iPhone 3GS

The iPhone 3GS (stylized iPhone 3G[S] by many blogs) is the third generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was introduced on June 8, 2009 at the WWDC 2009 which took place at the Moscone Center, San Francisco.

Its features primarily consist of faster performance, a camera with higher resolution and video ability, voice control,^[8] and support for 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA downloading (but remains limited to 384 kbps uploading as Apple had not implemented the HSUPA protocol).^[9] It was released in the U.S., Canada and six European countries on June 19, 2009,^[3] in Australia and Japan on June 26, and internationally in July and August 2009.

The iPhone 3GS runs Apple's iOS operating system, as is used on the iPad and iPod touch. It is controlled mostly by a user's fingertips on a multi-touch display.

The iPhone 3GS is preceded by the iPhone 3G and succeeded by the iPhone 4.

History

The iPhone 3GS was made available for pre-order on June 8, 2009 and released on June 19 in Canada, the United States, and 7 European countries, and on June 26 in Australia and the United Kingdom. Within the first weekend of its release, over one million iPhone 3GS's were sold. July and August 2009 saw the release of the iPhone 3GS internationally. After the iPhone 4 was announced, an 8 GB (Black only) iPhone 3GS was released which was made available at a reduced price. Apple's decision to continue selling the iPhone 3GS alongside the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S makes the 3GS the longest running produced iPhone hardware to date.

Bootrom

iPhone 3GS models with new bootroms started appearing in mid-September 2009 which had blocked the "24k" exploit used in prior bootroms which were used mainly for iOS jailbreaking. This made devices with the new bootrom harder to jailbreak although not impossible. This marked the first time Apple slightly modified their devices midway through its supposed cycle (usually a one year cycle).

Features

The new features of the iPhone 3GS are mainly internal changes regarding speed, for which the "S" in "iPhone 3GS" stands.^[10] Though in addition to the upgrades mainly regarding performance, various software features were also introduced exclusive to the iPhone 3GS. All of the exclusive features were incorporated into the iPhone 4.

Display

The display on the device is designed by Apple and made by LG, it features an LCD capacitive touchscreen with a pixel density of 163 pixels per inch (ppi) on a 3.5 in (8.9 cm) 480-by-320 display. Improvements over its predecessor's screen include 24-bit color emulation (18-bit color display plus dithering)^[11] for a more color rich display and oleophobic coating to help reduce fingerprints on the display. The capacitive touchscreen is designed for a bare finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing.

Camera

The iPhone 3GS features an improved 3 megapixel camera manufactured by OmniVision. In addition to the higher megapixel count, it also features auto-focus, auto white balance and auto macro and is capable of capturing VGA video. The iPhone 3GS's Camera app features a slider which allows users to switch between capturing photos and recording videos, a tap-to-focus feature which allows users to tap on an area of the camera image to auto-focus on, 5x digital zoom (iOS 4 and 5), auto focus and auto exposure lock when holding an area down (iOS 5 only), and gridlines for composition (iOS 5 only).

Processor and memory

The iPhone 3GS is powered by the Samsung APL0298C05 chip, which was designed and manufactured by Samsung. This system-on-a-chip is composed of an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU core underclocked to 600 MHz (from 833 MHz), integrated with a PowerVR SGX 535 GPU.

It has 256 MB of eDRAM, twice the amount of the 3G, allowing for increased performance and multi-tasking.

Apple claims the iPhone 3GS is 2x faster than its predecessor, showing demonstrations of apps loading in just 2–10 seconds compared to 15–30 seconds on the iPhone 3G.

Storage

As on previous models, all data is stored in flash memory and not in the SIM and it does not offer any options to expand storage. Initially it was only available in 16 and 32 GB though an 8 GB model was later released, with Apple discontinuing the 16 and 32 GB models, forcing those needing more storage to select an iPhone 4, or buy an older model 3GS.

Power and battery

The iPhone 3GS is powered by an internal 3.7 V 1219 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery and is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles. A battery life indicator in percentage was also exclusive to the iPhone 3GS.

Apple claims that the 3GS can last for up to ten hours of video, nine hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, twelve hours of 2G talk time, or five on 3G, 30 hours of music, or 300 hours of standby.

