Apple's iPhone 3G S sports 600MHz chip, oleophobic coating

[AppleInsider]

One of Apple's wireless partners is confirming Wednesday that the new iPhone 3G S indeed sports an embedded ARM processor that's 50 percent faster that the one employed by its predecessor. Meanwhile, Apple has provided its recommendations for cleaning the the handset, which is finished with an oleophobic coating.

600MHz iPhone 3G S chip

T-Mobile of the Netherlands is amongst the first to publish specifications for the iPhone 3G S's processor and onboard memory, noting that the device includes a "600 MHz-processor" and "256 RAM."

This revelation appears to confirm a detailed forum post from a Chinese insider that was first brought to light by AppleInsider early last month. Specifically, it noted that the new iPhone would look identical to the iPhone 3G but feature a 600MHz chip and 256MB of on-board RAM, compared to the iPhone 3G's 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.

As was reported a few weeks later, the 600MHz chip was rumored to be based off ARM's v7 Cortex reference designs, the successor to the ARMv6 chip currently employed in the second-generation iPod touch and iPhone 3G. However, AnandTech is now claiming it's the same ARM Cortex A8 found in the Palm Pre.

It's widely expected to be the last iPhone chip to be based off ARM's broadly available reference designs, with future iPhones expected to include ARM chips with proprietary Apple technology implemented by the company's recently-acquired team of engineers from P.A. Semi.

On Tuesday, AppleInsider confirmed the iPhone 3G S's graphics core to be the PowerVR SGX.

Oleophobic screen coating

Meanwhile, Apple has noted on its website the new iPhone 3G S's screen is finished with a "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating" not found on the iPhone 3G.

To clean the screen on the 3G S, the company recommends users simply wipe their iPhone’s screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove oil left by their hands and face. These cleaning instructions differ somewhat from "soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth" recommended for cleaning the iPhone 3G.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[teckstud]

"Aow- I miss the old coating!"
"I can't type as fast" etc, etc,

[bigmc6000]

I made a comment about the screen yesterday! Woo! (yeah, first time I caught something before AI had officially mentioned it).

So the specs of the 3Gs and the Pre CPU/RAM are exactly the same right?

[macxpress]

A nice addition...

Can't wait for mine to arrive!

[Hattig]

Originally Posted by bigmc6000

I made a comment about the screen yesterday! Woo! (yeah, first time I caught something before AI had officially mentioned it).

So the specs of the 3Gs and the Pre CPU/RAM are exactly the same right?

I believe that the Pre has a better GPU - iPhone has SGX 520, Pre has SGX530. Of course the clock speeds could be different, never mind the software/driver optimisation quality.

[rrobr]

Oleophobic screen coating. Huh. Does that mean the new iPhone doesn't like margerine?

[AIaddict]

Originally Posted by teckstud

"Aow- I miss the old coating!"
"I can't type as fast" etc, etc,

30 seconds after removing it from the box, the screen protector will be applied and it won't make any difference at all.

[AIaddict]

Originally Posted by rrobr

Oleophobic screen coating. Huh. Does that mean the new iPhone doesn't like margerine?

Just the screen, you should still spread margerine on the water damage indicator and the rest of the case.

[Leehblanc]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

To clean the screen on the 3G S, the company recommends users simply wipe their iPhone’s screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove oil left by their hands and face. These cleaning instructions differ somewhat from "soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth" recommended for cleaning the iPhone 3G.

The best thing I've ever used is denim. Yup, the front thigh of my jeans. And if that doesn't work, then huffing on the screen and using denim is the next best thing.

[rorober]

that my PowerMac (blue & white) G3 only had:
300 MHz,
64 MB of RAM
6 GB hard drive

That's the same amount of space Snow Leopard will remove on install!

[Booga]

Originally Posted by teckstud

"Aow- I miss the old coating!"
"I can't type as fast" etc, etc,

At least it will feel snappy!

[Kolchak]

It's great that it's oleophobic, but how resistant is it to scratches?

[DRayMIS]

Anandtech has a great article that details the new CPU / GPU, and says it uses the new Cortex A8, the same CPU that's in the Pre.

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3579

[Alfiejr]

the 3GS' new guts is not just about a faster processor. the entire System On A Chip has been redesigned. here is a great explanation of the details from a guy who really knows his stuff:

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3579

Prince, take note!

[good one, DRayMIS, you are two minutes faster}

[Robin Huber]

ARM was used in the Newton, was it not? I seem to recall that the series was "Strong ARM" processor. I always liked that clever moniker!

