Apple iPhone 3GS

Introduction

The Apple iPhone 3GS is probably not the next revolutionary iPhone as you might have expected it. But the performance boost, the sharper camera with video and the purportedly improved battery life certainly make of the current iPhone (3GS or whatever it is called this year) a much more balanced smartphone, one that you could probably wave in front your geeky friends more proudly. Well, you'd still get the chilling disapproving look, but at least you won't feel as embarrassed as you used to.

The truth about the iPhone is this - perhaps about 20 million people around the globe are quoted as having given in to the iPhone temptation ever since the frenzy started. Now, 2 years later, the rest of the modern world is already sick to death of hearing all about it.

Once ground-breaking, but still as controversial and inspiring as ever, the iPhone lineup has just received its latest offspring. Meet the iPhone 3GS, where "S" can mean a lot of things, but without a doubt covers all that's needed for "Speed".

Using last year's design but boasting some extra powerful hardware, the iPhone 3GS is supposed to, and indeed is, running up to 2 times better than what Apple have offered us so far. This speed boost doesn't bring substantial new capabilities to the table. Instead it's more like the hardware catching up with what we can still call one of the most advanced and user-friendly touch user interfaces to-date (in the realm of GSM mobile phones, of course).

While the iPhone 3GS and the 3G are most obviously cut from the same cloth, you'd be glad to know that there are some differentiating factors that can perhaps be worth your cash:

iPhone 3GS advantages over iPhone 3G: A faster 600MHz CPU and double the RAM at 256MB Noticeably faster performance Faster network speeds of HSDPA 7.2Mbps 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera with VGA@30fps video recording, touch focus with subject tracking, macro mode from as close as 10 cm Double the storage space - 3GS is selling in 16GB and 32GB versions Digital compass with automatic map orientation in Maps app Better audio quality (as recorded and analyzed in our office) Louder loudspeaker results (with performance gains primarily in music playback) Purportedly better battery life Oleophobic display coating supposed to make fingerprints easier to clean Voice Control, speaker independent. Can be use to call a phone number, play music by song/album/artist name, shuffle music Built-in support for Nike+ jogging system TV-out outputs 480p instead 480i resolution Text-to-speech feature called VoiceOver is included in the new Accessibility menu System-wide Screen Zoom is also included in the Accessibility menu

Design and construction Describing the iPhone 3GS is no-brainer. Hey, you've seen the iPhone 3G already, right? Well, it's just the same. And we mean THE SAME. Finding a visible difference between the two is quite a challenge.

The only difference we could find is a really subtle one - the fine-print text on the back of the 3GS (including the "iPhone" sign) has chrome finish now instead of the grey ink used on the iPhone 3G.

And unfortunately, much to our disappointment, there's no sign of any "3GS" branding - so it would be hard for you to really show off with your new Apple handset ('cause it's just the same as the old one).

The display of the iPhone 3GS is again the same industry-leading stuff as last generations. It's got great viewing angles, excellent colors and most of all, yet unsurpassed among GSM handsets sunlight visibility.

The display has a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. While that resolution seemed hot two years ago when the first iPhone was launched, year 2009 saw WVGA resolution screens becoming more common in the upper market segment and they are already found on a number of non-smartphone devices by competing brands.

We guess however that changing the screen resolution along the way would mean compatibility issues with many AppStore applications. So there might be a point in keeping the same display unit for future phones, but still the geek squad will most probably object.

The iPhone 3GS however has a changed white balance much like the 3G had it changed as compared to the 2G. It's kinda geeky to make a point of it, but we couldn't help ourselves.

The iPhone 3GS has a slightly warmer representation of the colors as compared to the 3G and that's a good thing since the 3G had it way too cool and even bluish (check out the last photo). But that difference is obvious only when you compare the devices head-to-head. When you have them on their own, chances are you'd never notice it.

Apple claim to have laid a special oleophobic coating on the screen glass, which simply means cleaning those smudges should be easier than before. And indeed it is. You see, the difference is nothing ground-breaking, but it's still there. Where several good scrubs with the cleaning cloth were needed on the 3G, now only a quick T-shirt rub will do for the iPhone 3GS.

