iPhone 3GS Review
Everyone’s seen an iPhone, and most people want one, but can you tell the difference between an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 3GS? The answer is most certainly no; they look identical to each other and are no different to the naked eye. Once you’ve used an iPhone 3GS, however, you’ll realise just how different it is.
It’s been around 6 months since the iPhone 3GS was released and at the time many people thought that it was somewhat of a low-key upgrade from the iPhone 3G, certainly it was more of an evolution than a revolution, especially when you consider what some of the 3rd generation iPhone rumours that had been going around prior to Apple’s announcement in which they introduced us to the iPhone 3GS.
So what can be added to our previous review of the iPhone 3G? Well here’s the key improvements that we’ve come to appreciate in using the iPhone 3GS, especially if you now go back to using an iPhone 3G – these differences are then immediately obvious!
Improved Performance
I’m not talking about the user interface or any additional applications – everything that runs on the iPhone 3GS can run on the iPhone 3G, but the 3GS is significantly faster. I was skeptical when Apple decided to concentrate on speed rather than introduce new features to the previous iPhone, and without using it myself I’d never have paid the extra money for a ‘more powerful’ model over the previous one.
When looking at the specs, the CPU in the 3GS is clocked at 600MHz, compared to 400MHz on the previous generation. As well as this, you’ll be getting 256MB RAM compared to 128MB in the 3G. When you’re using the 3GS it feels a lot more responsive, and the speed at which applications load (especially more intensive ones such as Sims 3) is staggeringly quick compared to what you’d get on the older generation.
Battery
A surprising feature of the 3GS is increased battery life, despite a higher clock speed in the device. Battery life is always a concern in smartphones, with most lasting no more than a few hours of intensive use, but the average user will be able to get a full days charge with the new improvements to battery life.
Camera
Apart from the increased speed and battery life, you’ve also got another reason to opt for the 3GS over the 3G or other smartphone. The camera in the iPhone has always been pretty shocking, as with many other phones in the market. I could never use the iPhone’s camera as my main point-and-shoot, but you’ll find a 3MP camera in the 3GS, which also boasts video recording and auto focusing for when taking still shots.
You’ll be surprised how much this will increase the quality of your shots over previous generations, especially when used with the new auto exposure and auto white-balance features. Even with these improvements, I couldn’t use the 3GS as my main camera – Apple has still got a lot of work to do before that’s possible, but it’s a definite move in the right direction.
When it comes to the quality of your video recordings, you’ll be impressed with the quality for a mobile device, although it simply can’t compete with dedicated recorders. Still, it’s a nice feature to have, and you can tap the screen when recording to focus your videos. After capturing video, you can upload your shots directly to YouTube with the help of a nice feature from Quick Time X on Snow Leopard, which allows you to quickly trim your video, allowing you to edit out unwanted sections.
Summary
If you’re a current iPhone user with either the original generation or the 3G model, you’ll definitely notice a speed increase which is always nice, but depending on your budget, you may not want to shell out for what’s essentially the same iPhone with a few tweaks.
For those of you thinking of buying an iPhone for the first time, you’re in luck, especially with the iPhone now on multiple UK networks, so you’re no longer restricted to O2’s network. By the end of January 2010 you’ll be able to buy a PAYG iPhone or get a contract for an O2 iPhone, Orange iPhone, Vodafone iPhone and even a Tesco iPhone – who’d have thought a few months ago, we’d end up having this much iPhone network choice in the UK?
Have you got an iPhone 3G/3GS? Which network have you got your’s running on? What do you think to both your iPhone and choice of network, let us know by leaving a comment below!
Related Pages:
- iPhone 3G Review
- iPhone 3G PAYG
- iPhone 3G Available On Other UK Networks? (Rumour)
- iPhone 3G and 3GS On Orange Mobile Network (UK)
- Third Generation iPhone Specification Rumours – OLED Display with 17th July Release Date?
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Comments: 59
5:03 pm 13th January, 2010
Must almost be time for a new iPhone, unless the iSlate interferes
Comments: 1
10:49 am 14th January, 2010
You might want to revise which year you’re on about “By the end of January 2009 you’ll be”
Comments: 1
11:21 am 14th January, 2010
I have the 3GS with O2 and i am completely happy with it, I have had other phones on all the other Networks (Orange, Vodafone, 3 and T-Mobile) and was never completely satisfied with the coverage, service etc so went back to O2 and can honestly say won’t be going elsewhere.