[Mazda 3s]

Originally Posted by Robin Huber

ARM was used in the Newton, was it not? I seem to recall that the series was "Strong ARM" processor. I always liked that clever moniker!

A big "meh" on the screen coating. I always protect my touch screen devices with a screen protector anyway. Already have a set of three coming from Hong Kong that I ordered on eBay for my 3G S

[dasein]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

One of Apple's wireless partners is confirming Wednesday that the new iPhone 3G S indeed sports an embedded ARM processor that's 50 percent faster that the one employed by its predecessor. Meanwhile, Apple has provided its recommendations for cleaning the the handset, which is finished with an oleophobic coating.

600MHz iPhone 3G S chip

I thought the 3G had the 620 MHz ARM chip, albeit clocked down. As for RAM, doesn't it also have 128MB, even though roughly half of that is system dedicated?

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by Robin Huber

ARM was used in the Newton, was it not? I seem to recall that the series was "Strong ARM" processor. I always liked that clever moniker!

Yes, the newton had a StrongARM processor. Original Newton Arm 610 at 20 MHz. Newton 2100 StrongARM 162 MHz.

The new iPhone at 600 MHz, that is so 2001! LOL.

I never use a screen protector on my iPhone or iPod. I don't want to ruin the clarity of the screen. I take care of my electronic devices. My iPhone and iPod don't have a scratch on them.

Oleophobic? Does that mean it is afraid of Oleos?

[addabox]

Personally, I think Apple has the right idea by not evening publishing CPU, GPU and ram specs.

It's about how the phone performs, how the UI feels, what the entire user experience is. If those things are very satisfactory to me, why should a I care about a string of numbers on some tech site somewhere? And by "me", I mean the average consumer, not tech enthusiasts.

I have no doubt that there will be people claiming that this or that phone is "better" because it has a faster processor or GPU. In fact, I can guarantee there will be the usual "LOL crappy old iPhone with its old hardware LOL" stuff bandied about, because spec list dick measuring is such a popular hobby.

But normal users don't care about that, they care how their hand held computer actually works. If there are annoying pauses and glitches they care; once the system hardware is fast enough to run the UI seamlessly and give you fast app switching, then it's just a great experience and further advances are about supporting more sophisticated apps.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by rrobr

Oleophobic screen coating. Huh. Does that mean the new iPhone doesn't like margerine?

Isn't that an iHate crime?

[ivan.rnn01]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

This revelation appears to confirm a detailed forum post from a Chinese insider that was first brought to light by AppleInsider early last month. Specifically, it noted that the new iPhone would look identical to the iPhone 3G but feature a 600MHz chip and 256MB of on-board RAM, compared to the iPhone 3G's 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.

No way.
Now everyone can access the results of real tests of real iPhone 3G[S].
They prove "chinese rumor" was all bullshit.

[maxfly1]

Despite the Oleophobic material or not, and knowing that nothing will erase an oil that lands on the phone, there are some cleaner choices like iKlenz and others that is specifically for the iPhone as a solution to make the iPhone like new again. I wouldn't want to just leave it to some material to somewhat "repel" oil, I Want it ALL off!!

[Splinemodel]

I'm excited about the Cortex A8. This is a great core. ARM has really raised the bar with the Cortex family, to the point that the long-held suspicion that "in the future" all CPUs would be based on ARM, PPC, or x86 is probably coming true sooner than we think. Even on the very low end ARM is cleaning up with the M0 and M3.

This news makes me want to start porting console emulators to the iPhone 3G S. Technically it should have more than enough guts to run even PS2 games (with the new GPU), but human interface limitations may challenge that.

Originally Posted by Robin Huber

ARM was used in the Newton, was it not? I seem to recall that the series was "Strong ARM" processor. I always liked that clever moniker!

ARM is a company and a line of processors. The StrongARM is quite a bit different than the Cortex A8. In fact, the difference is comparable to that of a Core 2 Duo and a Pentium 1.

[Rokken]

Originally Posted by addabox

Personally, I think Apple has the right idea by not evening publishing CPU, GPU and ram specs.

It's about how the phone performs, how the UI feels, what the entire user experience is. If those things are very satisfactory to me, why should a I care about a string of numbers on some tech site somewhere? And by "me", I mean the average consumer, not tech enthusiasts.

I have no doubt that there will be people claiming that this or that phone is "better" because it has a faster processor or GPU. In fact, I can guarantee there will be the usual "LOL crappy old iPhone with its old hardware LOL" stuff bandied about, because spec list dick measuring is such a popular hobby.