The right side of the iPhone 3GS could have made a good use of a camera shutter key - we're dying for one, especially now when there's auto focus. Yes, we know the camera works with touch focus making the old focus-and-recompose technique a thing of the past, but still touching on a feedback-less screen to take photos is not our thing.

Now as you may have guessed it, the top of the iPhone 3GS has seen no changes at all. The awkward SIM card slot, the 3.5mm audio jack, and the On/Off key - they are all here, conveniently placed to make you at home with the device.

The bottom is where the mic and the loudspeaker is situated. The loudspeaker is a single one unfortunately, which is a shame, we would have enjoyed stereo speakers on the 3GS. The particular location of the loudspeaker is the very same reason we prefer landscape AppStore games to be rotated the opposite way (with the loudspeaker on the right instead left). Otherwise, your fingers holding the iPhone muffle the loudspeaker unless you go the extra length of putting it out of the way.

The good news however is Apple have finally tuned the loudspeaker performance, and yes, it's noticeably louder than before. Not that it's a great achievement, as the previous iPhone bottomed out our comparative loudspeaker tables, but it's a really nice upgrade. The loudness level is now pretty much acceptable, but you'll have the chance of checking out the test results in the Telephony part of this iPhone 3GS review.

iPhone OS 3.0 changelog or over 100 new features for the new and older iPhones The iPhone OS 3.0 is quite more progressive than the new iPhone 3GS itself. And since it's available to past iPhone owners as well, the 3GS certainly looses an edge here. Nevertheless, it comes with some exclusive features that are not available to the iPhone 3G despite the same OS used (you can refresh your memory on the first page).

The iPhone OS 3.0 introduces more than 100 new features, which bring the iPhone functionality up to date, while catering for some badly missed stuff, which users of other mobile phones take for granted.

Well, Apple certainly took their time, but two years ago, even in its limited form, the Touch UI presented on the first iPhone was nothing short of revolutionary. It took the other manufacturers more than a year to catch up and though they may have long surpassed the iPhone as far as hardware is concerned, the interface remains one of the finest example of the industry.

Sure Palm have their WebOS and Google have their Android but they have yet to close down on the fluidity, sophistication and the reach, if you like, of the Apple mobile OS. Not to mention that the fast growing Apple AppStore is making the iPhone one of the most exciting platforms to date capable of offering modern smartphone functionality.

So after some serious work we managed to distill this list of the 100 new iPhone features introduced by the OS 3.0. Some of them are huge (in iPhone terms at least), while others are minor, but are still there. We'll cover the major ones on the following pages, but we just wanted to give you a one-page, bulleted scoop of what's changed and how.

