MANILA, Philippines -- Yes, the latest incarnation of Apple?s mobile device, the iPhone 3G, lasts for only half a day (or just a few hours if you?re a heavy user) on a fully charged battery. And since it does not have an accessible battery compartment, you won?t be able to replace the drained battery with a new one, either.

Moreover, for such an expensive device -- the 16GB prepaid kit costs P43,799 while the 8GB, P37,599 -- it does not have a ?business card? feature or even a text-forwarding function, important items for text-savvy Filipinos.

And yet, these shortcomings have not seriously affected the iPhone 3G?s standing in the market. Almost all available units were snapped up -- with hundreds more on the waiting list -- during its recent launch here in the Philippines courtesy of Globe Telecom, the official mobile carrier of the device here.

Indeed, the iPhone is now nearing iconic status, with the Apple faithful -- famously devoted to the company?s products -- and even casual buyers willing to forgive its faults.

?The iPhone 3G possesses that element of elegance unusual in most mobile handsets,? explained Ferdinand Dela Cruz, head of Globe Telecom?s Consumer Wireless Business Group. ?Somehow, what enhances iPhone?s image is its exclusivity and the aphrodisiac-like appeal of the Apple brand.?

And even if the iPhone 3G is not unique in terms of the features it offers, it is how it integrates them in the package that somehow attracts consumers.

Take for example iPhone 3G?s innovative multi-touch interface that lets one perform two-finger functions. For instance, you may pinch your thumb and forefinger to shrink a photo, or widen them to enlarge. One could also double tap the 3.5-inch screen to zoom in on Web pages or out. Users could also swipe images on screen to scroll through lists, pictures, and album covers.

While its competitors now have this feature, this writer found that the iPhone 3G?s version of this application is more responsive, easy, and fun to use than the rest.

Another thing that helps iPhone 3G to stand out from the pack is its accelerometer that automatically changes -- now much faster than its predecessor -- the display?s orientation from portrait to landscape, depending on how the phone is being held.

But if Apple were to add more iPhone 3G features, it would be nice to see dedicated send and end buttons for making calls (so you won?t tap too many icons to perform the task) as well as more memory, considering that an iPhone would never function as a first-class iPod until it could offer enough memory to hold one?s media collection.

The previous iPhone?s design was practically perfect, so this writer was glad to see that there was little change between the old and the new.

From the front, the iPhone 3G looks nearly identical to the iPhone with the exception of a silver mesh behind the speaker (it was previously black).

The dimensions of the iPhone 3G and original iPhone are basically identical, except that the back of the latest version slightly bulges in the middle at 11.6 mm against the 12.3 mm of the previous model. It is also a tad lighter at 133.2 grams than the original, which weighed 136 grams.

Manny Aligada, head of Globe?s Customer Engagement, explained that this is because the iPhone 3G now crams around 10 antennas at the back compared to the six found in the older version.

This also explains why the iPhone 3G now has a smooth black plastic instead of the aluminum back found on the first iPhone. Apart from the fact that plastic causes less interference than metal -- resulting in better reception whenever a user plays the internal radio -- the surface has now become less slippery and feels better to the touch.

Globe also added a special feature in the iPhone 3G sold here by creating a special myServices portal, which is a Web-based application for both postpaid and prepaid subscribers.

Services include myAccount and myGlobe. With myAccount, a user may access balance information and subscribe to select Globe service offers.

?Postpaid subscribers will be able to check their bill amount and due date as well as their unbilled charges, subscribe to Unlitxt, and trigger time-based or per kilobyte charging for Internet browsing,? Aligada said. Prepaid subscribers may ?check their remaining balance, subscribe to text offers, activate or deactivate roaming, and turn on time-based or per kilobyte changing for Internet browsing.?

On the other hand, myGlobe feature enables a user to preview and subscribe to ringback tones, select Infotext services, and other services, like linking to other Web application. Sadly, while users may open iTunes in their devices, they still may not purchase or download anything from the iTunes Store.