Apple iPhone 3GS
Phone Scoop Review
Jun 22, 2009 by Eric Zeman and Rich Brome
Phone Scoop takes an in-depth look at the iPhone 3GS, its new hardware, and the new iPhone 3.0 operating system. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
New iPhone user
I've had my iPhone for all of two days. I have only one complaint: this thing is addictive! I LOVE IT! It is very easy to use and comes with so many apps! Now my friends all want one. I highly recommend it!
iphone
i think the iphone is a great phone because it has like 1,000,000 and 100,000 of the apps are free. the coverage is great and u cane even get the phone on t mobil 9(witch is what i have)
worst phone I've ever owned
I've had this phone for 3 or 4 months now. The iphone gadgets are great but this phone drops calls like crazy - on I-25, in the city of Boulder, everywhere. it's ridiculous. Any Nokia I've had over the past 10 years beats the iphone all to hell for a telephone. very disappointed in this phone and now I'm stuck with it. I may have to add a line to my family plan so I can actually call people and have a conversation.
blew my mind!
so i had the iphone 3G last year and i didnt like it that much due to the slowless of opening apps and everything was just so lack luster in my opinion. well here comes the iphone 3GS and i figured it was just another crappy iphone so i passed on it back in july. but recently i've been checking out reviews (professional and user) and they'd been pretty positive so i decided to pick one up.
one word: LOVE!
pros:
gorgeous, responsive touchscreen
camera is wonderful
reception is great in my area
app store is grand
simple, intuitive interface
epic web browser
flawless media player
oleo-phobic screen layer helps prevent smudges
cons:
battery life could be better
love this phone, so glad i decided to pick it up!
Better as a smartphone than as a phone
This phone really excels as a smartphone but as a basic phone it falls short.
Pros;
Bluetooth
wifi
snappy processor - really fast, no lags
business apps - the best. I am able to pull all of my documents, review and edit and save back. Sync ota with office computer. I am also able to review all my case/project notes, update and sync back and forth over the air.
OTA sync with Exchange.
Games
Cons;
reception - average at best.
battery time - not bad but as with any smartphone if you use it, you are lucky to get through the day.
Sound - very small sweet spot on the earpiece. If you don't hold it in the right spot you cannot hear what is being said.
The device I've been looking for since Treo 300 w Sprint
To start off it would have gotten a 5 if it were not for Apple's extreme over App approval; control is good, quality is good but some leniency is needed. If a tree does not sway it will break under the wind.
This phone's reception of bad reviews are unfair. It only does as much as you are looking to do with it. Its scalable between the simple minded who just make phone calls to the power user (once they understand how things are done, especially after jailbraking the phone).
This phone does torrents, acts as wifi access point, holds a database for macs (invaluable as I do house calls to remedy clients Macs), remote desktop and i can go on and on.....
For me the speed camera improvement and ram are reason alone for upgrading/ purchasing. And if you can find a refurbished 3GS you may be able to get one near the $99 mark, how can you beat that?
The most amazing phone ever!!
Ok so I got this phone this past Saturday and I absolutely love it!! I never have to use my laptop anymore because my phone can do everything my laptop can do....like type this review, which I am typing from my iPhone. Firstly, this thing is so user friendly- it's crazy how easy eveything is! I have had no issues with my phone except that it's battery life isn't very long. But then again, I'm coming from a very simple Samsung slider phone. Also, being in high school and involved
in many church activities, the silent on/off switch comes in very handy! This is the best phone I have ever had- reception and all the other amazing stuff this phone does! I would definently reccomend this phone to anyone looking for a smartphone who has AT&T!
So worth it!
I have had this phone for a month now. I have never been so addicted to a phone before. I never use my laptop anymore, because I can do everything with this phone. The web browser is very user friendly, and you can view almost any website with this device. At&t has definately improved its 3g network out here, in Sacramento, so network speed is awesome. I had almost every smart phone with Verizon for the last 3 years, and boy do I feel stupid not going after this phone until now. Texting is incredibly easy, battery life could be better, screen quality is very good. This phone is a win!
Iphone doesn't meet my needs.
So I bought this phone thinking I would be thrilled but I have to say that Apple needs to kick it up a notch on this device. Not too different from the iphone 3g. First off, I definitely need customization and thats not possible on the iphone. Voice quality is much better on some other lower end devices I've owned in the past. No flash on the camera, thats a biggie for me because I go out at night a lot and I love to take night shots. The phone design is old already, this phone first came out 3 years ago and its the same old design. There are over 100,000 apps to choose from but most of the ones I want have a price, I'm already paying a lot for my plan to add even more on top of that. And most importantly, Coverage, coverage, coverage. I cant stress that enough, I lost count on how many dropped calls I had, which is the most important thing about a phone, to be able to place a call. That being said, if this phone was available on other carriers it would make a big difference, especially on Verizon's far superior network
Pro's: Thin, nice large display, wifi, thousands of apps(but there's a price), 3mp camera(no flash though)
Cons's: design is getting old, no customization, poor AT&T service, no multitasking, battery could be better, no removable memory, no open platform.
iPhone 3GS 32GB
I've had the phone for 4 months now and I'm not a power user. When I want to use my phone for calls/data I can. I don't have trouble with poor signal or the battery draining quickly for no good reason.
Pros:
1) The app store. My best app is iNetSafetyBubble browser. This is an internet filtering browser that blocks/filters out all the inappropriate material on the web. Yes, it's a bit limiting and it's not as integrated as Safari, but that is fine with me. For all my Christian friends out there, this alone makes purchasing the iPhone worth it. Plus there's some amazing apps out there that let you do things that no other phone can do- that I know of.
2) It's a visually pleasing and very easy user interface.
3) Multimedia. I've installed and watched 6 movies. It's got everything you could want in a multimedia phone.
4) GPS. Google maps works really well using gps.
5) It just works like it's supposed to- unlike WinMo.
6) Theres TONS of 3rd party accessories.
7) Voicedialing on my iPhone has never gotten it wrong yet. Amazing!!
8) Google calendar auto syncs over the air and Gmail now gets pushed to my phone- no extra app needed.
9) Push notifications on many apps.
Cons:
1) The battery will drain quickly if you're not wise about it's consumption.
2) The phone will become very warm if you use it for gaming or streaming video for extended periods of time (hrs) I've not had that problem for streaming music or watching installed movies.
3) I wish the browser (Safari or iNetSafetyBubble) supported flash for watching video clips from any website.
4) I wish the camera had a built-in flash and zoom capability.
5) I'm wary about dropping it or bumping it around so I keep it in my pocket instead of on my belt and I make sure to have a good grip on it.
6) Some websites that have a site designed specifically for the iphone (bnet & cnet) won't let you navigate to the regular site.
7) There's only one built-in sound for incoming mail. Why?
So, overall, I LOVE my iPhone!
