Critical Review

The product I will be evaluating is the iPhone 3gs, a smart phone made by Apple. This product deserves merit because it is extremely popular and revolutionary for cell phones. The first criteria I will be looking at is the speed of the iPhone 3GS. The "S" in it's name symbolizes the upgrade of speed from the previous iPhone, so that is an area that is important to cover. The 3GS processor numbers have been upgraded from 412MHz to a rumored 600MHz. The RAM has also been increased, almost doubling the old iPhone (128MB to 256MB). You can either get 16GB or 32GB of storage space, compared to the 8GB of space for the 3G. Apple claims an average of 2x faster loads, but there is little provided to back up that claim. The iPhone 3GS looks and feels exactly like the old iPhone, so evaluating its appearance will be pointless in comparing it to its older version. It will be useful to compare its appearance to other smart phones that are similar to the iPhone 3GS. The 3GS does, however, have a new fingerprint resistant oleophobic coating, which does slightly set it apart from the 3G in the appearance context. It resists new smudges, and wipes almost entirely clean with a single swipe on a pant leg. The next criteria is the phone's camera, which is also updated from the iPhone 3G. It has a 3-megapixel camera, adding auto focus and video recording. Also, it includes an autofocus function, replacing a gross physical button to snap your shots. The iPhone continues to rely on its onscreen trigger, but cranks up the use of that big display by allowing you to focus in on subjects based on where you tap. Software is yet another criteria when looking at the iPhone 3GS. The biggest changes with this device really come in the form of software tweaks. You can copy, paste, and cut text and multimedia, software more advanced than not only the new iPhone but other similar smartphones as well. Push Notifications have also been introduced, allowing you to see instantaneous alerts for emails, messages, and other app-related notices. Battery life is also a criteria that can be mentioned, because the 3GS has much more life than the old iPhone, something a lot of people got fed up with. From the outside, its hard to tell the difference between an Iphone 3G and 3GS, but many of the upgrades are internal. The speed, software, and hardware have all been advanced, allowing many users to see the changes not when they see it, but rather when they use it. The question is are these software and processing tweaks really worth the $100 price increase? There are two main groups of people in the market for an iPhone 3GS: those who own an older iPhone or those who do not have an iPhone at all. For those who have an older iPhone, you need to ask yourself is it worth buying a new phone which is, in reality, the same phone? After all, you've spent a lot of money on your old iPhone, and dropping an extra $400-500 for a speed bump, a compass, and video recording is questionable. For those who don't own an iPhone, the money may be worth an exceptional new smartphone which is the iPhone 3GS.