Apple iPhone 3GS

Apple iPhone 3GS adds support for HSDPA 7.2 Mbps fast data and a digital compass. The new model from Cupertino's factory also has an improved battery life and working speed - loading is much more faster. The camera is upgraded to a 3-megapixel sensor with autofocus and tap to focus option and is capable of video recording with a VGA resolution (640x480 pixels). In the other aspects, Apple iPhone 3GS is pretty much the same as the previous version and has a 3.5" multi-touch display with resolution of 480x320 pixels, Wi-Fi, GPS and it has the same size.

Share

Apple iPhone 3GS specifications

also known as Apple iPhone 3G S

Pros

No pros

Cons

  • Low pixel densitiy screen, below 180ppi (165 ppi)
  • Slow processor (600 MHz)
  • Too little RAM memory (256 MB RAM)
  • Low-resolution camera (3 megapixels)
  • Low-resolution video capture
  • Lacks microSD slot for storage expansion
  • Proprietary USB connector - have to use its cable instead of a standard microUSB

Design

  • Device type:
    • Smart phone
  • OS:
    • iOS (5, 4.x, 3.x)
  • Form factor:

    Form factor - Refers to the form factor of a phone. The main handset designs are bar, clamshell, slide, swivel

    • Candybar
  • Dimensions:
    • 4.50 x 2.40 x 0.48 (115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm)
  • Weight:
    • 4.76 oz (135 g)
      the average is 4.2 oz (120 g)

Display

  • Physical size:
    • 3.50 inches
  • Resolution:
    • 320 x 480 pixels
  • Pixel density:

    Pixel density - The pixel density of a display represents the number of pixels over an area of one inch. It’s measured in “pixels per inch”, or ppi. The higher the number, the more detailed and good-looking the display is.

    • 165 ppi
  • Technology:

    Technology - There are two main screen technologies currently used in phones and tablets: LCD and AMOLED. The former usually features a light source and liquid crystals, while the latter is based on organic light-emitting diodes. Newer LCD variations like IPS-LCD and Super-LCD allow for very accurate color reproduction and very wide viewing angles, where no significant image quality loss is observed. Current AMOLED screens differ in such a way that they can exhibit much more saturated colors (sometimes too much) and incredibly high contrast levels, which is due to black color being completely black in AMOLED displays.

    • LCD
  • Colors:

    Colors - Shows the number of colors that the display supports

    • 16 777 216
  • Touchscreen:
      • Capacitive, Multi-touch
  • Features:
    • Light sensor, Proximity sensor

Battery

  • Talk time:

    Talk time - Maximum talk time in hours

    • 12.00 hours
      the average is 8 h (496 min)
  • Stand-by time:
    • 12.5 days (300 hours)
      the average is 21 days (498 h)
  • Capacity:
    • 1219 mAh

Hardware

  • Processor:

    Processor - The processor is the main computing component of a phone and is a major factor when it comes to the overall speed of the device. Some more powerful smartphones use dual-core and quad-core processors designed to deliver greater performance.

    • Single core, 600 MHz
  • Graphics processor:
      • PowerVR SGX 535 GPU
  • System memory:

    System memory - System memory, or RAM memory is the type of memory that the device uses to temporarily store data from the OS or currently-running apps. The more RAM available to the device, the better the performance will be when multiple or heavier programs are running.

    • 256 MB RAM
  • Built-in storage:
    • 32000 MB

Camera

  • Camera:
      • 3 megapixels
    • Features:
      • Auto focus, Touch to focus, Geo tagging
  • Camcorder:
      • 640x480 (VGA) (30 fps)

Multimedia

  • Speakers:
    • Earpiece, Loudspeaker
  • YouTube player:
    • Yes

Internet browsing

  • Browser:
      • Safari
    • Supports:
      • HTML
  • Built-in online services support:
    • YouTube (upload)

Technology

  • GSM:

    GSM - Global System for Mobile communications. A world standard for digital cellular communications using narrowband TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), which allows up to eight calls at a time on 800 MHz and 1800 MHz frequencies. Introduced in 1991. Is the standard most commonly used in Europe and Asia, but not in the United States. GSM phones use a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) smart card that contains user account information. Any GSM phone becomes immediately programmed after plugging in the SIM card, thus allowing GSM phones to be easily rented or borrowed.

