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Fenix85

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 29, 2008
48
0
Anyone else getting tired of people saying the 3GS is basically the same as the 3G. Just because it looks the same on the outside does not mean it's not very different. The 2G to 3G iPhones where far more similar than the current changes. People get way too bent out of shape over some plastic. If the new iPhone where a different texture or color people would go crazy over it.
 
I'm glad that the dimensions are the same. Because I don't have to wait for accessories.
 
IMHO its not that the 3GS and the 3G look the same (although I was really hoping for the matte back rumors to be true) its that the 3GS is simply a speed bump for the 3G.

When the laptop line is updated 2-3 times a year a small speed bump makes sense. The phone is only updated once a year - so it was a little disappointing to get only a 3G speed bump :eek:
 
Anyone else getting tired of people saying the 3GS is basically the same as the 3G. Just because it looks the same on the outside does not mean it's not very different. The 2G to 3G iPhones where far more similar than the current changes. People get way too bent out of shape over some plastic. If the new iPhone where a different texture or color people would go crazy over it.

your completely right
everyone says that this isnt "a major upgrade", it really is
I would like a new outward apperance as much as the next guy, but look at what the 3GS has, compared to peoples complaints about the 3G

it NEEDS a better camera
-Apple brings 3mp camera with autofocus
it NEEDS video recording
-Apple brings video recording with autofocus
it NEEDS more RAM
-Apple gives us more RAM
it NEEDS a faster processor/3G connection
-Apple brings a faster processor/3G connection
it NEEDS voice control
-Apple brings the best voice control of any smartphone ever (if it works as advertised)

but now, since it looks the same, and because its missing all the fantasy specs (OLED screen, front facing camera, glowing apple logo), its just a "minor upgrade"

Apple did a TON with the hardware on this generation. They just put it in the same case, because honestly, that case works well.
 
IMHO its not that the 3GS and the 3G look the same (although I was really hoping for the matte back rumors to be true) its that the 3GS is simply a speed bump for the 3G.

When the laptop line is updated 2-3 times a year a small speed bump makes sense. The phone is only updated once a year - so it was a little disappointing to get only a 3G speed bump :eek:

It's not a speed bump, it's twice as fast.

That would be like them scrapping the 2.4Ghz MacBook and releasing a 4.8Ghz MacBook.

This is not the same thing at all.
 
well the fact is that you cannot tell any difference between the two
without turning the phone on you have no idea if its a 3g or 3gs
if you look at the ipod line apple always changes the exterior of the ipod between generations
 
seems like i am going to get a lot more utility out of my 32 gig 3gs than i do from my 16 gig 2g. i don't understand what people were expecting exactly. i mean at the end of the day, it's still just a phone that does some other stuff not quite as well as a variety of dedicated equipment would.

do you really need flash photography on your cell phone? your pictures already look terrible from that on your point and shoot. front facing camera? i know what you look like if i am talking to you on the phone. etc, etc.

also, to the people with 3g phones that don't feel the need to upgrade, why don't you feel lucky that the phone you spent $300 on will last you more than a year. i felt lucky when i didn't feel compelled to upgrade to the 3g.

the best thing about this new phone if you ask me is the extra space. more music in my pocket is awesome.

/rant
 
I agree. The 3Gs is a much bigger upgrade than people are giving it credit for being. They're not going to completely remake the phone every year. It's already the best phone on the market. It can only get so much better over time.
 
well the fact is that you cannot tell any difference between the two
without turning the phone on you have no idea if its a 3g or 3gs
if you look at the ipod line apple always changes the exterior of the ipod between generations

If you look at their computers they...don't.
 
well the fact is that you cannot tell any difference between the two
without turning the phone on you have no idea if its a 3g or 3gs
if you look at the ipod line apple always changes the exterior of the ipod between generations

It says "S" on the back.
 
That would be like them scrapping the 2.4Ghz MacBook and releasing a 4.8Ghz MacBook.

With your example that would mean the 3GS is running a 824MHz (most likely using the 600MHz ARM - though we won't actually know this until iFixit takes it apart).

Yeah the 3GS is faster (2x as fast) - but its still a speed bump to the 3G. Much of the speed I imagine is a result of 3.0 (running 3.0 on my first gen greatly improves the speed) and the features of the new phone (video) can already run on the 3G's hardware.

Don't get me wrong I'm going to upgrade - seeing how my first gen headphone jack is totally busted. But its a little disappointing after a year to really only get a faster 3G.
 
You people keep talking about Apple DOUBLING the power of the iPhone. All they released was how a few apps launch quicker. Then said it works "by magic".

I'm writing this on ePaper, Apple did NOT double the ram nor double the processing power. Much of it is do to 3.0 and the rest is a small bump is processing. This will all be shown when someone takes one apart.

I think most people realize that being able to take video was not nearly as important as GPS. Telling your phone to dial was not nearly as important and surfing the web at 3G speeds compared to EDGE speeds.

I guess it the ability to shoot video and publish it to youtube isn't as important to some as it is to others. Nor is knowing what direction your facing. I'd much rather see background apps, push notifications etc.

I think most people are disappointed because Apple gave out some "stall" apps because they weren't prepared to give out real things (HD OLED screen, front facing camera, push notifications, background apps etc)

I still don't understand why they put in 7.2 HSDPA when AT&T doesn't even have the towers to support it yet.
 
Oh come on people,

did you expect that Apple will deliver everything that was rumored ???
After all, it's a pretty good job they made regarding it was only 12 months they left us without an iPhone-hardware-update.

Besides, they want you to buy the next generation every year. They will add more and more features and tech-specs with every new version.