But normal users don't care about that, they care how their hand held computer actually works. If there are annoying pauses and glitches they care; once the system hardware is fast enough to run the UI seamlessly and give you fast app switching, then it's just a great experience and further advances are about supporting more sophisticated apps.

By checking tech sites like AppleInsider regularly and posting over 8,500 posts, you already qualified for "tech enthusiasts" but not one of average consumers :P

I don't understand why so many posters going after specs of CPU, RAM etc. and asking what real world improvements are, when Schiller already listed how many times faster are 3Gs over 3G during the keynote. It doesn't seem likely to me that he posts scam in their own developer conference.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by AIaddict

30 seconds after removing it from the box, the screen protector will be applied and it won't make any difference at all.

Originally Posted by Kolchak

It's great that it's oleophobic, but how resistant is it to scratches?

Originally Posted by Mazda 3s

A big "meh" on the screen coating. I always protect my touch screen devices with a screen protector anyway. Already have a set of three coming from Hong Kong that I ordered on eBay for my 3G S

Just to be picky here ...

You guys know that the iPhone has a tempered glass (almost un-scratchable) screen right?

Plastic screen protectors are for the old style (WinMobile, Treo, etc.) screens which are soft plastic and prone to scratching. The screen protector is more likely to damage your iPhone than protect it and the screen needs no protection in the first place.

Cases are for drop protection, screen protectors are only useful if they wrap around the whole device and provide water damage protection or something. They are otherwise quite useless on the iPhone.

Additionally, with the new coating, the glass would actually be easier to clean "naked," than with the cheap plastic film on top.

[anonymouse]

Originally Posted by maxfly1

Despite the Oleophobic material or not, and knowing that nothing will erase an oil that lands on the phone, there are some cleaner choices like iKlenz and others that is specifically for the iPhone as a solution to make the iPhone like new again. I wouldn't want to just leave it to some material to somewhat "repel" oil, I Want it ALL off!!

Well, that's the whole point of the oleophobic coating to keep oils from adhering so they will wipe right off (like car wax allows water to be wiped off). Cleaners, probably including iKlenz (which is probably mostly alcohol), will most likely take the oleophobic coating off and entirely negate the advantage of having it. Of course, even water might take it off, so it will be interesting to see how well it holds up.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by Rokken

By checking tech sites like AppleInsider regularly and posting over 8,500 posts, you already qualified for "tech enthusiasts" but not one of average consumers :P

Oh, for sure. I just sometimes try to think what things look like from the perspective of the average consumer. Most of my friends, acquaintances and family qualify as such, and if I tried to sell them on the new iPhone based on hardware specs their eyes would glaze over and they'd wonder why I was bothering them.

If they pick up a new iPhone and it seems all snappy and responsive and fun, that's all they care about.

I don't understand why so many posters going after specs of CPU, RAM etc. and asking what real world improvements are, when Schiller already listed how many times faster are 3Gs over 3G during the keynote. It doesn't seem likely to me that he posts scam in their own developer conference.

I can see why developers want to know, they have to make specific calculations as to what the new hardware can manage. For consumers, "fast" and "responsive" and "fluid" are the only metrics that matter.

[Fast Fred 1]

Always wash your hands .... after tweeting... and don't shake off your twitter either.

[brucep]

Originally Posted by Hattig

I believe that the Pre has a better GPU - iPhone has SGX 520, Pre has SGX530. Of course the clock speeds could be different, never mind the software/driver optimisation quality.

Already the pre is being looked at as a cheap lite feeling plastic future frisbee when i am mad phone. But i wish you good luck with your app filled sprint coverage pre.

Just saying.

9

[brucep]

Originally Posted by teckstud

"Aow- I miss the old coating!"
"I can't type as fast" etc, etc,

You have the number one post for this thread position. For years to come your post will set the over all tone for this topic..Could you at lesst try to be funny. Go back and edit now and make us chuckle.
Dude

9

[Postulant]

Originally Posted by macxpress

A nice addition...

Can't wait for mine to arrive!

Yep. Just ordered mine. I won't be standing in any lines this year.

[winterspan]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

that the new iPhone 3G S indeed sports an embedded ARM processor that's 50 percent faster that the one employed by its predecessor.

Perhaps on clockspeed alone, but that means nothing.

The 600mhz Cortex-A8 core (ARMv7) in the new iPhone 3GS is a major upgrade --- dual-issue, superscalar, with L2 cache and real SIMD engine. the Cortex-A8 core is roughly 2X AS FAST PER CLOCK as an ARM11 core .So even though it is "only" 600Mhz, it has the processing power of a 1200Mhz ARM11. So In essence, the new iPhone 3GS has nearly three times the raw processing power of the older iPhone 3G.

