Reaction to the iPhone 3G S has been mixed, but generally positive
Apple's iPhone 3G S was announced earlier this week and the consumer reaction to the latest version has been mixed.
The iPhone 3G S is a slight upgrade to the iPhone 3G, with Apple claiming the S in the name "stands for speed". Physically, the iPhone 3G S retains an identical look and feel to the iPhone 3G, and there will once again be black and white models. The biggest changes are a faster processor, extra memory, a voice control application and the addition of video recording on the upgraded camera.
Response to the announcement on the Internet and in dedicated iPhone online forums has been fierce, with many fans refusing to upgrade from their current iPhone 3G due to a lack of requested features and no major change in the iPhone's design.
"Why would you upgrade? If anything, new potential iPhone purchasers would be attracted by it. Do you buy a new car every year when all they do for 3 / 4 years in a row are minor upgrades and not a major facelift model?" wrote Maz781 on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
"A little disappointed because it has the same design as iPhone 3G. If people look at it, who can tell which one is which?," wrote NewWayAround on hackint0sh.org.
"Definitely not. I will be waiting until my contract is up in a years' time, then I will upgrade to an iPhone that is actually NEW and not slightly tweaked. People who are upgrading are fools, unless they had the first gen iPhone which by all means update," continued JigglyBiggles on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
Despite the criticism over the lack of design changes, there are many consumers who are more than happy with the iPhone 3G S's faster processor and extra memory in the new 32GB model.
"Yes. Reasons: Faster CPU and more memory will make quite a big difference. Will be getting the TomTom app and car kit too. It would have been nice to update the case design, but it's still the best looking phone on the market, so I'm not worried about that," said islayermac on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
"There are some serious hardware improvements in the 3GS that are worthy of a look before deciding. Faster CPU and double the RAM," continued tomkarl on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
"I've sold my 3G in anticipation of the new one...so HELL YES for me :)", wrote iam-the-stig on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
"As soon as I can get out of this contract with Optus, yes, definitely!" wrote macrich on MacTalk Forums.
Other issues raised in online discussions included Apple's decision to continue selling the 16GB model iPhone 3G alongside the iPhone 3G S, the launch of the Palm Pre, and whether or not Apple will have enough stock to satisfy demand of the iPhone 3G S at launch.
"Is Apple stupid enough to just update OS and think people will by a year old device (iPhone 3G) just because of OS upgrade?", said kingpin84x on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
"I wish there was something like Palm's Web OS (which I believe from an OS POV is better than OSX on the iPhone i.e. smooth multitasking) in something equal to high quality Apple hardware. That would be wonderful," wrote asquithian on on Whirlpool Broadband Forums.
"My question is, will there be pandemonium when the 3G 'S' is released? ie. Will I need to queue up at like 3am in the morning to get one? Will there be limited initial stock available, etc?," asked scmick on MacTalk Forums.
What do you think of the iPhone 3G S? Will you be upgrading? Tell us on the PC World Forums.
For more information on the iPhone 3G S, visit our iPhone Centre.
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