    • 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
  • UMTS:

    UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service, also called WCDMA, is a 3G (Third Generation) packet-based transmission of text, digitized voice, video, and multimedia at data rates up to 2 Mbps. It is based on GSM standard and is supported by major standards bodies and manufacturers

    • 850, 1900, 2100 MHz
  • Data:

    Data - Shows the particular phone's type of data. the major mobile phone data types are GPRS, CDMA2000 1xRTT, EDGE, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, UMTS, etc.

    • HSDPA 7.2 Mbit/s, UMTS, EDGE
  • Positioning:

    Positioning - This field shows the positioning systems supported by the device. There are three main types: GPS, A-GPS and GLONASS. GPS - This is one of the most widespread global positioning technologies, developed and maintained by the U.S. government. It uses satellites in order to detect your location. Works best in clear weather. A-GPS - A-GPS stands for Assisted GPS and is the industry standard for positioning and navigation. “Assisted” means that it can use local wireless networks, in addition to satellites, for quicker and more precise localization. GLONASS - GLONASS is a global positioning system, developed by the Russian Federation. It’s very similar to GPS, but isn’t so popular in cell phones.

    • GPS
  • Navigation:
    • Yes

Phone features

  • Phonebook:
    • Unlimited entries, Multiple numbers per contact, Picture ID, Ring ID
  • Organizer:
    • Calendar, Alarm, Document viewer, Calculator (Office 2007, Office 2003, PDF), Timer, Stopwatch
  • Messaging:
    • SMS, MMS, Threaded view, Predictive text input
  • E-mail:
      • IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Microsoft Exchange, MobileMe

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth:
      • 2.1, EDR
  • Wi-Fi:

    Wi-Fi - Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) - used radio waves (RF) or infrared signals to send and receive data over the air. Most popular WLAN solutions today is Wi-Fi (802.11b and 802.11g) standards. 801.11b provides data speeds of around 11mbps while 802.11g can go up to 54 mbps.

      • 802.11 b, g
  • USB:
      • USB 2.0
    • Connector:
      • Proprietary
    • Computer sync, OTA sync

Other features

  • Notifications:
    • Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Phone profiles, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
  • Sensors:
      • Accelerometer, Compass
    • Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Availability

  • Officially announced:
    • 08 Jun 2009

Alternative variants

We list only the specs that are different than the main variant

Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB

Hardware

  • Built-in storage:
    • 8192 MB

Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB

Hardware

  • Built-in storage:
    • 16000 MB

To see the full specifications with in-depth details click here.

Despite our efforts to provide full and correct Apple iPhone 3GS specifications, there is always a possibility of admitting a mistake. If you see any wrong or incomplete data, please LET US KNOW.

If you are interested in using our specs commercially, check out our Phone specs database licensing page.

Share this page:

Discuss4

New Apple Phones

Apple iPad 3 Verizon

Apple iPad 3 Verizon

Apple iPad 3 AT&T

Apple iPad 3 AT&T

Apple iPad 3

Apple iPad 3

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple iPad 2 Verizon

Apple iPad 2 Verizon

Apple iPad 2

Apple iPad 2


User circle

05blacksrt

Had it

1iam5mith

Had it

ableroner

Have it

AccessoryE

Have it

AdiB990

Have it

adzadz

Had it

akg2403

Have it

Alistair

Had it

almiw55

Had it

AlternateC

Had it

amethyst08

Have it

andiiwest

Had it

AndroidNex

Have it

AndroidOS

Had it

AppleFan73

Have it

Archan_Pe

Had it

arcq12

Had it

asamirid

Have it

Astreo

Had it

astrocramp

Had it

Rivals

Here you'll find the models that our readers have compared to Apple iPhone 3GS the most, using our specs comparison tool.
Click on a rival to jump to it.
iPad 2 Cases

All content (phone reviews, news, specs, info), design and layouts are Copyright 2001-2012 phoneArena.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without written permission is prohibited!
Privacy | Terms of use