Thoughts and Impressions of the iPhone 3GS From Three Years Ago
A few days ago I came across the unordered list of notes below. These are the notes I took shortly after upgrading my original iPhone to an iPhone 3GS in June of 2009 (I skipped the iPhone 3G because I disliked the new look so much I refused to give up my original):
My first 3GS had a dead pixel; the Genius Bar replaced it. My second 3GS had some sort of massive screen line-fuzz issue when the screen was showing mostly dark colors; the Genius Bar replaced it as well. Now on my third one already.
I’ve gotten used to the bigger bezel around the side of the screen, but I wish I didn’t have to.
3G is great. Frequently AT&T is faster than whatever random public wi-fi I’m connected to.
The camera is fantastic. Also: video!
Battery life is great; I rarely run out. In fact, I’ve only run the battery dead once so far. It was at Anna’s cousin’s wedding — I was shooting video and taking pictures all starting in the morning until evening.
I’ve been using the landscape keyboard more frequently, if for any reason but to get a break from the norm.
The curved back and plastic definitely feels more comfortable in the hand. Though it’s not as heavy and sturdy feeling, it does offer a better grip.
The seal between the glass edge and the chrome edge is not sealed very well.
I’m using no case or screen cover, which is as it should be.
I love the oleophobic screen. Compared to my original iPhone, this one seems to be constantly clean and smudge free.
Spotlight is my most-used iPhone OS 3.0 feature.
I haven’t yet needed tethering, though I have tried it. It was a bit difficult to get my MacBook and my iPhone paired, but once I got it working the internet connection wasn’t half bad.
The black plastic that makes up the back scratches much more easily than the aluminum on my original iPhone did.
The build quality of this phone doesn’t seem as good as my original. I’m not a fan of the more sunken lock button and am certainly not a fan of the plastic backing. Even my silent toggle switch is loose and it buzzes when the phone vibrates for an incoming call.
Love that new apps install on the 2nd Home screen.
Reading through that list is such a blast from the past — I forgot the first two iPhones didn’t have an oleophobic fingerprint-resistant screen — yet the 3GS is only a few years old. It’s still for sale, I still see people using it, and heck, it’s the 3rd-most popular camera phone on Flickr.
Apple has pushed the iPhone forward extremely fast over the past five years. They’ve taken care of nearly all the low-hanging fruit, and every version of the iPhone seems to be the best possible version. Yet here we are again. It’s Fall, a new iPhone is just a few weeks away, and this next one will probably be a doozy.
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