I have been using the iPhone 3Gs for the last three days and in that time I have traveled from Ottawa to Hamilton and back, and here are my preliminary findings:
- the overall speed of navigating screens and switching apps is considerably faster then the previous iPhone
- the network speed seems faster, but this will require more usage over a longer period of time to establish
- the magnetic compass is very cool, but it does not work well inside a car or bus because of interference
- the magnetic compass is very useful if you are trying to go somewhere and you are walking or on a bicycle, because it will align the maps interface to your actual bearing which makes it a lot easier for most people to see not just where they are, but where they are going
- Voice Control can be very useful in certain circumstances (while driving it was nice to be able to call people and select music while keeping my eyes on the road)
- the video quality is great, video editing is simple, and the youtube upload worked very well, I will use this a lot
- I could not notice a big difference in picture quality of the camera, but more use is needed for this too
- the point focusing on the camera works really well
So in summary, I would say that the iPhone 3Gs is definitely the ultimate PDA with the iPhone 3G in close second. It is fast, easy, and effective. And like most things Apple, it is a joy to use. I have not seen all of the latest devices out there, but I still have not seen anything that comes close to matching the quality of the user experience of the iPhone.
If you own an iPhone 3G, should you upgrade to the 3Gs? Right now Rogers in Canada has some great upgrade options for you, but I can't see justifying the cost unless you are really going to use video or voice control a lot. I believe that all of the unique features (including video, find my iphone, etc.) except the compass are available if you crack your iPhone, but most non-geek people are not comfortable cracking their iPhones.
The other new iPhone OS version 3.0 features work really well too, but they are not specific to the iPhone 3Gs:
- the bluetooth tethering works like a charm (not specific to the 3Gs)
- cut, copy, and paste (not specific to the 3Gs)
- mms (not specific to the 3Gs)
- search (not specific to the 3Gs)
- find my iPhone (not specific to the 3Gs)
Also here are some older, more trivial features that I still love about the iPhone (and iPod Touch where applicable):
- when my phone is locked I can still quickly access music controls (double-click home button)
- when I receive a call as I am listening to music, my music fades out as my ring tone fades in, I answer the call, chat for a while, hang up and my music fades back in where it left off
- if I am watching a movie in iTunes on my laptop but I don't finish, and then I synch my iPhone, and I continue to watch my movie on my iPhone, it remembers where I left off, and vice versa if I synch and continue watching on my laptop
- when I hit a song I really feel like listening too I hit the Genius button and get a new mix of similar songs from my collection, it is just so simple and so awesome!
