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iPhone 3GS

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iPhone 3GS
DeveloperApple Inc.
ManufacturerFoxconn (OEM)[1]
TypeSlate smartphone
Release dateJune 19, 2009 (2009-06-19)[2]
Units sold1 million over first weekend[3]
Operating systemiOS 4.1 (build 8B117)
Released September 8, 2010 (2010-09-08)
CPUSamsung S5PC100 ARM Cortex-A8[4]
Memory256 MB eDRAM
Storage8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB flash memory
Display3.5-inch screen (diagonally)
320-by-480-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
2:3 aspect ratio
24-bit (16.7m-color) LCD
GraphicsPowerVR SGX530 GPU[5]
InputMulti-touch touchscreen display
3-axis accelerometer
Digital compass
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Microphone
Headset controls
Camera3.0 MP with video (VGA at 30 fps), geotagging, and automatic focus, white balance, & exposure
ConnectivityQuad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
(850 900 1800 1900 MHz)
Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA
(850 1900 2100 MHz)
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
USB 2.0/Dock connector[6]
PowerBuilt-in rechargeable li-ion battery[7]
3.7 V 1219 mAh
Online servicesApp Store, iTunes Store, iBookstore, MobileMe
Dimensions115.5 mm (4.55 in) (h)
62.1 mm (2.44 in) (w)
12.3 mm (0.48 in) (d)
Mass135 g (4.8 oz)
PredecessoriPhone 3G
SuccessoriPhone 4
RelatediPad, iPod Touch (Comparison)
WebsiteApple – iPhone

The iPhone 3GS is the third generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was introduced on June 8, 2009 at the WWDC 2009 which took place at the Moscone Center, San Francisco. Its features primarily consist of faster performance, a camera with higher resolution and video capability, voice control,[8] and support for 7.2 Mbps HSDPA downloading (but remains limited to 384 kbps uploading as Apple had not implemented the HSUPA protocol).[9] It was released in the U.S., Canada and six European countries on June 19, 2009,[2] in Australia and Japan on June 26, and internationally in July and August 2009. The iPhone 3GS runs Apple's iOS operating system, the same operating system as used on previous iPhones, the iPad, and the iPod touch. It is primarily controlled by a user's fingertips on the multi-touch display, which is sensitive to fingertip contact. Without modification, the iPhone restricts users from running any software that is not explicitly approved by Apple and distributed via its App Store. Doing so could potentially cause issues with software functionality which may not be covered under warranty. The iPhone 3GS is preceded by the iPhone 3G and succeeded by the iPhone 4.

History

Release

The iPhone 3GS was made available for pre-order on June 8 and released on June 19 in Canada, the United States, and six European countries, and on June 26 in Australia and the United Kingdom. Within the first weekend of its release, over one million iPhone 3GS's were sold. July and August 2009 saw the release of the iPhone 3GS internationally. After the iPhone 4 was announced, an 8GB iPhone 3GS was released which was made available at a reduced price.

Bootrom

iPhone 3GS models with new bootroms started appearing in mid-September 2009 which had blocked the "24k" exploit used in previous bootroms which were used mainly for 'jailbreak' purposes. This made devices with the new bootrom harder to 'jailbreak' although not impossible. This marked the first time Apple slightly modified their devices midway through its supposed cycle (usually a one year cycle).

Features

The new features of the iPhone 3GS are mainly internal changes regarding speed (indeed the "S" in "iPhone 3GS" stands for Speed) [10] . Though in addition to the upgrades mainly regarding performance, various software features were also introduced exclusive to the iPhone 3GS. All of these exclusive features have since then been incorporated and/or improved in the iPhone 4 making these features not exclusive to the iPhone 3GS anymore.

Display

The display on the device is designed by Apple and is manufactured by LG, it features an LCD capacitive touchscreen with a pixel density of 163 pixels per inch (ppi) on a 3.5 inches (9 cm) (480-by-320) display. Improvements over its predecessor's screen include 24-bit color emulation (18-bit color display plus dithering) [11] for a more color rich display and oleophobic coating to help reduce fingerprints on the display. The capacitive touchscreen is designed for a bare finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing.

