The iPhone 3Gs is Here: My First Impressions [Archive]

Vincent Ferrari

06-20-2009, 05:25 PM

<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245457206.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />Let's face it, the iPhone 3GS is loaded with hype.  There isn't one thing about it that hasn't been described as "great," "amazing," or "better," and so on.  While it didn't get the revolutionary attention and wasn't as far a leap as the 3G and OS 2 was, expectations were high.So how did it go down yesterday?  Let's discuss.<MORE />If you preordered your 3GS, you did pretty well if you did it right away.  I ordered mine the day after WWDC and Friday morning, right on schedule, Fedex popped into my office at around 10:45 and handed me the box.  Oddly enough, it shipped from Ingram Micro, not directly from Apple.  I guess Apple isn't equipped to handle that kind of fulfillment demand?Knowing the procedure with an iPhone is important.  You're not supposed to swap SIMS from the old phone to the new one.  Instead, you're meant to plug into iTunes and activate.  That initiates a SIM swap and activates the phone.  It's amazing how bad Apple is at this part of the process.  If you're a new activation, it goes very quickly, but if you're upgrading...  Wow...  It can be painful most of the time.For example, upon plugging in and finishing the initial copy of stuff over, I saw this message indicating I would have a really crappy wait...<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245458561.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />Wait, there's an FAQ!  Obviously, that'll be helpful!<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245458697.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />Any questions?  Thought not.Damn was I annoyed.  I knew it was coming, though, so I wasn't that surprised.  I let the initial backup finish and then took the phone off my MacBook Pro and opened the SIM Slot and popped my old SIM in, violating rule number one of the Apple Universe, and just like that, I was up and running.  I knew I'd have a problem when the activation finished, though, so I taped the "SIM Removal Tool" and the new SIM to a piece of paper and put them in my wallet just in case the activation finished while I was out with my wife last night.At 7:53pm, my wife got the E-Mail (she's the primary on the account)...<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245458839.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />Sure enough, my phone stopped accepting phone calls.  A switch of the SIM and I was up and running.  Surprisingly easy.Some people are still waiting for their activation to finish at this very moment, but I think in the end they'll be done quicker than they think.  I can't imagine the load is as high now as it was this morning as Fedex started dropping off boxes to the first batch of preorders.<PAGE />So what about the phone itself?Physically, if you've seen the 3G, you've seen the 3Gs.  In fact, if I put both in your hands and didn't tell you which was which, you wouldn't know.  The box is slightly smaller, but there's nothing different, aside from one thing that came out of nowhere and, despite how silly it seems, it really does work! The iPhone 3Gs has an oleophobic screen, which, to put it bluntly, means all that ear and face funk won't get stuck to the screen.  Don't believe me?  Try it.  I didn't buy it either, but the results are hard to ignore.  Gearlog checked it out, also, and found it lived up to the hype.<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="458" height="277" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Hwl4L7q5gWA&feature" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="458" height="277" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Hwl4L7q5gWA&feature"></embed></object>As for the screen itself, it seems slightly cooler than my original iPhone, but not annoyingly so...<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245513840.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />Figure 4: I know it's slightly out of focus, but it was the closest representation to the actual screens I was able to shoot.All in all, hardware wise, the biggest changes are the invisible ones; namely the faster CPU that makes opening apps much snappier and switching them much smoother.  It doesn't take long for you to realize just how much faster the 3Gs is than the 3G.  It boots faster, loads apps (to readiness) faster, and bounces screen to screen much faster.  It's understandable where the "S" comes in.<PAGE />Of course, the most important hardware upgrade is the one made to the camera which now includes video recording, and a 3.2 megapixel sensor with autofocus.  The tap function to autofocus is absolutely brilliant in practice.  In fact, it's one of those things that's like "damn, why didn't someone else think of this?"  I hope at some point Canon or Nikon adopts the idea, too.  Nikon is already making consumer level cameras with a touch screen, so it wouldn't be a big leap.  Here's a sample shot...<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245514335.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />And of course with this new camera comes video ability and the quality is very good.  It's not on par with the quality from a smartphone like the Samsung Omnia (which shoots brilliant HD video), but it is quite comparable to the Nokia N95 which, for the longest time, was the standard for video on mobile phones.  The iPhone shoots video at 640 x 480 x 30 and video is crisp and the colors are well-saturated.  As could be expected, the quality in low light suffers, but no more than you would expect from the integrated sensor in a phone's camera.  Below is a sample of the video from the iPhone 3Gs.<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="534" height="323" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9bglnErmWyU" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="534" height="323" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9bglnErmWyU"></embed></object>Overall, the improvements to the camera are quite noticeable.  The one thing that lingers is the abysmal launch time and write time after taking a picture, but at least the quality of the camera makes the wait worth it.<PAGE />Another addition to the 3Gs is Voice Control, and frankly, it isn't that great.  It works okay for controlling iTunes, but I found it to be seriously unreliable in recognizing names in my phone book.  I hope this is improved with a few updates over the next few months because it's a feature with a lot of potential.<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//at/auto/1245514841.usr18053.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" />Overall, the 3Gs is about refinement and performance, though, and that's what you notice most.  For example, in the Maps application, the magnetometer will orient the map correctly based on the way you're facing making it much easier to read along as you're following directions. The battery meter will now show you a percentage, not just a graphical representation of the remaining battery power (something I've been dying for since my first iPhone!).  Little things, sure, but important ones, and those aren't counting the enhancements that came along a few days earlier with OS 3.0.So what's the windup?Well, here's the thing.If you have an iPhone 3G and you don't care about video or the speed increase, you'll be very happy with it as long as you want to keep it.  In reality, I don't see the speed updates and video as being worth the upgrade price it'll cost you if you're outside of AT&T's ever-changing parameters for an upgrade.That being said, if you're the "cutting ege" type and like to have the latest and greatest, or if you just need a little more wiggle room as far as storage goes (that was my main reason for upgrading, honestly) then go grab the 3Gs.  While it's more evolutionary than revolutionary (much in the way 3.0 was mostly an evolution of 2.0) it'll still scratch that itch for something new and give you just enough newness to justify the purchase.I for one am glad I bought it and I have a feeling I'll be holding on to this one for a year, too.  The 3G is the first phone I've ever had in my entire life for a year.  Being in the business, I'm very easily swayed into buying a new phone, but the one thing I won't do is not have an iPhone.  As far as I'm concerned, there are no better phones on the market, and the 3Gs is a worthy successor to a very good line of phones.Vincent Ferrari is an Apple fan, videoblogger, blogger, writer, and all-around geek from the Bronx. He works in the IT Department of a cellular phone company that shall not be named, and lives in a very comfortable apartment with his lovely wife, two lovely cats, three Macs, two iPhones, and God-knows-how-many iPods of varying age.

