Faster Apple iPhone 3G S Offers Video Boost

Faster Apple iPhone 3G S Offers Video Boost

Samir Makwana, Jun 09, 2009 1324 hrs IST

Apple iPhone 3G S in 32GB, 16GB versions would be available from June 19

Apple has finally announced the much awaited iPhone 3G S at the on going Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco. The iPhone 3G S (where S stands for speed) is the third generation iPhone offered in 16GB and 32GB models, which follows the first generation iPhone and second generation iPhone 3G.

The new iPhone 3G S will arrive on June 19 in U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Spain based Apple Stores as well as AT&T stores, Best Buy and Wal-Mart Stores. Six other countries will get iPhone 3G S in July and August. May be India is one of them.

The third generation iPhone 3G S is up to two times faster and a bit more powerful as compared with iPhone 3G. Apple boasts of speeding up the new iPhone 3G S in terms of processing power, 3G graphics and mobile Internet connectivity. Physically, iPhone 3G S is a replica of iPhone 3G, but weighs a bit more - iPhone 3G weighs 133 grams while iPhone 3G S weighs 135 grams. However, the iPhone 3G S carries oil and fingerprint resistant coating that'll tend to keep the screen clean.

Let's take a look at the new features included in the iPhone 3G S:

Speed:
As we said before, in iPhone 3G S, the S stands for speed which comes from new processor that gives faster, snazzier and quicker app-launching as well as web page loading experience. The new iPhone 3G S also consumes less power, thereby promising a longer battery life. Apple also mentioned that iPhone 3G S supports OpenGL ES 2.0 standard for accelerated 3D graphics. This will bring faster and graphically rich as well as detailed games on the iPhone platform - handheld gaming console makers need to beware of this device now.

For faster mobile Internet connectivity, Apple provides support for faster 3G 7.2mbps standard that includes quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA support. Even WiFi got better with support for 802.11g standard that is designed for higher-bandwidth data transmission of up to 54 Mbps when compared with the 11Mbps promised in 802.11b standard. Bluetooth also gets an upgrade with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR support since iPhone 3G supports Bluetooth 2.0 version.

Camera:
The iPhone 3G owners weren't too happy with the camera quality and always demanded the video recording feature. Apple took the feedback wisely and has upgraded camera from 2 megapixel sensor in iPhone 3G to a 3 megapixel sensor in iPhone 3G S. It should be noted that the upgrade wasn't merely in terms of megapixel, iPhone 3G S' camera features auto focus, auto white balance and auto exposure - no flash though, sorry. The new 3 megapixel camera also features macro and low light modes.

Users can also use focus by tapping on the screen - yes, the same feature that was mentioned by the rumor mills earlier. To keep up with the GPS-based services hoopla, the new 3 megapixel camera supports geo-tagging of photos and videos. Also, any third-party application designed appropriately would be able to access camera functions. This means an iPhone App aptly designed can use the native camera app for clicking pictures for photo management, tagging, uploading, editing and so on.

The new 3 megapixel camera also offers Video Recording at 30 frames per second. The video can be edited by adjusting the start and end points on the device itself with finger tapping. Those videos can be sent directly to YouTube, shared with friends or sent to MobileMe account.

Voice and Accessibility Controls:
The long awaited Voice Control functions finally debuts in iPhone 3G S, natively. Users can make phone calls, play music, check the track info or request to play a particular song from their playlist - all with voice. In addition to that, users can also command to play songs similar to the currently playing track. Of course for all that leisure, Apple has packed a new set of Remote with Mic headphones that are bundled with the new third generation iPod Shuffle. Apple bundles standard earphones in iPhone 3G which come with iPod models.

New VoiceOver feature turns iPhone 3G S into gesture-based screen reader with a support for 21 languages. This gesture-based screen reader can be controlled by simple touch-tapping like single tap to select an item, double tap for activating the selected item and flicking three fingers to scroll. The speed of the reader can be controlled with help of a virtual control called rotor - rotate two fingers on screen as if dialing. For the visually challenged, Apple now allows magnifying the screen with up to five zoom in levels that works Home, Unlock Screen, Spot light screen and every application including the third party apps.

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Faster Apple iPhone 3G S Offers Video Boost

Apple iPhone 3G S in 32GB, 16GB versions would be available from June 19

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