Like it or not. It is just business.
 
the only people say there is no difference are those who have the 3G and are not going to pay the high prices.

because if it was $200 for everyone there wouldn't be a problem
 
The only people who are going to say its huge are those upgrading to try and justify their purchase. :rolleyes:
 
Not true. During the keynote there was a graph of javascript performance. They measured iPhone 3G 2.2.1, iPhone 3G 3.0 and iPhone 3Gs. I believe the 3Gs was 3x faster than the 3G, both running 3.0

Apple is not claiming that the speed bump between 3G and 3Gs is because of 3.0, they were very clear about that. They are claiming that apples to apples the new phone is 2x faster, but had benchmarks showing that it exceeds that.

You people keep talking about Apple DOUBLING the power of the iPhone. All they released was how a few apps launch quicker. Then said it works "by magic".

I'm writing this on ePaper, Apple did NOT double the ram nor double the processing power. Much of it is do to 3.0 and the rest is a small bump is processing. This will all be shown when someone takes one apart.

I think most people realize that being able to take video was not nearly as important as GPS. Telling your phone to dial was not nearly as important and surfing the web at 3G speeds compared to EDGE speeds.

I guess it the ability to shoot video and publish it to youtube isn't as important to some as it is to others. Nor is knowing what direction your facing. I'd much rather see background apps, push notifications etc.

I think most people are disappointed because Apple gave out some "stall" apps because they weren't prepared to give out real things (HD OLED screen, front facing camera, push notifications, background apps etc)

I still don't understand why they put in 7.2 HSDPA when AT&T doesn't even have the towers to support it yet.
 
You people keep talking about Apple DOUBLING the power of the iPhone. All they released was how a few apps launch quicker. Then said it works "by magic".

There's a lot more speed improvement going on here than you're giving credit for.

Apple specifically says "2x Faster" on their website. They also posted a table of four "benchmarks" so to speak for different operations (opening SimCity, etc.) in the keynote. There were pretty huge improvements there, many far greater than 2x.

Also, here's a quote I pulled from Touch Arcade:

"Meanwhile, we had a chance to speak to Neil Young of Ngmoco to hear his reactions to the upcoming iPhone 3G S. What we hadn't been aware of was the fact that the demos during today's keynote were actually run on the iPhone 3G S. And the biggest reaction from the Ngmoco founder was that the new device is fast. Both in execution and launch time, Young found that Star Defense loaded in entirety in 6 seconds on the new device, notably faster than on previous generation devices. He also observed that another developer's game was running so quickly that they had to frame limit them."​

These types of improvements point to faster processor, more RAM, and probably a faster memory bus. I've also seen rumors of a bump in the graphics chip. All indications are that this phone will be much faster across the board, like upgrading from a Pentium 4 to a Quad Core.

Go ahead and sit this one out if you want, but I'm catching this train :)
 
Not true. During the keynote there was a graph of javascript performance. They measured iPhone 3G 2.2.1, iPhone 3G 3.0 and iPhone 3Gs. I believe the 3Gs was 3x faster than the 3G, both running 3.0

...which leads me to believe that speed improvement in Safari browsing will be one of the most impressive improvements on the 3Gs. You'll have the combined benefit of the much better hardware AND the improved javascript. Since most web pages use javascript, it ought to be a huge improvement. Almost like using a desktop browser.

As an example, right now when my wife and I shop at Babies R Us, we like to pull up their website on the iPhone to read customer reviews of products. But it's DOG SLOW, regardless of the 3G signal. It's a complex web page and clearly the processor is limiting (made worse by lots of javascript). Usually I just get impatient and give up. It's that bad. Just think how much better it will be on this phone. I'll certainly post when I have my 3GS and can compare.
 
I'm writing this on ePaper, Apple did NOT double the ram nor double the processing power. Much of it is do to 3.0 and the rest is a small bump is processing. This will all be shown when someone takes one apart.
Excuse me, but how do you know this? Apple hasn't talked about the details of the new iPhone 3G S hardware, and no one outside Apple got their hands on it yet.

I think most people realize that being able to take video was not nearly as important as GPS. Telling your phone to dial was not nearly as important and surfing the web at 3G speeds compared to EDGE speeds.
How about faster 7.2Mbps HSDPA? iPhone 3G wasn't capable of this.

I guess it the ability to shoot video and publish it to youtube isn't as important to some as it is to others. Nor is knowing what direction your facing. I'd much rather see background apps, push notifications etc.
Push Notifications is ready and coming to all iPhones, old and new. Sure, Palm Pre level of background applications is great, but there are downsides. Check the reviews: Battery life on Pre is worse than iPhone 3G. The Pre noticeably slows down when you have many cards open, to a point where audio stutters.

I think most people are disappointed because Apple gave out some "stall" apps because they weren't prepared to give out real things (HD OLED screen, front facing camera, push notifications, background apps etc)
I understand the disappointment, but that doesn't mean Apple didn't deliver on "real things". The internal hardware improvements appear to be significant, the new camera also seems to be a big improvement over the current one (Something that many iPhone users were asking for).

OLED screens are really great unless you want to use your phone outdoors on a sunny day. They become unreadable.

I still don't understand why they put in 7.2 HSDPA when AT&T doesn't even have the towers to support it yet.
Maybe because iPhone 3G S isn't just sold in the US?
 
I think the 3gs is still basically an iphone with some standard features that many other cellphones allready have, and the iphone should have had 2 years ago...if not at the 1st gen then at least at the 3g release. With this in mind you could argue that what Apple have done now is brought the iphone Bang Up To Date with this release
 
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