The new iPhone 3G S. It's got a compass. (image courtesy Apple)

The Palm Pre came out Saturday and it was another salvo into the world of smartphones.  That world is dominated (in perception) by Apple and the iPhone.  The iPhone and AppStore are unmatched when it comes to apps (which they boasted 50,000 strong today at WWDC).  By comparison, there are only 23 (on last check) for the App Catalog on the Palm Pre.  If Saturday belonged to the Palm Pre, Monday definitely belongs to the new iPhone.

Dubbed the iPhone 3G S there are some pretty tall claims coming out of Cupertino. For $199 (same price after the Pre’s mail-in rebate hassle) you get double the memory 16GB on the iPhone 3G S.  Add $100 and for $299 you get 32GB.  As a consumer, I would have paid the premium INSTANTLY for the extra space on the Pre.   There are a lot of things that the Pre could do that the iPhone 3G could not, but Apple doesn’t take punches without throwing a few of its own.

It may look the same as the 3G, but the new iPhone 3G S is what Apple and AT&T are calling much faster.  There’s also a new 3.2 MP camera attached (still no flash, boo!) that is video capable at 30fps.  That’s a huge deal for a lot of customrs and I know was a deal-breaker for some.  It also leapfrogs the Pre, which supports MMS but doesn’t have video recording capablities (yet).  I’m not sure I’ve ever needed a compass, but there are people out there who do, so Apple built one in.  It also has Nike+ support for the runners out there and a new battery that CLAIMS to have 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WIFI internet use. (That’s a huge deal, better battery life is always appreciated, but will have to be proven in the real world.)

Price is competitive, in fact a better value if you’re only comparing handsets.  But, if you’re currently mid-contract on AT&T expect to shell out an extra $200 for the privilege of owning a 3G S.  Also, with the new release, the current 3G model is seeing a price drop to $99. Engadget has a nice “Tale of the Tape” between the two.

There’s complete coverage all around the web from the WWDC.  I’ve gotten a lot of updates from links on Techmeme.com

Is the 3G S enough to get you to switch? Feel free to hit up the comments section below.

After the break is the full release I got from AT & T and one from Apple. (more…)

Now, I’m not going to complete the Star Trek line, but I’m glad I had an opportunity to use it.

AT&T sent me a Blackberry Bold to review… so let’s get on with it.

Now, this is just the second Blackberry phone I’ve ever used.  The first being the Storm.  The Storm’s novelty was that it was providing a Blackberry-like keyboard on a touchscreen.  Well the Bold’s novelty is that it provides a Blackberry-like keyboard that’s the best I’ve ever typed on.

A finer typing experience, I have not seen in a mobile phone. (Image courtesy: www.blackberry.com)

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It’s not every day that you get your hands on a phone that’s more than a phone.  When I unboxed the LG Vu, I was holding in my hands the next step.  Live TV on a cell phone, now possible with the LG Vu.  Not only is it possible, the quality is GREAT.  Let me say that again, the live TV quality on the cell phone was GREAT.  I showed it around the newsroom, and everyone who saw it was amazed.  Granted that live TV comes with a nice fee tagged on to your monthly bill, but it is a pretty nice step forward where the service is available.

Read on for the rest of my thoughts, mostly good, little bad and some in the middle.

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