Apple iPhone 3GS review

You will not find a better internet-connected smartphone than the Apple iPhone 3GS.

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web browsing, search facilities, voip, email, word processing everything RT @Graham_D_C

Mainly email but getting better at spreadsheets etc, RT @IDGdan

Apple's latest iPhone hit the shelves on Friday 19 June, 2009, but with less fanfare than previous models. The iPhone 3GS has the same case, style and, apart from the ‘S', the same name at its predecessor - the iPhone 3G.

Updated, January 7, 2010:

In the two years since it first arrived, the iPhone has become synonymous with the consumer smartphone and the hero product for touchscreen gadgets. But is it really the best smartphone around?

Indisputably a market-changing device, the iPhone has twice been refined, gaining 3G, a faster processor and a subtly better camera along the way.

Issues of call quality and battery life have been addressed, although you'd still do well to keep the charger handy - it's such a strong, varied device that you'll use it all day long.

With those much-trailed apps for everything, the iPhone is now whatever device you'd like it to be: a portable games console, the web on the go, a YouTube player or a repository of photos and music.

Other manufacturers had apps created by third-party commercial partners and admirers, but Apple found a way of monetising the interest and creating a buzz around personalising your gadget.

Web browsing is famously superb - that huge 3.5in display and the ease with which you can search the web and zoom in and out of pages is yet to be bettered.

This ease of navigation has now been added to the contact management features, so you can easily search for contacts and messages. Much of the data management is still dependent on iTunes, of course.

The camera is some way behind the pack, with a meagre 3 megapixels and no flash or zoom. However, we can't help but admire the neat and easy-to-use video capture feature, which is perhaps the most significant addition to the 3GS model.

The iPhone's handy accelerometer allows for true navigation rather than simple geo-location functions, even if it may not be quite good enough to replace a standalone satnav.

And we'd argue that the iPhone falls a little short when viewed purely as a phone - you shouldn't have to press that many keys just to get to the numerical keypad. On the other hand, we find the ability to call direct from numbers embedded in a message impressive.

NEXT: Original full iPhone 3GS review

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• www.o2.co.uk
• 0870 225 7879
• O2
• From free, depending on contract

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