crimsonsky

06-20-2009, 06:54 PM

I've always found that Voice Control on any phone is marginal at best. On my Wing, it worked about 50% of the time and on my Blackberry Curve it only worked about 30% of the time. I actually preferred the old voice tag system which usually worked perfectly. I had kind of hoped that Apple would nail this better, but apparently they haven't.

I played with a 3GS in the AT&T store and while the speed was impressive, it wasn't $100 worth of impressive (I got the $99 3G). I very rarely take photos with a phone and can't imagine taking video with a phone. I know this is a big deal for a lot of folks, but it's a non-issue for me.

I'll probably upgrade to the latest and greatest next year, but for now, I'm way happy with my "old" 3G.

Dyvim

06-20-2009, 07:22 PM

Nice writeup, Vince.
Everyone's been saying that this upgrade is much smaller than last year's upgrade from the original to the 3G, but I disagree. While the software upgrade from OS 1 to OS 2 was indeed much bigger than this year's move from OS 2 to OS 3, on the hardware side I feel like this year was a much more substantial upgrade.

iPhone 3G got
1. new case- this doesn't matter much to me.
2. 3G- while nice, folks in EDGE-land don't care and it came at the price of a $15/mo. bump for unlimited data + 200 texts.
3. GPS- ok this was big, but not as big as it could have been if turn-by-turn navigation had been allowed.
4. Slight improvement in audio quality

iPhone 3GS got
1. Faster processor
2. Better graphics chip
3. Double the RAM- this is actually huge because this probably represents a 5-10x increase in "free" memory when you factor out all the things that are constantly using memory (phone, messaging, email, alerts, iPod, etc.)
4. better camera with auto-focus
5. video recording
6. compass (by itself is minor but the killer feature here for me is the orient to heading feature now in Maps and also what 3rd party apps will be able to do with it)
7. Voice Control
8. Nike+ support
9. HSDPA 7.2Mbps (even if it's meaningless in the US for now, at least it's a spec bump)
10. BT 2.1 + EDR (up from BT 2.0) not sure what this gets you, but again at least it's a bump
11. Better battery life across the board except 3G talk/browsing time
12. Oleophobic screen coating
13. Storage up to 32 GB

Ok, none of these were biggies like 3G over EDGE and adding GPS, but there were so many smaller improvements and spec bumps that in my opinion they add up to more. There's a reason I waited 2 months before getting a 3G (and would have waited a bit longer except I fell in love with the GPS in Maps after some hands on time and real world use on a friend's phone) but pre-ordered the 3GS to be delivered on launch day.

