The one-word summary for iPhone 3.0 should be "subtle." But don't go thinking that subtlety means boring—the changes that come with Apple's latest mobile OS are plentiful and hidden in many corners of the device. Apple previewed iPhone OS 3.0 to the world in March of this year and again in June at WWDC 2009, but there's no greater experience than playing around with the software and discovering all the surprises yourself. We did just that with iPhone OS 3.0 and discovered that while the cool big changes may get all the press, there are also numerous updates to smaller details should be anything but ignored.
Sure, the iPhone 3G S is exciting—who doesn't like new hardware?—but more important than the hardware itself is the software that runs on it. As a bonus for all iPhone users, iPhone OS 3.0 won't just run on the new iPhone 3G S; it will run on iPhone 3Gs and even the original iPhone. There are elements to iPhone OS 3.0 that only run on the iPhone 3G S, however, and we will address those in our iPhone 3G S review. This part of the review, however, will focus on features that are generally available to all iPhone users (but focused mostly on the iPhone 3G, since that's the device with the widest reach at the moment).
Read the review here.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- right? We know countless reviews of the iPhone 3G S may begin with that cliché, but there's little chance you'd find a better way to describe the strategy that Apple has just put into play with its latest smartphone. In many ways, the 3G S is a mirror image of the iPhone 3G; externally there's no difference. It's inside where all the changes have happened, with Apple issuing a beefed-up CPU, new internal compass, larger capacities for storage, and improved optics for its camera. More to the point, the release of the 3G S coincides with the launch of iPhone OS 3.0, a major jump from previous versions of the system software featuring highly sought after features like cut, copy, and paste, stereo Bluetooth, MMS, tethering, video recording, landscape keyboard options for more applications, and an iPhone version of Spotlight. At a glance, what Apple seems to be doing is less a reinvention of the wheel and more like retreading the wheel it's already got (and what a wheel, right?). So, do the iPhone 3G S and OS 3.0 tweak the details in just the right places, or has Apple gone and gotten lazy on us? Read on to find out.
So, go ahead and read the review here.
What's the point in buying a new iPhone if it looks exactly like the old one? Because once you start using it, the speed of the iPhone 3GS will amaze you.
There's a reason why Apple called this the iPhone 3GS for Speed and not the 3GC for "compass" or 3GV for "video recording." Speed is the central upgrade here, and probably is the single biggest reason you would upgrade to a 3GS from a 3G. And if you're coming in as a virgin iPhone user, there's definitely no question: The 3GS is worth an extra $100.
That declaration may be weird to most of us since we usually look for features, and not specs, when we're evaluating phones—and iPhone 3GS doesn't blow us out in the feature department. Instead, it's like getting a bigger TV or a faster car. Your old machine works just fine, but once you've tried the new one for a week, you'll never want to go back, even if it costs you a little extra.
Read the review here.
Turn-by-turn directions, MMS, and tethering—these are all big features that we simply can't access at this time due to lack of app or carrier (cough, AT&T) support, but we'll be looking forward to trying out each of the features later. AT&T has confirmed MMS for late summer, but has not named a date for tethering availability at this time. (When it does come, it will undoubtedly come at additional monthly cost, and most of our readers are still pretty wishy-washy on whether or not they'd use it.)
With the new firmware, the iPhone's biceps have never been bigger. Spotlight Search is a powerful, industry-leading tool. And functions like Find My iPhone—for paying MobileMe subscribers only—will surely become standard practice in the mobile-connected world of the future. It's just a shame that most other improvements feel like defensive maneuvers rather than a true watershed software revolution—most of this stuff should have been here already. Now that the phone's critics should be mostly silenced, we're interested to see where Apple goes from here. Let me guess: Multitasking?
Read the review here.
Can any new phone be as revolutionary as the original iPhone? Absolutely unprecedented before its appearance and endlessly aped afterward, its power, simplicity, and outright eagerness to please doesn’t really beg for a revolution. Even the phones that have refused to ape the iPhone (such as the G1 and the Palm Pre) set their agendas by the iPhone’s example.
The iPhone 3G S continues to build upon what’s come before. Strengthening old features, adding in some hardware abilities that maybe should have been there from day one, and above all adding the processing speed that’s going to become increasingly necessary as iPhone apps make more and more demands upon resources.
Read the review here.
You can also read the review here and here.
What can I say other than... Where is my iPhone 3GS? >:O
O:)
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