iPhone 3G Vs. iPhone 3G S: Is it Worth the Upgrade?

The new iPhone 3G S is coming to Canada soon, but is it worth the upgrade?

The new iteration of the iPhone appears to employ the exact same form factor as the existing one, but for just a few internal upgrades. I say only a few because many of the major improvements to the devices come with the new 3.0 operating system (OS), which will be accessible for download to existing iPhone owners as well.

So what's different with the "S" version versus a regular ol' 3G iPhone? The first thing is speed: Apple claims that the S version (yes, "S" is for "speed") is up to twice as fast as the 3G. But come on, guys. It's 3G. How much faster do you need it to be? Being a heavy mobile Web surfer myself, I'm the first to admit that the quicker a web page can pop up or an application can launch, the better. But do you surf enough to justify investing $200 in a new phone just to save just a few seconds here and there?

The next upgrade is a better camera at 3 MP with autofocus. Dealbreaker? I doubt it. The second is longer battery life, which is admittedly an issue with the current iPhone. But does it deserve as much attention as we give it? I don't own an iPhone, but I do have a BlackBerry. Battery life is pretty decent, but regardless, I plug the phone into the charger every night to ensure I have full capability all day. And when I'm at work, I can always connect it to my computer via USB to recharge. The point is that unless iPhone owners find that their phones die even after being charged every night (which really doesn't take much effort), then longer battery life might not be enough to convince them to buy the new one. Of course issues of the environment come into play, so we'll just have to wait and see to find out just how much better this new battery is.

Other additions include video recording (yawn), hands-free voice control (yawn again), and a digital compass (oh boy!) Don't get me wrong: they're all cool functions. But they'll likely eventually be available through third-party apps, if they aren't already! And even if these functions never see the light of day for original iPhone owners, buying one phone over another for something as trivial as a compass or voice dialing seems awfully frivolous in this economy.

The increased storage space is what could really be the driving reason to upgrade. With the new 3G S model, you now have the option of 32GB of space. Do we need that much? Most people who own an iPhone probably own an iPod as well, and use the latter device for their music. So what on earth are you storing onto your phone to fill up 32 GBs? Nevertheless, more is better, and if you tend to use your iPhone as a primary media player or plan to pass that old iPod off to your younger brother, maybe this new model will be worth the extra bucks.

There are other arguably smaller, niche features that might sway you toward one device or the other. There's a screen reader, for example, that speaks what's on the display and a zoom function that magnifies the screen, both for the visually impaired; mono audio that combines left and right channels so they can be heard in both earbuds for those with hearing loss in one ear; and parental controls so that parents can control what young kids do with the device. All of these are valid upgrades, and might heavily influence an iPhone owner's decision (or perhaps even the owner of another smartphone) to upgrade to this new iPhone 3G S.