On June 8, 2009, Apple introduced the latest version of the iPhone during the keynote address at WWDC. The slides used during the presentation showed an "s" in a box after iPhone 3G:
This immediately caused many of us who are Type A on details -- a description that applies to most lawyers I know -- to wonder how we should type this name, given that keyboards lack a button with an S in a box. Apple first provided the answer in a press release dated June 8, 2009 titled: "Apple Announces the New iPhone 3G S -- the Fastest, Most Powerful iPhone Yet." Apple then updated the apple.com website and consistently typed the name as "iPhone 3G S."
The space seemed somewhat awkward, as if Apple was asking us to pause after saying the "G" before saying the "S." And as this Joy of Tech comic illustrated, the term might even be considered somewhat naughty. Nevertheless, Apple has the right to name its own products, and if Apple was telling us that the name was iPhone 3G S, then that was the name. So last week, when the latest iPhone was released to much fanfare on Friday, the media outlets consistently referred to it as the iPhone 3G S. (See, e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Sun Times, USA Today). One notable exception was Gizmodo which, from the beginning, called the new iPhone the 3GS.
This past weekend, Apple sold an unprecedented number of the new iPhones -- over one million. Apple tooted its own horn by issuing a press release. The message in the press release was compelling enough -- Apple's last blockbuster weekend was July 11 to 13, 2008, when the iPhone 3G was released, but somehow Apple sold even more from June 19 to 21, 2009. But it was two subtle details in the press release that caught my eye. First, there was a statement from Steve Jobs:
"Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever."
Whether Jobs himself actually said that or an Apple spokesman just attributed the quote to him, it was nice to see some formal acknowledgment that Jobs was returning to work after his medical leave. Second, the press release had the title "Apple Sells Over One Million iPhone 3GS Models," for the first time omitting the space before the "S".
At first, I wondered if this might just be a mistake. After all, previous press releases and the Apple website still called it the iPhone 3G S. But over the last 48 hours, Apple has gone back and changed their prior press releases and their website to replace 3G S with 3GS. Compare, for example, the original June 8, 2009 press release as it appears on Yahoo! Finance with the updated version of the same press release that now appears on Apple's website.
Why the change? Greg Joswiak, told Washington Post reporter Rob Pegoraro that "We just feel it looks better with the 3GS all together.” Macworld UK speculates that another reason might be that 3G S is a generic term harder to protect whereas 3GS can receive greater intellectual property protection. Whatever the reason, I like 3GS better and I'm glad that Apple made the change.
Since Apple took the liberty to update the prior references on its website, I have done the same here on iPhone J.D.
Now this just leaves the nagging question of how to refer to an iPhone 3GS in the plural. I don't see any reference in my trusty Strunk and White
to the correct way to pluralize a proper noun that ends in s. My other usual source for these sort of tricky questions, the Texas Law Review Manual on Usage and Style, also doesn't provide a clear answer. The version that I own (the 8th ed., two versions out of print) doesn't address the plural of a word that ends with an s, but does say that to form the plural of a compound term, such as Attorney General, you pluralize the noun or other significant term that increases in number, but if the compound term has a particular meaning unrelated to the parts of the term, then make the last term plural. The phrase "iPhones 3GS" doesn't seem right to me, even though many handle it this way, so I would think that the second part of the Texas Manual rule is applicable. I suppose that means that I should say iPhone 3GSs, which looks a little strange but is better than iPhone 3GSes or iPhone 3GS's. [UPDATE: Mark Cowan points out in the comments that according to teachings of Bryan Garner, 3GSs is correct.] Apple itself sidestepped the issue in its recent press release, referring to "iPhone 3GS Models."
Whatever one calls it, is the iPhone 3GS a worthwhile upgrade from the iPhone 3G? I placed an order for the 32 GB iPhone 3GS at an AT&T store yesterday, so once I get my new phone and have a chance to put it through its paces, I'll let you know.