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SHIFT: Why you should wait before upgrading to the iPhone 3GS
I went to see Paul McCartney at CitiField, the Mets' new home, last Friday night with my wife. We watched and listened to a 67-year-old man energetically perform a two-and-a-half hour show that should have worn him out, but wore me out instead. (I would have been more worn out, but my inner dork easily suppressed the temptation to dance.)
During the course of the evening I used my iPhone 3GS to check and answer several e-mails, booted up MLB.com to monitor the 11-0 Mets battering by the Braves, made a couple of calls to meet up with fellow concert-goers, sent a couple of texts to same, listened to voicemail, took some pictures and captured nearly a half-hour of Beatles classics footage. On the way home on the train, I read a couple of chapters of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells on Stanza e-book reader.
My wife, wielding my old iPhone 3G (how weird is it to refer to the iPhone 3G as "old"?), shot 62 pictures and read some e-mail.
By the time we made it home, despite the radically unbalanced usage, both iPhones had about half battery life remaining, vividly illustrating one of the 3GS's major enhancements. To me, that extra battery life is worth the 3GS's price of admission. Still, any iPhone 2G or 3G owners considering leaping to the 3GS likely want a little more than some extra juice. So, after living with the 3G S for the last month, does it live up to its hype?
One Giant Leap
First, a little perspective: Forty years ago this week, a human first walked on an extra-terrestrial body, relying on the 21st-century equivalent of stone knives and bearskins (extra credit to anyone who gets the reference). Even today's simplest cellphones have several orders more processing power than the computers on board the Columbia command module and Eagle LEM. And here we are discussing whether the combined computing power that guided 12 men to the moon and back is worth less than $500.
iPhone's Small Steps
It's easy to confuse the iPhone 3GS hardware improvements from the iPhone 3.0 operating system upgrade. At the risk of oversimplifying, let's concentrate on S's six primary hardware improvements:
- Longer-lasting battery
- 3.2 MP camera and video recorder
- More storage space
- Built-in compass
- More powerful processor
- Ability to access faster AT&T network
I've already illustrated how much more life the S battery provides compared to the 3G. And according to reports, the pending OS 3.1 upgrade is supposed to further expand the available amps.
As to the video camera — well, I expected better. In fact, I expected H.264 HD video, not VGA. The bright video screens at the McCartney show bleached out all details, and my proximity to the ginormous speakers resulted in distorted audio. Daytime footage, such as this street performance at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, isn't as sharp as it could have been and, sans any kind of anti-shake/image stabilization, a little too jittery for me. Even with these complaints, S's video recorder is still superior to nearly all other cellphones.
While the 3.2MP imager creates bigger photos, they are not necessarily better photos.
I love the S's 32GB of storage — more memory than any other smartphone extant. I've shoehorned in 5,000-plus music tracks, about six hours of video, exactly 100 apps, and around 2,800 photos… with 24 MB to spare.
As a pedestrian coming out of the subway and getting my bearings, the compass-aided Maps app saves time and potential embarrassment by instantly pointing me instantly in the correct direction. I don't own a car, so I'll leave the effectiveness and value of the AT&T Navigation and coming Tom Tom nav apps to you gas-guzzlers.
iPhone 3GS certainly opens apps much faster than the 3G, fast enough to blunt one of the advantages of multitasking OSs such as Android and Pre.
Victim of Its Own Success
iPhone is a mansion built on the quicksand of AT&T's inadequate network. There are too many iPhones desiring to perform too many tasks needing 3G, overloading AT&T's system. S loads Web pages demonstrably faster than 3G, but not all the time. During peak usage times or in crowds and fringe areas, access slows to a crawl. Imagine how frustrated Helio Castroneves would be if he were forced to spend all day navigating his #3 Indy car through Midtown Manhattan.
AT&T is furiously building out its faster network and expanding network capacity to accommodate not only the millions of 3G iPhone users demanding maximum 3.6Mbps connections, but the 7.2Mbps (and faster) network the 3GS can access. But right now, this lack of network speed and especially capacity is why the Slingbox app can operate only via Wi-Fi on the iPhone, and why we still don't have the promised tethering (using your iPhone as a modem) and no MMS — at least not yet.