Similarly, the new PowerVR SGX GPU is going to be 2-3X times faster overall than the MBX Lite in the iPhone 3G.

@Appleinsider
You should update the article to emphasize the difference between the processors... This is not a minor clock speed bump. I'm sick of all the anti-Apple people on different blogs bashing the new iPhone because it only is a "speedbump".

[vinea]

Originally Posted by Splinemodel

I'm excited about the Cortex A8. This is a great core. ARM has really raised the bar with the Cortex family, to the point that the long-held suspicion that "in the future" all CPUs would be based on ARM, PPC, or x86 is probably coming true sooner than we think. Even on the very low end ARM is cleaning up with the M0 and M3.

This news makes me want to start porting console emulators to the iPhone 3G S. Technically it should have more than enough guts to run even PS2 games (with the new GPU), but human interface limitations may challenge that.

That's what the dock and bluetooth APIs are for.

External cases with a d-pad.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by anonymouse

Well, that's the whole point of the oleophobic coating to keep oils from adhering so they will wipe right off (like car wax allows water to be wiped off). Cleaners, probably including iKlenz (which is probably mostly alcohol), will most likely take the oleophobic coating off and entirely negate the advantage of having it. Of course, even water might take it off, so it will be interesting to see how well it holds up.

The Oleophobic coating is generally something you'd find on plastic and is a part of the curing or manufacture of that plastic.

I don't know how they managed to get this coating on glass instead of plastic, but there is a good chance it's similarly "cured" or baked in and won't come off except through actual abrasion and over a long period of time.

[solipsism]

Very nice, I had thought they would use this water-resisting but breathable tech to allow their notebooks better allow through the keyboard. I recall that AI did an article on the patent.

Originally Posted by Alfiejr

the 3GS' new guts is not just about a faster processor. the entire System On A Chip has been redesigned. here is a great explanation of the details from a guy who really knows his stuff:

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3579

Prince, take note!

[good one, DRayMIS, you are two minutes faster}

No need to be an ass. Anand is quite knowledgeable but AI and his site have very different focuses and clientele. The info that AI and Anand have is about the same, but AI doesn’t shaders, pipeline depth, triangles, etc. just as Anand won’t discuss new Mobileme features in details, Apple’s future business model and the quarterly earning of Apple. I read both sites because they both offer something the other doesn’t.

Originally Posted by dasein

I thought the 3G had the 620 MHz ARM chip, albeit clocked down. As for RAM, doesn't it also have 128MB, even though roughly half of that is system dedicated?

It does, but the clockspeed in the next iPhone will likely be running at 600MHz, not the ~420MHz that it currently runs at. That is only about 505 faster in clockspeed, but with every other new and improved aspect of the chip architecture you get about 2x the speed.

Originally Posted by addabox

Personally, I think Apple has the right idea by not evening publishing CPU, GPU and ram specs.

Me too. Besides being fun and generating a buzz within the deep tech community, there is no ay the bulk of their consumers would know what it means if you explained it to them. Even the vast majority of technical people fall short of really understanding HW specs. I am one of them. I have absolutely no clue about GPU power. I couldn’t tell you what a gigaFLOP is or why you need so many FLOPs.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by brucep

You have the number one post for this thread position. For years to come your post will set the over all tone for this topic..Could you at lesst try to be funny. Go back and edit now and make us chuckle.

There has been a new Teckstud around here as of late and I quite like it. If not for a post here or there are let me know it’s still him I would thought he was a pod person and had an Amber Alert issued for him NYC.

[mechengit]

I'm more interested in how PA Semi can come into play.

[anonymouse]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

The Oleophobic coating is generally something you'd find on plastic and is a part of the curing or manufacture of that plastic.

I don't know how they managed to get this coating on glass instead of plastic, but there is a good chance it's similarly "cured" or baked in and won't come off except through actual abrasion and over a long period of time.

That's probably true for the most part, but "cleaning solutions" (alcohol) will probably still take it off a lot faster than normal wear.

[DocNo42]

Originally Posted by Kolchak

It's great that it's oleophobic, but how resistant is it to scratches?

Are there really people who don't spend $10 and put a cover on their screen? It's the first thing I did and I wipe the fingerprints off of mine by just rubbing it on my shirt. No big deal...

Actually, it was a three pack of protectors for $20 and I'm on #2 a year later...

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by mechengit

I'm more interested in how PA Semi can come into play.

Me too. This is going to be great if PA Semi is already a part of this device.