Tech Blog

[#1]

A video camera, a camera that focuses, voice activated dialing and a compass.  

On the surface, those are the only real hard and fast differences between iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, which was released today.  However, perhaps the biggest separator between the two toys is a little more difficult to discern; how much will iPhone 3GS cost?

To find out the true cost of an iPhone 3GS upgrade has been akin to perfomring a heart and lung transplant blindfolded.  In fact, it wasn't until after 6pm PDST, last night that a tweet was sent out announcing the pricing structure for those wanting to make an upgrade.  14 hours before the phone is to be released came the first hint of a pricing plan for a phone that was first announced more than a week ago at Apple's WWDC.

The comical rumour, innuendo, pricing structure and revised pricing structure rivals only the Canadian release of iPhone 3G last summer which also saw many data plan price fluctuations and changes as release day drew close. 

The bottom line is this: if you already have a Canadian iPhone 3G it will cost you more than a few hundred dollars to upgrade to iPhone 3GS.

So is it worth it?  I'd argue no.

You can grab a voice dialing app from the iTunes store if you really need that feature.  I carry a Flip Mino with me for my video needs, and to be honest, I haven't had too many beefs with the camera on the iPhone - besides, if you have a Flip Mino HD, you can pull stills from your footage that look just fine.  While the compass will aid in new mapping applications, the Google Maps feature should be plenty good for the occasional time you get lost and need to find your way around.

On the surface the iPhone 3GS seems like a hardware upgrade built for the American market.  There are a few new bells and whistles, but it's not a complete overhaul.  The reason this new phone needed to come out this month is because the original iPhone purchasers in the US are coming out of their 2 year AT&T contracts.  To keep them in the iPhone family, a new shiny needed to be brought to market.

When iPhone 3G came to Canada last summer, we were all inked to 3yr contracts.  In other words, while the contracts of early adopters in the US are just expiring, the Canadian trail blazers are just 1 year into a 3 year deal with little room for easy upgrading until year 2 of the contract.  Add all that together and I don't think you will see major movement on this phone in Canada until July 2010. 

And that might not be such a bad thing, this one is only a minor upgrade and at the annual innovative pace of Apple replacing older iPhones, we just might find ourselves  moving right from the 3G to iPhone 4G, iPhone Nano, or iPhone Tablet.

catch the buzz ... pass it on.

Message Edited by JS on 07-24-2009 11:52 PM

Message Edited by ElizabethS on 09-10-2009 07:18 PM

[#2]

What about faster processor, double the ram and the ability to locate your phone if lost. I agree for current owners it's a pretty steep upgrade path but new user are getting a decent deal except for the bloody 3yr. contract.

[#3]

Find My iPhone is available with the 3.0 firmware upgrade, but it's also a battery hog since you need Location Services constantly turned on.  From all reports, battery life is much better on 3GS, but on my 3G with the "iPhone insurance" active, my bars are falling off like water down the drain.

I agree the 3GS is a great entry phone for new iPhone users, but it's a very expensive upgrade for current iPhone users, that was the argument I was making in the piece. 

[#4]

Yeah it's a tough sell. I'd really like one, but the cost of switching from Telus to Rogers is just too much. 

[#5]

For someone coming out of a contract and looking for a new media centred phone, the iPhone 3G S might make sense, but it isn't just the cost of the phone that you have to consider.  The data plans for these devices aren't cheap, and the iPhone is a data hog, so you really need to watch to ensure you don't go over your data plan if you have a smaller data plan (e.g. 500MB)

Feature wise, the new iPhone 3G S is pretty cool, but I'm in agreement with Buzz's blog - if you already have an iPhone 3G, it's a lot of extra money for a new device.  If you decide you "need" the upgrade, at the very least ensure you have the money to pay for it flat out and don't put yourself in debt over it.  Personally, I could find much better places to spend that money.

While I don't have an actual iPhone, I do have the new BlackBerry Storm, and we're going to be facing a similar situation with the Storm this winter when the Storm 2 is released.  But ultimately, as with any technology, this is the risk you take when you buy something - there will always be bigger/better/newer devices released.  And when you sign that contract, you need to be aware of what you're signing. 

[#6]

Buzz maybe we'll have to do some 3G vs 3G S comparisons. I'm getting a loaner today to use for a while. (read now I'm toast, I know I'll like it).

[#7]

The most dramatic thing I've seen between the iPhone 3G and 3GS is the startup time. 17 seconds for the 3GS vs 40 sec for a 3G. Keep in mind, the 3GS is new so as crap piles up, the 3G could very well close the gap a bit. You'll see apps spring open a little quicker of course because of the obvious architecture upgrades, but it's still fundamentally a 3G that's less sluggish. Twice as fast? Well it does startup in half the time, but how many people turn their iPhones off? Do you? How about you? So not so important.

Other features like the voice recognition and memo (many apps already do this) and the compass (heard of Google Maps?) are somewhat frivolous. The upgrades to the camera and the addition of video are essential features that merely keeps it competitive with other smartphones. But like Buzz mentioned, the Flip Mino HD is a far better device for video and does the task in much higher quality and speed. Not to mention, Flip announced new software that lets you easily do screen grabs so camera is technically covered.

If you're an iPhone fanboy, then you're going to buy it no matter what because you've shut off your iBrain when it comes to decisions concerning your love of Apple and the iPhone. If you leave that very important Human 1.0 app on, then you will figure out quickly that the cost vs benefit of the upgrade for an existing 3G owner is horrific and illogical.

3G users, stay put because your "4G" will be here next year. New subscribers, enjoy your 3GS. Fanboys...can't help you.

[#8]

@stephenfung, great info from someone who's had a chance to use one.  Thanks!

[#9]

@krypto I looked over the shoulder of a certain iPhone fanboy as he gushed wildly about how he sold his soul again for a 3GS. Think with the iBrain not with the iHeart

[#10]

Anandtech just posted some comparisons between the 3G and 3GS. The application performance between the two phones mirrored my own observations, but the browser performance seems a lot faster on 3GS. YMMV on that because it is the web after all:

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3587

Looks like the advertising claim of 2x performance can be attributed to mainly start up time and browser performance. So there you have it.

[#11]

the performance increase alone is worth the upgrade cost, most current iPhone owners are entitled to cheaper upgrade costs, buy the 3GS, throw your old phone on (competitor)/(competitor)/etc and you're not spending that much for the upgrade.

[#12]

Why you do need a 3GS over the 3G: non-jailbroken multitasking support