The new smart phone is undoubtedly a step up from previous generations of the device, particularly as hardware improvements and optimizations enable the best, lag-free user experience seen to date from an iPhone. But because the latest version of the underlying iPhone OS software is freely available for installation on all previous iPhone models, upgrading to the newest hardware isn’t necessary-or financially advisable- to obtain most of Apple’s latest and greatest features.
The iPhone 3GS comes preloaded with iPhone OS 3.0, which adds long-awaited features such cut and paste, a landscape keyboard for multiple applications, and Mobile Me-integrated tracking and wipe capabilities. The new iPhone 3GS hardware, on the other hand, offers a subtler mix of features, including voice control over phone and media playback, stereo Bluetooth support, and video camera capture and editing. The new device measures in at 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches and weighs 4.76 ounces. It features a 3.5 inch display with 480 by 320 pixel resolution. The one significant and welcome difference in the iPhone 3GS is the new fingerprint resistant coating on the touch screen which does a good job of keeping finger grease at bay.
Available with either a black or a white rear casing, the iPhone 3GS offers two storage densities 16 GB and 32GB. At long last, the 3GS brings native voice-dialing capabilities to the iPhone. By holding down the Home button for a few seconds, the user can trigger the voice recognition engine that controls phone and iPod activities. During tests, the 3GS did a good job recognizing phone commands - allowing me to easily dial phone numbers or contacts with my voice. These capabilities worked well using either the handset or a wired headset. Voice control of media playback was more hit and miss, however the 3GS lets the user voice trigger a certain song, artist or playlist, shuffle music, or query the device to repeat the name of the currently playing song. There’s certain syntax needed to get the device to play back the right content and deviating from the syntax just a little bit can wild unexpected results. Unfortunately, voice controls do not extend beyond music and playlists, so I could not trigger playback of podcasts or audiobooks unless those files were previously organized in a playlist.
The iPhone 3GS includes support for Bluetooth 2.1, adding A2DP capabilities for stereo sound. However, I found in tests that the Bluetooth implementation in the 3GS hasn’t yet been integrated with some of the other new features in the device, and it broke compatibility with Bluetooth devices that worked fine with previous iPhone models.
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