iPhone3GS, A Users Take

Since many of the features in the 3GS are both hardware and software, I'll just cover the hardware improvements, as many of the software features were covered in an earlier post.

So on to A Users Take :

Its been a couple of weeks now since the new iPhone3GS (July, 19th) was released and even less since I got mine, so I'm a bit late to the party. Initially, I was not even planning on getting this new phone, only because I was still in my 2 year contract with AT&T. But due to a large number of complaints about the upgrade price, AT&T caved and offered the "early adopters" the full discount price. Granted they imposed some limitations in this. You can check out the restrictions over at AT&T. Now my take on this is, AT&T did not have to do this, as it states in the contract, you signed up for 2 years. Now at 18 months, you can usually qualify for the upgrade discount. But the issues with AT&T can and maybe be a post in and of itself in the near future.

So let's go over some of the features in the new iPhone3GS:

Speed

• Well Apple did say the S was for speed in the naming of the iPhone3GS, and they don't disappoint. One of the first areas I noticed this was in the boot time. Now I'm not going to get into specs of the times, but I would say it was about 25-30% faster.
• In the area of applications, the speed is remarkable. I had apps that would take nearly a minute to fully load, that now load in less than 20 seconds. This speed up in apps seems to be across the board, even with the applications that have not been 3.0 tested.
• For the native Apple applications, like camera, calendar, contacts and so on, they also have seen a marked improvement. I tend to use the camera a good bit and this added start up speed has really changed things. Although, I think they can still improve on this.

Video

• Great video on par with the flip mino (IMHO), not the minoHD, with easy upload to YouTube and MobileMe. This to me is the deal breaker when it comes to wanting the iPhone3GS. One reporter for a Miami television station shot an entire segment using nothing but his new iPhone3GS.
• Reports from Google show where mobile uploads of video have increased 400% since the release of the iPhone3GS.
• Trim your video. With the Apple supplied software, you have the ability to trim from the front and end of your clip. Now this is not iMovie or even Windows Movie Maker. For me, the video software still has a few things I would like to see. Granted this is just a phone, but it is closer to a laptop than many realize. So are a few things I would like to see and in my option, these can be added via software updates. Granted Apple will probably hold back until the next hardware release.
  • Video Splice, beside front and end
  • Volume Levels
  • Titles and transitions.
• Here are a couple of samples of the videos
• Daytime
• Evening

Pictures

• Auto-focus with a touch of the screen. The area selected with the auto-focus will set the white balance, color and other basic settings.
• The low light performance with the new lens and software shows a good improvement. Good but not great.
• Much better macro shots. I was able to get within just a few inches of an object and get a nice clean picture.

Taken at Dusk

Macro Shot

Compass and maps

• To most people, especially these days, a compass is an odd tool, but when combined with a map, it becomes a very useful tool. Before when you used a map on the iPhone, you had to guess the direction you were heading, now when viewing the built in Google Map application, you can select the compass and it will rotate the map to the direction you are facing.
• With the compass, turn by turn directions are more accurate. This is why we are starting to see navigation applications appearing in the Apple App Store. Personally, I'm holding out for theTomTom application.

Voice dial

• Select songs and contacts via voice. Hint, hold down the home button until the prompt. This is about 4-5 seconds.
• Nice feature but I have issues getting it to understand what I'm asking for. Voice dialer was something that I was really looking forward to, so I'll have to do some more testing before I make my final decision.

I believe that about covers the functions that I use. So this concludes another Users Take.

Remember to have fun with your new phone, but keep it out of the pool.

All photos and videos were taken by the author.