Post: The iPhone 4S - Release and Review
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10-24-2011, 09:00 AM
#1
Mudkip
Retired Moderator
Source: [url=www.bbc.co.uk/news]BBC[/url], [url=www.apple.com]Apple[/url] + my own knowledge + // By: Mudkip // Saturday, October 15th, 2011
Introduction to the review and release
This review and release article will contain release details about the newly launched iPhone 4S - the 5th iPhone currently out, along with features from the new iOS5 software it runs on, I will also give tips and information on how to use the exciting new features that the iPhone 4S has to offer. My article also compares the iPhone 4S with the iPhone 4 a lot and I will eventually answer the question everyone is asking, is it worth it? So please, sit back, relax and enjoy the article!
Brief History of the iPhone
The first ever iPhone was released by the late Steve Jobs at the "Macworld Conference and Expo" in San Francisco in January 2007. It was based on the iPod and was described as a small computer that happened to have the feature of making phone calls. The network O2 won exclusivity for the iphone and on the 9th November it went on sale in O2 shops, 6.1 million devices were sold in the first 5 quarters (1/4 of a year/ 3 months). On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, one million devices were sold in the first weekend of release. Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009, along with plans to release it later in June, July, and August, the 3GS again sold millions in the first 5 days. Then came the iphone 4, it was announced on June 7th, 2010, at the "WWDC 2010" held at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, and was released on June 24, 2010, just under 1 million devices sold in the first day.
And now the iPhone 4S, over 1 million pre-orders sold within 24 hours of availability, sold out in the first day of release, but is it worth it?
A 16GB iPhone 4S is $199 with a 2 year contract.
An 8GB iPhone 4 is $99 with a 2 year contract.
is it worth the extra $100?
Hardware (Design and Technology)
The new iPhone runs a Dual-core A5 chip, this chip is designed by Apple, but manufactured by Samsung. The device has been released in the two main colours that it has done in the past, white and black, this is one of the first times apple has released both colours on release day.
Dimensions
The device has a height of 4.5 inches (115.2 mm), a width of 2.31 inches (58.6 mm), a depth of 0.37 inch (9.3 mm), and a weight of 4.9 ounces (140 grams) - The weight is 3 grams more than the iPhone 4, but no one would really feel a difference.
Camera
The iPhone 4S comes with a new and improved camera, it is 8 megapixels and has many features which include; Autofocus, tap to focus, LED flash, backside illumination sensor, five-element lens, and face detection, most of these features were not seen in the previous iPhone 4. The front camera also comes with VGA resolution. Video recording has also been improved, the iPhone 4's camera recorded video in 720p, this quality has been more than doubled to 1080p HD quality and 30 fps (30 frames per second). The 4S also has the feature "Tap to focus while recording" and an LED light which were both in the 4, although, the 4S comes with a new video stabilization feature. This feature is present in the apple mac editing studio, imovie, it stabilizes a bumpy video and makes it easy to watch, many have been looking forward to this feature.
Video calling
The iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 both support video calling to any FaceTime-enabled device over Wi-Fi, however, the new iOS5 jailbreak now allow users to use facetime over 3G, this feature was long awaited by apple, but did not seem to come, like many other features.
External buttons and controls
The iPhone has many external buttons and controls to make multitasking easier. Here is a diagram of the present external buttons and controls:
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The iPhone also has many Connectors and an Input/Output. Here is another diagram to show these features:
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Environmental Requirements
The 4S and the 4 both have the same environmental requirements, they have an operating temperature of 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C), a nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C), a relative humidity of 5% to 95% noncondensing, and a maximum operating altitude of 10,000 feet (3000 m).
Software (On-phone technology)
Power and Battery
The 4S comes with a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery which will enhance the battery life. It can be charged in many ways, including via USB to computer system or power adapter. The 4S has a talk time of up to 8 hours on 3G, and up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM), this beats the iPhone 4 with talk time of up to 7 hours on 3G, and up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM). This is a good thing because one of the drawbacks to the iPhone 4 was battery life, and hopefully, apple have solved this issue. The 4S has a standby time of up to 200 hours, although this does not reach the iPhone 4's standards of up to 300 hours standby time. It has an internet use of up to 6 hours on 3G, and up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi, again this does not reech the 4's standards seeing as the 4 has up to 10 hours on wifi. The 4S and the 4 both have a video playback of up to 10 hours and an audio playback of Up to 40 hours.
Audio + TV and Video Playback
The 4S and the 4 both have the same audio playback, their frequency response is 20Hz to 20,000Hz. The Audio formats supported are;
Originally posted by another user
AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV. There is no difference between the 4 and 4S in one of the main aspects of the iPhone.
