’s method of deletion) and you have the option of undeleting your deleted messages. I absolutely adore Visual Voicemail because it’s one feature that should’ve been on phones since day one but we won’t see this spread onto other phones for a long time at least.

Conference Call
Yet another feature I like but not one I use a lot. I can see it’s potential when being used within a business group for collaboration concerning a project or for big families wanting to keep in touch. Regardless it still is a cool feature and one I could see using when I go back to school for group assignments. A conference call can be initiated any time you call someone by simply touching “Add Contact”. Private conversations can also be initiated during the group call and are only between you and one other person. Also call quality varies depending on what environment each caller is in and what phone they are using but it’s superb otherwise.

Other Items
While calling someone EDGE is unavailable but every other App is open that does not use EDGE. Calls can be stopped by pressing the earphone’s mic on the right hand cord. Any alerts will still be played such as receiving new mail or a new SMS messages during a call. Where you navigate to, a bold green bar will appear up top letting you know that you are still on a call and by touching it you return to the call screen.

Final Word
Calling on the iPhone is simple and straightforward but the lack of voice dialing and struggle to pair a headset left me frustrated. Call quality was not the best I have heard but still very good otherwise. Apple really needs to fix the speaker phone feature and I am guessing the reason why it’s so quiet is so others are not disturbed by it. In all the iPhone’s call quality is fairly good but the lack of VOIP applications hinder the device’s true calling potential.

Tomorrow’s review, part 3 will focus on all 12 of the iPhone’s included Widgets.