Camera

The iPhone 3GS features an improved 3 megapixel camera manufactured by OmniVision. In addition to the higher megapixel count, it also features auto-focus, auto white balance and auto macro and is capable of capturing 640-by-480 (VGA) video at 30 frames per second. The iPhone 3GS's Camera app features a slider which allows users to switch between capturing photos and recording videos and a tap-to-focus feature which allows users to tap on an area of the camera image to auto-focus on.

Processor and memory

The iPhone 3GS is powered by the Samsung APL0298C05 chip, which was designed and manufactured by Samsung. This system-on-a-chip is composed of a 833 MHz Cortex-A8 CPU underclocked to 600 MHz, integrated with a PowerVR SGX 535 GPU. It also has 256MB of eDRAM. The additional eDRAM supports increased performance and multi-tasking in iOS 4.

Apple claims the iPhone 3GS is 2x faster than its predecessor, showing demonstrations of apps loading in just 2–10 seconds compared to 15–30 seconds on the iPhone 3G.

Storage

As on previous models, all data is stored in flash memory and not in the SIM and it does not offer any options to expand storage. Initially it was only available in 16GB and 32GB though an 8GB model was recently released and is currently the only available model.

Power and Battery

The iPhone 3GS is powered by an internal 3.7v 1219mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery and is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles. A battery life indicator in percentage was also exclusive to the iPhone 3GS.

Apple claims that the 3GS can last for up to ten hours of video, nine hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi or five on 3G, twelve hours of 2G talk time, or five on 3G, 30 hours of music, or 300 hours of standby.

Magnetometer

A magnetometer is also built-in the iPhone 3GS, which is used to measure the strength and/or direction of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the device. Sometimes certain devices or radio signals can interfere with the magnetometer requiring users to either move away from the interferance or re-calibrate by moving the device in a figure 8 motion. The iPhone 3GS also features an exclusive Compass app which shows a compass that points in the direction of the magnetic field.

Connectivity

In addition to the iPhone 3G's Tri-band UTMS/HSDPA radio and Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio, the 3GS also adds support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA allowing faster downlink speeds though upload speeds remain the same as Apple had not implemented the HSUPA protocol. Other things include the addition of a built-in Nike+iPod sensor which eliminates the need for an external sensor and allows native Nike+iPod support. The Bluetooth module on the iPhone 3GS has also been slightly improved adding supporting Bluetooth 2.1 specifications.

Voice Control

Voice Control was introduced as an exclusive feature of the iPhone 3GS and allows for the controlling of the phone and music features of the phone by voice. There are two ways to activate Voice Control, one is to hold the Home button while in the home screen for a few seconds, while the other method involves changing the effect of what double-clicking the home button does so it will activate Voice Control. Unfortunately, Voice Control does not support voice commands through bluetooth, though bluetooth headsets have been known to activate voice control in later releases of the 3GS.

Accessibility Features

VoiceOver, Color Inversion, and Text Zoom were introduced as exclusive features to the iPhone 3GS. VoiceOver is a feature that dictates music details, system menus, text, and other things which was first introduced on the third generation iPod shuffle. Color inversion while Text Zoom allows users to zoom into a text on the screen.

Design

The reverse of the iPhone 3G (left) is almost identical to that of the 3GS, differentiated only by the latter's reflective silver text which now matches the silver Apple logo, replacing the 3G's grey text.

The iPhone 3GS retains the same design its predecessor used which featured a glossy plastic back with tapered edges which gives users a better grip of the phone. It also features metal buttons just like its predecessor's. The iPhone 3GS and its predecessor are almost identical though the 3GS is differentiated only by the latter's reflective silver text on the reverse side which now matches the silver Apple logo, replacing the 3G's grey text. Unlike its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS was available in white and black for both models (16GB and 32GB) although the current 8GB model is only available in black.

