When you place the new iPhone 3G S and the iPhone 3G side by side, they’re practically identical—until you start using them. Thanks to a faster new processor and more memory, the 3G S ($199 for the 16GB version with two-year contract) runs circles around its predecessor, whether you’re loading Web pages, opening apps, or playing games. The other thing you don’t see at first glance is that the latest iPhone sports a sharper 3-megapixel camera on the back that records quality video (in good lighting) and a compass to help you get your bearings. The voice control functionality is inconsistent, and the iPhone 3G S can’t multitask with third-party apps, but overall Apple has nearly perfected what was already a stellar smart phone.
Design
Thanks to a new fingerprint-resistant coating for the display, the iPhone 3G S is much less susceptible to smudging. The 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen is as brilliant and sharp as ever at 480 x 320-pixels. We noticed that the color register is a bit cooler and bluer this time around, which we prefer (many users found the iPhone 3G’s screen to be too warm or yellow). When the 3G S eventually does accumulate streaks, you can wipe them away easily.
Given that Apple has seriously beefed up the hardware inside the iPhone 3G S, it’s quite a feat that it has the exact measurements as the 3G. However, at 4.8 ounces, the 3G S is a tenth of an ounce heavier than the previous iteration. Nevertheless, this smart phone is easy to carry, and its hardened, glossy case (available in black or white) feels just as solid as its predecessor. All of the controls and buttons are in the same place as before, and are easy to access.
Faster Performance
The “S” in the name stands for speed, and this device delivers. A zippy new 600-MHz processor (underclocked from 833 MHz; up from 600 MHz in the iPhone 3G, underclocked to 412 MHz) and twice the RAM (256 MB vs. 128 MB) means that you’re rarely left waiting for the iPhone 3G S to respond to an action.
Take the Calendar app. On the iPhone 3G S, we barely counted a second before it displayed the day’s appointments; on the iPhone 3G we waited 3 seconds. When using the Spotlight Search function, the 3G S delivered results on the fly as we typed in search terms, while the 3G took a second or two to catch up to our keystrokes. And when we loaded The New York Times’ app, the 3G S took 7 seconds to load and display the latest headlines, while the 3G took 10 seconds. Even the accelerometer on the 3G S works faster, switching the display’s orientation a half second quicker than the 3G.
The 3G S also starts up faster than its predecessor. From a cold boot, the 3G S turned on in 19 seconds, compared with 35 seconds for the 3G. For our last test we opened and played Let’s Golf, a graphics-intensive choice from Gameloft. On the 3G S, the game started loading in 4 seconds, versus 7 seconds on the 3G. But we noticed an even bigger difference when loading levels (the 3G was 5 seconds slower) and during gameplay. On the 3G, the animation of our ball in flight seemked as if it was moving in slow motion, while on the 3G S it was faster and smoother.
When you add up all of these examples you have a smart phone that’s considerably quicker with a better overall user experience. And we haven’t touched on Web performance yet.
Good Video Recording
Although its speed is what iPhone 3G S owners will appreciate most, the first thing you’ll likely show off is the device’s video recording capability. As long as we had a decent amount of ambient light, the iPhone 3G S produced VGA footage that looked crisp and fluid, both on the device itself and when played back on our desktop via QuickTime. Just keep in mind that if you start shooting in landscape or portrait mode, you’ll want to stay in that mode; otherwise, your footage will change orientation during playback.
Our first clip of a toddler playing with a soccer ball on an overcast day looked almost as good as a standard-definition pocket camcorder. Colors were well saturated, and we noticed just a hint of jerkiness. We had mixed results indoors. With a combination of sufficient daylight and overhead light, our footage turned out clear and relatively smooth, but in dimmer conditions our clips exhibited a fair amount of noise.
Sharing clips is a cinch with the iPhone 3G S, and for now you have a choice of three delivery methods: e-mail, MobileMe, and YouTube. (MMS will come later this summer.) All you need to do is open the Photos app, search for a clip, denoted by a little camcorder icon, and then click the share button. We shared a 46-second, 5MB clip, which the iPhone 3G S took 11 seconds to compress before sending via e-mail. It took about 2 minutes to send the file over Wi-Fi and 3 minutes over 3G. Despite the additional compression, our footage looked almost as clear on the other side. We wouldn’t recommend uploading to YouTube, however, as the service compresses videos even further.
The iPhone 3G S also includes light editing functionality, allowing you to trim clips from the beginning or the end using the touchscreen. Unfortunately, this process is not intuitive, and once you edit footage you can’t undo changes.
Dell Laptops Starting at $449
