The iPhone 3G was very similar to the device it has replaced, as it had the same 2MP camera which did not support video recording, and had the performance limited by the same memory unit of 128 MB eDRAM. However, the two devices were not identical, as the iPhone 3G featured several improvements over the original phone, like Assisted GPS, 3G data and Quad-Band UMTS/HSDPA.
Like all other iPhone models, the device runs on Apple's iOS (first called iPhone OS) operating system which is also implemented on other touch screen based Apple devices, like the iPod portable media player or the iPad tablet computer. Apple provides support for the iPhone's iOS, and provides updates wich fix bugs or increase performance. Usually, a major iOS update release is introduced alongside a new model of the iPhone (and viceversa), so, when the iPhone 3G came out, Apple also released the iOS 2.0, and when the iPhone 3GS came out, Apple released the iOS 3.0, and so on.
Also like the rest of the iPhone family, the control over the iPhone 3G is built around is multi touch sensitive liquid crystal display. The touchscreen LCD is developed for the usage of bare fingers, so some gloves or styluses may not work, because they do not generate the necessary amount of electrical conductivity. However, special gloves or styluses can be used to operate the iPhone. The size of the screen (3.5 inch)is one of the iPhone's iconic characteristics which survived all four transformations(the iPhone has released four models so far).
The iPhone 3G can execute a large number of applications. In order for people to use applications without any risk, they must be checked and approved by Apple itself, and obtained only through the company's online store named AppStore. If one does otherwise, he may experience serious technical or software problems which may not be covered by the devices warranty.
The iPhone 3G was released in twenty-two countries, which included the original six. It was released in a 8 GB version, and a double amount of storage capacity version (16 GB). When buying the 16 GB version, you had the option of the device being black or white (the 8 GB version of the phone was available only in black).
When the iPhone 3GS came out, the iPhone 3G's price was cut in half and sold only in the black, 8 GB version. Since 2010, the iPhone 3G was discontinued and replaced with an 8 GB version of the iPhone 3GS.