Busy Gamer News

As long-time readers of this site know, the iPhone 3G changed my life. It's the first gadget I found that is truly useful, and the first mobile phone that I'll consistently play games on (not quite edging out my Nintendo DS for portable entertainment). So when I learned about the iPhone 3G S, my first reaction was that it wasn't enough to justify the inflated pricetag (especially since I just started an AT&T contract last December and I wasn't eligible for a fully subsidized upgrade).

After a few weeks of internal struggle followed by battles with both Apple and AT&T to actually secure a device, I have been won over. The 3G S is not too different from the 3G, but three features shine through:

• Faster speed. It's much zippier, whether I'm loading games, browsing Web pages or reading e-mails. Launching and switching apps isn't laggy at all. Peggle's zen ball calculates results in half the time. Reports indicate I Love Katamari runs much more smoothly and that it's actually a stealth 3G S title since the added horsepower smoothes out the frame rate. I just downloaded the demo and it looks good, though I still loathe the Katamari games' insistance on enforcing time limits.
• More storage. The thing that pushed me over the edge was the availability of 32GB of memory. I had already packed the 16GB model with apps, music, movies and pictures. Doubling the space will allow me to add more and still have plenty of room to breathe - at least until the inevitable 64GB models surface.
• Better camera. I've begun using the iPhone as my default camera, despite the so-so resolution, since it's nearly always on me. Now I get a crisper 3 megapixels, auto/tap focus and better low-light photography. There's even the capability to shoot video, which I might use now and again. Alas, none of the camera apps I've bought (Darkroom and Camera Zoom) have been updated for iPhone OS 3.0 yet.

The 3G S also offers voice control, though so far it hasn't done a thing I've asked. To be fair, I really haven't read up on what it can do and how best to command it. But I didn't buy it for that, and suspect it will work fine for voice dialing and playlist switching once I get the hang of it. The Compass app is nifty, though I'll probably never use it. And if the rumors are true, I won't use it for GPS apps either since AT&T is forcing people to pay a monthly fee for turn-by-turn directions.

As a gaming platform, it's no revolution. As with other apps, games launch more quickly and run more smoothly - and that's pretty much it. Everything else is available now on the 3G. There probably won't be any 3G S-only games for six months (or however long it takes to get an installed base worthy of segmented development). So unless you are eligible for fully subsidized pricing, can justify the upgrade for work or have money to burn, you can safely hold off. But it is nice, and if you do take the plunge you won't regret it.

One cool power user tip. The 3G S has the option to display your remaining battery percentage next to the visual battery indicator. Go into Settings, General, Usage to turn it on. That hidden new feature is not in the 3G, even with the 3.0 update.