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The iPhone 3GS is the successor to the iPhone 3G that features the same outer design but offers redesigned and upgraded internals. Apple claims the "S" stands for Speed (iPhone 3G Speed) and sees more powerful internal processing to offer a faster experience. According to Apple the apps open twice as fast as regular 3G, and web browsing is up to 3 times as fast. The other aspects of the iPhone that have undergone upgrades are the camera, internal battery and more built-in features such as Nike+.
MSRP $199.00
Release date June, 2009
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Pros & Cons38
Reviews38
Details
Buy It1
Competitors12
Related4
Gallery1
Pros & Cons
19 positive
10 mixed
7 negative
![[i]](/images/info.png)
How is the ProSCORE calculated?
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The ProSCORE is calculated based on the ratio of Pros & Cons about this product as voted by
approved reviewers from the ProductWiki community.
ProSCORE = 100 x (Pro votes) / [(Pro votes) + (Con votes)]
Numbers used for this ProSCORE:
Pro votes = 184
Con votes = 95
Total votes = 279
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Details
Differences between iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S
- upgrade to 3MP camera with auto-focus and white balance
- video capture support, up to 30FPS in VGA resolution with Audio
- voice commands
- faster processing, open up apps twice as fast, and browse up to 3x as fast
- built-in compass
- built-in Nike+ support
- longer battery, upgrade from 6 hours to 9 hours of WiFi browsing
- 32GB model available
- uses greener materials
Features
- 3.5" multi-touch screen
- 480x320 resolution with 163ppi
- WiFi B/G access
- UTMS, and HSDPA connectivity (GSM only)
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- 3MP camera
- Assisted GPS
- Battery
- 12 hours 2G talk
- 5 hours 3G Talk
- 300 hours standby
- 9hrs Wi-Fi browsing
- 5 hours 3G browsing
- 10 hours of video playback
- 30 hours for audio
- Price: $199 for 16GB | $299 for 32GB. Contract required.
- Firmware 3.0
- Release date: June 19th, 2009
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This report was started
June 8, 2009 at 3:08 pm by
Omar
with the last edit occurring
Wednesday, 8:33 AM by
Yale
This page has been viewed
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40 contributors.
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Buy It
Apple iPhone 3GS | 16 GB - Black
• iPhone 3G S 16GB Black Smartphone
UPC: 885909317752
MPN: MB715LLA
Apple iPhone 3GS | 32 GB - Black
• Iphone 16gb 3gs Brand New
• iPhone 3G S 32GB Black Smartphone
UPC: 885909317776
EAN: 885909317776
MPN: MB717LLA
Apple iPhone 3GS | 16 GB - Black
• iPhone 3G Black Cell Phone
UPC: 607375045331
MPN: MB704LLA
Apple iPhone 3GS | 16 GB - Black
• iPhone 16GB Smartphone
UPC: 885909212132
MPN: MB384LLA
Competitors
Apple iPhone 3GS is ranked 8th among it's competitors.
See the
top picks in
Smart Phones »
MSRP $689.50
Released November, 2009
Pros
- WiFi
- open Android 2.0 OS
- large 3.7" touchscreen with high resolution (854 x 480px)
Cons
- no Google Maps Navigation
- flash memory isn't integrated into the device, the only option is microSDHC (not as fast)
- all plastic enclosure
Apple iPhone 3GS
0%
vs.
Motorola MILESTONE
100%
MSRP --
Releases December, 2009
Pros
- large 3.5" 800 x 480px touchscreen display
- runs Android OS 1.6
- 5MP geo-tagging enabled camera
Cons
- no physical QWERTY keyboard
- Acer is not known as a quality phone manufacturer (this is among the first few of their phones)
- based on reviews of the neoTouch this probably won't be so great
Apple iPhone 3GS
0%
vs.
Acer Liquid
100%
MSRP $999.00
Released October, 2009
Pros
- excellent camera: can replace a regular point-and-shoot, though no optical zoom
- modern operating system (Symbian S60 5th Edition: multi-tasking, touchscreen etc)
- powerful processor (ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz)
Cons
- too expensive!