However, there are differences in the TV and video playback features. The 4S comes with AirPlay which mirrors everything on the phone to Apple TV, which supports 720p, this however is available on the 4 while jail broken, but this is not recommended and is highly frowned upon by Apple. The 4S also has a video mirroring and video out support of Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter, this beats the 4's output of 720p. They both however support the same video formats, which are;
Originally posted by another user
H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Mail Attachment Support
Both iPhones have Mail Attachment Support and can view many document types, if you would like to find out what types of documents are view able, please click the spoiler below.
Originally posted by another user
.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)
Sensors
All these features are present in the iPhone 4 + 4S, yet along with other features, the 4S's gaming is a lot more sophisticated and is at much better quality.
The iPhones come with a technology called "Three-axis gyro", this, alongside the accelerometer makes the iPhone a true virtual gaming machine, adding motion sensitivity that rivals the PS3 controller. They also come with a proximity sensor, which is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. Finally, the devices come with an Ambient light sensor. For example, if It's dark your screen brightness will dim down so you're not looking at one source of extreme bright light, and when it's bright the screen monitor will go up to compensate for the extra light around you so you can still see the screen comfortably.
With all these features, the iPhone is a true virtual gaming machine. Being 2x faster and having 7x better graphics, the iPhone 4S is an even better gaming machine. If one is looking for the perfect portable gaming device, the iPhone 4S is one of the top competitors.
Languages
The iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 both support the same languages, for a full list of support, please click the spoiler below.
Originally posted by another user
Language Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Keyboard Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese - Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Chinese - Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Dictionary Support (enables predictive text and autocorrect)
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Keyboard Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese - Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Chinese - Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Dictionary Support (enables predictive text and autocorrect)
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Location
Both iPhones have the same Location technology, although, the iPhone 4S's is better due to the phone being 2x faster. They have built in Assisted GPS, they can track wherever they are whenever they want to. They also have a built in digital compass, so they can always tell whether they are facing North, South, East or West. Both phones and all iPhones to date have built in Wi-Fi which allows them to connect to any Wi-Fi access point. All iPhones to date also have a Cellular network feature, for example, GSM GPRS etc.
Display
Display is a crucial feature on the iPhone, if the graphics were terrible, no one would buy the phone, this is why Apple have made a huge effort to make the graphics the best that they can be on the iPhone 4S. First off it has a Retina display, is a display technology that draws a raster display (like a television) directly onto the retina of the eye, it is high tech and isn't used on many phones today, this feature is also included on the iPhone 4. It also has a 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display which is also present on the iPhone 4, this gives the ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface, this can be used in games and many other features. This is where things change, the 4S has a 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, which is not present on any other iPhone, the quality of the screen can't get mcuh better even with today's technology. It has a 800:1 contrast ratio, this is typical and is on many other smart phones including the 4. It has a 500 cd/m2 max brightness which again is typical and is present on many other smart phones and again the iPhone 4. The 4S, along with the 4 has a Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on the front and back, this repels skin oil and keeps the phone has clean as possible.
Cellular and Wireless
In the first spoiler below are the Cellular and Wireless facts and figures on the 4S, in the second are the facts and figures of the 4, there are a few differences, but mainly just improvements on the 4S to those of the 4, the main feature is that the 4S is a world phone, this means that it can work on both GSM and CDMA networks around the world, which is helpful while roaming.
Originally posted by another user
- World phone
- UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);
- GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
- CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4
- 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
- Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Originally posted by another user
- GSM model: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);
- GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
- CDMA model: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
- 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology
Capacity
All iPhones have numerous different capacities, the higher the capacity, the more expensive the product, the capacities and prices (with a two year contract) on the 4S are as follows:
- $199 - 16GB
- $299 - 32GB
- $399 - 64GB
Assistant Software
This is something that no other iPhone/Phone has got. This software is called Siri.
What is Siri?
Siri is a virtual personal assistant which helps you get things done, all you have to do is ask. It allows you to use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. It isn't like a normal voice recognition software, asking for keywords etc. Siri understands your natural speech and it asks you questions if it needs more info to complete a task.
How does it work?
Siri uses the processing power of the dual-core A5 chip in iPhone 4S, and it uses 3G and Wi-Fi networks to communicate rapidly with Apple’s data centers. So it can quickly understand what you say and what you’re asking for, then quickly return a response. Siri is currently in Beta mode which means there is even more to come, which seems surprising because I don't know what else they can add!
What languages does Siri support?
English (U.S., UK, and Australian), French, German, although, Siri is currently in Beta and a lot more languages will be added in in due course.