General UI changes A system-wide search Spotlight is added now including Mail, Calendar, Notes, iPod and web. Pushing Home button on first home screen takes you to Spotlight, pushing Home button on Spotlight takes user to first home screen. In Settings>General>Home>Search Results, users can choose what is searched on the phone and in what order. Copy/paste photos is now available. Moving apps through homescreens is now easier Push background notifications service is finally ready. The alerts supported by the service include changing of the app icon (addition of a counter icon badge), pop-up SMS-style reminders or sound alerts. Stocks app gets news stories and stock details. It also shows graphical history in landscape mode. Increased number of supported languages and keyboards Parental Controls are extended to movies, TV shows and App Store content (so possibly XXX apps are coming our way). Voice recorder with editing, cropping and email/MMS sharing. It can record in the background, but doesn't record during calls. Accessories manufacturers can now offer managing software as well (think FM radio receivers or transmitters, Bluetooth heart rate monitors or even finger pricking Bluetooth glucose testers for diabetics) Double clicking the Home button now can either open Spotlight search, the Camera or Favorite contacts (default) A maximum of 11 application screens now allowed instead of 9 previously Peer-to-peer via Wi-Fi now available Improved predictive dictionary Turn-by-turn navigation is now possible (but only with third-party apps and third-party maps) Stopwatch gets additional field for total and lap time Unlimited size podcast downloads over 3G Encypted profiles and backup are now available Exchange ActiveSync policies support Find My iPhone online service via Apple MobileMe (paid subscription) Text input and management System-wide Cut, Copy and Paste text feature (even from web pages) Text edit Undo and Redo support. The Undo/Redo dialog box pops up when you shake your iPhone in a text-entry field. System-wide landscape keyboard (doesn't work with popups or in Calendar) A space is no longer needed between two words for predictive texting to function Contacts and Calls Log You can swipe-to-delete individual phone numbers (but not individual contacts) Sharing contact details is now possible via email and MMS in .vcf format Detailed Calls Log (yes, with call durations besides call times) The type of phone number used now gets listed under each call in Recents (i.e., mobile, home, work, etc.) You can delete individual entries in Calls log and you can also edit the contacts themselves straight from there iTunes store account creation is possible straight from the mobile iTunes store allows rental and purchase of movies from the iPhone. Messaging There's now MMS support but it's an operator dependent feature. MMS is also not available to iPhone 2G without some tinkering. You can forward SMS or combine several SMS into one for forwarding Search bar in the Mail app searches in sender recipient and Subject Option "Load/Don't Load Remote Images" added in Mail settings New action button in Photos lets you choose multiple pictures to attach to a mail message You can now send full-res camera photos via email (but only when you copy and paste them in the email body as opposed to attaching them) You can disable text message reminder alerts You can disable text message previews Camera Camera displays last taken picture in lower left corner Safari update Safari gets password and auto fill managers Anti-phishing tool in Mobile Safari. With support for the latest standards for secure access and information sharing on the web, Safari protects you. It includes built-in anti-phishing technology that detects fraudulent websites and support for EV (Extended Validation) Certificates. Safari now has proxy support Safari gets new Copy Link and Open in New Page commands Faster JavaScript performance. Thanks to the new SquirelFish Extreme engine rendering HTML and especially JavaScript on the iPhone 3G with 3.0 OS is up to 2x faster than iPhones running previous 2.x OS. In the same time, the iPhone 3GS is up to 3x times faster in JavaScript benchmarks over iPhone 3G running on the same 3.0 OS. New video streaming capabilities (HTML 5 video, h.264 and HTTP). Bitrate and data quality adjust to connection speed. Auto-login for public Wi-Fi hotspots (ones that have login redirects) Option to close a single web page in Safari page view, which immediately opens a new blank page iPod player iPod gets shake-to-shuffle function iPod music library has its own local search now Listening to music while charging the battery now displays the album art instead of the battery Third-party apps can now get access to your iPod music library Media scrubber allows more precise rewinding and fast-forwarding in music and video YouTube app Support for YouTube accounts (login) and YouTube subscriptions You can see Comments in YouTube now You can rate videos in YouTube Notes Notes can now be synced to third-party applications via iTunes Swipe to delete notes in the Notes app Scroll down in Notes app to reveal a local Notes search field Calendar Calendar gets Exchange support Calendar gets CalDAV support now. CalDAV is a calendaring and scheduling client/server protocol designed to allow users to access calendar data on a server, and to schedule meetings with other users on that server or other servers. Google Calendar, Apple iCal or Yahoo calendar are just a couple of popular examples. Bluetooth Stereo A2DP Bluetooth streaming is on (not available to iPhone 2G) Bluetooth peer-to-peer connection Internet tethering is now supported both via Bluetooth and USB (but available only optionally via operator settings and not to iPhone 2G) iTunes store and AppStore You can create iTunes store account straight from the mobile You can rent and purchase movies straight from the iPhone You can manage iTunes/AppStore accounts straight from the device (for instance, toggle between two accounts you may have) New way of browsing app screenshots in the AppStore - by scrolling sideways Application subscriptions (for a monthly fee). Some applications will offer users services based on a monthly flat rate. AT&T Navigator is a nice example. Third-party applications can now have In-App Purchases, meaning paid apps will be able to offer users optional upgrades or modules directly from the application environment (think an e-book reader with books available for purchases). Unfortunately, free apps will not be able to offer paid upgrades. The business model for in-app purchases will be the same as the current model: Apple gets 30 percent of the revenue, while developers take home 70 percent. And the stuff iPhone OS failed to deliver No Flash support in the web browser Still no file manager (or any other way to see all your files in one place) Still no vibration feedback when touching the screen No Bluetooth file transfers between mobile devices (you cannot send a photo to another phone or even iPhone and you can't receive one as well) Contacts lack a swipe-to-delete or mass delete feature (but you can swipe-to-delete individual phone numbers) Lacking SMS/MMS features: No msg character counting, no delivery notifications Lacking email features: no bulk "mark as read", no ZIP or RAR support in mail, mail search doesn't search in email body No smart dialing (but Spotlight is a good substitute) No TO-DO app (but can be installed additionally) No turn-to-mute feature (though that's more of a gimmick) The Lock screen could have accommodate some info plug-ins such as upcoming appointments and events, weather, stocks, news, RSS feeds, etc. A Wireless manager would have made turning on/off 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Airplane mode, and Bluetooth much more user-friendly Still no true multitasking support (but perhaps for the better, having in mind the already poor battery life) The system-wide search Spotlight is often too slow to launch iPod tracks You can't use the iPhone massive storage as a removable USB drive under Windows The whole iPhone is too dependent on iTunes - you cannot upload one type of content (video, photos, apps) from two computers, iTunes behaves fairly poorly under Windows, a regular file management interface would have been much better Still no DivX or XviD video support and no official third-party application to play that

