********** The all new "Official" iPhone 4S thread - Keep all the iPhone 4S stuff in here **********

SteveOBHave said:
I've had my HTC Desire running Gingerbread for ages but I am a fan of the Apple UI - I think it's gorgeous and pretty much idiot proof. However I've not felt the need to 'upgrade' to a Galaxy SII or similar because the user experience is not vastly different enough - I get the same impression from iOS5 and the 4s - there is minor cosmetic differences but I'm just not sure that SIRI is a big enough sell, nor is 8MP of average quality images or 1080p of average video. The iPhone 4 seems like an entirely capable device...
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The HTC Desire gets smashed to pieces by the new Android phones.

The 4S doesn't do enough to 'force' people short on cash to upgrade, but it's a very worthy upgrade for those that can afford it (probably most people with an iPhone 4 to begin with, it's not that expensive).

SteveOBHave said:
The question is - does the second core and the extra MPs actually make an appreciable difference to the device or is it just willy waving? Honest question. I found the IP4 to be pretty solidly responsive.
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Yes, it makes enough of a difference provided you use the camera and HD video recording at all. The dual-core will just smooth things out (and help with future apps) and the new antenna system will give a much better signal.

Also, Siri looks extremely useful when driving.

SteveOBHave said:
LOL god have I made a name for myself as an iPhone hater? (actually it's mostly Apple I hate - I love the devices...)
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Most people go through this at some point, then the novelty of having widgets wears off and you're left with a vastly inferior software experience. :(
 
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SteveOBHave said:
The question is - does the second core and the extra MPs actually make an appreciable difference to the device or is it just willy waving? Honest question. I found the IP4 to be pretty solidly responsive.
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The question is - does the HT and the extra cache actually make an appreciable difference to the PC or is it just willy waving? I found the 2500k to be pretty solidly responsive.
 
Robbo said:
The HTC Desire gets smashed to pieces by the new Android phones.
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Apart from a slightly faster internet connection my phone is equally as capable as any of the new devices (although in all fairness I have installed a custom ROM on it)

Robbo said:
The 4S doesn't do enough to 'force' people short on cash to upgrade, but it's a very worthy upgrade for those that can afford it (probably most people with an iPhone 4 to begin with, it's not that expensive).

Yes, it makes enough of a difference provided you use the camera and HD video recording at all. The dual-core will just smooth things out (and help with future apps) and the new antenna system will give a much better signal.

Also, Siri looks extremely useful when driving.
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The antenna is a welcome alteration and I'm all for a decent handsfree system, I'd be curious to see how useful it is in practice.

Robbo said:
Most people go through this at some point, then the novelty of having widgets wears off and you're left with a vastly inferior software experience. :(
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LOL spurious call at best! The thing is I don't believe that widgets are a 'novelty', they are constantly useful and I wouldn't go without them especially when it comes to rapidly getting a summary from social networking and contacts.

A random name said:
The question is - does the HT and the extra cache actually make an appreciable difference to the PC or is it just willy waving? I found the 2500k to be pretty solidly responsive.
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Try not to be deliberately obtuse - that makes no sense at all especially considering that I paid about the same for it. I'm not insulting your mother here, merely questioning your motives for the upgrade.

My opinion is entirely based from reviews on tech sites and blogs. I'm genuinely curious about the reasoning behind the upgrade. "Because we have the money and nothing better to spend it on" is an entirely reasonable call in my eyes - what I'm curious about is in the scenario of having bought into having an iP4 on a 24 month contract and faced with paying for the 4S outright, is the actual capability of the device worth the spend. It's not an unreasonable question.
 
SteveOBHave said:
Apart from a slightly faster internet connection my phone is equally as capable as any of the new devices (although in all fairness I have installed a custom ROM on it)
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You really think your HTC Desire is just as capable as a Samsung Galaxy S II? On what planet? :p

SteveOBHave said:
My opinion is entirely based from reviews on tech sites and blogs. I'm genuinely curious about the reasoning behind the upgrade. "Because we have the money and nothing better to spend it on" is an entirely reasonable call in my eyes - what I'm curious about is in the scenario of having bought into having an iP4 on a 24 month contract and faced with paying for the 4S outright, is the actual capability of the device worth the spend. It's not an unreasonable question.
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It's a fair question, but it's easily justifiable if you can afford it, and doesn't really matter if not as you still get iOS 5 and the iPhone 4 is still an excellent device, as you said. Win, win.
 
