Upgrading from the iPhone 3G to 3GS

I recently purchased a new 16GB iPhone 3GS, to replace the old 8GB iPhone 3G that I had been using since it’s release in July of 2008. I had long been coveting the upgrade, and was a little reluctant because I expect a new iPhone to be launched this June 2010, only 5 months away. I can’t say for certain, but I know that for the past three summers, 2007, 2008, and 2009, there has been a new iPhone released to the public; we can only assume that in the fast-changing environment of the ’smartphone’, Apple isn’t going to ease up on the race to majority marketshare.

Let’s have a closer look at all the differences between the 3GS and the 3G:

one: Speed.

The most considerable difference between the two devices is the “S”, which stands for speed. There is a substancial difference between the two devices in network transfer. I unfortunately don’t have a screenshot of the speed test I ran with my old Rogers 3G iPhone, but if you have a look at my Bell 3GS iPhone speed test, shown on the right, you’ll see that I’m getting close to 7Mbps, whereas with my Rogers phone I remember getting speeds closer to 3.2Mbps. This isn’t to say that Bell’s network is faster (I can’t speak to whether that’s true or not), because two different devices are being used. I imagine you would get the same speeds with a 3GS phone on the Rogers network. Regardless, the jump between devices is more than doubled in bandwidth; this makes a big difference for me, someone who uses his laptop on the road a lot and needs internet access on demand, through the iPhone’s tethering feature.

The second ’speed’ upgrade is within the device itself. The processor (I know) and other components (I’m assuming) have been upgraded within to make the phone a faster computer. Starting up is faster, launching applications is quicker, games don’t lag as much. You don’t get any choppyness when you’re multi tasking on the phone (browsing maps, while tethering, and listening to music, while a youtube video is uploading). It’s a much better user experience, and makes for a happier customer. It might not seem like much, but if you compound all the tasks you perform on your phone in a day, and address a proportion of time saved by using the 3GS over the 3G, you’d probably be impressed.

two: 3.2 Megapixel Camera. Picture & Video Recording.

The upgrade to the camera is always nice, pictures taken with adequate lighting come out really well. For a phone camera, it’s pleasently surprising at how nice the pictures come out. In addition to the increase, the camera also comes with a new auto focus feature, that’s activated simply by tapping a certain area on the screen. You can focus on any viewing area on the screen before taking a picture, and achieve greater results.

You’re also now able to now record video; super handy. History is being made every day and it needs to be captured. Spur of the moment or not, it’s useful to have a video recorder if you’ve gotten in a car accident and want to capture the scene; you see a crime happening or abuse occuring and need to record the evidence; someone is giving you a 5 minute tutorial that you wish you’d be able to re-watch later, for further review. Even if you’re just hanging out with your friends and you want to be random and film for a couple minutes – it’s all possible thanks to your cell phone. Think about that for a second. Pretty cool.

three: Voice Control.

It’s a little funny, because I know people who have 5 year old phones that are capable of voice-dialing; however, it’s probably not as sophisticated. When they released the 3GS iPhone, they also released the 3.0 software which came with many other perks (that applied to both phones), however voice dialing is one of those features that only the 3GS is capable of. You hold down the ‘home button’ for 3 seconds, a blue screen pops up awaiting your commands. You can say “Call Catherine mobile”, “Call Catherine home”, “Play music”, “Play more songs like this” and so on and so forth. You’re even able to speak “Dial 416 499 9999″, in case there’s a number not in your list, or someone in your car has a new number for you. A significant, and necessary upgrade for our soon to be hands-free while driving continent.

four: Directional GPS Maps & Compass.

When the iPhone first came out, it had this wicked “Locate Me” function in the maps application. You push it and whereever you are (in the world, with cellular data reception or WiFi) it would find you. When you’re on a 3G or Edge (2G) network, it’s able to pinpoint you, however when you’re using a WiFi connection it’s more of an estimate, based on the internet connections location. Anyway, when the 3GS was released they added GPS coordinates (for your information) as well as directional support. If you were in a foreign city and needed to orrient yourself, you’d just tap the “Locate Me” ‘button’ on the phone twice, and it would find you, then assess your direction. This is something that also allowed developers to create turn-by-turn GPS software, so that you wouldn’t need to purchase an additional Tom-Tom Car Kit, for example. Money saved, yet again. Thanks Apple.

five: The Not-So-Small Stuff

A lot of other not-so-small changes came into play as well. VoiceOver will read what’s on the screen for your accessibility needs, white-on-black display, mono audio, screen zooming, “speak auto-text” (which has the phone speak any auto corrections that are made whilst typing), improved battery life (hoorah), arsenic-free glass, mercury-free LCD, battery percentage display, built in nike app for runners and last but not least, greater third party application support since it’s faster, with a better camera, along with voice control and a compass.

Final Thoughts

When the 3G iPhone came out in June of 2008, it was available in 8GB and 16GB; priced at $199 and $299 respectively. When the 3GS came out a year later, it was available in 16GB and 32GB, the same prices held. The 3G dropped to $99 for the 8GB, and the 16GB model was discontinued. Today, if you are a current 3G user, I would personally tell you to hold out until June and see what your options are. If you don’t yet own an iPhone, and you can’t wait another day, I’ll tell you the 3G is a complete waste of money. For the extra $100 you get so much more function, and so much more performance. It wouldn’t make sense to purchase the 3G, unless you’re a total idiot. The difference in price is equal to a month to a month and a half’s bill. Why wouldn’t you double your productivity, performance and function, let alone capacity for such a small amount, it’s beyond me.

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the new iPhone, you may not need to wait much longer. It’s been rumoured that the 4.0 iPhone software is coming out on January 27th (credit www.macrumors.com, which should be accompanied by the new iPhone itself, this June.

Link on Apple’s website comparing the differences between the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

update: the announcement on the 27th was just for the iPad, which is running modified iPhone/iPod software, but no confirmations have been made for the new iPhone, stay tuned.