Apple Thoughts: The iPhone 3Gs is Here: My First Impressions

Another addition to the 3Gs is Voice Control, and frankly, it isn't that great. It works okay for controlling iTunes, but I found it to be seriously unreliable in recognizing names in my phone book. I hope this is improved with a few updates over the next few months because it's a feature with a lot of potential.

Overall, the 3Gs is about refinement and performance, though, and that's what you notice most. For example, in the Maps application, the magnetometer will orient the map correctly based on the way you're facing making it much easier to read along as you're following directions. The battery meter will now show you a percentage, not just a graphical representation of the remaining battery power (something I've been dying for since my first iPhone!). Little things, sure, but important ones, and those aren't counting the enhancements that came along a few days earlier with OS 3.0.

So what's the windup?

Well, here's the thing.

If you have an iPhone 3G and you don't care about video or the speed increase, you'll be very happy with it as long as you want to keep it. In reality, I don't see the speed updates and video as being worth the upgrade price it'll cost you if you're outside of AT&T's ever-changing parameters for an upgrade.

That being said, if you're the "cutting ege" type and like to have the latest and greatest, or if you just need a little more wiggle room as far as storage goes (that was my main reason for upgrading, honestly) then go grab the 3Gs. While it's more evolutionary than revolutionary (much in the way 3.0 was mostly an evolution of 2.0) it'll still scratch that itch for something new and give you just enough newness to justify the purchase.

I for one am glad I bought it and I have a feeling I'll be holding on to this one for a year, too. The 3G is the first phone I've ever had in my entire life for a year. Being in the business, I'm very easily swayed into buying a new phone, but the one thing I won't do is not have an iPhone. As far as I'm concerned, there are no better phones on the market, and the 3Gs is a worthy successor to a very good line of phones.

Vincent Ferrari is an Apple fan, videoblogger, blogger, writer, and all-around geek from the Bronx. He works in the IT Department of a cellular phone company that shall not be named, and lives in a very comfortable apartment with his lovely wife, two lovely cats, three Macs, two iPhones, and God-knows-how-many iPods of varying age.