- slow switching between landscape and portrait
- landscape on-screen keyboard is either too small (not full width) or fullscreen (can't see the rest of the screen any more)
Apple iPhone 3GS
0%
vs.
Sony Ericsson Satio (Idou)
100%
MSRP --
Releases January, 2010
Pros
- amazingly well designed interface - feels like it's not a Windows based device
- packs a next-gen 1GHz snapdragon CPU
- massive high resolution (480 x 800px) 4.3-inch touchscreen display
Cons
- slightly larger than the iPhone (which is already quite large)
- no internal storage
- Windows Mobile based
Apple iPhone 3GS
33%
vs.
HTC HD2
67%
MSRP $299.00
Released November, 2009
Pros
- open Android 2.0 OS
- WiFi
- large 3.7" touchscreen with high resolution (854 x 480px)
Cons
- annoying $100 mail in rebate to get to $199 price point
- camera is slow to take photos, properly focusing is hit or miss
- no multi-touch as in the GSM version for Europe (and though Android 2.0 would support it)
Apple iPhone 3GS
40%
vs.
Motorola Droid (Sholes)
60%
MSRP --
Released October, 2009
Pros
- 3.5mm Headphone Jack.
- Support for (even fullscreen) Flash.
- Expandable memory (Up to 16GB) via microSD slot.
Cons
- need a better processor
- Uses an older generation ARM 11 CPU, considerably slower than that used by Pre and iPhone
- No camera flash.
Apple iPhone 3GS
40%
vs.
HTC Hero
60%
MSRP $199.00
Released July, 2008
Pros
- GPS Support
- High speed 3G
- Good selection of free apps available
Cons
- Can't replace the battery yourself, can't replace with a "spare"
- Crippled Bluetooth (only hands-free devices supported)
- Battery life is disappointing
when using 3G
Apple iPhone 3GS
50%
vs.
Apple iPhone 3G
50%
MSRP $649.00
Released October, 2009
Pros
- slide out QWERTY keyboard
- 5MP camera with dual LED flash, Carl Zeiss lens, lens protector
- WiFi
Cons
- unconfirmed battery life
- relatively unknown operating system means there won't be that many applications / might not take off
- currently there is no portrait mode support in Maemo 5 except for phone call functions (will be in Maemo 6, but uncertain if the N900 will see that update in late 2010)
Apple iPhone 3GS
50%
vs.
Nokia N900
50%
MSRP $700.00
Released September, 2009
Pros
- 3.2" touchscreen display
- full QWERTY keyboard
- 8GB of internal storage
Cons
- not much smaller than the N97
- no lens cover
- keyboard is worse than that on the original
Apple iPhone 3GS
50%
vs.
Nokia N97 Mini
50%
MSRP $199.99
Released June, 2009
Pros
- full 3.5mm headphone jack
- removable battery
- backlit QWERTY keyboard
Cons
- no higher capacity models
- exclusive to Sprint for the first half of 2009
- no expandable memory
Apple iPhone 3GS
60%
vs.
Palm Pre
40%
MSRP $699.00
Released August, 2009
Pros
- full QWERTY keyboard
- WiFi
- 5MP camera with auto-focus
Cons
- software is still buggy - can lead to freezeups
- enhanced BLUR widgets (eg/ "Happenings") cannot be resized, relocated or removed altogether
- no internal storage
Apple iPhone 3GS
67%
vs.
Motorola Cliq
33%
MSRP $649.99
Released September, 2009
Pros
- now includes WiFi
- 3.2MP camera
- 3.5mm headphone jack
Cons
- no QWERTY keyboard
- heavy
- limited internal storage compared to other consumer targeted offerings
Apple iPhone 3GS
67%
vs.