General user interface and key features On the surface, the traditional flat (no submenus) interface should be all too well familiar by now. Tap an icon to open an application, and then press the hardware Home key to close the application and return to the Home screen. That's all there is to it. Only the Settings portion goes several levels deep.

As you've probably seen on the previous page there are quite a few changes that have been introduced by iPhone OS 3.0.

Regular iPhone users won't notice any performance improvements just by the very fact of upgrading (except perhaps in the web browser), but the new iPhone 3GS does bring some pure American muscle in the equation. The original iPhone 3G is a responsive device by all means, but the capable hardware under the hood of the 3GS makes a noticable difference. The iPhone 3GS is faster in all aspects - initial starting of menus, programs, and the responsiveness of screen auto rotation has also noticeably increased.

The new Apple iPhone 3GS has two new features that are not available to the iPhone 3G. This is the Voice control and the magnetic compass.

The Voice Control app supports lots of commands: call a phone name/number, play music by song/album/artist name, shuffle music and Genius support for playing more similar songs.

You don't need to pre-record your voice commands, as the recognition is speaker-independent. There's support for over 30 with their local variations such as Chinese Mainland or Chinese Taiwan, etc.

The Voice Control app can be launched with a longer press of the Home key. The interface is simple. You pronounce a command and the application response. If you have a match, the result is automatically displayed/dialed, if not, the program quits. That quitting is quite inconvenient, because you have to start the application again to retry the command.

The key when using it is to say the right commands. The music-oriented functions include “Play artist” or “Play songs by,” “Play playlist,” “Play album,” “Pause,” “Play music,” “Genius,” “Next track,” “Previous track,” “Shuffle,” and “What is this song called?”

If you try and improvise saying "Play Sting" or whatever artist you need, the iPhone won't handle it at all as it’s expecting to hear “artist” or “songs by” as a prefix.

Contacts management has seen some improvements The nice Contacts department in 3GS has got several new features we just take for granted on any other phone: (1) share contact via mail or MMS in the widely accepted .vcf format and (2) call duration notification in the Recents call list.

Telephony While network coverage of the iPhone 3GS was a bit dodgy in tight urban spots, in most cases in-call quality was just fine.

The really nice news about the iPhone 3GS however is the improved speakerphone performance. The new iPhone scored the Good mark as oposed to the Below average one of both the previous iPhones.

The iPhone 3GS has improved the most in our pink noise test, which means that music playback has been the area that got the most significant volume boost. With the other two tests the improvements were marginal (if any), yet the 3GS jumped all the way up to the Good mark thanks to the fact that the end score is a sum of all sub scores.

