lame, this happens to "innovation" once u become the top leader and don't feel the need to compete. i guess i'll have to look elsewhere if this becomes true ...
i assume all this wait was just for those other US providers to get on board zZz
So what innovation are you looking for exactly? Do you want the phone to double as a transporter and beam you to the enterprise?
You have to be fair. The majority of features the iPhone lacks are more software driven than hardware. IOS just (as OSX) doesn't need the hardware resources to run well. Too many people see specs for Android devices and shout, "oh the iPhone is underpowered" when it's not nor the mac. Android is a very ineffcient OS and mangages task poorly. It wasn't built from the ground up, and like windows, must drive a lot of different hardware.
Better cameras, bigger display... that's tapping out really it's faults. A faster processor is a given, but it might not need the extra ram. Not that it would hurt.... I do think Apple is cheap on the ram front across all their products. Just because the OS doesn't need more to run well, doesn't mean they can't include more and make it run better and be more future proofed to updates.
To my first point, it's more hindered by software. IOS5 fixes some of those things, but still misses out. On another thread someone published a joke list of last minute updates... the sad thing was, they were all things it should have. If there is any gripe to have with Apple, it's there slow deployment of basic features with each IOS update.
Wait 15 months and we get the exact same design? I'd pass on that one. No one cares about CPU upgrades, as evidenced by the fact that when the 3GS came out, a lot of people said "meh".
I don't think Apple can get away with a new model using the same design anymore. If your average person can't explain the differences between the models, then it's pretty much as if it never happened.
While it may sound as a contradiction, I am with you on the design. In the past year, HTC has issued a version of the EVO on 3 networks under different names. The form factors and look are tweaked (EVO, Thunderbolt, HTC Inspire) but each one stands out enough that someone can tell them apart. Next year, when they begin to go through a refresh cycle, I bet they get a refreshed deisgn.... because most companies realize peolpe like something "new" and different.
There is that coolness/newness factor. The 3GS was meh, because no one could look and say, "ooooh, ahh, they got the NEW iPhone." It was, "so it that the new or the old one? They look the same." The iPhone 4 had that eye catching sexiness about that made people stop and check it out. It also made people who still had a while to go ebfore an upgrade have to have it right now. If the new phone doesn't have a fresh feel, and only minor changes, where is the incentive to the estimated 48 million iPhone 4 owners to upgrade? That just wouldn't be smart.
