By Larry Magid
I picked up my iPhone 3G S at the Palo Alto store early on launch day, Friday morning, and after several hours of testing, I’m impressed so far. Not only did I find it a lot faster than the 3G for loading applications, I also quickly came to appreciate its new video capabilities and its voice control.
The new phone looks virtually identical to its predecessor. And, since Apple just issued a free update of the iPhone operating system for previous iPhones, many of the new features are also available on first and second generation iPhones and even the iPod Touch (iPod Touch users will have to pay $10 for the software). But there are some things you only get with the new hardware.
For example, with the 3G S and the older 3G side by side, I launched several applications. AOL Radio, Facebook and Safari all loaded about twice as fast on the 3G S. There is technology in the new phone that will use AT&T’s faster HSPA 7.2 megabit data network but that network isn’t yet available. Nevertheless, I still found web surfing in Safari to be noticeably faster on the new phone compared to the 3G connected to the same WiFi or cellular network, presumably because of the new phone’s faster processor.
You can talk to it
I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but I’m falling in love with the Voice Control feature in the new phone. To call someone in your contact list you simply hold down the home button and say “Call Dave Smith” (or whomever). If Dave has multiple phone numbers a voice will ask you if you wish to call home, office, mobile, etc. You can also use this to dial a number by simply saying “Dial 555-1212” and it will dial for you. Without even having to click the iPod icon, the feature can also be used to “play songs by” play “next” or “previous” song, turn on shuffle or play particular playlist. When in the main screen I said “shuffle” and the phone told me that “no music is playing, do you want to play music now.” When I said “yes” the music started. Available commands are displayed on the screen when you’re using Voice Control.
Improved Camera
One of the most heralded new features is the improved camera. It’s been upgraded to 3 megapixels and now has autofocus. If you touch the screen a rectangle shows the focus area. Most important – the 3G S can now take video which you can easily email or upload to YouTube. The video is standard definition — not high def — but you can shoot either in portrait or widescreen landscape mode. Once you’ve completed your shoot, you can trim the beginning and the ending. That’s not exactly sophisticated video editing but it’s very useful. You can then send the video as an email or upload it directly to your YouTube account.
My first video won’t win any academy awards but you can see the 43 second clip I shot from the Apple store below. Unfortunately, I shot this before learning that you can get better results holding the phone in landscape mode. If you scroll down you’ll see my second video which was in landscape mode.
A sense of direction
At first I wondered why anyone other than a hiker would care about the iPhone’s new compass until I tried pressing the compass button within Google maps and noticed that it orients you based on the direction you’re moving. I’m sure other application developers will also find a way to use this feature.
What all current iPhone users get with iPhone OS 3
As I said earlier, some of the features on the new phone are also available on older iPhones with the free OS 3 upgrade. These include (finally) the ability to copy, cut and paste, a wider landscape keyboard in mail, messages, notes and Satari and the ability to search across the phone for contacts, mail, calendars, notes and iPod content. There is a also a nifty new Voice Memo application that — like the video app — lets you trim the beginning and ending of your audio. Although it’s not positioned as a professional tool, I found the quality good enough to use for radio clips.
Worthwhile upgrade?
Clearly the iPhone 3G S is a worthwhile upgrade but, if you’re already an iPhone user, it’s hard to say whether the extra speed and new features are worth the extra price, especially if you’re in the middle of your AT&T contract and have to pay a premium over the standard $199 for the 16 GB model or $299 for the 32 GB version. And, now that the older 8 GB iPhone 3G has been reduced to $99, some people might want to buy that inflation friendly model which has many of the same features at a more affordable price. Still, compared to the competition – including Palm’s new Pre – the iPhone 3 GS is a good value and a very innovative product.
And here’s the second video I shot with the iPhone 3G S. It’s an interview with Shervin Pishevar of SGN who developed a new online piloting game for the new iPhone operating system.
This post was adapted from an article that appaered on InternetNews.com
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