The iPhone 3G was very similar to its predecessor, as it came with the same 2MP camera which did not support video recording, and was limited by the same amount of 128 MB of eDRAM memory. However, the two devices are not identical, as the iPhone 3G shows several improvements over the original phone, like Assisted GPS support, 3G data and Quad-Band UMTS/HSDPA.T he 3G kept the iconic features of the original iPhone, such as screen size or button alignment.
The iPhone 3G, as the original iPhone, and all other iPhone models after it, is controlled by a multi touch sensitive liquid crystal display. The display is designed for the usage of bare fingers, and does not support any gloves or styli that are not special developed for this purpose. Common gloves or styli won't work because they do not generate a sufficient amount of electrical conductivity. The 3G iPhone uses Apple's iOS (former iPhone OS) operating system, like its predecessors and successors. The iPhone 3G can only execute third party applications(known as Apps in the Apple universe) that were checked and proved by Apple itself, and obtained via Apple's online store, called the AppStore. Using any software that doesn't meet those conditions can cause serious software damage to the device that will not be covered by the user's warranty.
The iPhone 3G came preloaded with Apple's newest version of the iOS operating system. This was done not only to update the software data and fix bugs, but also as an effort to prevent people for jailbreaking the device. By jailbreaking it, one gains access to certain features that were forbidden by Apple unless certain conditions were met. Jailbreaking it also causes the warranty to no longer be valid. When it was released in 2008, the iPhone 3G was preloaded with Apple's iOS 2.0, which introduced several new features to the device, such as the AppStore mentioned earlier, the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, Apple's MobileMe, push email support, and other new features and bug fixes.
Apple supported the iPhone 3G by updating its iOS version periodically, usually once a year. In June 2009, the iPhone 3G was updated to iOS 3.0 which introduced the MMS feature, copy and paste, landscape mode support for more applications, as well as Bluetooth stereo support. On June 2010, the iPhone 3G users were granted the iOS 4.0, but it lacked certain features that were available for the iPhone 3GS, such as Bluetooth keyboard support, HomeScreen wallpaper support or multitasking.