I was pretty disappointed that the 3G processor and memory were exactly the same as the original. 128 MB RAM was fine for iPhone OS 1.0 which carefully controlled the user experience and forbid 3rd party apps, but OS 2.0 clearly asked for more memory. I also felt that the iPhone 3G should have contained the 533 MHz processor that the iPod Touch 2G sported a mere 2 months later. Better late than never, those much needed improvements are here now.

I would have upgraded for reason #13 alone, but reasons 1-5 + 13 make it a big step up for me. (I'm ignoring OS 3.0 which is also nice because that is not a differentiating factor between devices.)

emuelle1

06-21-2009, 12:59 AM

Thanks for the review, Vincent.

I was following live blogs of the WWDC keynote, and for all the truly great features Apple announced in their product lines, voice command on the iPhone seemed like they were announcing "Apple now has indoor plumbing!" I had a Motorola phone in 2001 with voice command, and I tired of it fast and wrote it off as a novelty. Based on things I've heard about voice commands on various phones, including your review of the iPhone 3GS, it seems like voice command remains in the "poorly implemented novelty" category even if implemented by Apple.

doogald

06-21-2009, 02:09 AM

Off topic, but both the Razr I used to use and the Moto Q9m that I now use on Verizon have fantastic voice command. I think that the application is a Verizon special, because it worked and looked just the same on the Razr as it does on Windows Mobile. I'd say that maybe once every 20 or 30 times it does not understand me, and I just cancel and restart and it always works right again. Verizon does that right for sure.

Vincent Ferrari

06-21-2009, 04:42 AM

I've only had one voice command system in a phone that worked well for me, and it was the one in my BlackBerry Pearl. That damn thing was spot on almost 100% of the time. Sprint's *2 (or whatever it was) back in the oldern days was REALLY good also, but Apple's was a big let down for me. I'm sure it'll get better with a few updates but the feature itself seems very half-baked and unpolished and I'm surprised Apple released it as it was.

Doug Raeburn

07-02-2009, 01:31 PM

I've been a Windows Mobile user for years and my first purchase for any new device has always been a screen protector. Since Apple is making a big deal about the oleophobic coating on the screen of the iPhone 3Gs, it seems they expect it to be used without a screen protector.

So what's the bottom line? If you use the iPhone without a protector, how resistant is the screen to scratching?

Vincent Ferrari

07-02-2009, 01:56 PM

I've been a Windows Mobile user for years and my first purchase for any new device has always been a screen protector. Since Apple is making a big deal about the oleophobic coating on the screen of the iPhone 3Gs, it seems they expect it to be used without a screen protector.

So what's the bottom line? If you use the iPhone without a protector, how resistant is the screen to scratching?

This will be my third iPhone. I've had the original and the 3G, neither of which had a scratch on the screen and I never used a screen protector. In fact, were it not for the scratches on the cases themselves, you'd never know they were even used.

Doug Raeburn

07-02-2009, 02:20 PM

This will be my third iPhone. I've had the original and the 3G, neither of which had a scratch on the screen and I never used a screen protector. In fact, were it not for the scratches on the cases themselves, you'd never know they were even used.

Thanks, Vincent... it's always good to get this kind of information from a trusted source! :)

Vincent Ferrari

07-02-2009, 02:21 PM

Thanks, Vincent... it's always good to get this kind of information from a trusted source! :)

And when they're not around, I'm happy to step in :-)

Dyvim

07-02-2009, 03:05 PM

I can second Vincent's advice. I'm on my 4th iPhone (I upgraded to the 16 GB original iPhone mid-product cycle) and I've never used a screen protector and never had a scratch on the screen. My WinMo devices needed screen protectors because they had soft plastic screens which you spent all your time poking at with a hard plastic (or sometimes even metal) stylus, so protecting the screen was a necessity IMO.

I love the feel of the iPhone's screen and would hate to put a piece of plastic on it. I've been using the same Sena UltraSlim pouch since my first iPhone as it protects almost the entire phone (including the screen) when it's in my pocket or bag but I get to slip it out and hold the device naked when I'm using it- sort of the best of both worlds IMO although it makes whipping out your phone to take a quick pic or answer a call a bit of a hassle.

