Apple iPhone 3GS

HOT: 50% better batter life than predecessor despite faster processor, more memory; voice controls; video, better camera, smudge-free screen

NOT: Still no expandable memory; battery still sealed in; still a little pricey

PRICING:
iPhone 3GS 32GB - From $599 on a two-year Vodafone contract. Off-contract - $1349 direct from Apple, with free shipping, $1379 from a Vodafone dealer.
iPhone 3GS 16GB - From $399 on a two-year Vodafone contract. Off-contract - $1149 direct from Apple, with free shipping, $1179 from a Vodafone dealer.

Full Vodafone plans 
Full iPhone 3GS tech specs

Apple's third upgrade of its handset in three years - following the original iPhone in June 2007 and the iPhone 3G in July last year - the iPhone 3GS is an evolutionary rather than revolutionary upgrade.

But there is one reason for iPhone 3G owners to consider an immediate upgrade to the iPhone 3GS, hang the $150+ break fee: my experience confirms what US reviewers’ finding: the new battery does provide around 50% more life.

That’s a big deal. It means that even the heaviest iPhone user can be assured they’ll get through the day on a single charge. Battery life is often overlooked, simply because it’s so universally lousy with smartphones (BlackBerries being the exception).

The downside: the battery is still sealed in. Still, I’ll almost - almost - accept the lack of a swap-out as a trade-off for such fine tuning.

The iPhone 3GS’s other new features have been well canvassed already, the headliners being
- the full 3G support
- its faster processor (600MHz to the iPhone 3G’s 400MHz)
- the boost in digital camera resolution from 2 megapixels to 3.2 megapixels
- memory bumped to either 16GB or 32GB, depending on model
- the addition of a video camera mode (though not yet video call support. Anybody remember video calls?)
- a digital compass

The release of the 3GS also arrives with the new iPhone OS 3.0 software upgrade, which can also be installed, free on any older model of iPhone via AppStore. This software upgrade adds a number of long-awaited abilities, including
- Photo messaging (aka pxt or mms)
- Tethering (the ability to use your iPhone as a modem for your laptop, via USB or wi-fi)
- Copy-and-paste

Testing an (Apple-supplied) iPhone 3GS on Vodafone’s 3G network since Friday, I’ve found voice quality fine, with no dropped calls. The original iPhone was a little wobbly in this respect, but I found the iPhone 3G and the first two OS upgrades solved this issue. The 3GS continues to offer very good, if not exceptional voice quality with a full-bodied top volume.

Voice controls
I 110% expected to be rubbishing the new voice controls feature.

After all, I’ve reviewed enough voice recognition software that works brilliantly when demo’d by someone in from both its development team and primary market - that is, a North American male with a neutral accent - but which falls down in a screaming heap when faced with a New Zilund accent (often we get lumbered with a UK English accent module or, worse, an Australian one).

But for both voice dialling, and initiating songs and playlists (see brief video below), I’ve found the 3GS’ voice controls actually pretty flawless. As long as I spoke reasonably clearly, it worked every time (which is ironic, given that US reviews have at times given the feature a so-so rating).

One quibble: voice controls would have worked better with a dedicated physical button, however. As it is, you’ve got to hold down the Home menu button for a full two seconds to activate the feature. Most power users would have shortcut to a number inside that time.

Tethering
Tethering was easy to set up on Vodafone 3G, with just a quick setting change under the networking menu (if you want to tether on Telecom XT, it’s not as easy as using the iPhone directly on Telecom’s 3G network, you will have to download a third-party piece of software; sites like Geekzone have details).

As a bonus, at one point I got one of the fastest speeds I’ve yet achieved from Vodafone 3G - 1.8Mbit/s outside the pharmacy at Eden Quarter in Mt Eden, although at other locations around the CBD I’ve had a more usual, in my experience 0.4Mbit/s to 0.5Mbit/s.

People who’ve tethered the iPhone 3GS using Telecom XT have reported download speeds of 2.5Mbit/s and faster, which is what I’d expect of any handset running on that network at this time.

