Tech Drunk Staff 
Apple launched the iPhone 4S on, predictably on the 4th of October, in Cupertino-but in a muted way. Possibly because the world has been looking for the iPhone 5, and not -a very similar to- iPhone 4, iPhone 4S! Anyways, the good news is that once you get over the identical looks of both the phones, there are quite a lot of differences, that make the iPhone 4S a better performer. The gist of the changes made include a faster processor, a sharper camera, a 64 GB model and a new antenna design.
It will be available for online booking from the 7th of October and will be available in stores from the 14th of October.
Apple introduced the iPhone 4S as a feature upgrade to what the iPhone 4 failed to do. The 4S comes with Siri, which is a really smart personal assistant app. Siri uses voice recognition in order to give answers to question asked/spoken. With this phone, Apple is targeting the middle buyer segment. It is in this segment that Android phones are hugely popular, and Apple, under the guidance of the new CEO Tim Cook, wishes to claim its share in the pie.
What? No iPhone 5?
Even though Apple kept this launch very quiet, in fact announcing the phone in its office only, people had their expectations built. But technology experts and Apple’s loyal customers had a disappointing experience with the news of the iPhone 4S being launched- the announcement did not create any ripples, as every one was expecting an iPhone 5 launch date.
The Features Of Apple iPhone 4S-
- Operating System– iOS 5-The iPhone 4S runs on the new iOS 5- Apple’s latest mobile operating system. It has some interesting upgrades like the advanced notifications and ‘PC Free’.
- Processor– The new iPhone 4S has a dual-core A5 processors, that is used in the iPad 2. With this processor come dual-core graphics. According to Apple, these graphics are up to seven times faster than those in the iPhone 4.
- Camera– Users can click sharper pictures with the iPhone 4S’s 8-megapixel camera. What’s more, the lens is with a bigger aperture and an upgraded backside illumination sensor. Motion can be captured clearly with video recording in 1080p HD.
- Smart personal assistant app -Siri- The iPhone 4S has a very interesting personal assistant beta app Siri. You can ask questions from it and get instant answers. For instance, you can ask the meaning of a word or the state of the weather, and it will speak out an answer to the same. Also, apart from answering you, it will also bring up any relevant apps, such as a weather app for you to see. You can use Siri for official works like dictating a document etc.
- Better Download Speed– The phone has an upgraded wireless antenna set-up that will better the call quality as well as data download speeds. It is worth mentioning here that the Apple iPhone 4 users often suffered from antenna problems leading to poor reception.
Phil Schiller, head of worldwide marketing at Apple said at the launch event, “The iPhone 4S intelligently switches between two antennas to transmit and receive. Prior to this, Apple’s handsets came in GSMA and CDMA variants for the different standards used in the US and elsewhere in the world. The iPhone 4S will support both technologies.”
How Much Will It Cost?
Apple is taking online orders from the 7th of October, where as it will appear in the stores on the 14th of October. The cost estimated is-
- UK- £499 will be charged for the iPhone 4 S. (iPhone 4 is at £429 for the 8GB model)
- USA- $199 ( for a 16GB model on a two-year contract)
- $299 (for 32 GB)
- $399 (for 64GB)
What The Prices Mean?
According to analysts, the new and lowered prices of earlier 3GS and 4 models have been set with just one purpose- to match the competition’s pricing. Mobile experts see this as a huge effort by Apple to break in the Android dominated market. Upper segment users will not be interested in this launch.
Should You Buy It?
If you are using a Symbian, then definitely. If you have an iPhone 4, then wait for the iPhone 5.
