Who is the AppleNinjal?
AppleNinja is an unapologetic Apple lover and a professional illustrator of all things girly-girl. You can see her art and read more about her at BriannaSpacekat.com, and can contact her here.
iPhone 3GS Review
12.11.09 09:27 PM Filed in: Apple Reviews
Gather around the campfire for a super geeky story. This summer, talk of the new iPhone was quite the topic with the GeekGal and her coterie of nerdy Mac dudes. There’s always buzz about future Apple products, but this time it was just insanity. The Internets were ablaze with supposedly leaked pictures of an all-aluminum iPhone with video chat capabilities, multiple cameras, a display with organic diodes and in one particularly hopeful case, transwarp drive. Each rumor promised more orgasmic wonder than the next.
The night before the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, the GeekGal read a story by Daring Fireball’s John Grueber - a super reliable source. He said that the new iPhone would look exactly like the old 3G iPhone. It would have the ingenious new name of the iPhone 3GS, and would have increased speed, a compass, and the ability to shoot video. The next day, this was exactly the phone that was released. The reaction was bittersweet to say the least.
The iPhone 3GS is an evolution to the iPhone 3G, rather than a revolution. The S in the name stands for snappy, Apple’s buzzword about the phone’s increased speed. Apple also increased the much-maligned quality of the camera from 2.1 to 3.2 megapixels, and gave it the ability to use voice commands.
The Good -
Does the iPhone 3GS live up to the expectations as an epic new iPhone? No, but it is a strong improvement over it’s predecessor. Apple isn’t kidding when they say it’s a snappier experience. This is mostly because of the new graphics chip, which blows away the capabilities of the previous model. The iPhone 3GS is a more powerful gaming machine than the Nintendo DSi, and approaches the capabilities of the Sony PSP.
Once you get used to the new iPhone, you can’t go back to using a 3G. Webpages load much, much quicker. There’s far less delay in clicking around and using apps. The map feature is much more responsive, locating and tracking you much more quickly. It’s hard to overstate how big an improvement the speed is - it’s reason enough to upgrade to this model.
The video capabilities of the 3GS are the feature I use the most. Although users that illegally jailbroke their iPhones love freedom have had this feature for years, it’s very well implemented here. I’ve never been one for shooting a lot of video, but since I have a camcorder in my pocket all the time now, I find myself doing it frequently. It’s not the best quality - but it’s quite functional.
The camera is a very moderate upgrade, sort of like the improvement in Megan Fox’s acting between Transformers 1 and Transformers 2. It’s better, but you hope it gets crushed by a Decepticon in the next one to make room for something actually good at it’s job.
I have used the voice command abilities on exactly two occasions. First, when I got the phone, and then months later when I realized I’d completely forgotten about them. It’s just not worth the effort, since it only works 1/2 of the time. Besides, the whole point to the iPhone is a slick, touch-based UI. Why pollute the experience with the same crappy controls I had in my Nokia dumbphone five years ago?
I opted for the upper-end model, with 32 gigs of expanded memory. It’s nice to know the capability is there, but I have yet to fill it. Also, the screen for the 3GS has been upgraded with an oliophobic coating, meaning it’s resistant to scratching. The GeekGal thinks it’s great, but put a X brand plastic coating on anyway. If serious scratches happen, it’s easier to replace a $15 dollar piece of plastic than a display.
The Bad -
The iPhone is a great computer, but it’s still a mediocre phone. It’s still not clear who’s to blame - Apple for the phone hardware, or the AT&T network - which is widely seen as the worst cellular provider in the United States. It works well enough most of the time, but I frequently have dropped calls when chatting iPhone to iPhone with my Dude. AT&T has talked about releasing a femocell, which is a home cellular tower that uses your Internet to make calls. If they do release this, it will make using your iPhone as your primary phone a much better experience. Prices are speculated to be less that $300 for a femocell.
The compass is a mixed success. The GeekGal frequently navigates in the car while her Dude is driving, and has found it often to be off as much as 90 degrees. On foot, it’s much more reliable - but the logic in a compass that’s not dependable as a compass escapes me.
Expanding your contract with AT&T to get this phone is undoubtedly the worst part of it. GeekGal was not one of the legions of AT&T haters until June through August of this year, which will formally be called “The Summer of GeekGal’s discontent.” AT&T cruelly played with her emotions, whispering sweet nothings of tethering capability and MMS messaging into her ear. Countries all over the world were consummating these features, letting users send pictures as text messages, and use their iPhones as modems to get laptop Internet access.