I have a feeling the iPhone 3GS's potential won't be reached until it's compatible with the coming LTE networks, either with Verizon or AT&T late next year or in 2011.
App Disarray
The 3GS's OS also is a victim of its own success — Apple simply didn't anticipate how many apps we'd all download. I have 100 apps scattered over eight pages. When I had only half that number of apps on half the pages I managed to group them is somewhat logical groups by dragging them from page to page. Even at 50 apps and four pages, the organization process was like trying to solve a multi-level Chinese slide puzzle and took more than an hour. I have no desire to try again.
Please please PLEASE, someone, anyone, create an iPhone home screen emulator so I can drag and drop my apps across multiple screens on my big desktop monitor and have that arrangement transfer to my iPhone. And, let me jump to a specific screen on the iPhone to get to individual pages. Is that too much to ask?
Finally, back to our question: Is it worth it to step-up to the S? From the plain 3G, I'd say wait until AT&T releases OS 3.1 and announces the availability of MMS and tethering — that'll be a sign AT&T's faster and fatter network is in somewhat better shape than it is now. For everyone else, iPhone 3G S is still the best phone available.
By Maj at 7:29 PM ON 07/23/09
I die a little inside every time someone tells me they "booted up" a website...
By DUH at 8:06 PM ON 07/23/09
Maj...ROFL Good one!
Can't wait till Mac gets it through their head it is better to diversify and break the molopoly of AT&T on the iPhone...(Anything else and they are just Microsoft)...Get Verizon in the Mix it can only make things better.
By rhh1 at 8:08 PM ON 07/23/09
It's Lunar Landing Module (LLM) not LEM. Do your homework
By DUH at 8:11 PM ON 07/23/09
BTW this is for Stewart Wolpin and other iPhone users. You can use VNC to connect to your iPhone like you were remoting to a computer....No special sauce needed. have fun w/google
By DUH at 8:17 PM ON 07/23/09
To add about the LLM modules and the command modules...They actually did not have computers but logic controlers...Yes they had processors in them but they were not computers.
By beaumac at 8:31 PM ON 07/23/09
This reviewer is bonkers. The video is lightyears better than on any other mobile phone. You do remember it is a phone, right?
There is no need for having 100 apps, you are just hording them. No way do you use all of them. And Apple will likely accommodate this in their OS upgrade.
You complain about network speed but there is no faster network in the US. Thats not the fault of Apple but of ATT. Another reason they should end the exclusivity.
You say the battery life is acceptable but it is horrendous. The one valid complain against the actual phone and you totally botched the call.
By hollywood_hillbilly at 10:34 PM ON 07/23/09
Let's Go Phillies!
By Scanner at 12:57 AM ON 07/24/09
Incidentally, the "stone knives and bearskins" reference was from the Star Trek episode "City On The Edge Of Forever" which first aired in April of 1967.
By pimp at 3:07 AM ON 07/24/09
I disagree with your opinion. You fail to mention that while there are shortcomings in the iphone, that there are fixes to resolve them.
I mean when I bought my car, it didnt block out all the sun i wanted,,,so i tinted the windows. When I didnt get the performance I wanted, I installed a performance kit. The iphone is no different. You can customize it, you just need to do alittle homework, as in use google. lol.
You also miss a MAJOR advantage over the regular 3G phone. The 3GS has 256mb of RAM, which has given it turbo performance. This one update makes the 3GS well worth it.
All the shortcommings you mention are all easy fixes. For apps, you can simply jailbreak your phone and install an Cydia app called "Categories". It will let you create custom folder icons on your springboard screen, and you can drop all your apps into whatever folders you create. So if hypothecically you had one app that was a business app and your other 99 apps were games, you could just create 2 folders. One folder for business and the other for games. Then you could drop your 99 game icons into the game folder and the one business app into the business folder. Your 11 screens or whatever, would be reduced back to one screen. - Problem fixed!!! lol
For multitasking - Install a Cydia app called "Backgrounder". Now you can selectively control which apps you want to remain running in the back round. Then when you go and close the app, it remains running. When you go to re-open the app, it wont reload, but simply open as you left it. With the 256mb of 3GS RAM, you can do alot.
