iPhone News Updated

Review: Apple’s Speedy iPhone 3GS

Its blazing speed and new features make the 3GS Apple’s best iPhone yet, but its App Store, and easy-to-use OS are what set it apart from the Palm Pre and Nokia N97.

Advance reviews of the iPhone 3GS hit the Web just before the device launched on June 19. Most labeled the new smartphone from Apple “evolutionary, not revolutionary.” While I am inclined to agree with that basic sentiment, there’s actually a lot more going on here that deserves comment.

My colleague, Mitch Wagner, did a fine job reviewing all the new features of the iPhone operating system 3.0 (including cut-and-paste, Spotlight Search, voice memos, and remote wipe), so this review will focus instead on those refinements that are particular only to the iPhone 3GS hardware itself. First up, all the new goodies.

Camera And Video Capture

The most significant improvement of the iPhone 3GS over previous models is the camera. Apple has updated the 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera to a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus. The new camera takes better pictures all around. They are sharper, show more details, have less grain (noise), and are better exposed.

Pictures still are not perfect, but the iPhone 3GS does a great job for a phone. It will replace that point-and-shoot camera you may carry on vacation, but won’t replace a dSLR used for serious photography. It still lacks a number of features, such as white balance control and exposure control, and doesn’t offer advanced features such as bracketing and panoramic shooting.

The new touch-to-focus function is fun to use. If you want the iPhone to focus on a specific object in the viewfinder, simply touch that part of the screen and that’s where it will focus. It works quickly, shoots pictures fast, and returns to the image-capture screen in an instant. The result is sharper images. Apple says it improved the low-light performance of the iPhone’s camera as well. Based on images I captured in low-light situations, they are indeed improved. Apple did this without the use of a flash and instead by improving the camera module’s sensitivity.
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Download iPod Access Photo 1.7 - Supports iPhone OS 3.0

iPod Access Photo, the premier application for copying photos from your iPod or iPhone to your Mac, has reached version 1.7. Adding support for iPhone OS 3.0, iTunes 8.2, and improved support for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, the new release is a free update for previous users – just download and install!

“Need to get photos off your iPod and back onto your Mac? If so, you have probably realized that the iPod stores photos in ithmb files,” Findley Designs says. “These files contain all the photo data for your iPod to display but can not be read by regular photo programs. iPod Access Photo solves this problem by allowing you to select individual photos and albums to be moved back onto your computer or an external hard drive.”

iPod Access Photo is also a companion to iPod Access, the company reveals. The latter allows you to copy your music and videos off your iPod and to your computer. “With both programs installed on your computer you have complete control over all the media on your iPod that is important to you,” the developer adds.
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