Yes, this has been available for a while now. In fact if you have an iPad as well it will also download to that.

Interesting...well considering Android has exactly the same features, the Market is hardly a mess imo...

fairly obviously it's not going to always be appropriate to use it.


probably depends on whether or not it works as well as it looked in the demos. the iPhone has voice control, but probably doesn't get used much, probably because it's fairly limited.

but Siri at least appears a lot more advanced, plus it makes use of location. so being able to say 'remind me to call my wife after I leave work' is a lot better than 'call wife'.


I think that misses the point that it all depends on the circumstances. I doubt many would make a lot of calls via FaceTime, but if you're away, and it's quiet, it's surely a good way to see people back home?

Iain

maybe true. but it means they're less likely to lose sales to other manufacturers in the mean time. Look at this thread. There's far more 'I'm going to get an android/nokia/windows phone now' people rather than 'I'm going to get a 4s now'.

The 4s isn't exciting. It's not going to have record breaking queues and sales, its a stop gap. And whilst its a better upgrade for those that currently have the 3gs, for those that currently have the 4, and have had it a while, and are thinking they're ready for an upgrade, there's nothing shiny on the horizon.

It's impossible to judge right now whether Apple has made a colossal mistake. Even launch day won't be a particularly reliable indicator. We won't really know how it's going until a couple of quarters of sales are reported, I suppose.

16 months after launch, the iPhone 4 is still the top selling smartphone out there. Are massive numbers of people going to buy the 4S, or are people jaded, having been expecting a re-designed iPhone 5? We'll have to wait to find out.

I'm *reasonably* sold on video calls - the weekly phone call to the family is now a Skype video call, but Facetime is only for macs. Skype is for anyone, Google talk (with video) is for anyone. I don't need to worry about whether or not my friend has an iphone or a mac at home, and I *know* that not all of them do. So why would people use facetime when there are more inclusive solutions avaiable?

As for voice commands....yes its ok when it works. Apple didn't demo the bit where you have to explain who your wife is, or where your work is. Or tried it with regional accents, or unusual Proper nouns. But regardless, whether it's Wildfire on Orange (anyone remember that?!) or voice recognition on a desktop, or google voice search, the times its useful are pretty niche.

I'm an android user and will be getting the Galaxy S2 next month, but I could really use a good voice app like siri for when in the vehicle. As i use my phone for sat nav, it would be great to be able to tell it which postcode to go to rather than having to pull over and type it in. As I'm travelling from house to house a hell of a lot it becomes very tiresome.
Also I get a lot of texts from customers and once again, being able to reply safely without having to pull over would be a boon.
That's just two things, I'm sure there's more.
Just because 'you' may not see a need for something doesn't automatically make it a waste of time.

yes but I see a tablet as more of a laptop replacement. I don't see much value in having a phone, laptop and tablet. When the laptop dies (and it is dying ) I will look at tablets as possible replacements, inc the 10.1.

I've brought an iPhone 4 off eBay tonight after the event. Sold my iPod Touch 2wks ago in the hope we'd see an improved touch yesterday or an iPhone 5.....both of which didn't happen so I now await my iPhone 4

GS2 comes with a voice app called Vlingo. It has a specific 'car mode' including navigation. I *think* it reads out texts (if not, or some other app does) and you can definitely dictate a reply. Tried its voice nav and postcodes are a bit hit and miss, I think because its geared up to american stye addresses. "Navigate to 100 Green Lane, London" works fine though.

Sounds great, I think I'll be changing my bluetooth headset for one that transmits audio as well so that the accuracy will be better as vehicle noise will probably screw it up.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting my G2 even more now

For years? In what way? Phones, tablets, computers, which area?

The iPhone 4 came out in June 2010, the same month as the original Galaxy S. They both have comparable specs.

The iPad 2 (March 2011) and the current top-end Android tablets have comparable specs.

The iPhone 4S is comparable to the Galaxy S II (May 2011)... but admittedly is behind by a few months due to Apple's bizarre decision to bugger up its standard release schedule and bring it out in October instead of June.


Computers being outdated tech? Dunno. We have a load of iMacs at work from the 2010 range which use the 2010 (Clarkdale) Intel Core i3 etc., so those at least weren't outdated (I do find them quite annoying, though, but that's another subject!)