Robbo said:
You really think your HTC Desire is just as capable as a Samsung Galaxy S II? On what planet? :p

It's a fair question, but it's easily justifiable if you can afford it, and doesn't really matter if not as you still get iOS 5 and the iPhone 4 is still an excellent device, as you said. Win, win.
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Heh - when it comes to functionality, my phone can do everything (and I mean everything) that the GSII can (excluding the obvious hardware variations). There is not a single thing that my phone can't do albeit slightly slower... Does waiting an extra second or two irk me, not really.

Glad we got there finally - I didn't mean to raise the hackles on ARN - as passably amusing as it was - it was a genuine question. To me the shift from the 4 to the 4S seems smaller than that of the 3 to the 3GS. The 3GS was a massive step up in capability... the 4S not so much in my eyes.
 
SteveOBHave said:
Heh - when it comes to functionality, my phone can do everything (and I mean everything) that the GSII can (excluding the obvious hardware variations). There is not a single thing that my phone can't do albeit slightly slower... Does waiting an extra second or two irk me, not really.
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On the software side, yes. On the hardware side it is inferior in every single area. If that doesn't matter to you, then fine, but there is a huge difference overall.
 
Robbo said:
On the software side, yes. On the hardware side it is inferior in every single area. If that doesn't matter to you, then fine, but there is a huge difference overall.
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But does it effect the functionality of the device? Am I missing out on anything for not having the 'bigger stats'? That's basically what I'm waiting for, something that makes me go "you know that's some functionality that I'd seriously consider paying for". I can't for the life of me think what that might be, but more grunt and a larger megapixel count doesn't quite float my boat. That's the thing with Apple - they've done so much with proper wow factor that subtle incremental evolutions aren't impressive... I think the keynote presentation and the overall reaction from the audience suggests to me that I'm not the only one to think so.

Actually it's not just Apple - Google are heading the same way with Android at the moment as well. I'd tentatively put the blame on all this patent war marlarky. How are either Apple or Google (or anyone else for that matter) supposed to create cool new stuff if they keep getting their asses sued, and they're all at it... infuriating stuff IMO.

I really hope that the IP5 can bring back that proper "that's seriously cool" vibe to gadgets because I can't see that coming from Android devices quite yet.
 
So specs seem to be 800MHz dual core with 512MB of memory, the only thing I like about iPhone 4S compared to other high end phones available is the graphics chip.

There are 1.5GHz phones being released shortly with higher resolution displays. Are you guys seriously happy with this phone?
 
ebilcake said:
So specs seem to be 800MHz dual core with 512MB of memory, the only thing I like about iPhone 4S compared to other high end phones available is the graphics chip.

There are 1.5GHz phones being released shortly with higher resolution displays. Are you guys seriously happy with this phone?
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Processing power is nothing with out a decent OS and apps. Both of which the iphone has over Andriod or RIM.
 
ebilcake said:
So specs seem to be 800MHz dual core with 512MB of memory, the only thing I like about iPhone 4S compared to other high end phones available is the graphics chip.

There are 1.5GHz phones being released shortly with higher resolution displays. Are you guys seriously happy with this phone?
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Apple's main strength has always been the synergy between hardware and software.

Look at some benchmarks and you'll see that even though the chip is clocked lower, it's beaten everything in the market.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4951/...rks-800mhz-a5-slightly-slower-gpu-than-ipad-2
 
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ebilcake said:
So specs seem to be 800MHz dual core with 512MB of memory, the only thing I like about iPhone 4S compared to other high end phones available is the graphics chip.

There are 1.5GHz phones being released shortly with higher resolution displays. Are you guys seriously happy with this phone?
Click to expand...

waso_dude said:
Processing power is nothing with out a decent OS and apps. Both of which the iphone has over Andriod or RIM.
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Quite - it's not so much about competing in raw power but presenting an attractive package that uses a really well presented UI (regardless of it's limitations) that is for the most, idiot proof. They follow the old K.I.S.S. adage (Keep it simple stupid) and the end result is a great user experience that the every day user loves.

As for suggesting that the Android OS is not 'decent' is selling a it a bit short in my opinion. In a great many aspects it's a far more capable OS just somewhat more prone to inducing confusion and possibly requiring a little more thought in setting it up. When Apple aren't breaking every iPhone on the planet with updates, they 'Just Work'. Android has more substance but at the cost of immediacy for the user experience.

Again it's not about stats but usability and functionality. For the majority of users the iPhone and iOS has that in spades. It's just important to retain a balanced and fair view on the subject.
 
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