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The Apple-focused blogosphere is positively hopping this week, and it's all about the new iPhone 3G S and new iPhone OS 3.0 -- with a little sprinkle of AT&T (NYSE: T) action thrown in.
Early reviews have been largely positive about the new 3G S, pegging it as a evolutionary upgrade rather than anything revolutionary. As for the new operating system that's available to existing iPhone (and iPod touch) owners, most everyone seems pleased, too.
As for AT&T, well, you might think the company could get at least a little love, but with upgrade pricing and contracts, as well as a distinct lack of iPhone tethering and MMS availability, the company is taking a beating in blog comments. But hey, AT&T did make it easier to find and use its large WiFi network.
iPhone 3G S
A handful of gadget industry heavyweights that write for large consumer markets got their hands on the iPhone 3G S first, and their reviews are in. Interestingly, The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, The New York Times' David Pogue, USA Today's Edward Baig, the Chicago Sun-Times' Andy Ihnatko, and Wired's Steven Levy all came to similar conclusions, the most obvious of which is that the 3G S is fast ... really fast ... noticeably faster than the 3G. Games are better, too. And battery life? It seemed to last at least 25 percent longer.
The new 3-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities resulted in slightly different takes -- Mossberg didn't think the new photos were that much better than the old 2-megapixel iPhone 3G photos, and the video wasn't all that great compared to the inexpensive Flip mino camcorders that can record in HD. Pogue, however, thought the photos were definitely an improvement and that the video recording as quite good compared to digital cameras and even Flip video camcorders.
The early reviewers also largely agreed that the new 3G S's speed, compass, smudge-resistant screen, voice control (which didn't always work properly), and new operating system is keeping the iPhone 3G S well ahead of the smartphone curve. However, all these new features might not be enough to spark an upgrade for existing iPhone 3G owners, who can still install iPhone OS 3.0 too.
One reader took issue with the notion that Mossberg seriously called out the lack of high-definition in relation to the iPhone 3G S.
"WHAT? First of all, I have only heard of one cell phone that can record 'HD' video (Samsung i8910), so it's obviously not a common feature. More importantly, it is a completely POINTLESS non-feature considering the crappy lenses and tiny sensors that can fit in an iPhone-size device," commented winterspan on the AppleInsider.com post on the subject.
Others were quite happy to defend the lack of multitasking background applications.
"Apple has made it clear why they won't allow background applications. The Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) Pre has even demonstrated the reason by having horrendous battery life," added mjtomlin.
But wait, there's more: "the pre's multitasking is great idea, but that's all it is until it has the same caliber apps to multitask with! only if it has really good apps, would it be a legitimate advantage and have bragging right against apple. Ultimately, i've read that, that wont ever be the case because it lacks a good SDK AND the only code allowed for apps is web based code (html/java)," chimed in bonklers.
Did the first round of reviewers miss something big? Really big?
"I'm surprised that all reviewers seem to be missing a major feature of the new iPhone, and really a very obvious one ... 32GB! Yes, uh, many of us do indeed use our iPhones as our iPods nowadays, and yes, for many of us, the jump from 16GB to 32GB shifts the iPhone from 'just being adequate capacity-wise to use as your iPod' to 'definitely fine for all my iPod needs'. This is big, people!" commented nicky g.
As for more hands-on first impressions, Current Analysis' Avi Greengart will put the iPhone 3G S through its paces soon, but he got an early look. "I had a chance to put the iPhone 3G S head-to-head with my iPhone 3G in a meeting I had with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) at the WWDC last week," Greengart told MacNewsWorld.
"I found that Apple's claims of 'twice as fast' were easily verified; overall, the iPhone 3G S feels snappier when opening apps and loading information. The increased speed is noticeable and quite welcome since you open and close apps constantly on the iPhone -- unlike the Palm Pre, where you open a whole bunch of apps once, and then cycle between them," he explained.
"Apple's implementation of video recording shines thanks to the ability to quickly trim your clips after taking them," he added.
Apple Spreads the 3.0 Love With Free Update
Of course, existing iPhone 3G owners don't need an "S" to get in on the new iPhone action -- Apple is offering the free operating system upgrade when owners sync their iPhones with iTunes. Apparently, millions of iPhone owners took Apple up on the offer on Wednesday, and they seemed to slow down, if not crash, a server or two.
"Hi! I live in Brazil, it took me 2 hours to download the update and then another 1 1/2 hour trying to install it, I always got a message saying iTunes couldn't connect to Apple activation server. It finally installed and is working beautifully!" gushed André Luís on the Cult of Mac post on the subject.
"The app store is painfully slow or non-functional, on both the iPhone and iTunes on my desktop. Error -4. App updates are available, but are not downloading. Getting a 'waiting' under the app on the phone. Accepting new terms alerts pop up but tapping accept does not speed up the process. Feels like Apple's servers are getting blitzed," added Rob.
Similar issues hit Greengart Wednesday evening.
"I just upgraded the iPhone 3G to 3.0, which took me a while because Apple's registration server is jammed as 40 million people try to upgrade their iPhones and iPod touches all at the same time," he said.
