iPhone 3G S Review
I purchased the iPhone 3G S on launch day, and have been playing with every feature on it over the weekend- here is my long overdue review.
My first impressions:
The phone looks identical to the original iPhone 3G. Nothing was physically different besides the writing on the back. The 3G S has bright and shiny text on the back, compared to the 3G’s gray lettering. The phone was the same size, and still felt awesome in the hand. The first difference I did notice was how fast the fricken thing booted up. It was up and running in 10 seconds, when my original 3G would take about a minute to start. This thing is packing a 600Mhz processor, with 256MB of RAM (remember, the S is for speed), compared to the original 3G which had a 412Mhz processor, with 128MB of RAM.
The device functioned nice and snappy. The ‘Messages’ and ‘Maps’ applications launched in a second- compared to the previous model which would take 3-5 seconds! That speed difference alone justified the upgrade for me.
The Display
As we mentioned earlier, Apple didn’t really make any cosmetic changes on the S model. It still rocks the 480 x 320 screen. It did however add a small feature to the glass- they changed the treatment on the touch screen, by adding an oleo phobic coating. It is a smudge resisting treatment which greatly reduces smudges.
In my tests, the smudges were hardly visible, and can only be noticed when viewing from the side. Will this coating wear off? We shall wait and see. As of now, it is amazing!
Camera:
A camera upgrade is a huge deal for iPhone users. We used an outdated 2 MP camera for the last 2 models. It did not have focus, zoom, or any other perks. With the S, Apple has decided to bump it up to 3.2 MP, not huge, but decent. The big news here is the auto-focus that was added to the mix. It does a great job at zeroing in on what you are snapping a picture of. You can also tap on any object on the screen, and have the camera focus on the specified part, adding more depth of field to the image. This camera makes for some really artistic shots.
Video:
Ah yes, Video- the long awaited feature. Maybe Apple had been waiting to get this feature right before releasing it, or maybe they just wanted to make more money by releasing it later- who knows? Anyway, the video camera is excellent. The audio and video are both crisp and clear, and competitive to the basic portable flip camcorders. Videos can be shot in landscape, or vertical mode. The only complaint I had is the brightness of videos. It kind of hurt my eyes watching videos taken under bright and sunny conditions, but it wasn’t too bad. It gives you the ability to send the video via email, or upload directly to your YouTube account. In my tests, a 2 minute video took 1 minute to upload to YouTube. The timeline and trim feature is a great touch, allowing you to weed out the parts of the video you don’t want.
Battery Life:
I have not been too impressed with the battery life on the S. I was actually expecting shorter battery life due to the upgraded processer in the thing. Then again, Apple claims it will improve over time. That was the case on the original 3G- when I first got it, I would need to recharge at about 6PM. My usage would include about 2 hours of call time, 1 hour of email use, 30 minutes on Safari, and a few games here and there to kill time. But it gradually improved after its first month. I am seeing the same pattern with the 3G S- so hope it’s an improvement over the original model.
Take a look at the comparison below of the iPhone 3G and 3G S battery.
iPhone 3G specs:
Talk time:
Up to 5 hours on 3G;
up to 12 hours on 2G
Standby time:
Up to 300 hours
Internet use:
Up to 5 hours on 3G;
up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Audio playback:
Up to 30 hours
Video playback:
Up to 10 hours
iPhone 3G S specs:
Talk time:
Up to 5 hours on 3G;
up to 10 hours on 2G
Standby time:
Up to 300 hours
Internet use:
Up to 5 hours on 3G;
up to 6 hours on Wi-Fi
Audio playback:
Up to 24 hours
Video playback:
Up to 7 hours
Voice control
Voice Control works great. As long as you know the right commands, like “call” for calling someone on your contact list and “dial” if you want to dial a number. This app was pretty accurate, and can understand what you are saying, as long as there isn’t too much background noise. If you say “call Sam” and you have more than 1 Sam in your contacts, the iPhone will say the names of all the Sams and ask you to be more specific.
The Voice Control also works for the iPod app. It does get confused occasionally when you say artist’s names, but that’s because a lot of these names are not typical English words. It does manage to understand commands like “Pause”, “who is the song by”,”previous track”,” shuffle”, and others quite nicely.
If you’re worried about learning all the commands, don’t be. Not only are the commands flexible, but when you launch the Voice Control function, and look at the screen, the command you need will occasionally float by (see image below).
Software
I don’t even need to review the 3.0 firmware- it is AMAZING! Just check out some of the additions to this firmware update!
Some of the biggest updates include:
- Push notifications will be standard in iPhone 3.0. Apple claims that there was a scaling issue when they first announced this feature last year, with thousands of developers clamoring to use it, so it had to be delayed. Developers will be able to build message, sound, and badge alerts into their applications.
- iPhone will support cut, copy and paste — copy text and pictures, then paste them in any application on the device. If you change your mind about the newly pasted data, just shake to display a menu asking if you wish to undo the paste.
- In-App purchasing — developers will have the ability to charge a fee from within the application for more levels in a game, magazine subscriptions, eBooks, etc. This solves the problem of the 20 ebook readers that only allow you to read one book each.
- MMS — you’ll be able to use MMS on your iPhone 3G (yes, 1st gen iPhones will not get the fortune of using MMS due to the use of a different cell radio). The new Messages application will be taking the place of the SMS app and will allow you to send voice memos and pictures to your friends.
- Peer-to-Peer connectivity — allows iPhone apps the ability to find other iPhone users over WiFi or Bluetooth. This can be using for anything from gaming to sharing data.
- Third-party Accessories — app developers can now access third-party accessories attached to the iPhone. This could allow for developers to interface with their own accessories to create a truly unique experience on the device. One of the demonstrated uses was a prototype blood glucose meter for the iPhone, from a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, which is already getting attention from our readers; it’s not for sale yet!
- Apple will now be allowing applications the ability to get GPS coordinates from Core Location and turn that into software that provides Turn-by-Turn directions for iPhone users. However, due to the terms of use with Google maps, developers will be required to license their own maps for this use (meaning that Turn-by-Turn GPS applications will almost certainly be paid apps). This isn’t a problem for vendors like TomTom or Telenav, who already have licenses for their map data.
- A landscape keyboard option is now available in all iPhone applications, including the infamous Mail.app.
- Voice memos will allow iPhone users the ability to capture audio and then email it, or send it through the Messages application as a multimedia message.
- System-wide Spotlight searching is built right into the home screen. To the left of the first home screen, there is a magnifying glass, so by flicking to the left of the first home screen will show this search app. You can search for anything, including mail, music, and notes. There is no word yet on how this will interface with third-party applications.
- Stereo Bluetooth audio devices are now supported through the use of A2DP technology.
The Verdict:
I would recommend the iPhone 3G S to all those who are thinking of moving over to the iPhone. If you are a previous iPhone 3G owner- it comes down to this: Do you need the Video recording? Is the auto-focus camera worth it? Is a snappier iPhone experience what you’ve been waiting for? – If the answer to any of these questions was ‘Yes!’, then go for it. You will be happy with your decision, hopefully as happy as I have been.
Add comment June 23rd, 2009
A lot of people ask me why Macs don’t get viruses. Some people I come across also think that it’s not possible for a Mac to catch a virus (oh brother).
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