In an age where having the latest and greatest gadgets and devices is imbued into many, the iPhone 3GS will be something of a disappointment on first glance.This is because from the outside there’s nothing new about it. Turn it over and at the rear its still just says ‘iPhone’ – not even a 3GS to show to the rest of your colleagues as you casually lay it face down at a meeting. The capacity is indicated though so by going for the new 32GB model, so those in the know will know what you’ve got.But let’s be grown up about this, it’s not just about posing, the iPhone 3G was the best overall smartphone on the market and an excellent business device for many people and the 3GS does enough to keep it ahead of the chasing pack, though there’s no doubt that the gap is closing.

The sleek iPhone look, with a large 3.5in display surrounded with a black border and silver edge is there and again there’s a choice of black or white back. Apple has made surface level improvements though, with a new ‘oleophobic’ screen coating, or ‘oil resistant’ in English, which means that the 3GS is more resistant to finger prints and smudges. This is clearly a good thing, but it’s still not impervious by any means.

There’s been no change though in the technology inside the screen, - it’s still a capacitance touch screen, which means its finger friendly, but there’s no increase in screen resolution, which remains at 480 x 320 at 163ppi – compare the HTC Touch HD, which offers a very crisp 3.8in 800 x 480 resolution screen, delivering 246ppi.

There’s also no OLED, a technology that promises brighter colours and greater efficiency. Samsung is about to release an Android phone with just such a screen in the guise of the i7500, but as the manufacturer of the screen technology it evidently can make it affordable and right now it’s too expensive as an option for Apple. As it stands though the 3GS screen is still bright and clear.

What's new?

So what is actually new on the iPhone 3GS? The key change is a faster processor – that ‘S’ stands for ‘Speed’, and it’s been revealed as a 600MHz ARM processor with 256MB of RAM (up from 412MHz/128MB). The graphics chip has also been improved too, with the addition of a Power VR SGX chip. Incidentally this is license from Imagination Technologies, a UK company that Apple bought a stake in last year.

Other new features are an improved camera that can now do video, a voice recording feature and a digital compass. Finally, there’s improved battery life, with Apple claiming longer life over a 2G network and longer when using Wi-Fi. Talk-time when in 3G mode remains the same however at five hours.In use, the faster processor only makes itself felt in the more demanding applications. A side by side comparison with an iPhone 2G showed no perceptible difference in firing up applications, but when it comes to web browsing, pages render at a faster rate and zooming in and around with the iPhone’s signatory pinch and zoom technique. Google Maps also was noticeably sprightlier and when you’re moving around to get a sense of where you are, a smoother experience is much appreciated.

A real test is Google Earth – on the iPhone 3G it’s somewhat sluggish, while on the 3GS, it’s smooth, making it more user friendly.

Digital Compass

In the 3GS, Apple has actually included a hardware magnetometer compass into the device, meaning it’s very accurate. The standalone compass application is a rather overstylised old-style compass and the only options are whether you want it to show you the difference between True North or Magnetic North.

This app is likely to be redundant for most many people, except perhaps hikers, but this group are likely to want something more hardy and robust that an iPhone. Touch the ‘locate me’ icon at the bottom left though and it fires up Google Maps and pinpoints your location. Double-tap the ‘locate me’ icon here and the blue dot that represents your position gains a triangular sweep, which will show you the direction your facing, which is very handy for orientating yourself in unfamiliar surroundings.

The compass also means that the 3GS can now be used for turn-by-turn directions, and a TomTom application has been announced. This could see the iPhone now be adopted for drivers in dispatch firms, though it would admittedly be a rather expensive route to take.

Voice control is a new feature, and operates by holding down the home button. Naturally it’s not perfect and can’t be trained so to call anyone in my family involves saying the surname incorrectly. However, it does work as long as you understand its limits and it should be a very useful addition as it means you can dial safely by voice when using a Bluetooth headset in the car.