After three months of waiting, AT&T broke their promise of providing MMS “by the end of the summer.” In a bid to restore good will with their customers, they helpfully shot some PR videos with the geeky but lovable AT&T employee Mark. At last, the mega-conglomerates untold side of the story was heard. iPhone users, it seems, like to use their iPhones, straining AT&Ts 3G Internet capabilities to the limit. To be honest, GeekGal felt a bit guilty. After spending $30 a month on iPhone data for several years - she realized it was selfish to use the features she was paying for. Hugs were exchanged, and Obama invited us to the White House to share a beer.
By the time of this review, AT&T still hasn’t set a date or price for delivering tethering, even though many other countries have had this feature since the 3GS launch. Since AT&T has a monopoly on the US market for the iPhone, there is nothing to do but wait. GeekGal predicts that many people will jump ship to Verizon, should the rumors turn out to be true that Apple wants to break it’s AT&T monopoly agreement.
When the iPhone launched, some users complained that the new iPhone display had a yellowish tint to it. GeekGal didn’t notice it until comparing the old model to her new one. In her opinion, the colors pop a bit more on the old screen - but you’ll never notice unless the two phones are side by side.
Uploading videos via cellular 3G is quirky at best, and unusable at worst. I wouldn’t plan on sending anything longer than 10 seconds to Youtube while away from WiFi. In fact, GeekGal had the most success by just waiting until she got home, and uploading them on her Mac Pro.
Conclusion -
The iPhone 3GS might not have set hearts aflutter, but it’s still a solid upgrade. Apple has improved the iPhone experience, and delayed having to revolutionize the market for another year. But, with second gen models of the Palm Pre and Google Android hitting the market, it’s clear Apple is going to have to step up its game and deliver some real change with the next generation. If it doesn’t, it’s going to fall behind in the smartphone wars. As it stand today, though, the iPhone 3GS is still the best smartphone in the world.
The Dude’s Perspective -
It’s disappointing that the snazzy new iPhone looks exactly like the old, obsolete one I inherited. I was really hoping it would have fold-out lasers or rockets. Also, there’s no way for us to tell our phones apart, which is really confusing.
The Internet connection on the new one is way faster. I really appreciate this feature. Even though I have my own iPhone, I frequently steal GeekGal’s to look up baseball scores, or find out where we are so I don’t have to ask for directions. Then she asks we why we pay for my iPhone if I always want to use hers. I just laugh and act oblivious.
The video camera is kind of cool. I rigged a cardboard harness and attached the phone to our puppy, getting video of his rambunctious view of the world. We shoot funny videos all the time with it and upload them to YouTube. There’s one of me at Fenway Park rooting against Boston’s beloved Red Sox. The microphone did a great job of picking up the booing.
GeekGal says that it’s faster at gaming, but I don’t know because she won’t let me play games on it. She says I always run out her battery. I wish Apple would make a battery awesome enough that I could steal her phone without hearing her gripe.
The 3GS is totally worth the $299 you pay for it. I can’t wait to inherit it next year and play Scrabble until my eyes bleed.
Does the iPhone 3GS live up to the expectations as an epic new iPhone? No, but it is a strong improvement over it’s predecessor. Apple isn’t kidding when they say it’s a snappier experience. This is mostly because of the new graphics chip, which blows away the capabilities of the previous model. The iPhone 3GS is a more powerful gaming machine than the Nintendo DSi, and approaches the capabilities of the Sony PSP.
Once you get used to the new iPhone, you can’t go back to using a 3G. Webpages load much, much quicker. There’s far less delay in clicking around and using apps. The map feature is much more responsive, locating and tracking you much more quickly. It’s hard to overstate how big an improvement the speed is - it’s reason enough to upgrade to this model.
The video capabilities of the 3GS are the feature I use the most. Although users that illegally jailbroke their iPhones love freedom have had this feature for years, it’s very well implemented here. I’ve never been one for shooting a lot of video, but since I have a camcorder in my pocket all the time now, I find myself doing it frequently. It’s not the best quality - but it’s quite functional.
The camera is a very moderate upgrade, sort of like the improvement in Megan Fox’s acting between Transformers 1 and Transformers 2. It’s better, but you hope it gets crushed by a Decepticon in the next one to make room for something actually good at it’s job.
I have used the voice command abilities on exactly two occasions. First, when I got the phone, and then months later when I realized I’d completely forgotten about them. It’s just not worth the effort, since it only works 1/2 of the time. Besides, the whole point to the iPhone is a slick, touch-based UI. Why pollute the experience with the same crappy controls I had in my Nokia dumbphone five years ago?
