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On the surface, the iPhone 3G S offers little separation from its previous iteration. Opting to not fix something that isn't broken, Apple chose to update the new iPhone with a dose of performance upgrades, instead of cosmetic touches. In fact, other than a very slight difference in weight and a new screen coating, there's really nothing to tell both versions apart. For the most part, it's a difficult phone to review because it doesn't blow us away with features the way other new releases do. Instead, it offers its improvements in less-superficial terms.
Inside, the changes become a little more pronounced, with a faster CPU, larger RAM, bigger storage, a new internal compass and an improved camera module. Adding even more weight to the update is the release of iPhone OS 3.0, which coincides directly with the new handset's arrival.
S stands for speed and the 3G S lives up to the claim. Every single software we tried, from native apps to downloaded games, ran faster when put through a side-by-side test. The boot-up alone should clue you in as the 3G S starts up almost twice as fast as the older model. If you think that kind of speed is not that big of an issue with your old iPhone, try to imagine the difference between using the same software on a three year old computer and a brand new one - the experience mirrors that.
Camera gets a much needed boost on this iteration, getting a bump up to 3 megapixels, with video recording and autofocus ("Tap to Focus"). Photo quality, as you can imagine, is considerably better than the 3G. It doesn't offer that much difference from other camera phones, though, in that there's some occasional blurriness, along with less-than-desirable quality during indoor shots. Apart from the VGA video capture (which is also decent), the phone comes with a pretty good editing application. It's probably one of the most intuitive and useful video editors that I've seen bundled with a phone.
All the rest of the promised features - from stereo Bluetooth to voice dialing to landscape keyboard - are here, with the exception of MMS and tethering, although both are just temporary setbacks due to problems on AT&T's end. As you well know, the phone also comes with a built-in magnetometer (which should pave the way for some cool compass-based apps, like in Android) and a beefed-up graphics processor. One huge surprise out of all this, is that the iPhone 3G S actually fosters improved battery life compared to the 3G. We totally thought it was a dubious claim on Apple's part, but our results seem to mirror the same conclusion.
On the connectivity end, however, we didn't notice any difference in both data and browser speeds. It's obviously because AT&T is still in the process of upgrading their network. We'll be sure to check back in once that 7.2Mbps HSPA implementation is rolled out later this year. As a phone, call quality is on par with the 3G, although not as good as the original iPhone (which, in comparison, easily offered the best voice reception).
Overall, the iPhone 3G S is just as anticipated, with Apple living up to its promise in a better software and faster hardware performance. Let's hope AT&T does so too and provides those much-delayed features soon.
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When Apple mentioned S for speed, they really meant it. It is actually considerably faster than iphone 3G. I have already ordered my 32gb iphone 3GS.
I love my iPhone. The apps just make it even better. I have this Yelp app that tells me what kitchens are open if I want to eat out late and also the ratings.