The Voice Memo application is represented by an old school microphone and tapping the screen will show it picking up the levels. If you’re an inveterate voice message taker you can label messages into categories. Messages can sent via email or the new MMS function now available in iPhone 3.0 OS, and it’s even possible to trim your messages using a very neat drag and slide feature.This same drag and slide technique is employed in the new video recording feature that is one of the highlights of the new 3GS. Video is captured at 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per second and the quality as you might expect is reasonable without being spectacular. Ease of use is as always with Apple the priority, and the phone is smart enough now to record sideways video, so whether you hold your iPhone is portrait or landscape mode is will play back right-way-up. Videos can also be geotagged so you can establish their location at a later date.

After you’ve recorded your video you can drag a box round the frames of your video chopping out bits at the beginning and end. Tap the menu button and you can choose to email it, send via SMS, send to MobileMe if you subscribe, or upload to YouTube. YouTube has reported an upsurge in uploads since the iPhone was released a week ago, indicating that it’s a well liked feature.

Perhaps the iPhone’s greatest strength is its use as an internet device and the faster speed boosts it further and keeps it ahead of the crowd. Pinching and zooming in and out with the two fingered multi-touch concept is smoother than ever and the extra memory means multiple tabs can be open without slowdown - currently we’re at eight with no issue.

Of course, the biggest downer is that there’s still no Flash support, which is a real and significant downer on the internet experience. We can imagine that when this issue is cracked, the iPhone will do it very well, but right now, its absence weighs more heavily than ever.

[iPhone 3.0 OS]

The rest of the improvements are those that come with the iPhone 3.0 update and these are available on the two older models as well. Highlights include Spotlight search now integrated into the OS. Simply slide left from the Home screen and you can search for emails and apps. You can even search your Gmail account and messages stored on the server. Push for Gmail is still absent however.

We also really liked the new improvements in the media application – when you’re listening to audio podcasts you can now skip backwards in 30 second chunks and listen at either half or two times speed, great for skipping the ads or boring bits.

However, the lack of multi-tasking is beginning to be an issue. While videos can remember their states, applications can’t, which means you can’t check say, check something on your phone while using the Skype application. With devices such as the Palm Pre able to support full multi-tasking, and Windows Mobile having done it for a while, (even if not very well) the iPhone’s one app at a time approach makes for a very linear experience.

As a pure business device the email capabilities are attractive, particularly now it’s had Exchange support for a good while, and larger companies can create custom apps specific for the phone. Apple’s approval process means that this will only be an option for the really large companies however. Those some companies also may prefer to stick to BlackBerry due to the iPhone’s lack of central manageability.

Battery Life

In our tests we found that the iPhone didn’t last significantly longer than the 3G. If you’re using push email and GPS your battery will inevitably drain faster, and throw in some web browsing, video and game playing and you’ll still be charging every night. We managed to get through one working day with these conditions, just as we did with the 3G. While it might last longer in standby mode, it’s not a large enough increase to upgrade just on the promise of longer battery life.Pricing

As well as the aforementioned 32GB model, there a 16GB flavour, while the iPhone 3G is still on sale (though only in black, for some reason). Pricing has been somewhat controversial, with high prices even on a £35 a month tariff - £185 for the 16GB model with an 18-month tie-in, and £87.11 if you’re happy to commit to 24 months.

O2 business tariff is available for 24 or 36 month stints – but the device is cheaper, costing £50.26 for the 16GB model on a 24 month contract.

For existing iPhone owners in a contract this time there’s no easy upgrade path – and to get the subsidised prices you have to pay out the remaining months of your contract. Pay as You Go is an alternative, but the cost is £375 ex. VAT for a 16GB model.

And while the effectively unlimited data is free on both contract and Pay As you Go (the latter for a year) when you go abroad you’ll be paying £29.4 per MB in the ER and an eye watering £6 per MB outside.

The iPhone 3.0 OS has also brought tethering support to the table at last – though the cost is fairly astronomical, costing £14.98 on O2 for a 3GB cap, on top of your monthly contract. It’s also not available to Pay As You Go users.

If you can get past the pricing you might look at the individual changes and feel like it’s not much for a new iPhone. In truth, it’s not worth ending your contract early for, but the small changes to mount up to a more satisfying phone. If you’re contract is up or your new to iPhone, the iPhone 3GS offers enough to deliver, but with the completion hotting up on all side, the iPhone is very likely going to need a major update next summer if it’s to retain its top-dog crown.