RIM BlackBerry Storm 2
33%
Reviews
July 19, 2009
approved
reviewer
have it
love it
Pros
- much faster processing
- video recording
- camera improvements are nice
- oil and water resistant finish (fingerprint resistance)
- much longer battery life
- tethering in iPhone 3.0 OS (will work for 3G too)
- voice commands are convenient
- now compatible with Nike+
- built-in compass is very useful
- On screen keyboard has larger sense areas than tiny physical keyboards built into other phones, making it easier to type with large fingers.
- forces price drop on old 3G to $99
Cons
- landscape typing only works in some applications/programs
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
November 12, 2009
approved
reviewer
have it
love it
Pros
- much faster processing
- video recording
- larger storage
capacities
- camera improvements are nice
- tethering in iPhone 3.0 OS (will work for 3G too)
Cons
- no background running apps
- not a revolutionary upgrade
- minor camera upgrades
- no microSD slot or other memory expansion capability
- no upgrade to the screen
- landscape typing only works in some applications/programs
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
August 9, 2009
approved
reviewer
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Pros
Did not agree with any pros
Cons
- not a revolutionary upgrade
- AT&T is not supporting many of the new updates quite yet - 7.2Mbps HSDPA in 2011, no tethering information/pricing, no MMS until later this summer
- minor camera upgrades
- no upgrade to the screen
- landscape typing only works in some applications/programs
- no front-facing camera
- Stuck with AT&T. Stupid Apple.
- tethering available in 3.0's free upgrade
- cannot disable accelerometer feature (iPod, Safari etc.)
- several compass apps already available for the iPhone 3G
- ever so slightly heavier than the previous generation
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
Sunday, 7:32 AM
approved
reviewer
Pros
- voice commands are convenient
- built-in compass is very useful
- On screen keyboard has larger sense areas than tiny physical keyboards built into other phones, making it easier to type with large fingers.
- forces price drop on old 3G to $99
Cons
- no background running apps
- not a revolutionary upgrade
- no microSD slot or other memory expansion capability
- no video calling
- bit expensive
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
August 16, 2009
approved
reviewer
have it
Pros
- much faster processing
- video recording
- larger storage
capacities
- camera improvements are nice
- much longer battery life
- video uploading happens in the background letting you do other tasks at the same time
- On screen keyboard allows easy switching between different languages
Cons
- not a revolutionary upgrade
- no upgrade to the screen
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
June 19, 2009
approved
reviewer
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Pros
- much faster processing
- video recording
- larger storage
capacities
- camera improvements are nice
- oil and water resistant finish (fingerprint resistance)
- much longer battery life
- tethering in iPhone 3.0 OS (will work for 3G too)
- built-in compass is very useful
- improved 7.2Mbps HSDPA WWAN data speed - twice as fast as the original
Cons
Did not agree with any cons
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
September 10, 2009
approved
reviewer
have it
Pros
- video recording
- camera improvements are nice
- tethering in iPhone 3.0 OS (will work for 3G too)
- voice commands are convenient
- built-in compass is very useful
- video uploading happens in the background letting you do other tasks at the same time
Cons
- no front-facing camera
- doesn't play free lossless audio codec files
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
September 15, 2009
approved
reviewer
Pros
- much faster processing
- video recording
- larger storage
capacities
- camera improvements are nice
Cons
- not a revolutionary upgrade
- no upgrade to the screen
- no front-facing camera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
June 16, 2009
approved
reviewer
love it
want it
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Pros
- much faster processing
- video recording
- larger storage
capacities
- camera improvements are nice
- oil and water resistant finish (fingerprint resistance)
- much longer battery life
- forces price drop on old 3G to $99
Cons
Did not agree with any cons
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
July 17, 2009
approved
reviewer
Pros
- much faster processing
- larger storage
capacities
- camera improvements are nice
- much longer battery life
Cons
- AT&T is not supporting many of the new updates quite yet - 7.2Mbps HSDPA in 2011, no tethering information/pricing, no MMS until later this summer
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
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This product is also known as:
3, GS, 3GS
