What’s wrong with the iPhone 3GS?

Apple has received praise and criticism from tech analysts after its announcement of the new, faster iPhone 3GS model at its World Wide Developer’s Conference this week. Many iPhone application developers, analysts and everyday users have given the iPhone a warm welcome, saying features such as voice controls, a 3-megapixel camera and tethering capabilities are long overdue.

But some are not so convinced that the iPhone 3GS is worth the extra money, saying the device does not give enough features for its price and is not a major hardware upgrade.

Tech site Digital Trends wrote that the biggest news was the iPhone’s new camera, and the new device is not what fans were hoping for.

“After building feature wish lists for months, furiously posting rumours in forums, and even mocking up Photoshopped prototypes of the new iPhone, Mac fans were today rewarded with … a slightly better iPhone 3G. If the leap from first-gen iPhone to second could be considered a baby step, consider this one a fetal heart murmur because Apple clearly had no idea how to shine up the product it launched a year ago.”

Keith Ahern, chief executive of development studio MoGeneration, suggests that the 3GS is not a major upgrade and is missing some key features.

“Background processing will be the next thing to solve, and I think they are really waiting for battery technology breakthroughs on that front. I think there is a good two or three years of people exploiting the current capabilities with software before needing new hardware.”

Tech site Information Week wrote that the phone is missing several features such as an audio equaliser, a removable battery, a USB port and flash player capabilities.

“Phone users still don’t have access to a basic file system on the iPhone. Apple has chosen to leave its menu and file structure inaccessible to the end user.”

“Smart phones running Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS, Symbian S60 and others let end users access and move their files at will. Why doesn’t Apple think users can handle this?”

Nathan Burley, analyst with Ovum, suggests “there are obviously a lot of things Apple could do”.

“They could have made the device even thinner with a bigger screen, they could have had different types of models similar to the iPods, they could have made the processor faster, they could have done all sorts of things.”