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Apples new iPhone: all that it is cracked up to be
Tomorrow morning Australia gets the new Apple iPhone 3G S, a week after its release in the United States. So, what does this phone have that it predecessor didn’t?
First of all, it downloads faster. This means that when you access the Internet, visit the Apple app store or send and receive emails, it is faster than the 3G version.
Both Optus and Vodaphone are offering tethering options, which at its most basic means your iPhone acts as a wi-fi modem so you can connect your laptop to the internet when you are out and about. Other smartphones have this option, but this is the first time Apple has had it on the iPhone.
It has a new camera, which is now 3 megapixels, which is not as much as the Samsung’s UltraTouch 8 megapixels, but is better than the previous rendition. It has a Tap-to-focus feature, whereby users can tap the screen of the photo preview so it focuses on a certain part of the picture. You can also do this with the mobile’s new video feature, which also has a basic editing suite that even the most technology-challenged person can utilise.
Another new feature is voice activation. You can say a person’s name, dial a number, or get music to play by speaking into the phone when it is in voice-recognition mode. We have been assured that the Australian models will recognise Australian accents.
Then there is hardware encryption, which does so in real time, which is a pretty good security feature. You can also delete remotely from a PC if the unit is stolen, which means you can change passwords, too.
There could still be some battery issues, after all there is a price to be paid with all the functionality, but it is said to be better than the older model.
There are a lot of other features, plus the 50,000 applications you can get from the Apple online store.
The iPhone will be available with 16MB and 32MB, with a range of pricing options for the various carriers.
