Context
We all have a different usage pattern that influences how we perceive certain features. It will also affect the battery life greatly. I used the iPhone as my main phone, to check Facebook updates and emails (a lot) but I replied only moderately. I browsed the web often to check on news or stock quotes and used the map application, at least for a few minutes every other day. I don’t call much (10mn a day?) and I didn’t play games.
phsycal design
The iPhone 3GS looks and feels (physically) like other iPhones before it. I’m pretty sure that you held one already, but if you have not, I can tell you that it feels good in the hand, but it is a little heavy in the pocket. I hold it in my left hand, and my thumb falls right onto the volume controls and the “silence” button. I can use the index to put the iPhone to sleep using the top button. It’s convenient.
One of the new physical feature is the use of an oleophobic surface, that is supposed to make the surface less prone to fingerprints and easier to clean. Honestly it doesn’t feel any better or worse than the iPhone 3G. If anything, the first iPhone aluminum surface in the back was much better with fingerprints. Note that the iPhone 3GS can be identifiable by the reflective material used on the text in the back.
Basic
The iPhone does very well with the basic phone stuff. That’s one of the reason why it was so popular when it was introduced. From the unlock to the dialing to the in-call functions, it’s hard to complain about any real issues. With the OS 2.0 then 3.0, Apple has fixed most of the user-interface issues, mostly related to the contact search and Exchange support (not supported when the iPhone was introduced). The basic phone functionalities work very well and that’s a powerful thing to have in any phone.
With 4/5 bars, the audio quality was very good and the volume was OK, although not on the loud side: in noisy places that could be an issue.
If supported by the wireless carriers, you can enjoy visual voicemail, which is pretty cool when compared to the dumb voicemails that most people get. I personally use PhoneTag, a voicemail service that sends voicemails as .mp3 and an audio-to-text translation to my email inbox. I prefer that to AT&T’s Visual Voice mail.
Data speed connection quality
The data speed is relatively good… when you actually do have 3G coverage. I have not tested the 3G coverage in the whole city of San Francisco, but I found myself without 3G coverage in hugely popular area like near by the Ferry building and in other places Downtown (please post a comment if you don’t get 3G coverage in a popular public place). My experience might not be representative of yours, but the user experience is much better with a good connection. After all the S in 3GS means “speed”, including the 3.5G speed. Over time, it should get better as AT&T is supposed to expand its network. I say “supposed to” because you would think that placed like downtown SF should be well covered already.
I’ve run some speed tests using the free CISCO Gist (free in the app store) app:
3/5 bars: 481kbps, 479kbps, 595kbps
5/5 bars: 652kbps, 654kbps, 690kbps
WIFI: 2329kbps, 1876kbps
Security
The iPhone security has come under criticism recently. In my opinion, security is good enough for consumer use, the password and the remote wipe should be enough to keep most thugs away from your data. They probably just want the phone, anyway. I don’t have any particular industrial secret that I want to protect, and I assume that most of you share my situation. But it’s important to realize that although nothing is uncrackable, making it harder to crack reduces greatly the chances that someone will actually have the skills, time and motivation to crack it. If you want a strong encryption on your handset’s content, a BlackBerry might be a better choice.
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