Well the first day of WWDC is over and as expected there has been a new iPhone announced, the iPhone 3G S.
This announcement will come under mixed views as the 3G S isn’t so much of a new phone more just an upgrade.
The phone looks pretty much exactly the same however the processor has been upgraded, it is now 3.5G (7.2Mbps HSDPA), the camera is now a 3 megapixel unit with tap-to-autofocus and auto white balance with support for 30fps VGA video recording with editing features. The battery has also been improved with 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi internet use.
Finally there is the improved storage of 16GB and 32GB which should be priced as $199 and $299 respectively.
It will go on sale in the US on June 18th and 80 more countries in August. Interestingly this sounds like the new iPhone will beat the Pre on international release.
They are all obviously welcome additions, though I personally think some of them should of been there from the start i.e. 7.2Mbps HSDPA and video recording.
I do think it is perhaps a bit of a lazy release, it seems each iteration of the iPhone is very incremental to keep maintain a certain level of demand for each year. Personally I would of liked to see an OLED screen, Xenon Flash and better graphics capability as well as full flash support.
Hit the jump for a side by side comparison of the iPhone 3G & 3G S
| Feature |
iPhone 3G |
iPhone 3G S |
| Price | $99 8GB ($299 for ineligible upgraders) | $199 16GB, $299 32GB ($399 and $499 for ineligible upgraders) |
| Processor | 412MHz ARM 11 | Unknown, "on average up to twice as fast" |
| Graphics | OpenGL ES 2.0 | OpenGL ES 2.0 |
| Camera | 2.0 megapixel fixed focus | 3.0 megapixel autofocus with macro mode and auto white balance |
| Video recording | None | 30fps VGA with on-device editing capability |
| Voice control | None | Dialing, music control |
| Nike+ support | No | Yes |
| Wireless | 3.6Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR | 7.2Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR |
| Water- and oil-resistant finish | No | Yes |
| magnetic compass | No | Yes |
| Included headphones | Standard | Inline remote for music control |
| Battery life | Up to 5 hours talk time / data on 3G, 10 hours on 2G
Up to 6 hours data on Wi-Fi Up to 24 hours audio Up to 7 hours video |
Up to 5 hours talk time / data on 3G, 12 hours on 2G
Up to 9 hours data on Wi-Fi Up to 30 hours audio Up to 10 hours video |
| Dimensions | 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm | 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm |
| Weight | 133 grams / 4.69 oz. | 135 grams / 4.76 oz. |
I don’t consider it’s worth buying the new iPhone 3G S, unless your carrier offers you a cheap upgrade option. The OS 3.0 will bring a lot of 3G S’ features, excepting the 7.2MBps HSPA, 3 MP camera, better processor, and a few more. If you don’t really need those features, go for the OS 3.0 and keep your current iPhone 3G.
However, fans of the iPhone are cheered when Apple's iPhone 3G S made its debut. Also, most users would like to put DVDs movie video on iPhone 3G S. I’ve found a good tutorial about import DVD / video to iphone 3GS/ iPhone 3G:
http://www.daniusoft.com/tutorial/dvd-video-to-iphone-3g-s.html
Posted on June 19th, 2009 at 7:37 am