I opted for the upper-end model, with 32 gigs of expanded memory. It’s nice to know the capability is there, but I have yet to fill it. Also, the screen for the 3GS has been upgraded with an oliophobic coating, meaning it’s resistant to scratching. The GeekGal thinks it’s great, but put a X brand plastic coating on anyway. If serious scratches happen, it’s easier to replace a $15 dollar piece of plastic than a display.
The Bad -
The iPhone is a great computer, but it’s still a mediocre phone. It’s still not clear who’s to blame - Apple for the phone hardware, or the AT&T network - which is widely seen as the worst cellular provider in the United States. It works well enough most of the time, but I frequently have dropped calls when chatting iPhone to iPhone with my Dude. AT&T has talked about releasing a femocell, which is a home cellular tower that uses your Internet to make calls. If they do release this, it will make using your iPhone as your primary phone a much better experience. Prices are speculated to be less that $300 for a femocell.
The compass is a mixed success. The GeekGal frequently navigates in the car while her Dude is driving, and has found it often to be off as much as 90 degrees. On foot, it’s much more reliable - but the logic in a compass that’s not dependable as a compass escapes me.
Expanding your contract with AT&T to get this phone is undoubtedly the worst part of it. GeekGal was not one of the legions of AT&T haters until June through August of this year, which will formally be called “The Summer of GeekGal’s discontent.” AT&T cruelly played with her emotions, whispering sweet nothings of tethering capability and MMS messaging into her ear. Countries all over the world were consummating these features, letting users send pictures as text messages, and use their iPhones as modems to get laptop Internet access.
After three months of waiting, AT&T broke their promise of providing MMS “by the end of the summer.” In a bid to restore good will with their customers, they helpfully shot some PR videos with the geeky but lovable AT&T employee Mark. At last, the mega-conglomerates untold side of the story was heard. iPhone users, it seems, like to use their iPhones, straining AT&Ts 3G Internet capabilities to the limit. To be honest, GeekGal felt a bit guilty. After spending $30 a month on iPhone data for several years - she realized it was selfish to use the features she was paying for. Hugs were exchanged, and Obama invited us to the White House to share a beer.
By the time of this review, AT&T still hasn’t set a date or price for delivering tethering, even though many other countries have had this feature since the 3GS launch. Since AT&T has a monopoly on the US market for the iPhone, there is nothing to do but wait. GeekGal predicts that many people will jump ship to Verizon, should the rumors turn out to be true that Apple wants to break it’s AT&T monopoly agreement.
When the iPhone launched, some users complained that the new iPhone display had a yellowish tint to it. GeekGal didn’t notice it until comparing the old model to her new one. In her opinion, the colors pop a bit more on the old screen - but you’ll never notice unless the two phones are side by side.
Uploading videos via cellular 3G is quirky at best, and unusable at worst. I wouldn’t plan on sending anything longer than 10 seconds to Youtube while away from WiFi. In fact, GeekGal had the most success by just waiting until she got home, and uploading them on her Mac Pro.
Conclusion -
The iPhone 3GS might not have set hearts aflutter, but it’s still a solid upgrade. Apple has improved the iPhone experience, and delayed having to revolutionize the market for another year. But, with second gen models of the Palm Pre and Google Android hitting the market, it’s clear Apple is going to have to step up its game and deliver some real change with the next generation. If it doesn’t, it’s going to fall behind in the smartphone wars. As it stand today, though, the iPhone 3GS is still the best smartphone in the world.
The Dude’s Perspective -
It’s disappointing that the snazzy new iPhone looks exactly like the old, obsolete one I inherited. I was really hoping it would have fold-out lasers or rockets. Also, there’s no way for us to tell our phones apart, which is really confusing.
The Internet connection on the new one is way faster. I really appreciate this feature. Even though I have my own iPhone, I frequently steal GeekGal’s to look up baseball scores, or find out where we are so I don’t have to ask for directions. Then she asks we why we pay for my iPhone if I always want to use hers. I just laugh and act oblivious.
The video camera is kind of cool. I rigged a cardboard harness and attached the phone to our puppy, getting video of his rambunctious view of the world. We shoot funny videos all the time with it and upload them to YouTube. There’s one of me at Fenway Park rooting against Boston’s beloved Red Sox. The microphone did a great job of picking up the booing.
GeekGal says that it’s faster at gaming, but I don’t know because she won’t let me play games on it. She says I always run out her battery. I wish Apple would make a battery awesome enough that I could steal her phone without hearing her gripe.
The 3GS is totally worth the $299 you pay for it. I can’t wait to inherit it next year and play Scrabble until my eyes bleed.