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iPhone 4S Hands-Ons and First Impressions

addicted44 said:
Is that really the only reason you feel the iPhone has fallen behind?

How else has the iPhone fallen behind?

Honest questions. I understand people wanting a bigger screen (although, the iPhone size is ideal, since it just about allows 1 handed operation for me), but in what other way is the iPhone "behind"?
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IMHO as a consumer this is where Apple is falling behind:
-Screen Size: I'm not asking for a 5" screen here, heck even keep the iPhone 4 form factor but please just give me a little extra room, and take away some of that black bezzle.
- Interface: Sure iOS works smooth but it looks really dated these days compared to some of the neat features some of the android and Windows phones are doing.
- GPS functions: Andoird phone still offers free full turn by turn directions. That my frine dcosts you and extra $50 (at least) on your iPhone.

Apple is just now catching up on the wifi syncing which was another area I felt they were lagging.

I will say the new camera is nice but to me that is the only bullet point that catches my eye.
 
Karnivore said:
So, now Apple will carry 3GS, 4, and 4S? What is the word I was looking for? Oh yeah - fragmentation! Delicious irony is delicious :D
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This the dumbest comment I've ever read. The fragmentation that exists here doesn't even compare to the fragmentation that exists amongst the android phone community. Each of apples phones run the exact same way with the exact same physical features regardless of the device. The user intface is the same across each phone. You don't have to worry about bother brand placing their own skin on top of the OS. Fragmentation barely exists here.
 
The iphone 4 gets just a spec bump to keep up with new technology. It gets a new feature called siri that will impress you for 15 seconds (like facetime). Nothing amazing here. Its actually quite boring. But look at all the press coverage. Now thats amazing!
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Features seem good enough for me, I will be buying. I do not want a larger screen, to me it would be bulkier to carry. Glad I waited on the blackberry.
 
stockscalper said:
What a lame upgrade. Apple has fallen so far behind Android it's not even funny. Where's the iPhone 5 with the bigger screen?
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Uh, the A5 is several times faster on gfx benchmarks than even the new Samsung Galaxy II phone.

@FoxHoundADAM: Fortunately, Apple does not slavishly follow what end users with niche concerns express but rather looks to improve their products to work for the majority of users/potential users.

You can keep your Android phone all you like but I have no interest in it. Apple did not "catch up" with voice dictation, Siri is a leap beyond what Android has to offer.
 
The only reason I'm posting this comment is to get downvoted by the Apple fanboys that fail to realise how much the company sucks for sticking an 'S' on the end of the phone for a 2nd time and still thinks its a revolution.

"Ooooh, its faster!" - So what? Devs still have to cater to the huge iPhone 4 and 3GS market, so there are no real advantages other than your apps loading a bit faster.

"Ooooh 8MP camera!" - Congrats, you're only a year late to the game.

"Ooooh fancy voice recognition!" - Google Voice. Want to see the weather? Tap the damn app icon, its 10x faster.

"Ooooh iMessage!" - Wow, so you want me to ditch the multiplatform chat app I've been using for years for an iOS to iOS chat service? No. Just no.

The whole buzz was for nothing. Apple failed to create any sort of genuine interest. Most consumers of iOS devices (who arent clued up on tech btw) will take one look at it and say "thats an iPhone 4 though? No ty".

The cherry on the cake was the unofficial killing of the iPod classic in favour of Angry Birds capable devices which will only line the pockets of Apple Inc with yet more golden coins.
 
dvswede said:
I wonder what an unlocked version will cost and how well it will work on T-Mobile's network (Don't they use HSPA?)
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this new phone will NOT work on t-mobile... Apple's site spec'd the frequencies and it did not include t-mobile's 1700 mhz.
 
Epic Fail from Apple. I'm glad i didn't wait for this small improvement and i got a S2. I will keep browsing at home with my ipad, but no iphone will enter. I was thinking about selling the S2 and, maybe, buy the new brand iphone 5, but now there is no way i will do such a thing.

The 4,3" screen is not unconfortable, is a superb screen. I love having flash, and was surprised about how android had advanced (i previously knew only IOS). Now i understand why apple has initiated the patent war, they can't have the phone the market wants right now and tries to stop Sammy sales. I'm sorry but Andriod is gonna take a huge piece of cake now. Bad move apple, bad move. ANd ios is copying Gingrbread features... oh come on.

Now let's wait for the macpro, i wish it will have USB 3.0 and SATA3... well, Apple is capable of not implementing such features, let's hope they do, i want a new mac.
 
OriginalMacRat said:
Both AT&T and T-Mobile use HSPA+ for higher speed data.

The specs on the iPhone 4S show that it still doesn't support T-Mobile's 1700MHz frequency.
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Too bad. I wonder if sprint will let you go month to month with an unlocked iPhone. Well you would still be stuck with a single carrier but at least you wouldn't be locked.

Not sure I'm read too switch to Sprint and be locked down for 2 years as an experiment.

I'm really looking for a way to go month to month and have the iPhone. Guess I'm still out of luck
 
djrod said:
Where is Siri in spanish :mad::mad:
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Going on Apple's prior experience of voice control, I am not expecting it to even understand proper English, only American! IOS4 can't deal with British accents, let alone the Irish, Scottish and Welsh. Expect Spanish some time in the next decade ;)
 
Some good points

bbplayer5 said:
1. LTE
2. Removable battery
3. Screen size
4. True multitasking
5. Themes - this one STILL baffles me

That good enough? I could go on...

6. 1280x720 330ppi SAMOLED+ HD display on the prime coming (already on the Galaxy SII v2 coming out shortly in Europe
7. Flash support
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1. LTE - This will make the extremely poor battery life on existing Android phones even worse.