Caveat: you don't want to get a grain of sand (however fine) on your finger and then swipe on your iPhone's screen- that probably will scratch your screen.

Brad Adrian

07-02-2009, 06:28 PM

This is a VERY helpful review. Thanks for producing the reliable kind of reporting that Thoughts has become known for.

I have a confession...

I've been a WinMob guy ever since the first PPCs came out in 2000 and I swore I would never get an iPhone (or an iPod, for that matter). But, here I am: I've had an iPod for over a year and upgraded my WinMob phone to a plain 'ol iPhone 3G just a few days ago. I realize now that there are a few things I'll miss out on by not paying the extra bucks for a 3Gs, but...

WOW!!!

Moving from an AT&T Tilt to an iPhone 3G was amazing enough for me! It's thinner, works great with an on-screen keyboard, has wonderful intelligence when it comes to correcting my poor typing, has MUCH better battery life, etc. etc. etc.

About the only shortfall I've seen so far is that, even though there are a gazillion iPhone apps out there (and some are truly cool), there aren't nearly as many really powerful, complex apps as I have found for my WinMob devices over the years. When I stopped to think about it, though, 99% of the apps I need/use are very basic, anyway.

Anyway, I guess I need to know how many "Hail Bills" I need to say as I confess my wandering from all ways Microsoft. I haven't forsaken Microsoft, of course, and I still face Seattle each morning as I boot my Vista-enabled notebook PC, but part of me feels guilty for already loving my iPhone as much as I do.

Vincent Ferrari

07-02-2009, 06:31 PM

This is a VERY helpful review. Thanks for producing the reliable kind of reporting that Thoughts has become known for.

I have a confession...

I've been a WinMob guy ever since the first PPCs came out in 2000 and I swore I would never get an iPhone (or an iPod, for that matter). But, here I am: I've had an iPod for over a year and upgraded my WinMob phone to a plain 'ol iPhone 3G just a few days ago. I realize now that there are a few things I'll miss out on by not paying the extra bucks for a 3Gs, but...

WOW!!!

When I start seeing the legends from PocketPC Thoughts showing up here, I know Apple is doing something right! :D

Welcome aboard, Brad!! Glad you like it.

The App Store does favor simple one off apps, but I think that'll change as it evolves. I'm so glad you're happy with your iPhone. It's a fun and powerful device and for the last few years, it's been a constant companion.

Doug Raeburn

07-03-2009, 03:40 PM

This is a VERY helpful review. Thanks for producing the reliable kind of reporting that Thoughts has become known for.

I have a confession...

I've been a WinMob guy ever since the first PPCs came out in 2000 and I swore I would never get an iPhone (or an iPod, for that matter). But, here I am: I've had an iPod for over a year and upgraded my WinMob phone to a plain 'ol iPhone 3G just a few days ago. I realize now that there are a few things I'll miss out on by not paying the extra bucks for a 3Gs, but...

WOW!!!

Yeah, as you may have guessed from my question uptopic, I'm on the verge of doing the same thing. :eek: I'm eligible for an upgrade in a week. I"ve been a WinMob guy as long as you have... my first PPC was a Cassiopeia E115, which replaced my first and only Palm-Sized PC, a Cassiopeia E15. I was going to wait for the AT&T version of the Touch Diamond2, but the WinMob market seems stuck in neutral these days while waiting for the OS upgrades. So I've gotten the itch lately to try something different. A good friend of mine who's a long time WinMob user recently got an iPhone 3G and he's really happy with it. I played with it for a while and found lots of things to like. So next week I'll be retiring my Touch Diamond and picking up an iPhone 3Gs.

While I agree that the iPhone has some catching up to do in the area of industrial strength apps, there's enough out there for me to get up and running. QuickOffice for my office apps, Pocket Informant for my "power user PIM" and HandBase for a few simple database apps that I created. And the latter two are a mere fraction of the price of their WinMob counterparts. I still have to figure out my Lotus Notes access for work (blech, but that's what we use), but there are a few options there as well.

This doesn't mean that I'll never go back to WinMob. It'll be interesting to see what comes with V7... it may present a compelling case to return to the fold. But at least for now, the iPhone appeals to me more than the current premium WinMob phones.

crystalB

07-13-2009, 02:41 AM

great also to see that apple has streamlined payments for app developers to get paid from follow-on purchases -- encouraging a further incentive to innovate with more energy than ever to create even more apps. The more apps encourages more purchases along with a price slash of the phone itself. More than a billion app downloads since it launched last july!