So many in tech journalism have sounded from guardedly unimpressed to downright deflated over the rumors of the next iPhone. It’s easy to understand why: a mere hardware upgrade with little in the way of major cosmetic changes doesn’t generate much buzz. Consider, though, the 3GS: Released 364 days after the 3G, its increased processor speed and RAM capacity made it far more resistant to the increased demands of iOS 4, allowing 3GS users to take advantage of major changes, including video capture and multitasking, which remain unavailable to non-jailbroken 3G phones. The life cycle of the 3G effectively ended 2 years after its release, where the 3GS has demonstrated itself more resilient and usable with consumer-demanded features, and 3GS users have already shown themselves a little more reluctant to upgrade to the iPhone 4.
Should Apple and AT&T provide support for the HSPA+ protocol, the new phone will be able to download data 5 times faster than the 3GS and 3 times faster than the iPhone 4, making it a subtle but formidable release.
