Apple's iPhone 3G S sports 600MHz chip, oleophobic coating [u]

One of Apple's wireless partners is confirming Wednesday that the new iPhone 3G S indeed sports an embedded ARM processor that's 50 percent faster that the one employed by its predecessor. Meanwhile, Apple has provided its recommendations for cleaning the the handset, which is finished with an oleophobic coating.

600MHz iPhone 3G S chip

T-Mobile of the Netherlands is amongst the first to publish specifications for the iPhone 3G S's processor and onboard memory, noting that the device includes a "600 MHz-processor" and "256 RAM."

This revelation appears to confirm a detailed forum post from a Chinese insider that was first brought to light by AppleInsider early last month. Specifically, it noted that the new iPhone would look identical to the iPhone 3G but feature a 600MHz chip and 256MB of on-board RAM, compared to the iPhone 3G's 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.

As was reported a few weeks later, the 600MHz chip was rumored to be based off ARM's v7 Cortex reference designs, the successor to the ARMv6 chip currently employed in the second-generation iPod touch and iPhone 3G. However, AnandTech is now claiming it's the same ARM Cortex A8 found in the Palm Pre.

It's widely expected to be the last iPhone chip to be based off ARM's broadly available reference designs, with future iPhones expected to include ARM chips with proprietary Apple technology implemented by the company's recently-acquired team of engineers from P.A. Semi.

On Tuesday, AppleInsider confirmed the iPhone 3G S's graphics core to be the PowerVR SGX.

Oleophobic screen coating

Meanwhile, Apple has noted on its website the new iPhone 3G S's screen is finished with a "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating" not found on the iPhone 3G.

To clean the screen on the 3G S, the company recommends users simply wipe their iPhone’s screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove oil left by their hands and face. These cleaning instructions differ somewhat from "soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth" recommended for cleaning the iPhone 3G.