iPhone 3GS Review

iPhone 3GS Review
By: David Kaufman

We’ve all been waiting for the iPhone 3GS since June 8th – its finally here, and it actually delivers. The S no doubt stands for speed, and the briskness of the operation system is just astounding. The 2G and 3G iPhones always felt like they were struggling with standard tasks – web pages opened slowly, applications lagged because of low memory, and the phone sometimes just locked up for short periods of time until it could regain its bearings and finish your command. Well the 3GS literally rips apart anything you can throw at it. The hardware is optimized tremendously and really behaves how the first iPhones should have. The speed is especially notable in graphically intensive games such as Tap Tap Revenge 2 – there is no doubt that the arrival of the 3GS will spur even higher top scores due to the incredible lack of noticeable video lag.

Voice control, one of the flagship features of the new 3GS has arrived, although many less impressive phones have had the feature for years. Yet, the implementation here is really worth the wait. As long as there isn’t too much ambient noise, the software works admirably, successfully recognizing the basic commands as well as the names of numerous artists. It easily understood The Killers and The Beatles and it completely astounded me when it successfully recognized 3OH!3 (pronounced three-oh-three). So overall, the voice control is definitely a major plus and a great addition to the iPhone’s lineup of features.

The 3GS is toting a totally new and revamped camera, with a high tech autofocus as well as new video recording capabilities. The new camera can be accessed using the same built in application as in all previous iPhones. However, the quality has been greatly improved with a bump from 2 megapixels to 3. The autofocus works surprisingly well, especially using the automatic macro mode for close up images. Unlike with the old iPhone models, text from books or LCDs come out very sharp and focused due to the new lens. The quality is comparable to that of the Griffin Clarifi, a case for the iPhone 3G that changed the camera’s focal length to a more suitable macro level. In addition, colors in general are vibrant and saturated, creating a much more satisfying experience than the original phones.

The video recording is also revolutionary. Although a form of recording could technically be unlocked on the old iPhones using a jailbreak, the 3GS blows that and nearly all other camera phones out of the water in its video quality. Yes, the video is only in VGA resolution and not any form of HD, but it can easily be confused with a dedicated camera. Even better, the videos can be immediately edited right on the iPhone using a intuitive slider interface. Keep in mind though that the video can only be cropped linearly; there is no way to produce a video with “cuts” (a style popularized by many of the top Youtubers). But the video can still be uploaded directly to Youtube, which is a major plus if you need to post your next big viral video quickly.

Of course, there are a couple other new changes including the new oleophobic screen that resists fingerprints as well as the compass that helps show, with the help of GPS, the direction that you are moving in Google maps. As a whole though, the phone is a great update for all people without an iPhone or with an iPhone 2G. For those with the 3G, if you’re eligible for an upgrade and have the $200, the new smoothness of the system will definitely make daily tasks much more enjoyable and pleasing.

Tags: app, Apple, application, case, game, Google, GPS, iPhone, iPhone 2G, iPhone 3GS, jailbreak, Mac, News, O2, OS, review, unlock

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