How do I ask Siri to do something?
To talk to Siri, hold down the Home button on your iPhone 4S. You’ll hear two quick beeps and see “What can I help you with?” on the screen. Say your command then. The microphone icon lights up to let you know that Siri hears you talking. To talk to it again, tap the microphone icon. There are many more ways to talk to Siri, one of them is, when the screen is on, simply bring iPhone 4S up to your ear. You’ll hear two quick beeps to indicate that Siri is listening to you. Siri also works with headphones and Bluetooth headsets. When you’re using headphones with a remote and microphone, you can press and hold the center button to talk to Siri. With a Bluetooth headset, press and hold the call button to bring up Siri. Siri waits for you to stop talking, but you can also tap the microphone icon to tell Siri you’re done talking. This is useful when there’s a lot of background noise.
What happens after?
When you finish speaking, Siri displays the text of what you said and provides a response. If Siri needs more information to complete a request, it will ask you a question, like I said in the introduction to the software. For example, if you say “Remind me to call my mum,” Siri will ask “What time would you like me to remind you?” When you use earphones or a headset, Siri reads back text messages and email messages that you’ve dictated before you send them, and it reads back the subjects of reminders before you create them. This is especially helpful when you’re driving and can’t see the screen.
What can I ask Siri to do?
You can ask Siri to make a call, find a business and get directions, schedule reminders and meetings, search the web, and more. You can even ask Siri “What can you do for me?” or tap the “i” in the right corner of the screen when you bring Siri up. You’ll see examples of things Siri can do, along with ways you can ask for things.
What apps does Siri work with?
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Can I dictate to Siri?
Yes. Siri supports dictation in any app that has a keyboard. So instead of typing, you can speak and your words will be entered as text. To start dictation, tap the microphone button on your keyboard and start talking. When you’re finished, tap Done and your words will be turned into text. Dictation for each language is built into the keyboard for that language. Again this is very useful while driving, this may also decrease the amount of accidents on the road, but not everyone can afford this phone, so I shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Does Siri learn about my key relationships?!
YES! The first time you ask Siri to call, e.g. your sister, it will ask you who your sister is. That information is stored in Contacts along with other relationship information like “mom,” “husband,” and “grandma.”
The funny side of Siri
People including myself have already discovered funny "Easter Eggs" within Siri, to view pictures of these funny commands, please click the spoiler below!
The Guy's name is Joshua if any of you are confused!
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Siri in General
It is Siri that raised the temperature at the launch event more than any other feature. Voice control is by no means a new concept, but interpreting what has been said and working out the context is something that has not been fully explored on a mobile device before. Google is doing great work with its own voice software, but Siri appears to have taken things - for now at least - to a new level. The only real reason is because it recognizes natural speech, nothing else does this and it is very helpful, compared to the blackberry voice recognition software (which may I point out, is s***), Siri is like talking to a real assistant. Siri isn't integrated into everything that the iPhone 4S does, but it does link up with some key features. Demanding Siri to, E.G., set up an appointment for 9am on Friday not only creates the appointment, but checks first if you are free and tells you if you have a clash, offering the chance to change your mind, you can also ask for Wikipedia information and many other things which most people will find very helpful.
On the whole, I think Siri is the feature which makes the iPhone 4S shine and actually gives it a valid excuse to be different to the iphone 4.
iOS5
I am going to be rather brief about iOS5 seeing as it is available on most apple products and this article is mainly about the 4S. I am going to explain 5 new key features about the iPhone 4S, there are many many more (over 200 new features), if you would like to know about all of these, please click the link in the spoiler below, read on if you would like to know about 5 new key features.
Notifications
This feature is already on many Android phones, and has now been introduced to apple. When users receive a message, be it text, email or a missed call, the notifications will appear at the top of the screen and can also be viewed from the home page or when the phone is locked. It means an end to the current pop-ups which many users found annoying.
iMessage
This is a feature which is mainly to compete with RIM's blackberry messenger (the only reason I personally have a blackberry). Like BBM, iMessage is limited to a single platform, so only iOS 5 users can use it via iPhones, iPads and iPod Touchs. Users will be able to send text messages, photos and videos with no charge.
Twitter Integration
Tweeters with iPhones will now be able to sign into their account once and tweet with a single tap from camera, photo, contacts, YouTube and the Safari mobile browser plus any third-party apps that support the single sign-up. The same feature is not available for Facebook, even though the latter has a larger membership. It signals, a closer working relationship between Apple and Twitter.
