Filed under: iPhone
iPhone 3G S: first impressions on buying, smudges and what's in the box
It's here, it's here! Check out the gallery below for what's in the box. Same as usual: headphones (the earbuds with volume control), sync cable, manuals (one called "Finger Tips" -- cute), the phone and a metal tool for popping the SIM out. The Finger Tips manual is updated to show off the new features in the 3G S. Oh, and there's no dock in this box. It is much smaller nowadays, and probably saves a ton on packaging. Update: whoops, forgot to mention that you do get a wall plug (2-prong, very tiny) for charging.My in-store experience was great. Once I got into an Apple Store within less than 30 minutes I had activated the phone and had my first MobileMe sync done. The creative specialist I was talking to was eager to show me anything else I wanted, but there was a big line and I know what's what. Something I thought was interesting: the very first thing he did once I removed the plastic on the phone itself was to touch and sorta swipe at the screen. "No smudges!" he said with a smile on his face. When the 3G S was first announced we speculated about the oleoresistant surface, and it looks like that's a feature Apple wants to quietly promote.
I also tested the smudge-resistance on my admittedly greasy face and fingers (I once killed a Mighty Mouse within a month, if that's any indication). Sadly there's no official metric for resisting smudges, but on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being "smudges if you look at it" and 1 being "rub it on a pizza and it still squeaks" I would rate the new iPhone at a 5. The 1st-gen, which I had been using, I would rate at a 9. So there is an improvement. See the gallery for a little bit of testing.
How has your 3G S experience gone so far? Update #2: yes, this is the first iPhone I purchased. My previous iPhone was an aftermarket 1st-gen iPhone. So all of this is new to me, thanks for pointing that out.
Gallery: 3G S Impressions pt 1
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
thezonie said 1:24PM on 6-19-2009
"Your activation requires additional time to complete."
Damn it. :|
Reply
Seth N said 1:27PM on 6-19-2009
im still waiting for my fedex delivery, according to them it will be here by 3
Reply
AJS1986 said 1:30PM on 6-19-2009
Voice control -- if you connect to your car's audio system by using a cassette tape with a wire that plugs into the audio jack of your iPhone, Voice Control won't work.
Reply
christine said 1:30PM on 6-19-2009
Arrived on my doorstep via my awesome UPS guy (he ordered a $99 one and was looking fwd to it too!) at 9:50am.
It's taking forever to activate. I'm still sitting here and iTunes is at "Accessing iTunes Store."
Sigh.
Reply
russ_schroeder said 1:36PM on 6-19-2009
My wife decided last minute to sell her original 2G and upgrade but shipping is now taking up to 8 business days so I braced myself for either a long wait and/or limited supplies. First AT&T store was out at 11 AM so I stopped at nearby Best Buy--no iPhone customers to be found. Employee told me they hadn't received theirs yet, expected at 2-3 pm but told me I could pre-order to reserve one when they do arrive, said only had one pre-order so far.
While he was completing my pre-order, stock clerk handed him a stack of new 3G s. He finished my pre-order, set my unit aside for my wife to pickup later and then handed me a $50 BB gift card that comes with any preorder.
Can't say I expected it to be this easy--glad I didn't venture out to my local Apple store.
Reply
pito189 said 1:44PM on 6-19-2009
Do the earbuds that control the volume work with the regular 3G iPhone?
Reply
DognightDan said 1:48PM on 6-19-2009
I don't know about the 3G, but the volume controls on the 3G S headphones do NOT work on the original iPhone.
Dave Peterson said 2:08PM on 6-19-2009
No, the volume control function on the new earbuds does not work on the 3G.
onedollarbill said 1:46PM on 6-19-2009
I went to the local AT&T store (Irvine, CA) on my way to work. I had pre-ordered mine late last week. I was in and out in less than 20 minutes with the phone activated. Sync'd up to MobileMe and I am good to go.
We were doing the "Pepsi Challenge" with the 3GS and the 3G. My co-worker and I have a lot of the same apps installed. I am happy to say my 3GS was 2 or more seconds faster opening Apps like Facebook, Shazam, Yelp, etc. I guess that is to be expected with the bump in processor. I'm happy, but now he's not =/
BTW the back still shows finger prints and smudges just as bad. Oh well throwing an incase on it anyways.
Reply
gaz2727 said 2:54PM on 6-19-2009
Wow - 2 - 3 seconds. Let me go plunk down $400 for a new one. Not.
Cody said 1:48PM on 6-19-2009
what happened to the battery percentage in the corner?
Reply
pito189 said 1:54PM on 6-19-2009
My 3G is updated to 3.0 and it shows the % and the image. It would be nice to choose one or the other, Both seems redundant.
Dave Peterson said 2:25PM on 6-19-2009
Neither my 3G (on 3.0) nor my 3G S (setup on a backup from the 3G) are displaying a battery percentage. Any tips for turning this on?
onedollarbill said 3:40PM on 6-19-2009
@Dave Peterson
You have to turn it on. Under Settings>General>Usage it's the very first option.
loup407 said 4:52PM on 6-19-2009
The battery percentage has to be turned on in settings; you'll find it under "general/useage".
ch0rtle said 1:50PM on 6-19-2009
It ships with the new earphones, ie the ones found in the Shuffle. It's got volume up and down buttons as well as the middle button. This is excellent!
Reply
Scott Freiman said 1:52PM on 6-19-2009
I went to the Apple store before checking all the small print on the pricing. I bought the original and second generation iPhones with no problem. To buy the new iPhone, I would have to pay $399/$499 instead of $199/$299 because I'm already an AT&T customer. Does that sound sensible to anyone? If anything, I should be REWARDED for being an existing customer. If I had bought the phone, Apple would have made money on the phone and AT&T would have locked me in for another two years. As it is, Apple lost the sale (for now), AT&T has too woo me again when my current agreement expires, and I have a bad taste in my mouth for both Apple (who allowed this to happen) and AT&T (who I'm sure is responsible for the pricing).
Reply
pito189 said 1:55PM on 6-19-2009
That is how all cellphone contracts work. It's life.
Sam said 2:01PM on 6-19-2009
I thought that AT&T reversed their decision on this and were offering upgrade pricing to anyone who purchased the iPhone 3G in June, July, or August of last year.
DrWho said 2:05PM on 6-19-2009
You are joking right?