My Brother-in-law has the IPhone on Orange and he has no end of problems with the Network but i put that down to the area we are in.
Comments: 332
12:46 pm 14th January, 2010
@Rob – I think there are rumours going around that Apple will be releasing a new iPhone this year, I’m guessing most likely around June/July as previous have been.
@Chris – Indeed we might! Thanks for pointing that out, have now corrected it, cheers!
@James – I personally have had an iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on O2 and while in large towns and cities I’ve not experiences issues, once you you’re outside those areas, especially around where I live, even the standard non-3G signal is a bit hit and miss.
Also, I’m sure that the iPhone has a tendency to drop network reception on occasion too, for instance sometimes my 3GS will have good reception, while at the same time my brother’s 3G will have no signal and vice versa – this is normally fixed by itself after a short while or turning it off and on again resolves it straight away, although it is somewhat annoying that we have to do it at all.
Comments: 67
8:25 pm 14th January, 2010
I’ve also come across network problems on the iPhone – the call drop rate isn’t great here in the UK, but when I was in New York, the service was woefully poor… This is probably due to the fact that up until recently, you could only have the iPhone on one carrier: O2 / AT&T, so if there are a lot of people around you with an iPhone all using data intensive apps and services, there are bound to be problems…
The networks couldn’t have anticipated such an increase in bandwidth demand when the iPhone surfaced, and followed by other smartphones (or superphones?) the strain will only be greater until much more capable infrastructure is put in place to handle the increased data…
Comments: 1
3:19 pm 19th January, 2010
I had the 3GS with Vodafone as a pre-order upgrade which I received only last weekend. I have to say, it’s a great device, excellent interface, looks amazing, It’s just a shame I couldn’t get a any 3G signal on it and barely any on 2G when I switched the 3G off, so I sent it back. I personally think the phone has a fundamental design flaw and it’s not the network. You can pick up the handset with 3/4 bars of 2G signal showing, and then it drops to 1 bar and quite often ‘no service’ as a result. It must be a very sensitive antenna or something… My previous phone was a N95 8GB, which gets 3G sometimes and full 2G at my address. I also have a Samsung on T-mobile which gets good 3G service here all the time, so the iphone felt more like a downgrade! I might try the iphone on O2 or Orange, but having been reading up online it sounds like it’s the problem here, otherwise I might just give it miss and buy an ipod touch instead to run apps and the internet using wifi, which was all I managed to do with the very expensive iphone anyway. Shame, could of been so good….
Comments: 1
9:09 pm 15th February, 2010
I have a 3gs, on o2. you are right about using it. i had an ipod touch, and that was the thing that got me used to the touch interface. i was going to go for an android phone, but i didnt want to risk it – the iphone is just miles ahead of the competition =)
Comments: 3
11:44 pm 27th February, 2010
Miles ahead in what sense? Market share? Okay, sure. But not in functionality, nor in the looks department. I do like iPhones, but I mean I like to be able to actually have my e-mails open and my facebook at the the same time and switch screens. :/. It is a trade off between an Apple logo and a highly awesome OS like WebOS or Android I suppose.
Comments: 67
1:02 pm 28th February, 2010
@ anoriginaltecher: I think you make a good point; I now use a Nexus One and love the flexibility that Android offers after being used to the iPhone interface as it’s so much more open you can essentially do what you like with it.
Saying that, there needs to be a happy medium somewhere between the two.. Android is such an open platform it’s created too much diversity in the market, which is hard for users migrating between devices and for developers of the apps on the market. On the other hand, Apple are so controlling over the iPhone OS, there’s no room to make it your own without jailbreaking it, which is a huge disadvantage to someone who wants to add their own touch to their phone…
Comments: 4
9:29 pm 1st March, 2010
@anoriginaltecher
Good points made. I am guessing you are referring to the ’simple as’ methodology, where by iPhones are soooo easy to use, and if Apple were to complicate things, then their main selling point would go.