"I had to hit 'update' 15 times over two hours before it connected. I'm currently in the process of upgrading an iPod touch, which also had a few starts/stops due to congestion. Other than getting the process started, I haven't run into any problems," he explained.
As for the software itself, he noted, "The search function and cut/paste are long overdue, but they're worth the wait -- Apple has implemented them extremely well."
Others seem generally and genuinely happy with the new features, too. "Really impressed with 3.0 so far. The search and launch facility alone was worth the wait," commented Optimus Frag on the MacRumors.com post on the subject.
"For me the best new feature is playing any podcast at 2x speed, or changing speeds on the fly," added OddyOh.
One undocumented feature, MacRumors.com reported, is that there appears to be no limit to the number of apps you can install. After you fill 11 screens with icons, further apps have no icons displayed, but they can still be accessed via the spotlight search feature.
"I love, love the Bluetooth support. Full remote and stereo functionality lets me stream my podcasts to my Alpine IVA-W505, letting me leave the iPod for week-to-week syncs while enjoying the latest from my freshly synced iPhone. I can now use the iMuffs or BackBeats without a Bluetooth dongle; that allows me to charge one less thing," Sven Rafferty, SvenOnTech blogger and founder of HyperSven, told MacNewsWorld.
"Copy and paste works like a charm, no manual needed. In fact, a Pre user was showing off his new Palm to me today and said he couldn't figure copy and paste out. When I showed him how easy it was on the iPhone, he laughed and said, 'Of course, it's an iPhone,'" Rafferty said.
AT&T Gets Jabbed
Not every iPhone user hates AT&T -- in fact, most probably are quite fine with AT&T's service. However, there's a vocal group of users who aren't pleased that their beloved iPhones only pair with one network (officially) in the U.S. -- and they don't like how that network controls some important features, like MMS and tethering.
For Rafferty, the 3G S isn't hot enough to tack on a longer contract.
"I'll pass on the 3G S," he said. "I hate AT&T and am awaiting network freedom with the one-day coming Verizon iPhone. It'll be the icing on the Apple."
The first thing that angered iPhone 3G early adopters this week is that AT&T wasn't offering them a sweet deal 
on the price because they weren't far enough along in their two-year contracts. For these customers, if they wanted a 3G S, they expected they would have to pay full price instead of the subsidized US$199 rate for the 16GB model, for example.
However, early reports have indicated that AT&T's policy isn't so hard and fast.
"AT&T announced limited changes to its general upgrade policy Wednesday, extending 'eligibility' for subsidized pricing on the new iPhone 3G S to some current customers who signed service contracts on the 3G model less than one year ago," reported Lonnie Lazar on CultofMac.com.
It's not always clear, however, what an existing iPhone 3G customer might be eligible for. "For example, iPhone customers who spend more than $99 a month per line with us generally are eligible for an upgrade between 12 and 18 months into their contract," noted AT&T's press release on the matter.
Some users have reported getting full subsidies while others have not, and Lazar seems to believe AT&T has "a secret algorithm" that determines upgrade eligibility. Apparently, single users with the low-end 450 minute plans might just have to wait.
"It just looks like T-mobile maybe getting us back once again. AT&T needs to learn some serious lessons from the masters of customer service: namely The Ritz & Apple. The latter better be changing carriers real soon, or adding all to its ranks if they want to hold on to their customers," commented Antony Xenios on the CultofMac.com post on the subject.
Tethering, Anyone?
A couple of hacking techniques that enable unauthorized date tethering on iPhone are making their way around the Web. Many, however, are still waiting for an officially sanctioned option. AppModo is reporting that AT&T will launch an official tethering solution in late July for around $55 per month. It's based on an unnamed source, so the timing or cost certainly isn't official.
"I wonder if they have a way to know if someone is tethering via a hack. Setting up tethering is insanely easy right now," commented Aaron Brown on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) post.
"If you only do very light usage, then they tend to not notice. However, if you start to use massive amounts of data, then they will investigate your account. But, as with everything your mileage may vary," Cristiana added.
So, why isn't AT&T offering tethering already? Is it even possible for AT&T to offer it to the legions of iPhone users out there?
"I think that AT&T can, will, and may need to hold out until it migrates to LTE -- which will not be until 2011. AT&T's networks were impacted early on with the combination of iPhone subscribers' numbers and much higher-than-average use of data, and that forced the carrier to improve its networks with additional build-outs and juggling of spectrum," Chris Hazelton, Research Director of Mobile and Wireless for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
"AT&T's networks could be similarly impacted with the addition of widespread tethering. Additional pricing for tethering is used to cap the number of users to limit the impact on AT&T's data network," he explained.
It's still unclear exactly what that pricing may be.
"Pricing could be as high as data card plans, which start at $60 a month. They will likely be less, but no cheaper than $30 a month. The issue will be monthly data limits. 5GB is most likely. That is a lot for email and light browsing, but with multimedia and movies, that gets eaten up pretty quick," Hazelton said.
The real question is, can AT&T delight its customers with a cost-effective tethering plan any time soon?
Only AT&T can really answer that one, and either way, the ball is definitely in the company's court. Serve it up already!
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