Apple re cently released the new 3G iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 3G S, along with a new version of the operating system software that promises to add new often requested functions and features to the device. Should a person who already owns an iPhone 3G invest in an upgrade to the 3G S model? The answer to that question may lie in understanding exactly what the new iPhone 3G S can do to improve the overall user experience.
New Features Of The Apple iPhone 3G S
Althought the phone itself looks essentially identical to the previous iPhone 3G the new version packs a few useful new abilities. The new iPhone 3G S has:
- Significant Improvements To The Camera- the iPhone 3G S model sports a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and the ability to take video. Older versions have a notoriously bad camera and no video support at all. For users that want to take a lot of photos of their kids or other activities this upgrade alone may make sense.
- A Built In Magnetic Compass- while this may seem like a fairly minor addition having an onboard compass in the new iPhone 3GS has the potential to help navigation applications be more accurate and more useful. Most applications on the old iPhone had to use multiple GPS measurements to determine which way the user was traveling.
- Improved Processing Power- the new iPhone 3GS has a 600mHz processor on board. This supposedly will result in applications running up to twice as fast.
There are other improvements as well, but most of these are due to the upgraded software and thus will also be available on the previous model iPhone 3G as well. The big question is how much these upgrades are worth to an avid iPhone user. The pricing structure of the new iPhone 3G S is rather confusing, but if you are still under contract with AT&T it may make sense to wait until you can get upgrade pricing by renewing your contract. Purchasing the new 3G iPhone without a contract will set you back $199 for the 16GB version. The smaller 8GB version will only cost $99 however. If you are still under contract you can possibly get the 16GB version for $399 or the 8GB version for $299.
