Apple iPhone 3G S Cell Phone Review - Making/Receiving Calls

We found making and receiving calls on the iPhone 3G S took about the same amount of time as on the 3G.  However, some functions (such as going from the phone in standby to making a call) are a little quicker, thanks to the generally speedier operation of the phone.

Dialing Speed (5.81)
We were able to dial a number on the Apple iPhone 3G S in an average of 3.44 seconds. Although this isn't particularly speedy, you can see below that several of our comparison phones were significantly faster, it is faster than either of the previous iPhone models. Once again an indication that the "S" really does stand for speed, at least in comparison to previous iPhones. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Send and End Buttons (5.0)
The send and end buttons on the iPhone 3G S are identical to those we saw on previous iPhone's. They are, of course, virtual buttons on screen. The send button is found in the dialing pad in the phone application and the end button takes up the bottom of the screen during a call. They are both pretty easy to hit, but obviously don't offer the tactile feedback or ability to find by feel that real buttons would.

Call Management (7.5)
The iPhone's call history screen does include a couple of upgrades thanks to the 3.0 software. First up is an indicator under each number showing you whether the call was outgoing or incoming. Location information about the number is also included now, which is a nice touch. Other than that the interface is the same, with a filter for missed calls at the top and no limit to the total number of calls listed.

During a call the interface is exactly the same, with large buttons for mute and hold as well as options for conference calling. Unfortunately you still can't record calls, despite the new voice recorder application that Apple includes. In fact the voice recorder is disabled during calls.

Startup to Call (3.48)
It took us an average of 28.7 seconds to start the iPhone up and make a phone call. Although significantly better than the iPhone 3G, this is actually a bit slower than the original iPhone. Of course you also have to consider that the software on each of those devices has changed as we have tested it, which can have an effect on this result as well. Still, compared to the iPhone 3G the 3G S once again shows itself to be a speedier beast. Compared to regular cell phones, however, waiting almost half a minute to start up and make a call is still pretty poor performance. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Ring Volume (8.44)
The Apple iPhone 3G S's ring volume was measured at 84.4 decibels, which is significantly lower than average for all phones, and is about the same as the original iPhone.

Ringtones (1.0)
As with previous iPhones getting your own ringtones onto the device or using your own music files is not an easy process. You can purchase ringtones from iTunes, including clipping songs you've purchased into custom ringtones. If you're on a Mac you can also use Garageband to create your own ringtones. Either way you can't simply choose a song on your phone and use it as a ringtone. We'll give the iPhone 3G S a point for this functionality, but it's not what we want.

Non-Audio Alerts (7.0)
The Apple iPhone 3G S's vibrate feature is unchanged from the previous version, which means it does an average, but not spectacular job. The large display, however, is definitely noticeable when a call comes in, as long as you happen to be looking at it.

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