Camera Control
Users will be able to take photos without having to unlock their phone and go to the camera app. A camera button on the lock screen means no delay for serious snappers. Users can also take pictures using the volume buttons.
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News Stand
A simple feature that shows how Apple understands the need to bring how we organise things in the real world to our gadgets. More and more people are choosing to read newspapers on iPads but, to date, all newspaper and magazine subscriptions lived in their own apps. Newsstand brings them together on virtual shelves, as already exists for iBooks. As well as decluttering how they were previously stored, it shows the value Apple places on digital media, despite the fact that iPad magazines such as Rupert Murdoch's The Daily have so far failed to catch on with many users. For many publishers, the 30% cut of the cover price which Apple takes may feel like a heavy price to pay, regardless of the exposure it brings.
Conclusion
My answer to the question "Is it worth it?" is YES.
I believe this because all of the features of iOS5 along with Siri (only available on the iPhone 4S), along with the graphical improvements and the speed of the phone generally makes it a completely new phone with a lot more features that the iPhone 4 will never have. It is also a world phone which means people around the world can use it to communicate which is really what it is for. I know numerous people who have the phone and I have tried it out many times, I would rate Apple's work a 9/10 on this occasion and I myself am planning to buy the iPhone next week.
I think on the whole, the iPhone is perfect with all aspects of life, business, pleasure, gaming etc. and it is easy to use, so people of all ages can use it for the reasons they bought it for.
A lot of people were disappointed that this was not the long awaited iPhone 5 and they were even more disappointed when they heard how little extra features the phone has, but in my opinion, there isn't a lot more apple can add with the technology we have at the moment and I think they have done a great job.
The iPhone 4S is available world wide, it was released on the 14th October 2011.
Thanks guys
-Mudkip :mudkip:
The following 5 users say thank you to Mudkip for this useful post:
10-24-2011, 11:39 PM
#11
Removed
This story has ended.
The 4S is a great phone, I'm not going to argue against that. However, if a person currently has an iPhone 4, I see little reason for them to upgrade to the 4S. There is little difference between the two phones except the fact at the 4S has Siri, more RAM, a better camera, and world roaming capabilities. To me, the world roaming capabilities are useless because either A) You don't leave your country that often B) If you have a GSM iPhone 4, you pretty much already have world roaming. Now if you have Verizon or Sprint in the US, I can see it being a nice option because they wouldn't be able to use their iPhone 4 at all. Regarding Siri, it is currently in Beta in the 4S and I have yet to see Apple come out and say that it would never be added to the 4 (if they have feel free to correct me). Even if Apple did not officially bring Siri to the 4, it has already been ported and proven to work because there is no technical limitation besides the fact the Apple's servers reject requests from the iPhone 4 which can be bypassed. So essentially in my opinion, you are getting a processor bump and camera bump. For some people that entirely is worth it but for some people who don't have the money or want to save some money, they're left asking the question "Is it worth it for me?"
Entirely my opinion.
On another note, great job on the article Mudkip. Congrats on News Team.
Entirely my opinion.
On another note, great job on the article Mudkip. Congrats on News Team.
Last edited by
Removed ; 10-25-2011 at 10:14 AM.
10-25-2011, 08:58 AM
#12
Mudkip
Retired Moderator
Originally posted by Soccer.
The 4S is a great phone, I'm not going to argue against that. However, if a person currently has an iPhone 4, I see little reason for them to upgrade to the 4S. There is little difference between the two phones except the fact at the 4S has Siri, more RAM, a better camera, and world roaming capabilities. To me, the world roaming capabilities are useless because either A) You don't leave your country that often B) If you have a GSM iPhone 4, you pretty much already have world roaming. Now if you have Verizon or Sprint in the US, I can see it being a nice option because they wouldn't be able to use their iPhone 4 at all. Regarding Siri, it is currently in Beta in the 4S and I have yet to see Apple come out and say that it would never be added to the 4 (if they have feel free to correct me). Even if Apple did not officially bring Siri to the 4, it has already been ported and proven to work because there is no technical limitation besides the fact the Apple's servers reject requests from the iPhone 4 which can be bypassed. So essentially in my opinion, you are getting a processor bump and camera bump. For some people that entirely worth it but for some people who don't have the money or want to save some money, they're left asking the question "Is it worth it for me?"
Entirely my opinion.
On another note, great job on the article Mudkip. Congrats on News Team.
Entirely my opinion.
On another note, great job on the article Mudkip. Congrats on News Team.
wow, thats a nice opinion mate! and thanks mate, unlucky with the apps, but I'm sure if you want it enough and deserve it, you will eventually get what you want
chow
PICHU.
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