Critical Reception

Reviews

Reviews of the iPhone 3GS have been generally mixed to favorable. Walter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal described the device packed with "new features that makes a great product even better, but for many users, the software may be enough of a boost to keep them from buying the new model." [12] Engadget also criticized that "the additions of video recording, a compass, and a speed bump just don't seem that compelling to us".[13] Still the device managed to receive numerous favorable reviews, CNET gave the iPhone 3GS a 4/5 stars citing the battery life improvements and speed bump alone are good enough although it might leave you wanting more [14] , Engadget praised the performance improvements describing it "a bigger speed bump than you'll come to expect".[13] TechRadar gave the device a 4.5/5 stars describing the device "feature filled but certainly not worth upgrading for"

However the 8GB version of the device has received more favorable reviews mainly because it comes pre-installed with iOS 4. Jason Snell of Macworld praised the iPhone 3GS citing that "The device's internal changes shines in the iOS 4 update, making the iPhone 3GS a worthwhile upgrade compared to its predecessor although a little too late compared to the iPhone 4".[15] TIPB cited that "aside from hardware specific features like FaceTime, Retina Display, and gyropscope support, the bottom line is iPhone 3GS users are getting the same software that makes the iPhone 4 great".[16]

Issues

Overheating

Shortly after the release of the iPhone 3GS, some users reported overheating of the device while in heavy use, and others reported discoloration of the device due to heat (particularly on the white models). The discoloration issues were largely discounted as being as a result of iPhone covers rubbing against the back of the iPhone [17]. Apple responded to the heat issue reports by warning users against leaving their iPhones in a car on a hot day, leaving it in direct sunlight for extended periods of time, and refraining from heavy usage while in a hot/sunny environment [18]. It is also worth pointing out the temperature specifications in which the iPhone should be operated, which follows safety standards in the countries the 3GS was released.[19]

Timeline of iPhone models

Timeline of iPhone models
iPhone 16 ProiPhone 16 ProiPhone 15 ProiPhone 15 ProiPhone 14 ProiPhone 14 ProiPhone 13 ProiPhone 13 ProiPhone 12 ProiPhone 12 ProiPhone 11 ProiPhone 11 ProiPhone XSiPhone XSiPhone XiPhone 16iPhone 16iPhone 15iPhone 15iPhone 14iPhone 14iPhone 13iPhone 13iPhone 12 MiniiPhone 12iPhone 11iPhone XRiPhone 8iPhone 8iPhone 7iPhone 7iPhone 6SiPhone 6SiPhone 6iPhone 6iPhone 5iPhone 5SiPhone 4SiPhone 4iPhone 3GSiPhone 3GiPhone (1st generation)iPhone SE (3rd generation)iPhone SE (2nd generation)iPhone SE (1st generation)iPhone 5C
See also: Timeline of Apple Inc. products

Source: Apple Newsroom Archive[20]

References

  1. ^ Dalrymple, Jim (July 28, 2009). "iPhone manufacturer to pay family of dead worker". CNET.com. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Apple Announces the New iPhone 3GS—The Fastest, Most Powerful iPhone Yet". June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  3. ^ Tolposky, Joshua (June 22, 2009). "Apple moves one million iPhone 3GS units – just in time for Steve's return". Engadget. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  4. ^ Sorrel, Charlie (June 19, 2009). "IPhone Teardown Reveals Underclocked 833MHz CPU". Wired. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  5. ^ Sorrel, Charlie (June 19, 2009). "IPhone Teardown Reveals Underclocked 833MHz CPU". Wired. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  6. ^ "Apple — iPhone — Tech Specs". Apple; Wayback machine. July 14, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  7. ^ "iPod and iPhone Battery and Power Specifications". iPodBatteryFAQ.com. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  8. ^ "Compare iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G". Apple Inc. August 18, 2009.
  9. ^ "iPhone 3GS upload limited to 384 Kbps upstream". Macworld.co.uk. June 9, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
  10. ^ http://www.clone2go.com/tutorials/apple-unveils-iphone-3g-s.php
  11. ^ http://www.displayblog.com/2010/02/23/display-showdown-part-iia-iphone-3gs/
  12. ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB124525573550923759.html
  13. ^ a b http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/17/iphone-3g-s-review/
  14. ^ http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-3gs-32gb/4505-6452_7-33674173.html
  15. ^ http://www.macworld.com/reviews/product/545031/review/8gb_iphone_3gs.html
  16. ^ http://www.tipb.com/2010/07/04/iphone-3gs-review/
  17. ^ http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10282730-233.html
  18. ^ http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/news/2009/07/03/Apple-Admits-iPhone-3GS-Overheats/p1
  19. ^ http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2101
  20. ^ Apple Inc. (2007–2024). iPhone News - Newsroom Archive. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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