For getting all your wifi apps to work on 3G, as in slingplayer, or joost, or whatever, install a cydia app called "3G unrestrictor" . Open the app. It will have a UI with a plus symbol. when you press it,,it will allow you to choose which app to have run off your 3G. I have been slinging off my 3G service with my 3GS for the last 2 weeks. LOL.
Like with anything, you need only do alittle research to resolve much of issues.
By Slantsixx at 4:29 AM ON 07/24/09
I know you're a tech savvy guy, so you probably got your 3G when it came out, meaning it's about a year old; I'm also assuming that you've put it to good use and have gone through quite a few battery cycles. The reason why your 3GS and 3G phones each had about half the battery life left is because your 3G is used. Batteries don't last forever. Each cycle of battery you use lessens it's total capacity by a little bit. After a year's worth of use, I would imagine that it has 60-70% total capacity that it had when you first got it, that coupled with the capacity increase in the 3GS means that they could run out of power at the same time with the unbalanced use you described.
By pimp at 4:36 AM ON 07/24/09
By Dannyp at 2:09 PM ON 07/24/09
App management really is a problem: I had hoped that Apple would recognize that: they are incentivized to have users get more and more apps, but after a while, there is little point.
How about a simple folder system: the option to create a folders and dump related apps in them: one hit of that folder icon opens a pane with the apps in view.
One could then put all photo editing apps in a folder, all games in another, etc. I could access what I need more quickly, and be more inclined to add apps.
As it is, it is just a PITA to add an app, it drops on the first available open screen slot, and then I have to move it somewhere--then scroll thru screens to use it later on.
C'mon APPLE, put that in OS 3.1!!!
By Ceasa at 3:00 PM ON 07/27/09
->Pimp, Hey there buddy, I may have my phone jailbroken but its not apple sanctioned and thus I would not expect the reviewer to discuss jailbreaking in his review, there are fewer jb'ers than there are regular iPhone users. Also I would suggest you avoid advertising apps that are not ATT sanctioned and bringing unnecessary attention from ATT to this segment, I'm sure they know about it, just no need to rub it in their face.
I agree about the RAM comment but I think he mentioned that in general comment surrounding speed. You should note that Backgrounder (though I may use it) makes your phone less effecient, Apple has their reasons behind why you have to jailbreak your phone to get these things, lack of stability etc.
The only item I think apple should offer as a stock function is "winterboard" availability other than that I don't blame them for making you jailbreak at your own risk and choosing not to support it.
Anyhow, my 3Gs is awesome, faster and meh on battery life, the interesting thing to truly note is the amount of RAM usage on your 3Gs, which makes you wonder, if I only have 100MB of memory left on my 3Gs what does this do to a normal 3G phone (This is when your programs crash on you 3G'ers)
By silverline at 5:49 PM ON 07/30/09
As far as the exclusive contract with AT&T.
The reason why Apple and Verizon did not hook-up is because of warranty issues.
Apple wants to cover their own products ($75 each). Unlike other smart phones (aka Blackberry), through Verizon, you can take them to the store and typically (depending on what warranty you purchased) trade it in for another one if it is not fixable. However with the iPhone you must send it in to get fixed and do without for the time it is being fixed.
If the screen is not able to be fixed than you need to buy a whole new phone at full - not the original discounted - price, ouch!
So basically Verizon wants people to use their service as much as possible and Apple wants as much money as possible (If you don't think this is true, ask, why the "exclusive contract" again?) . Thus the problem.
Soon will be new phone and new Network systems (LTE "4G). So sit back and relax cause there will be plenty more reasons to complain about the inadequacies of technologies very soon.
on your cellphone!
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As far as the exclusive contract with AT&T. The reason why Apple and Verizon did not hook-up is because of warran...More »