Apple today took the wraps off the newest member of the iPhone family, the iPhone 3GS. While largely expected, the 3GS doesn’t bring some of the radical changes envisioned in many rumors. What it does bring is evolutionary improvements, and a new, lower price for the existing iPhone 3G.
Courtesy of Apple
The iPhone 3GS looks the same as the existing iPhone 3G, but don’t let that fool you. Under the hood beats the heart of a more powerful iPhone. Apple claims the new design provides twice the performance in hardware speed, resulting in much more nimble apps. The 3GS also improves on network speed by being able to connect at up to 7.2 Mbps on an HSDPA network. AT&T is in the rollout stage of the faster network, although it will take some time to reach most customers.
Along with faster performance, the iPhone 3GS supports a new camera with a 3-megapixel sensor and autofocus capabilities, with the ability to adjust focus by tapping. The camera is also able to record video at 30 frames per second with a VGA resolution.
You can edit video on the iPhone 3GS using a simple timeline-style editor, share it with a single button via MMS (not all carriers support MMS), or sync it back to your computer.
The new iPhone 3GS also introduces voice control, allowing you to make calls and control iTunes via voice command. The voice command system appears to be easy to use, requiring only the extended press of the Home button to enter the voice interface.
One other interesting application is built-in to the iPhone 3GS: an electronic compass. While some audience members didn’t see a lot of use for the compass, I was thinking about those times on the road when no GPS or cell signal is available. A compass isn’t as good as a map, but at least you’ll know whether or not you’re still traveling in the right direction.
The iPhone 3GS will be available in two models:
- 16 GB: $199
- 32 GB: $299
- The 8 GB iPhone 3G will remain in the Apple lineup, with a nice price drop to $99.