Apple's iPhone 3GS

In the past fifteen years, Apple has redesigned itself and created a reputation as a pioneer of innovation. Their first venture into the cellular phone market was a resounding success, but in line with their established name, the iPhone was soon redesigned and released anew. Most recently, Apple has come out with the iPhone 3GS, a fully featured and improved version of the venerable iPhone 3G. My article this week will cover the many highs and lows of this new entry and hopefully give you some perspective on why an iPhone might be right (or wrong) for you. Be sure to follow up on the rest of the articles from Phone Week, we have a host of Blackberry models that have been put to the test. But for now, back to the iPhone. Before diving too deeply into the mechanics of the phone lets examine the basic functionality offered by the device.

Reception and Service

I’ve found that phone reception remains strong and steady around most urbanized areas, though there is some drop off in more rural locales. As for as call quality, my calls were generally crystal clear with the phone receiver picking my voice up clearly even while using speakerphone from across the room. Unfortunately, this clarity comes at a price, and the receiver picks up background noise just as readily as my voice. Listeners frequently asked me to repeat myself or responded to a question posed by some random quantity in the background. All in all, I’d have to give the phone a 7/10 for reception and clarity.

Dropped calls were infrequent with my daily usage, though on football Saturdays they increased alarmingly. In fact, one Saturday I was unable to make or receive any calls for the entirety of the game. It wasn’t until 8pm that day that my phone began operating normally and received the full day’s missed texts and voicemails. Admittedly this is a symptom of the AT&T service and not the iPhone, but as AT&T is the only cellular service provider to work with the iPhone they are essentially one and the same. Because of these glaring problems I’d have to give the iPhone a 4/10 for reliability.

Features and Interface

Now, let us move on to the many features of the device. It is not surprising that the iPhone performs admirably in this regard. I get the impression that the iPhone was designed as a portable multimedia device first and a phone second. First of all, the phone is offered in 16 and 32-gigabyte flavors, this allows for storage of between 5,000 and 10,000 songs or between 20 and 40 hours of video. Talk about packing a lot into a phone. It features access to the most celebrated application store in the smart phone world. Virtually any application a user could desire is either available or capable of being produced. Unfortunately, Apple has denied both Flash and Google related apps. However given the virtually unending opportunity fro growth, I’ll give the iPhone a 9/10 for versatility.



The iPhone was the pioneer in the touch screen world and the new 3GS doesn’t disappoint. It features a functional 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display with 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi. Coupled with the built in 3.0 megapixel camera that doubles as a video camera and you have the most well rounded smart phone on the market. New on the 3GS, video is complemented well by Multi-Touch, which allows on the fly video editing. As far as interfaces are concerned, this is the best in the market. One button is used to "activate" the touch screen and then the rest is intuitive. The only real problem I have with the phone is that that touch keyboard is a little too cramped in portrait view, but the newest software update allows for landscape typing in all modes. This update pushed the iPhone back to a 10/10 for interface navigability.

E-mail, Internet, and MMS

Not to be overlooked, these features are what make smart phones "smart." The iPhone flawlessly syncs multiple emails and now supports the ability to search any and all data. This feature was a major Achilles heel in previous renditions and I'm amazed it took so long to implement. The iPhone mail software is a stripped down version of the Mail program present on full size Macs. Nothing is substantially new here, though in my opinion typing speed is greatly boosted with a touch screen over units that require depression of keys. 9/10 now that search has been added, its about time Apple!

The internet is quick and responsive and in many ways the best smart feature available. Coupled with the intuitive interface, it is quite easy to see why most iPhone users are found browsing the internet and using one touch shopping in their free time. There is always room for improvement though, I'd love the history to cache more data for quicker load times. Safari easily scores an 8/10 here.

MMS Texting, where have you been all my life? Apple finally brings MMS Texting to the iPhone and allows you to send pictures and video within texts. Don't hold your breath for it to work perfectly though, AT&T's network isn't up for the bandwidth usage. Give it some time for the "nations fastest 3G "network to beef up its system and then you'll be good to go. Texting still works, but without the full MMS functionality I can't give it higher than a 5/10.

Construction and Battery

Finally, lets move onto the aesthetics. The iPhone is sleek and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Unlike most smart phones, the new iPhone features two colors. Users have the choice of either a black or white body color (though many protective cases can be purchased in varying colors). Due to my somewhat clumsy nature, I have firsthand experience with the resiliency of the phone. After several weeks of use the outer case is somewhat scuffed, but the screen has yet to suffer any cracks or scratches. I'm thoroughly impressed with how solid the phone has proven to be, 10/10.

The battery on the other hand has been a bit of a disappointment. It seems that with each update Apple accidentally damages the total battery life. Updates are not meant to be detrimental to a product, quite the opposite in fact. I have experienced around 6 hours talk time on a full battery charge. While certainly not the worst in the market, this could be improved substantially - especially when the phone is meant to also be used as your iPod, GPS, and E-mail platform. Hope you pack a charger, I give it a 5/10.

The Bill

What can I say about the bill? Well, it is quite painful. The general data plan is included, but if you want to text you're going to pay for it. Pro tip, download the AIM application and set it up to text your address book contacts. You will send AIM messages through the free data plan and it wont be charged against your texting limit. Nights and weekends don't start until 9PM and don't expect minute rollover to be much use. For modest savings, if you work for the University of Michigan you can get a monthly 15% discount on your bill. Visit your local AT&T store for details. Of all the iPhone's failings, the bill is probably the biggest. Customers can expect a billing range between $90 and $130.00 for "competitive features." This all adds up to a 3/10 for costing twice as much as the Palm Pre, and a third more than a Blackberry.

What it all Means

So what should you take away from all of this? Well, first of all, though I own an iPhone, I only score it at 70/100. Shouldn't the most expensive phone on the market do better than a C-? Secondly, the iPhone is a "solid" smart phone, but for all of its visual polish... it is lacking in many areas. If you're looking for the ultimate do it all phone that sits at the juncture of music, movies, photos, internet, texting, and regular old conversation then you've found the perfect phone. However, if you're looking for a phone that does one (or many things) well, then I suggest you go elsewhere. AT&T's service is a pain and their reliability is questionable, the iPhone is expensive, and Apple takes offense when you jailbreak the phone to open up to other cellular carriers and install Google apps. Let's hope that when AT&T's contract runs out that Apple moves onto other providers or the prospect of a fully realized iPhone will fade into memory.

Posted by Steve at 8:03 PM