To look at, the Apple iPhone 3GS appears almost identical to the iPhone 3G, but a number of new features are evident that intend to cement its place as the ultimate smart phone and improve on its hugely successful predecessor.

One welcome new addition that everyone is talking about is the introduction of Voice Control, a feature that has long been desired by iPhone devotees after its absence in the previous series.

The voice dialling application is claimed to be compatible with over twenty languages including accented speech such as English and American. Making calls is now as simple as calling out someone’s name or quoting a specific phone number. The Voice Control then repeats each command for verification before performing the request.

On the handset itself, activating the application requires users to hold down the “home” button, previously reserved for “force quit” on the 3G, at which point a sound confirmation will show that Voice Control is ready to receive commands.

The 3G S also goes one step further by allowing voice activation to access music in the in built iPod player, from individual songs to album or artist name. Additionally, asking for the name of a song is as easy as a spoken request which prompts the iPhone to identify that particular song. Utilizing the popular iTunes Genius tool also provides opportunity to automatically create playlists from the current song being played.

Going beyond mere voice dialling that other manufacturers such as Nokia and Blackberry already feature, the Voice Control application on the iPhone 3GS promises to be a useful and popular new application. Coupled with the equally welcome addition of Video recording, it shows that Apple have taken note over the few shortfalls of their previous model and are ready to declare the iPhone 3GS as the best smartphote money can buy.