Yes, in case you’ve been living under a rock, the iPhone 3GS, with its support for 850MHz and 2100MHz bands, will work on either Telecom’s W-CDMA 850MHz nationwide, aka XT, or Vodafone’s 3G network in its urban, 2100MHz incarnation; outside urban areas, an iPhone on Vodafone will trip down to GPRS/GSM. Telecom is selling sim-card only XT packages, which helps enable network hoppers.

One reason beyond Vodafone's recent 3GB of data/1000 pxt a month for three months iPhone promotion is, without a doubt, to stem the drift of iPhone owners experimenting with XT.

And it is quite a killer deal, worth around $600 a month on XT's full data rate. The question now, is what happens at the end of September: will Vodafone be able to wean iPhoners back onto a more "traditional" data plan? Or will the landscape have been permanently reset?

Video
The new video recording mode and on-board video editing function both work seamlessly. That’s no surprise, given that Apple is a past master of desktop video products. The only surprise is that it too them so long to add it to the iPhone. I guess it provides extra impetus to this release, but the wait seems pretty arbitrary.

The VGA quality video looks great on the 3GS’ screen, or a laptop screen, but marginal for TV.

Digital compass
The 3GS’ digital compass immediately found true magnetic north.

That's useful if you're lost in the bush, or searching for a property with full sun, but also for the digital compass's ability to orientate Google Maps in the right direction (although it doesn't seem to share the HTC Magic Android phone's ability to create virtual reality views from Street Views that move as you turn your body).

One black mark: the 3GS’ GPS was very quick to pin-point my location; but maybe too quick: it put me two streets along from actual location, as I stood under open skies in my back garden. I’ve never had that happen before. Other phones have always been more or less bang on.

Digital camera
Unlike its predecessor, the new digital camera takes stills that could, at a pinch, substitute for a compact digital camera.

I found the touchscreen auto-focus feature worked well. It lets you centre the focus of a picture on any element you like, simply by tapping it on the preview screen. Some people have found it patchy. I’ve found it excellent. It’s one of those simple, well-executed Apple features that makes you wonder why nobody thought of it before.

Oleophobic screen
The new screen has a special coating that’s supposed to make it more resistant to fingerprints. It’s not perfect, but it is better than the iPhone 3G, or any other touchscreen, at hiding smudges.

Overheating
A usually reliable reporter at pcworld.com found her test unit overheated so badly she couldn't hold it against her face. I don't doubt her word, but not other name tester has replicated the problem and I never found my 3GS ran hot, at all. Two French sites did claim the 3GS got so scalding it discoloured its case, but right now they're looking like attention-seeking nutjobs.

One carrier to rule us all
Finally, it's good that Apple is, at last, offering the iPhone directly to New Zealanders via its online store (and slightly under-cutting Vodafone, to boot).

But most people don't want to pay around $1349 for a new iPhone, and will instead opt for a Vodafone plan with the attendant handset subsidy.

If Telecom was appointed a second iPhone carrier - and from an outsider's perspective, it's difficult to see any commercial or practical hurdle, from Apple's standpoint, why that shouldn't be the case - we'd see handset deals closer to those that Aussies are enjoying from their trio of carriers: Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, all of whom are offering zero dollars up-front deals (admittedly, none have anything matching Vodafone NZ's 3GB of data free for three months deal).

Vodafone NZ says don't get too excited, because a carrier's buy price is based on market - that is, population - size. Still, I reckon the appointment of Telecom would see Vodafone find a way to get to zero regardless - as it has with various other handsets from time to time.

Like many "new" iPhone features, the 3GS' voice control has been around for years on other phones. However, Apple is more ambitious, using it for song and playlist control also. I found it recognised by Waitako twang fine. (Thanks to my usual strong level of directorship, you can't see my thumb the Home menu button - which you have to hold down for a full two seconds to activate voice controls, somewhat undermining their utility as a shortcut):