Apple iPhone 3G S

Compression (5.0)

The iPhone 3G S uses the standard MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression. This is the same codec used by many of the ultra compact camcorders, including the Flip series. Although the codec is capable of handling high definition video—as it does for the high definition Flip and Webbie series—the iPhone records only standard definition video.

The .mov files that are created by the iPhone are easily compatible with iTunes or QuickTime. If you own a PC, you will need to install the Windows versions of either program or use a conversion codec to read the files in Windows Media Player. If you own an iPhone, however, chances are that you already have iTunes installed.

	Resolution	File Format	Codec
Apple iPhone 3G S	640 x 480	.mov	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
Samsung Omnia	640 x 480	.3g2	MPEG-4 3ivx
Flip UltraHD	1280 x 720	.mp4	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
Sony MHS-PM1	1920 x 1080	.mp4	MPEG-4 AVC/H.264

These .mov files are not quite as versatile as the MP4 files that are used by most ultra compact camcorders. They are, however, much easier to handle than the .3g2 files that many cellphones output. The Samsung Omnia, which we tested as a comparison model for this review, is one such cellphone. The 3ivx compression is essentially just another MPEG-4 codec, but the resulting files are difficult to read unless you installed special software that came with the phone.

Media (7.52)

The iPhone 3G S records still photos and videos to internal flash memory. There are two models available: 16GB and 32GB. This is an upgrade from last year's 3G, which offered 8GB and 16GB models. The iPhone does not support any kind of external memory, like microSD cards. Many cell phones, including the Samsung Omnia, offer you the option of recording to either internal memory or microSD. (The Omnia has 8 GB of internal memory and supports up to 16GB microSD cards.)

In the budget camcorder category, recording media is anything but constant. The Flip series records entirely to internal memory, ranging from 2 GB to 8 GB. The Webbie HD series from Sony uses Sony's proprietary MemoryStick PRO Duo cards, while models from Kodak and RCA record to standard SD/SDHC memory cards. Internal memory is convenient, since it can't be misplaced and doesn't require a separate purchase. With memory cards, however, you can have a theoretically endless supply of memory cards; when one fills up, you can simply replace it with another, without the need to transfer files onto a computer.

Apple does not include specs on record times, but we found that about one minute of video was equivalent to about 25MB. Files sizes will vary greatly depending on what's being recording, but we expect you can cram about 18 hours of video onto the 32GB model—assuming you're not using that space for your epic iTunes library.

Editing (8.0)

One of the big benefits of the iPhone 3G S is its ability to upload video directly from the phone to YouTube, email, or MobileMe. After you shoot a video, just click on the little export icon in the lower left of the screen. This brings up the export menu (see below). If you thought using the Flip camcorder to upload to YouTube was easy, you'll be blown away by the simplicity of the iPhone 3G S. You never have to connect to a computer to get your videos onto the web.

The video export options

If you select YouTube upload as an option, a small box appears that asks you to enter your login info. After you enter this stuff, the phone begins the upload process and you are just seconds away from publishing your video on the net. You can also upload video to your MobileMe gallery in the same manner (if you have an account). MobileMe is a web service from Apple that, among other things, gives you online storage space for media and files. Friends and family can login to your MobileMe gallery and view the videos or photos you have uploaded directly from your iPhone.

You don't even have to connect to a computer to export to YouTube

The iPhone 3G S also has a simple internal editing feature that allows you to trim clips that you have recorded. Many camcorders offer this feature, but none have implemented it as well as Apple. When you open a video, a small time line appears at the top of the screen. Simply drag the ends of the time line in order to set new start/stop points for the video. You can even play the trimmed selection before you actually save it as a new video. Once you are satisfied with the edits, you can click the 'Trim' button and the new video is created in seconds. The feature is so simple and intuitive that we can actually imagine people using it quite often—something we rarely say about a camcorder's internal editing features.

The trim feature is intuitive and simple.