Messaging is finally up to scratch One of the main features of every phone, the messaging, has been greatly improved in the iPhone OS 3.0

Now the separate msg balloons in a threaded story can be deleted individually or several ones can be picked for en masse deletion.

The other new thing is the option to forward one or several SMS or MMS messages from a threaded conversation. The text is combined in one SMS/MMS.

Email is expanded too The email client has also seen several improvents and upgrades but still misses the most important one - threaded view of a mail. In this aspect, the dedicated mobile versions of Gmail or Yahoo! Mail look quite better.

With OS 3.0 the email has got a Search bar on top which searches in sender, recipient and subject. Unfortunately, it doesn't search in the email body, so we hope too see Apple add that as well in the next OS upgrade.

If you've got a remote syncing setup going on such as MobileMe or MS Exchange 2007 and later, you can continue the search on the server going beyond what's in your local mailbox

Search-and-play iPod The multimedia department has also benefitted from the iPhone 3.0 OS.

The iPod player now accommodates its own local search, apart of the General Spotlight search. The results get displayed sorted by Albums and Songs.

YouTube logs The big news for the YouTube app in iPhone 3.0 is the account integration. Personal subscriptions and playlists are now accessible after login. Users can now also view comments and rate videos.

Audio quality deserves a High-Five Just when we thought that they cannot get much better in this area and here come Apple to surprise us. The audio quality of the iPhone 3G was almost as good as it gets on a portable device and now with the iPhone 3GS it is simply perfect.

The iPod's bigger brother provides the best sonic experiences on the market with all of its readings simply remarkable.

As far as the improvements over the previous gen iPhones is concerned, the iPhone 3GS sports a much improved frequency response with the other readings almost on par. No one will probably be able to tell the differences in distortion levels for example, but this is mostly because the iPhone 3G performed flawlessly there to begin with.

3 MP touch-focus camera with video Apple iPhone 3GS camera has been upgraded to 3 megapixels only - probably to keep the waistline of the 3GS down. Yes, it sound kinda lame having only a 3 megapixel snapper on a high-end pricey device, but still Apple chose to go for only a diminutive megapixel upgrade here.

But most importantly beside the more megapixels, there's now touch AF and video recording.

The touch AF works very fast and accurate. It even tracks moving subjects after you tap on them with a finger.

The camera user interface is more than simple - the only controls are the camera/recorder key and a small thumbnail in the corner that shows the last taken photo.

The camera quality is ok actually. Colors seem balanced and the image is nicely sharpened with relatively good reproduction of details.

An easily visible drawback however is the high noise level - just look for the grainy effect found all over. That amount of noise is way too much even for a mobile phone camera. The only good thing about the noise is that the luminance noise is much more than the nasty chromatic noise, which usually takes the shape of variously colored dots across the photo and is much more nagging. Plus the noise on these photos has some nice pattern, which adds for subtle analogue film-like effect. But it's noise after all and it's there on all photos - even those made in bright daylight.

So in the end, we've seen better 3 megapixel cameras on phones, but the iPhone 3GS does alright. It's only that some users would have preferred a higher megapixel count. If LG can fit a 5 megapixel camera in the 12mm LG Arena and an 8 megapixel one in the 12.4mm LG Viewty Smart, then it shouldn't bother Apple fitting something more substantial despite the thin 12.3mm iPhone girth. So we guess, it's a marketing decision after all - you know, probably something along the lines of "keep the specs down so we can upgrade more easily in the future". Hardly a user-friendly approach, we know, but it seems to do the trick for Apple.

Safari remembers passwords, auto-fills data We consider the password and auto fill managers the most important update of the Safari browser in the iPhone 3.0 OS.

The password manager can store various website credentials (username and password) eliminating the need for entering them each time you visit.

The pop-up menu of the manager appears only when users try to enter username and password in the provided fields. If more than one username was used for a site, the last one is displayed. Changing with other is as easy as it gets - just type the first letter of the alternative username and hit next ant the new name and pass will be entered.