The iPhone 3GS will be available starting July 31 in the local market through Globe Telecom, the exclusive provider of Apple iPhones in the country. The earlier iPhone version, the iPhone 3G, is still available, but only in the 8GB version. So the current options include the 8GB iPhone 3G, 16GB iPhone 3GS, and 32GB iPhone 3GS.

I will not provide you with a full review since there are tons available on the internet already (yeah, pains me as well since we are only getting it now), but I will let you know how the 3GS performs locally.

First off, I have a black 16GB iPhone 3GS and it is not physically different from the 3G. All changes are in software and some internal circuitry. The iPhone 3GS runs on iPhone OS 3.0, similar to what is available on the 3G. If you have not upgraded your 3G to iPhone OS 3.0, then you are missing a lot! Upgrade now and decide if you still want to upgrade to the 3GS or not; the major differences between the 3G and the 3GS are the 3GS’s 3 megapixel auto-focusing still and video camera, the compass, and voice control, in addition to the speed increase.

Is it really fast? I'd say a DEFINITE YES! The 3GS is really snappy compared to the 3G. Apple claims it’s twice as fast and based on my experience, this claim is now verified! Booting up, launching apps, rendering websites, and even the keyboard response time has greatly improved. If you are a speed freak, then this alone is enough reason to upgrade.

The 3GS-only video capture made me think twice about bringing my Kodak Zi6 with me. While the video resolution is nothing close to the HD-quality that I get from the Kodak, it's in-phone but limited video editing surely beats most of the portable video cameras out there today! Uploading videos is also easy (and you can send it as MMS, too). However, I heard that Apple limited the size of the video file that you can upload but I have yet to verify this; using a third-party app, however, is a way to get around this limitation.

Voice Control simply works! Even with Pinoy-sounding names, the iPhone 3GS magically knows which one to call. Unfortunately, I am not fond of this feature, even with my other previous non-iPhone phones. However, if Apple decides to include Thought Control, then maybe I will just bite. :P

The built-in compass is a nice tool. Unfortunately, the only way for me to use it is with the built-in Map application. Other than that, it has no other use for me. I am hoping that third-party applications will soon be made available to take advantage of this new feature.

Going back to "S stands for Speed," is the 3GS faster than the 3G when it comes to connecting to the 3G network? Definitely... NOT!

 Unfortunately, the Globe 3G network remains the same; even if they made improvements to it, then I have not felt it. It is the same in the sense that it is not that fast and nor is it widely available. Was in TIP QC two Saturdays ago and there was not a single bar of Globe signal inside the campus (ask the Globe person with me then! haha). So, iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G, no difference in 3G data connection performance.

“S,” however, does sound for Speed with respect to the Globe network. Speed in sucking battery life! I wrote about how much power is wasted by devices when it frequently searches for the 3G signal and turning it off defeats the purpose of having a 3G device at all! Turn off 3G if you want to prolong your battery life, but in my case, NO WAY!

Battery life, I found out, is poor for those who upgraded to iPhone OS 3.0 and restored from back-up. For some strange reason, this makes the iPhone (3G or 3GS) eat battery power like my kids eat Twister fries! Gone in sixty seconds! Hahaha. Seriously, though, restoring to factory default and re-configuring the iPhone improves the battery life. This is where having a MobileMe to sync data with is beneficial; however, your third-party app data is another matter.

And oh, the 3GS still does not make Visual Voicemail work locally. I just don't know who uses voice mail in the Philippines, though. I know that we'd rather SMS than leave voice mail, but I may be wrong. If you use voice mail, please let me know.

Overall, is it worth the upgrade? Well, to me it is. The camera and the improved speed were enough to convince me to upgrade. The question now is: will I get a good deal from Globe? Now that is another story.