Apple iPhone 3G S Video Review

Handling & Use Summary
• The iPhone is incredibly easy to use, thanks to an intuitive touch screen interface • The option of a vertical or horizontal orientation is a plus • The shutter button is awkward to reach with your thumb when held upright • Massive 3.5-inch LCD is a real treat
	Still Features	(Page 9 of 17)	Playback & Connectivity

Ease of Use (7.0)

The iPhone 3G S is one of the easiest "camcorders" you'll ever see. Video mode doesn't really offer any settings or features, other than the simple spot focus option, and the menu system is essentially non-existent. Uploading video to YouTube or email is a snap—you just click a button, fill out some info, and the phone does the rest. Of course, if the thought of doing all this stuff on a tiny, pocket-sized cell phone bothers you, then the iPhone may give you some headaches. The keyboard is small and can be frustrating, and the touchscreen system isn't for everyone. Still, as far as video recording goes, there really isn't anything simpler.

Things can get a bit complicated if you want to export video to a computer. To do this you'll need to learn the ins and outs of iTunes and the process of syncing, but this really isn't anything too difficult to master. Plus, Apple provides excellent documentation on the web to assist you with troubleshooting issues or any problems you may have.

Handling (6.15)

The Apple iPhone 3G S can be handled much like the upright form factors of a Flip Mino or similar ultracompact camcorder. The body rests easily in your hand and uses the same "cellphone" grip that has been used ever since the advent of cellphone cameras. One notable difference is in the location of the shutter button: when held in the portrait orientation, the shutter button is an onscreen tap low on the back of the cellphone. This results in either an awkward thumb position or less support for the upper half of the cellphone. Most phones have a shutter button more centrally located so that the body of the phone is easy to support and the button lies under the natural resting position of the thumb. Such is the case for the Flip variety of camcorder as well.

The phone is thin and sleek...		... but the grip isn't the best

One significant advantage that you will find with the iPhone is that it can be held in the traditional vertical cellphone grip, but also in a horizontal position, much like a point-and-shoot digital camera. This allows for a stable, two-handed grip. The only danger with this handhold is that your left hand will accidentally block the lens. While most point-and-shoot cameras place the lens in the center of the camera, the small iPhone lens is on the far upper-left corner.

The phone can be used either horizontally or vertically.

Many cellphone cameras these days offer this orientation, but they usually place the shutter button directly under the right index finger—right where you would find it on a digital camera. The iPhone's shutter button is in the same place whether you're holding the phone vertically or horizontally. That onscreen tap, however, is in a convenient location: you can reach it easily with either thumb. In fact, the thumb can reach the shutter button more comfortably in this position than in the traditional vertical "cellphone grip."

It feels more natural to hold the phone horizontally.

One final difference that you might notice between the iPhone and many other cellphones is that the playback interface and other options are all controlled via the trademark iPhone touchscreen style. With many cellphones, you use some kind of directional pad to navigate through thumbnails, edit and/or upload videos, and activate menu features. The iPhone, however, can rest in one hand while the other hand uses the touchscreen interface. On cell phones, touch screens are still the exception rather than the rule. Ultracompact camcorders like the Flip avoid touchscreens, since they would increase the price of the product.

With more and more camcorders incorporating touchscreen technology, navigating through the iPhone's video menus feels surprisingly like navigating the menus of a top-of-the-line consumer camcorder—only with no manual controls and far fewer options. We're also a big fan of the new "fingerprint-resistant oleophobiccoating." If only Sony and Panasonic could get their hands on this technology!

Stabilization (0.0)

The Apple iPhone 3G S does not have any kind of image stabilization system. That means your videos will have that shaky Cloverfield look to it... unless you've managed to mount the iPhone on a tripod. Since the iPhone doesn't actually have a tripod mount, you would have to use a tripod clamp accessory or just keep your hands as steady as possible. You would be in the same boat with most budget camcorders, as they don't have any kind of stabilization either. (More on how we test stabilization.)

Portability (12.1)

The iPhone 3G S is the same size as previous incarnations of the iPhone. It is, however, wider and taller than most ultracompact camcorders, especially the Flip Mino and Flip MinoHD. On the other hand, it is slimmer than most of these camcorders—half the thickness of the Flip Ultra and Flip UltraHD.

The biggest drawback to portability is the relatively fragile nature of the iPhone compared to most budget cams. The huge screen is less durable than the small LCDs on Flip cams. You also have slightly more limited storage, since the camera cannot record to removable memory cards.

On the other hand, 16GB or 32GB of internal memory isn't bad, especially if you don't fill it up with music and movies. Plus, on the iPhone, you can take your videos/photos and upload them straight to YouTube or your MobileMe account, using the iPhone's built-in WiFi. That's something you can't do on any consumer camcorder.

Battery Life (7.65)

We ran the battery test on the iPhone 3G S with the phone in Airplane mode, which disengages all wireless and cell-phone network connection activity. In this mode, the phone recorded video for 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 9 seconds before the battery died. This is a very good battery life and it is better than most ultra-compact camcorders are capable of. In our test, we also noticed the phone stopped recording video after roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes of straight recording. This must be due to the phone having a maximum clip length restriction of some sort. (More on how we test battery life.)

The iPhone can charge via USB by plugging the cellphone into your computer or into the small wall outlet adapter. The phone conveniently ships with the both the USB cable and the wall adapter.

LCD & Viewfinder (7.66)

The iPhone features a massive 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD with a resolution of 153,600 pixels. This is significantly larger than anything you'll find on a camcorder and is larger than most cellphone screens—even those with a touchscreen. The large LCD accounts for the larger size of the phone as well; most ultracompact camcorders are neither as wide, nor as tall as the iPhone 3G S.

Though this LCD is the same size as the screen that was on previous generation iPhones, the 3G S features a new "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating," which will keep your iPhone from looking like a pan of bacon three minutes out of the box. This is a technology we wouldn't mind seeing on the touchscreens of traditional consumer camcorders.

The 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD is one of the primary components of the iPhone 3G S.

Of course, the iPhone does not have any kind of viewfinder for lining up your shots; you'll have to rely on the massive LCD for that. It's not that it would be impossible to include a viewfinder—some tiny point-and-shoot cameras have a minuscule viewfinder—but Apple obviously didn't think a viewfinder was necessary on the iPhone. We agree.

Menus (5.75)

There's a lot to recommend the entire handling experience with iPhones, which has been covered in exhaustive detail across the Internet for two years. We'll limit ourselves to the menu functions in the video mode. Even after several software upgrades since its inception, the hallmark of the iPhone's menu has been simplicity and intuitiveness. Usually, if you want to engage a setting, you simply tap the screen. If the screen is completely absent of items, just tap the screen to un-hide them.

The home screen typifies the easy menu navigation of the Apple iPhone 3G S.

In video recording mode, the only menu items are along the bottom of the touchscreen—an icon to shift to Playback mode, a record button, and a still/video switch. Playback, discussed more thoroughly on the next page of this review, couldn't be simpler.

The phone's main menu		The phone's main menu, continued

The complete absence of manual controls practically necessitates a minimum amount of menu clutter, but it's iPhone's smart design that makes simplicity a benefit rather than a frustration. Take, for instance, the Kodak Zx1,  another video device lacking in manual controls. To access the menu, it requires that you press down any two buttons simultaneously—an arcane, unmarked, and completely unintuitive process. Well done, Apple (as if you haven't heard that enough by now).

Deleting a video on the iPhone is easy.		The video export options