What i-Phone 3GS Functions can you get on the older models

We all like to get shiny new gadgets, and the new i-Phone 3GS is certainly a good looking device but if you are in the market for a new toy and you own the older i-Phone 3G or even the 2G you might be better off holding on to your current phone and spending that money on something different.

By now you have all seen the total cost estimates based on 12 -24 month subsidy plans. Depending on your requirements, device usage and finances you might be better off attempting some software upgrades that in most cases require the phone to be jailbroken.

If you don't feel compelled to upgrade some of the following suggestions may improve your user experience with your current device.We are going to compare the 3G with the 3GS and show you what 3GS features you can get on your old phone without forking over any extra cash.

We are going to use Apples own features comparison as a guide and describe what will be possible , and what has been available for quite a while to older i-Phone 3G owners who have jail-broken phones.

Apples own comparison chart only shows 5 new features:

1. 3 megapixel camera with Autofocus /Video recording
2. Improved Performance
3. Built-in video camera with editing
4. Voice Control
5. Compass

Now item 1 and 3 are the same thing but brushing that aside we will carry on.

The iPhone Dev-Team will shortly be releasing the OS 3.0-compatible "ultrasn0w", which should let you unlock any iPhone on the market, running any version of the firmware from 3.0 on down. So some of the tips below, combined with the free iphone update and  jailbreaking will allow you to get more vaue out of your old device should you choose to hold onto it.

1. Three megapixel camera with Autofocus / Video recording.

This is available right now on the i-Phone 2G and 3G.

There is obviously a 1 megapixel improvement with the camera. Due to the "megapixel myth" it is debatable what increases in image quality you will see but cameras on phones (in most cases) are not of a high enough standard to compete with a simple dedicated point and shoot digital camera, one you could probably buy with the money you will save by holding on to your old device.

What you can do now:

To get video recording, for 2G and 3G iPhones you’ll need to jailbreak your i-Phone, then install some software. There are two options I am aware of "iPhone Video Recorder" and "Cycorder " which.allow iPhone users to record video at 15fps video capture rates.(at up to 320×412 resolution)

2. Improved performance

This is a valid reason to upgrade. The improvements to hardware ( faster CPU increased RAM) will have a great impact for users  of the newest i-Phone. The ability to run background processes and applications is still not available .I am told is prevented to maximize the performance of the device.

What you can do now:

Many people have already installed the OS3 software on their older hardware and are reporting that the phone feels more "optimized and snappier" one user reported a doubling of speed running JavaScript compared to 2.2.1 (this needs confirmation if true thats impressive - good work Apple)

"iPhone Backgrounder Utility", this again requires your phone to be jail-broken. This application available through Cydia and ICY. It makes running apps in the background very simple. After installing the utility, you hold down the Home button to minimize"an application. Tapping its app icon will restore it , and then hold the home button again to close it completely. It works both on jailbreak apps and apps downloaded from the App Store. (Users report the ability to listen to music while receiving background IMs and syncing at the same time).

If battery performance is your thing you can always purchase third party kits and instructions to upgrade the battery yourself.

3. Built-in video camera with editing

See number one.

What you can do now:

See number one. At present there is no video editing available, we should mention here that older i-Phone users will get an upgrade to the new OS, so we are wondering what the jailbreak community might come up with. Maybe nothing... but is a phone really where you want to edit videos anyway ?

4. Voice Control

You can control  media play back and dialing with voice commands.

What you can do now:

Once again jail-broken iPhones users have had elements of this upgrade for a while, the most important being voice dialing. This is another upgrade reason which on the surface appears to be software based. There are free and paid applications available for voice dialing and memos. It's a short jump to controlling the launch of an application via voice command so keep an eye out for an independent release that emulates some of the media playback features.

5.Compass;

Nice, a valid upgrade, but are you really going to use it?

What you can do now:

When I was shopping for my last phone I know I thought "dude I really wish there was a phone with a compass in it"

If you really need this buy a real compass for $10 it is certainly cheaper than the upgrade and a 12-24 month plan.

/JK

Wait .... there are more features in the i-Phone 3Gs than are listed here !!!

You are right but owners of the older model will be getting those too when they install the free OS update.

Features either present already with a jailbreak or available with the software update:

• Cut, copy, and paste messages (if you need to cut and paste a lot, there is an app called ShapeWriter Pro , though this feature will be in the upgrade too.)
• MMS messages (3G and the 3G S will be the only ones capable of MMS without jail-breaking)
• Forward SMS Messages (If you have jail-broken your phone iRealSMS already allows you to forward SMS)
• Voice Memos
• Landscape keyboard: (Another feature that already is present in Jail-broken iPhones and coming with the update.)
• Safari Improvements
• Internet Tethering (This is dependent on your country and service provider)
• Improved Calendar
• Spotlight Search

So what do you get for your upgrade fee and the 12-24 month lock in contract?

• An extra megapixel on the camera (be aware of the megapixel myth)
• Possibly longer video recording
• Better quality Video recording
• A faster CPU
• More RAM
• Voice control of media
• A compass

If you want to know more about the i-Phone 3gs or other options available you might want to take a look at the specs comparrison article which includes the Palm Pre and the HTC touch Pro 2.
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