iPhone 3G S

Political, religious, and military leaders have learned to keep crowds waiting before appearing to deliver a speech. The idea is that the anticipation builds to a frenzy, and no matter what the orator offers the crowd, they’re happy to have it. Incidentally, the iPhone 3G S is now available. Apple’s follow-up to its popular cell phone has improved hardware and new features that can only be loved after a year of anticipation. With 16- and 32-gigabyte models—improved over the previous 8 gigs—the phone can finally genuinely act as an iPod and a smart phone. In addition, most apps are quicker thanks to increased processing power and RAM. However, what most people are excited about are the “new” features, many of which are available for older iPhones via the simultaneously released version 3.0 upgrade for the operating system. The ability to copy and paste, use a landscape keyboard, send MMS messages (multimedia texts), and video recording have Apple geeks squealing with joy. If some of these features sound familiar, it’s because smart phones have had them for years. Beware, AT&T (the sole carrier for the iPhone) isn’t making MMS and Internet tethering available in the U.S. until sometime later in the year—just to keep us on the edge of our seats.