| Apple iPhone 3G S Review |
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The new iPhone 3G S is finally released from Apple and we got our hands on one this morning. We've played around with it and so far we really like what we are seeing. For users of the iPhone 3G, you probably won't find any need to upgrade, but iPhone v1 or non-iPhone users will want to take a really good look at the 3G S. It offers some really nice enhancements to the iPhone line bringing it up to par with many other smartphone devices on the market. The "S" in the name stands for speed, and the 3G S is the fastest smartphone we've ever seen. The iPhone 3G S has the exact same form-factor of the iPhone 3G, so that means all existing cases and accessories will still work with the 3G S. Apple is selling two versions, a 16GB ($199) and 32GB ($299), in both black and white exteriors. Keep in mind that these prices are for U.S. AT&T customers that are either opening a new account or renewing their contract for 2-years; more on pricing later. Its widely agreed that the move from the iPhone 3G to 3G S isn't revolutionary, but rather evolutionary. We like to think of the iPhone 3G S as being finally on-par with many other smartphones on the market. iPhone 3.0 Software The iPhone 3G S comes pre-loaded with Apple's new 3.0 software, which adds a lot of functionality to the iPhone. For example, it can now send MMS messages (but only if your carrier supports it; AT&T U.S.A support coming "later this summer" and will be free w/ messaging plans) and the landscape keyboard option is now available for use across almost all applications, including the Messaging application. This helps out people who like to "thumb-type" and improves accuracy as well. There are also things like cut/copy/paste and searching via an included Spotlight app on the furthest left home screen, which is accessible by swiping your finger to the left on your main home screen. You can now record voice memos and improved calendar functionality. There is also support for in-app purchases and other Safari speed and a few other updates as well. Tethering will also be supported for an extra fee "later this summer" as well for AT&T customers. iPhone 3G S Specific Features Performance & Battery Life The performance of the 3G S compared to a v2 iPod Touch or iPhone 3G is a huge increase. Loading applications and Safari takes a fraction of the time and browsing is noticeably faster on AT&T's 3G high-speed network. Apple has put a 600MHz processor into it and increased the onboard RAM to 256MB as well, giving you that extra "kick" when using the device. The iPhone 3G S also was said to have much better battery life compared to the iPhone 3G, which was a welcomed and much needed enhancement. Apple says it offers 9 hours of Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback, 30 hours of audio playback, 12 hours of 2G talk, and 5 hours of 3G talk time. In our use, these numbers are either on-par or just above actual testing. We got just over 4.75 hours of 3G talk and besides that, our extensive use of the iPhone 3G S for this review didn't suck up a lot of battery life relative to the iPhone 3G or iPod Touch. Display The display on the iPhone 3G S is the same size as the 3G model and looks mostly the same, but it does have tones that are a little warmer, which actually looks even better. However, Apple did make one change, which is an oleophobic coating that resists fingerprint smudges and allows for easier wiping with a shirt or cloth fabric. In our use, we were surprised as how well it works. Camera The iPhone 3G S's camera has been increased to 3.0 megapixels, which is also much welcomed. There is also the ability to record video finally and in this day in age, it would be expected that any smartphone would record video. Apple has included an autofocus feature, where you can just tap on what you want it to focus on and a small outlined box appears. In testing, this worked fairly well and the iPhone was able to zero in on what we wanted fairly decently. This feature is also available while shooting video as well.
As you can see in the shots above, the camera is improved over the 3G in terms of quality, especially in close-ups like the W from the Wilson tennis bag. As with all cell phones, the image quality you'll get is almost like flipping a coin. Voice Control Apple has added Voice Control into the 3G S which lets you control some of its functions by your voice. To activate, just press and hold the Home button until the Voice Control dialog appears and then speak your command. You can say things like "Call John Smith" or "Call 1-555-555-5555". In our use, the voice control feature worked much better speaking numbers instead of names. If the contact you say has multiple numbers, it will ask you which to use. You can also tell it to play specific songs or artists and you can ask it "what song is playing" and it will tell you. In all, this is a nice added feature and it still isn't the best, but when it worked, it's nice. This is also a nice driving feature because you can control your 3G S essentially hands-free (assuming it understands your commands correctly all the time, which isn't the case usually). Google Maps/Compass Apple has included an on-board digital compass inside the 3G S, which allows you to use their compass app that comes on the device by default to navigate around. The interface is pretty slick and it works very accurately, but in our testing, we found that you have to have the 3G S completely flat horizontally in order for it to be accurate. It also shows your your bearing and coordinates for your current position. The compass also works independently of any data services, so you can use it without cell reception.
An even better feature with the compass is the Google Maps integration. If you press the "locate me" button in the lower-left corner twice, it will show your position on the map using GPS and rotate the map automatically using data from the compass so the map is oriented the same way you are for easy navigation. This is hands-down our favorite new feature in the 3G S.
Call Quality/Performance Using AT&T's 3G network in the Detroit metropolitan area, we experienced pretty good call quality. In fact, we believe it was even better than our previous cell phone of choice, the Samsung Epix, which is also an AT&T network phone. Callers on the other end of the line also said our calls sounded clear and without noticeable distortion. The 3G network was pretty speedy when browsing using Safari and we got an average speed test of 842kbps, which for a 3G network is slightly slower than expected. So there is definitely a difference between perceived speed vs. actual measured speed. The speakerphone is actually pretty good, but at lower volumes, it is far too quiet for even indoor use. When it's turned up above 80%, it sounds pretty good with very minimal distortion, but turned up all the way to 100%, the distortion is more apparent. Summary In summary, the Apple iPhone 3G S is a minor refresh and upgrade from the iPhone 3G, so if you're a 3G owner, you really won't need to upgrade since most of these features will be available via the free iPhone 3.0 software update coming on June 17th. However, if you are an iPhone first-generation user or don't already own an iPhone, it is a wise-upgrade in our opinion. If anyone has been holding out on getting an iPhone because of its lack of features compared to other smartphones, now is the time to get one. One important aspect is pricing, which is at either $199 (16GB) or $299 (32GB) for new AT&T customers or existing subscribers outside of their 2-year contract (which means all iPhone first-gen users). However, iPhone 3G customers are only a year into their 2-year contract, which means you can only purchase a 3G S for an additional $200 on top of the subsidized prices. UPDATE (6/23/09): After several days of use, we have a few things that we'd like to add to this review. For one, the iPhone's headset speaker (not the speakerphone) is a little quiet for use in loud environments, such as driving a car on the freeway with the window cracked open, which was our experience. It is good enough for use in normal environments, but definitely not loud ones. Also, battery life has proved itself to be quite good and exceeds the iPhone 3G's battery life. After a full day's use of the phone for casual application use and Web browsing w/ 3G and push email and a few phone calls, we have about 50% of the battery life remaining. Cell reception has proven to be pretty good as well with our usage of AT&T's Detroit-metro network. We have yet to have a dropped call or a time without service, including being in an elevator in a parking garage. Also, 3G speed tests using the SpeedTest application came up with an average of 1308 kbits/s down and 215 kbits/s up. |
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