2. Removable battery - Nobody with an iPhone 4 cares, I'm a heavy user and my battery always makes it through the day on my iPhone 4. Android users can't imagine not having a removable battery simply because the battery life on Android phones is horrid.

3. Screen size - For some, I agree that a larger screen would be nice

4. True multitasking - It's easier to switch between tasks with iOS, very few applications benefit from the Android model of multitasking, and it is the main contributor towards poor battery life on Android headsets. Push notifications and other features in the iPhone SDK make their multitasking more useful, user friendly, and much easier on battery life, it's a superior model, unless you have the need to do number crunching in the background on your phone.

5. Themes - this one STILL baffles me - That would be nice

6. 1280x720 330ppi SAMOLED+ HD display on the prime coming (already on the Galaxy SII v2 coming out shortly in Europe - I'll have to see it I guess

7. Flash support[/QUOTE] - Another reason why battery life is horrible on Android headsets
 
The real point made this week is how utterly useless the forums have become with pointless and endless back and forth trash talking. Another snippet of news just starts the whole process again.
 
bbplayer5 said:
1. LTE
2. Removable battery
3. Screen size
4. True multitasking
5. Themes - this one STILL baffles me

That good enough? I could go on...

6. 1280x720 330ppi SAMOLED+ HD display on the prime coming (already on the Galaxy SII v2 coming out shortly in Europe
7. Flash support
Click to expand...

On the flip side...

Top Android phones have:

1. 4G/LTE with limited coverage area, resulting in a thicker device and terrible battery life even when your phone is sitting in standby in your pocket. Vs. the iPhone 4S which has the same speed the 4G makers claim, yet with 3G’s great coverage area, and with 8 hours talk time, much less standby time!

2. Poor battery life even without 4G enabled, so you need to carry spares or your charger around.

3. A slightly larger screen, of worse quality than the iPhone, especially in sunlight—fitted into a more-than-slightly bulkier device to put in your pocket.

4. 1990s-style inefficient multitasking, resulting in crashes and battery drain and the need to babysit your phone’s processes; compared to the iPhone’s method that makes your battery last while achieving 99% of the same results.

5. Themes? I’m baffled too. I customize my iPhone in all kinds of ways, visually included. Android can do some UI stuff iPhone can’t. And vice versa.

6. New attempts to make OLED better, on certain limited models only... which as you say, aren’t out yet; and which sounds nice on paper, and surely is in some conditions, but not so good in sunlight.

7. Flash that often crashes, runs badly or not al all, and drains battery; vs. the iPhone with far-superior non-Flash alternatives for almost all the same content. People don’t want “Flash.” They want the content Flash can deliver. But Flash isn’t needed to deliver it, and it’s on the way out.

Sounds like Android still has the edge in image and buzzwords (and macho killer-robot-style ads) but the iPhone actually delivers a better experience, more capability, and better apps. Things that are substance instead of marketing.
 
Here is my list of things I wish apple would have done. This would have made today's "lets talk iPhone" a complete success instead of mixed reviews.

+Edge to edge screen.
+Wireless charging system similar to powermat (apple had applied for a patent sometime around 5 months ago I believe). Imagine having your phone with a built in wireless charging system so you just set it down to charge.
+LTE capability. I mean come on, the iPhone 3g came out almost 3 and 1/2 years ago and the newest iPhone is still supporting the same 3g speeds. Oh wait, apple is jumping on the theoretical bandwagon. They are starting to sound like used care salesmen using those kind of tactics. Cmon people, theres no freaking way the new iPhone 4s is going to get 14mbps download speeds. It won't happen period. You might see 4mbps download speed but your not going to magically be exceeding everyone else because you have a second antenna which your phone can switch to if it appears to have a better signal.
 
typical apple, tbh.

Camera is the most compelling part of this pending shots to review.

Take an app that was good, and working well on older phones, buy it, and make it a selling point by limiting function to older phones.. typical.
 
Nothing about the 4s makes me want to upgrade from the 4. I think iOS 5 is way more exciting than 4s announcement.

Also, before I buy it, I want to see the Google/Samsung event next week. I want to see what the Nexus Prime brings.
 
aristotle said:
Uh, the A5 is several times faster on gfx benchmarks than even the new Samsung Galaxy II phone.

@FoxHoundADAM: Fortunately, Apple does not slavishly follow what end users with niche concerns express but rather looks to improve their products to work for the majority of users/potential users.

You can keep your Android phone all you like but I have no interest in it. Apple did not "catch up" with voice dictation, Siri is a leap beyond what Android has to offer.
Click to expand...

I've never owned an Android phone (well not yet, maybe corssing over soon). Still rockin a iPhone 3G at the moment.

And the views were only my opion, jeez
 
AtariMac said:
Screen size is all that matters eh? This may not have been the upgrade you were looking to buy, but falling behind based on screen size? Seems like a pretty limited metric.

Just go buy an Android phone and enjoy it. That is the great thing about choice.
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WOOOHOOO! Gonna be turning my old faithful 3G into a 4S and loving every minute of it...

Now... all you screen size whiners... IT'S A PHONE!!!!
PHONE, PHONE, PHONE!

PHONE needs to fit in pocket and not look like a pacemaker or an erection....

PHONE, PHONE, PHONE... you know... you talk to people on it. Talking... you remember that.... (or maybe you don't). If I wanted an iPad, I'd buy, errrr, ummm, let me think about this a minute.... errrr, ummm.

An iPad!

You're crying 'cos Apple didn't do something that was a figment of your imagination? They'll sell a boat load and you'll have your '5' next year.
 
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