Now that the initial disappointment that the rumored iPhone 5 won’t see the light of day in 2011, it’s obvious that Apple has yet another success on its hand with the upcoming iPhone 4S. The pre-orders for the new smartphone from Cupertino broke the previous record set by the iPhone 4. Apple sold over 1 million handsets on the first day orders were taken.
The 4S sports a host of new features not the least is its more powerful processor. The upcoming iOS 5 update also includes new functionality; most importantly the ability to sync one’s iPhone without tethering it to a computer. The fact that Apple’s smartphone and OS version numbers are now out of sync is irrelevant!
iPhone 4S Features
The base iPhone 4S is priced at $199 with 16GB of memory. The 32GB and 64GB models are priced at $299 and $399 respectively. All prices assume a two-year contract.
As previously mentioned, iPhone 4S sports a more powerful Dual Core Apple A5 processor, as well as a camera with higher resolution. Full HD video capture at 1080p is now possible!
Support for CDMA means that Sprint joins AT&T and Verizon Wireless as the carriers for the iPhone 4S. Considering both AT&T discontinued their unlimited data plans for wireless access, Sprint stands to earn some market share, since they still provide a true unlimited/uncapped data option.
Other than that, pretty much everything else about the iPhone 4S is similar to last year’s iPhone 4. Well, there’s the new white iPhone which looks nice compared to the traditional black model. The new iOS 5 mobile operating system ushers in the iPhone 4S’s real innovation.
iOS 5 is the True Upgrade with the iPhone 4S
With the more evolutionary than revolutionary iPhone 4S, the new iOS 5 operating system brings most of the real changes with Apple’s smartphone line. iCloud is Apple’s new cloud-based storage system, and iOS 5 takes full advantage with wireless syncing of a smartphone’s content. In fact, Apple owners now have the ability to sync content to all their iOS devices.
iOS 5 also sports an improved messaging and notification system. The Notification Center keeps all notifications in one place with easy access and navigation. iMessage performs a similar task with messaging.
Twitter is now conveniently integrated directly into iOS 5 and the Newsstand app promises to do for newspapers and magazines what iBooks did for books. The Mobile Safari browser finally includes tabs, and the camera app has improved functionality to go with the iPhone 4S improved camera.
Apple’s Siri voice-command system has garnered a lot of press, but similar features have existed on Android devices for a while. The sight of multiple iPhone owners speaking at their smartphones conjures up Orwellian visions!
An improved iPhone 4S is selling like hotcakes, but the real innovation from Apple is the new cloud functionality making its debut with iOS 5. This sets the stage for when the real iPhone 5 makes its appearance sometime in 2012.