Is it fair to judge iPhone 4S on iPhone 2G experience?

ng93

ng93

ng93

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I'm looking at new phones to get around christmas or january, and quite like the look of the iPhone 4S. However the one thing thats putting me off is my current spare phone is an iPhone 2G 8GB running a jailbroken iOS 3.x.x (whatever the latest one is, my memory isn't brilliant :o). TBH i'm completely bored of this, and the lack of features/functionality compared to gingerbread is really annoying, plus after using my HTC desire I just don't really seem to get along with the way iOS works (few physical buttons etc.). But should I let this put me off getting the 4S with iOS 5? The hardware looks nice, and I realize that iOS is going to have had some improvements, but is it enough to completely change my opinion of iOS/iPhone?

TIA,
ng93

p.s. I realise this is very subjective, and i'm not necessarily looking for a definite answer, just general opinions :)
 
What stuff do you want to do on iOS that is available on android but not on your current version of iOS and we should be able to tell you if an iPhone 4s will fit the bill.
 
fez said:
What stuff do you want to do on iOS that is available on android but not on your current version of iOS and we should be able to tell you if an iPhone 4s will fit the bill.
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Well better google account syncing and being able to not having to sync it with a computer for backup mainly. And a better e-mail client, although i think iOS 5 has that. TBH its not so much what can be done, they've probably added most of it into iOS 5, but how its done. Having to go through menus and gestures where in android you just press a physical button and its so much quicker. Or things like changing the backlight brightness, or my desire i can just swipe down for the notification bar and theres all the brightness/wifi/whatever options i want, rather than having to go into settings and fiddle about in there. Or having to change to another app to change settings, then having to restart the app. Doing things on my 2G just takes so much longer than my desire, even when taking into account the slower processor.
 
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Fallen god said:
Go to the apple store and give the 4s a play for 10mins I guess and you should now if its for you or not I guess.
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Ill do that if the replies here are positive, just didnt want to trek down there only to find out it hasnt changed anywhere near enough.
 
Well yes, it's very unfair.

However, iOS isn't massively different from what you'll be used to, but it has more features, it's a lot faster and it looks a lot better on the 4S screen. It's like comparing Android on a HTC Hero to the Galaxy S II, they both do essentially the same thing but the user experience is massively different.

Having said that, if you're expecting it to suddenly have widgets everywhere and all of Android's extensive, detailed feature list then you're going to be disappointed (like you mentioned about the brightness, but the auto-brightness system on the iPhone is excellent).

Go and try one, see what you think. The iPhone 4S is blazingly fast and you'll never be waiting for anything. Even the iPhone 4 smokes the original iPhone (and 3G/3GS) when it comes to speed.
 
The reasons you've given are why I also got bored and fed up with iPhones. They've changed very little since the very first one except for the performance on offer. Essentially all the features are pretty much the same except for things that should have been there in the first place.

For me, iPhones are way too "app centric" which is why I link gingerbread. The core OS has a lot of functionality already that doesn't need to be "supplemented" by applications as such. I like the fact that there are widgets with Android and this is what I found lacking about the iPhones. I can do stuff from the home screen on my Galaxy Note, whereas I would have had to load up multiple apps to do the same with my iPhone.

Each new version of the iPhone has only brought hardware advancements, and I do personally think the jump between the 4 and 4S is pretty big, much bigger than most make out, but it's just that, faster hardware that won't necessarily be useful for the current apps.

When thinking about it for a while, it struck me as to why people were complaining about the 4S being underwhelming, and it was because of how app centric iOS is, the OS is getting pretty stale. After going in to a Carphone Warehouse and playing with a Galaxy S2 for an hour, I realised just what I'd been missing out on, and it really cheapened the iPhone experience for me massively.

I "only" had an iPhone 3G, however my friend has had a 4 for quite some time, and I've used it extensively. The main differences between them is simply the better screen and better multitasking, other than that the experience is practically the same. As for features that should have been there in the first place, I'm talking about mundane things like being able to set your own background, or record videos in the case of the 3G, which Apple claimed was beyond the hardware capabilities of the 3G, yet I've been fine with Multitasking and using custom wallpapers through jailbreaking.

I think the current attitude apple have got towards iPhones is ruining them.
 
Its more of a slower evolution than Android that's for sure but the majority of people who stick with iOS do so for this very reason :) (stick rate is about 70% or so for iOS users).
 
Thanks for the advice guys, think i'll go have a play at the local apple store. I'm really hoping it's good otherwise I have absolutely no idea what to get. The Nexus Prime hardware looks good but i'm bored of Android. Windows Phone 7 looks good but the hardware is pretty old (even the Lumia 800 specs are disapointing). I really wish HP hadn't canned WebOS, it looks awesome and i'd definitely be considering a Pre 4.
 
Don't be hung up on the hardware, WP7 is a dream on the H/W of the Nokia, it's not underpowered. That said, ICS is a very different beast than 2.x (RIP Menu button :( ), much more honeycomb in it's menu design.
 
hehe

iphoneosevolution.jpg


Same for 2011 too.
 
While you could make a good point with a picture like that (or well, not really), that is just awful and incorrect :p
 
sarge78 said:
:p

androidosevolution.jpg
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Not close.... :cool:

Android 1.0 looked like this:
android-sdk1-scr-03.jpg

No onscreen keyboard since the G1 had a hardware keyboard.

Android 1.5
home-screen-widgets-google-search.jpg

Came with onboard keyboard plus lots more stuff, UI very similar.

Android 2.1
android21-homescreen.png

Live wallpapers plus a brand new launcher

Android 2.3
home-plain.png

It went all dark

Android 4.0
home-lg.png

Dark and blue

Ofcourse I've missed a few revisions out :) but thats since 2008. I guess you could say its very similar, I mean the app launcher is down the bottom and the notification tray is at the top but its certainly changed more than the iOS design. Anyway, my Google Image search excitement is over!
 
Lol didn't take long for this to turn into an iOS vs Android "debate" :p

Myshra said:
Don't be hung up on the hardware, WP7 is a dream on the H/W of the Nokia, it's not underpowered. That said, ICS is a very different beast than 2.x (RIP Menu button :( ), much more honeycomb in it's menu design.
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Well in that case it sounds promising, thanks :)
 
MouseMat2004 said:
Not close.... :cool:
Click to expand...

Wow, that really went flying over your head didn't it? :p

Surely you can see why it's a totally ridiculous thing to try and show using a single image? Fanboyism at its finest.

ng93 said:
Lol didn't take long for this to turn into an iOS vs Android "debate" :p
Click to expand...

There is no debate, they are both very good depending on what you want, as is WP7.
 
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