Magnetometer

A magnetometer is also built-in the iPhone 3GS, which is used to measure the strength and/or direction of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the device. Sometimes certain devices or radio signals can interfere with the magnetometer requiring users to either move away from the interference or re-calibrate by moving the device in a figure 8 motion. The iPhone 3GS also features an exclusive Compass app which shows a compass that points in the direction of the magnetic field.

Connectivity

In addition to the iPhone 3G's tri-band UMTS/HSDPA radio and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio, the 3GS also adds support for 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA allowing faster downlink speeds though upload speeds remain the same as Apple had not implemented the HSUPA protocol. Other updates include the addition of a built-in Nike+iPod sensor which eliminates the need for an external sensor and allows native Nike+iPod support. The Bluetooth module on the iPhone 3GS has also been slightly improved adding support for Bluetooth 2.1 specifications.

Voice control

Voice Control was introduced as an exclusive feature of the iPhone 3GS and allows for the controlling of the phone and music features of the phone by voice. There are two ways to activate Voice Control: hold the Home button while in the home screen for a few seconds; or, change the effect of what double-clicking the home button does so it will activate Voice Control (only before iOS 4, where double clicking the Home button opens the multitasking bar).

Accessibility features

VoiceOver, Color Inversion, and Text Zoom were introduced as exclusive features to the iPhone 3GS. VoiceOver is a feature that dictates music details, system menus, text, and other things which was first introduced on the third generation iPod shuffle. Color inversion reverses the color scheme from black on white to white on black, while Text Zoom allows users to zoom into a text on the screen .

Design

The iPhone 3GS retains the same design its predecessor used which featured a glossy metal back with tapered edges which gives users a better grip of the phone. It also features metal buttons just like its predecessor's. The iPhone 3GS and its predecessor are almost identical though the 3GS is differentiated only by the latter's reflective silver text on the reverse side which now matches the silver Apple logo, replacing the 3G's grey text. Unlike its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS was available in white and black for both models (16 GB and 32 GB) although the current 8 GB model is only available in black.

Critical reception

Reviews

Reviews of the iPhone 3GS have been generally mixed to favorable. Walter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal described the device packed with "new features that makes a great product even better, but for many users, the software may be enough of a boost to keep them from buying the new model."^[12] Engadget also criticized that "the additions of video recording, a compass, and a speed bump just don't seem that compelling to us".^[13] Still the device managed to receive numerous favorable reviews, CNET gave the iPhone 3GS a 4/5 stars citing the battery life improvements and speed bump alone are good enough although it might leave you wanting more,^[14] Engadget praised the performance improvements describing it "a bigger speed bump than you'll come to expect".^[13] TechRadar gave the device a 4.5/5 stars describing the device "feature filled but certainly not worth upgrading for"

However the 8 GB version of the device has received more favorable reviews mainly because it comes pre-installed with iOS 4. Jason Snell of Macworld praised the iPhone 3GS citing that "The device's internal changes shines in the iOS 4 update, making the iPhone 3GS a worthwhile upgrade compared to its predecessor although a little too late compared to the iPhone 4".^[15] TIPB cited that "aside from hardware specific features like FaceTime, Retina Display, and gyroscope support, the bottom line is iPhone 3GS users are getting the same software that makes the iPhone 4 great".^[16]

Issues

Overheating

Shortly after the release of the iPhone 3GS, some users reported overheating of the device while in heavy use, and others reported discoloration of the device due to heat (particularly on the white models). The discoloration issues were largely discounted as being as a result of iPhone covers rubbing against the back of the iPhone.^[17] Apple responded to the heat issue reports by warning users against leaving their iPhones in a car on a hot day, leaving it in direct sunlight for extended periods of time, and refraining from heavy usage while in a hot/sunny environment.^[18] It is also worth pointing out the temperature specifications in which the iPhone should be operated, which follows safety standards in the countries the 3GS was released.^[19]

Continued support

iOS 5

After the release of the iPhone 4S, the 3GS was still offered for free until November 2011, when AT&T raised the price to 99 cents with no explanation as to why.^[20] The 99c price is only available with a two-year contract on AT&T in the United States and a three-year contract on Telus, Rogers, and Bell and Fido Solutions in Canada. This is a departure from Apple's previous trends, in which only two phones are usually sold.

Timeline of iPhone models

See also

• List of iOS devices
• Comparison of smartphones

References

External links

• Official website