The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover: iphone

I remember a time when the only function of a mobile phone was to make phone calls. In fact, I remember a time when only the very wealthy had a mobile phone and if you could afford one it was the size of a bus. Things have, of course, changed.

Now I am a complete Apple convert, I make no excuses for it. Everything seamlessly integrates between products, the user interface is intuitive, and it's virtually impossible to get a virus on a Macbook. I have an iPhone 6, a MacBook Air, an Ipad, and love all of them more than Mr W. Ok, maybe not more than, wait, let me think...

However, iPhones are expensive, so when I was given the opportunity by ThreeUK to review the Apple iPhone 7 Plus I felt it was important to review it as objectively as possible. After all, it's an expensive bit of kit and I wouldn't want readers parting with their cash if I couldn't wholeheartedly recommend it. To cover the phone in depth would take forever so here are the best features of the iPhone 7 Plus that I have found on my recent loan from ThreeUK.

All the photos to illustrate this post were taken in and around the beautiful town of Bellagio in Lake Como, Italy. They were taken on the iPhone7 Plus with the exception of the last photo. The photos have not been edited or filtered in any way, other than reduced in size to upload to the blog.

Size

Firstly one of the great yet obvious features on the iPhone 7 plus is the size, with a 5.5inch full HD screen. I have never used a phone this size before but found it incredibly easy to get used to and to be honest I wouldn't go back now to the smaller iPhone 6.

Water resistance

How many of us use our phones in the bath - go on admit it? Well, some of the worry of a submerged phone can now be taken away as the iPhone 7 Plus is splash and water resistant.

I did find I wasn't so worried when using my phone on a boat trip in Italy. Also, the worry of using the phone in the rain has now diminished.

According to CNET, there is some truth in the claim of water resistance although Apple's support page says that liquid damage is not covered under the warranty so I don't think you are going to be diving with the phone anytime soon!

Headphone jack

Now one of these reasons they can make this phone water resistant is the lack of the headphone jack. Some would say it's forward thinking as Apple are trying to get its customers to use wireless headphones. However, it still doesn't solve your problem if you have bought an iPhone 7, you just have to buy wireless headphones or listen to your music on a speaker.

Zoom

Now sometime you just want a quick zoom in and on the old Apple phones, you have to pinch the screen to zoom. Now they have an x 2 optical zoom that is easy to use. Open the iPhone camera, go to the photo mode and tap the (1x) circle at the bottom, the camera will now display the (2x) symbol indicating its twice as close.

Mr W

Extreme close up with (2x) zoom

If you keep your finger down on the (2x) you can access the 10x digital zoom on the sliding scale. Sorry for scaring you with a close up of Mr W who hasn't shaved!

Home button

The home button is not now a button at all, it's a pad and it recognises your fingers in the same way a touchscreen does. Which is strange when you first try it, as it has a slightly different feel.

Colour rendition

The iPhone 7 Plus has a full HD screen and the wide colour gamut. Personally, I think the quality of the photos and the colour are excellent for a phone. I mean look at the photos above.

Video

So I don't edit and make videos myself, I leave this all to Mr W, however, I decided to film a little clip with the phone in Lake Como. I think the clip above shows how good the iPhone 7 Plus is for optimal image stabilisation. This was taken on a boat which was moving up and down. The video is also in 4K and hasn't been edited at all other than to add music to it.

As you can see the iPhone 7 Plus is perfectly acceptable to use as a video camera for YouTube. In fact, my husband uses the older iPhone 6 on our YouTube channel Fly Drive Explore on a regular basis.

Battery Life

The battery life was certainly longer than with the iPhone 6. I found with a lot of use I had to charge it at the end of the day.

Feel At Home

I used a £20 Pay As You Go Sim from Three UK for the entire trip. The Feel At Home scheme from Three UK means you can use your phone abroad to over 60 destinations including the USA and Austrailia without roaming charges.

The iPhone 7 Plus is available from ThreeUK from £36 a month and £149 upfront. As soon as I get a chance I'm genuinely upgrading to the iPhone 7 plus and changing over to ThreeUK. As a travel blogger, the Feel At Home scheme will save me a fortune on my roaming charges, especially when we travel to the USA, which we do at least once a year.

Tell me, what do you think of the iPhone 7 Plus? Do you use the ThreeUK mobile network?

I am a big fan of rose gold on my blog. It's such a pretty colour, and dare I say it a little bit girly.

I have a number of rose gold items of jewellery such as this pretty rose gold coloured necklace by Beaverbrooks and this rose gold bracelet by Caroline Creba. So when I was looking recently to replace my IPhone 5, I had a dilemma - whether to go for the black, silver or rose gold IPhone SE. The rose gold phone, shimmered and sparkled in the light, I was really taken aback by it's gorgeousness and I had a hard decision to make.

Many other fashion bloggers are loving the rose coloured Iphone SE too. As well as the neat size, being smaller and more lightweight than the Iphone 6S, the colour wins them over as well as the combination of fantastic features. With it's 4 inch LED screen it's small but perfectly formed and oh so sweet and a little bit sexy. Compact but still with the excellent technology and functionality that Apple does just right, every time. A great phone to use for photos of your loved ones as pictures are sharp and crisp, and updates to social media are quick and simple to do.

The IPhone SE is just as fast as an IPhone 6 in tests and is also cheaper, so that's a big advantage. You also get a 4 inch retina display, 4K video recording, a 12‑megapixel iSight camera, touch ID and so much more.

Well my lucky readers, I am giving you a chance today on my blog to win an IPhone SE in the rose gold colour option. Entry is easy through the Gleam app below. If you are feeling lucky, come back every day for extra options to enter.

Good luck lovely people!

iPhone SE competition with Three – Ts&Cs.

1. These terms and conditions are the rules which apply to this competition. By submitting their entry, entrants will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by the following terms and conditions.

2. This competition is run by The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover in conjunction with Hutchison 3G UK Limited, operating as Three, Star House, 20 Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1EH.

3. To enter the competition entrants must enter via the app before 11.59pm on 09th of August 2016.

4. Entrants must be aged 18 or over.

5. This promotion is open to residents of the UK, except for Three employees, their families or anyone else associated with this competition.

6. No responsibility can be accepted for entries that are lost or delayed, or which are not received for any reason.

7. Winners agree to participate in publicity as The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover and Three may require.

8. The prize on offer is a 16GB iPhone SE (rose gold) and a Three Sim card loaded with £10 of credit.

9. The prize is only as stipulated and cannot be transferred and/or exchanged for cash.

10. Confirmation of the prize will be made by email to the winner by 16th August.

11. Reasonable efforts will be made to contact the winner. If the winner cannot be contacted, or is unable to comply with these terms and conditions, The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover and Three reserve the right to offer the prize to another eligible entrant. Failure to respond and/or provide an address, or failure to meet the eligibility requirements may result in forfeiture of the prize.

12. The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover and Three reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time. If we do this, we will publish the amended terms and conditions on the competition page.

13. The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover and Three reserve the right to end this promotion at any time, and without notice.