I owned a 3G since July 08, and just upgraded to the 3GS this week. I have to say, this is how the iPhone always should have been. I'm talking about the raw speed of this phone in executing every function, and the fluidity of the UI. It is simply amazing, and it addresses the single biggest gripe I've had about my iPhone over the last year: too much lag. That lag is completely gone on my 3GS. It is wonderful.
I use my iPhone heavily for both work (Exchange sync, calendar, and contacts) and personal needs (games, web, travel tools, photos, Facebook, etc). I have a lot of data on the phone and move between apps frequently. iPhone has always done a great job on these things, except all the little moments of lag were really starting to get on my nerves. Sometimes the lag could be 10 or 20 seconds just to start a calendar entry or get keyboard response to start a text message. I reset a lot, and sometimes did a full wipe and restore, but this only helped so much. So, when the 3GS was formally announced and I learned just how much faster it was, I simply HAD to get it immediately.
I have to believe Apple always wanted it this way, but for various reasons the original design was a compromise in processing power. In particular it seems like the 128mb of RAM in the first two generations was never enough, an Apple had to pull out their bag of tricks to juggle what was retained in RAM at any given time while leaving enough for apps. It's probably why the Settings screen took so long to open. It's also probably why my phone lagged mode than most - I have a LOT of emails and contacts that had to be retained in memory. And every 3D game seemed to come with the advice to cold-reset the phone before playing. As I've learned from experience with PCs, doubling the RAM cures a LOT of ills. A much faster processor can't hurt either!
Apple's beautiful phone OS deserves silky-smooth responsiveness to back it up, and the 3GS delivers. It makes using this phone many times more enjoyable and productive. For the first time, it truly feels like a mini PC in your pocket, and I'm no longer leery of opening even very complex web sites that used to choke the old iPhone. Browser performance is truly mind-blowing now. I know some are disappointed that Apple didn't make more improvements on this generation, but I believe the upgrade in processing power is a HUGE improvement that makes every single aspect of using the phone better, much better. I pretty much expected this generation to have a bump in speed, but I had NO idea it would be such a massive bump. "Bump" isn't even the right word.
Nicely done, Apple!
[end gush]
I use my iPhone heavily for both work (Exchange sync, calendar, and contacts) and personal needs (games, web, travel tools, photos, Facebook, etc). I have a lot of data on the phone and move between apps frequently. iPhone has always done a great job on these things, except all the little moments of lag were really starting to get on my nerves. Sometimes the lag could be 10 or 20 seconds just to start a calendar entry or get keyboard response to start a text message. I reset a lot, and sometimes did a full wipe and restore, but this only helped so much. So, when the 3GS was formally announced and I learned just how much faster it was, I simply HAD to get it immediately.
I have to believe Apple always wanted it this way, but for various reasons the original design was a compromise in processing power. In particular it seems like the 128mb of RAM in the first two generations was never enough, an Apple had to pull out their bag of tricks to juggle what was retained in RAM at any given time while leaving enough for apps. It's probably why the Settings screen took so long to open. It's also probably why my phone lagged mode than most - I have a LOT of emails and contacts that had to be retained in memory. And every 3D game seemed to come with the advice to cold-reset the phone before playing. As I've learned from experience with PCs, doubling the RAM cures a LOT of ills. A much faster processor can't hurt either!
Apple's beautiful phone OS deserves silky-smooth responsiveness to back it up, and the 3GS delivers. It makes using this phone many times more enjoyable and productive. For the first time, it truly feels like a mini PC in your pocket, and I'm no longer leery of opening even very complex web sites that used to choke the old iPhone. Browser performance is truly mind-blowing now. I know some are disappointed that Apple didn't make more improvements on this generation, but I believe the upgrade in processing power is a HUGE improvement that makes every single aspect of using the phone better, much better. I pretty much expected this generation to have a bump in speed, but I had NO idea it would be such a massive bump. "Bump" isn't even the right word.
Nicely done, Apple!
[end gush]