Weird. Whilst I was watching Tim Cook I couldn't help but think of Paul O'Grady.


As an iPhone 4 user locked into a contract until 2012, like a lot of others I would imagine, the upgraded iPhone 4S doesn't ruffle my feathers as I probably wouldn't be able to upgrade anyway.

If a revolutionary iPhone 5 came out next year it may well be a different matter.

Why do major upgrades every year when your user base can only change phones every 2 years?

One year a revolutionary new year, the next an incremental 'S' version.

what do people think, will they stick with this for a year or launch iphone 5 next June?

my contract ends in December so i may or may not get the 4S it depends on if Tesco get it and how much it would cost if i upgraded

I think the most fashion conscious would not be seen dead with last years model.

I'm gritting my teeth and sticking with my 3.5" Android phone for at least another year. A more web usable 4.3" would be nice but I'll just do without.

I've been thinking he looks unnervingly similar to Ryan Stiles (who's line is it anyway).

Look on the bright side with the Apple release schedules - at least its 12 months. How often are new/exciting/uberfast Android devices released? Weekly? Daily? Hourly?

The SGS2 was available at the end of April 2011, almost half a year (save 2 weeks) before the 4S will be available. That is not 'a few months', it is an eternity in such a fast paced market.

No

But you can browse the App store on iTunes on you Mac / Laptop whatever and it will install, OTA, on the iPhone / iPad without you having to touch it.

Well, naturally you do have to touch it, you wouldn't be able to switch the phone on, otherwise.

But I get what you mean.

You say that like it's a good thing. The only people it benefits are those that 'need' to collect each and every version of the phone.

For everyone else it means that unless you bought it within 3 months of release, you're buying outdated tech. If my contract runs out/I'm eligible for upgrade in say July, I don't want to have to wait till the following March for the 'latest' phone to be released.

One of the big selling points of the iPhone 4 (antenna issues aside) is that it does look very, very pretty indeed. I imagine Apple didn't feel like moving on from the design that quickly.

I can't imagine the 4S selling quite as well as the iPhone 4 at launch (for one thing, it's not had the same blow-your-head-off publicity due to really being a spec bump) but it will still be a nice little earner for them. Some of the long term iPhone users might wait for the 5 rather than upgrading now though.

I think your example is more flattering.


To my mind a 2 year major release cycle is fine as that's when my phone contract expires.

Until then my iPhone 4 will be running IOS 5.

From a business point of view (not an "I want a new fashion statement" point of view it makes very good sense.

As you say, most people are on a 2 year renewal cycle. So, for me, there is not really an incentive to move from an IPhone 4 to a 4S. To someone with an iPhone 3GS, skipping the 4 to move to a 4S is a bigger jump.

Catering for all upgraders who are looking for improvements.

There is the accessory market to look after too. People like Tom Tom who make dedicated hardware for phones can plan for the shape of a phone., not having to change it all the time.

If I'd, for example, just bought the Tom Tom attachment, upgraded the phone, to find that it doesn't work with the new shape phone I'd be pretty pee'd off.

That's true, and there's also the fact that there are two sides to Apple: technology and product design. The iPhone 4 was a significant achievement in product design, the 4S is a much better phone in technology terms but if there is no groundbreaking new design it makes sense to call the phone the 4S. That way each "number" represents a state-of-the-art piece of design and the "S" represents a spec upgrade.

I'm not going to say "S" represents state-of-the-art technology because clearly there are higher specced phones available elsewhere but the 4S is a very good phone. It just isn't called the iPhone 5.

You can't stay up to date with phone tech if you're tied into a "normal" contract. The duration of an 18 or 24 month contract ensures that you're well out of date by the time you can upgrade.

But as long as the phone does what *you* want, it doesn't really matter.

For those who have an irrational urge to have the latest/greatest/shiniest devices, you get a SIM free contract and just buy whichever phones you want as and when you want them.

I've gone through occasions of regretting being on a 24 month contract, but after almost a year with the N8, its the first time I've had no urges to change the phone. Thats in equal part down to my not seeing any phone that would be a worthy upgrade (nothing yet close on the camera, audio quality is excellent), and that the N8 has turned out to be a truly excellent phone.

given that these are possibly a minority who always have to have the latest and greatest, and its unlikely that there will be another iPhone for at least 9 months, then they'd possibly buy something now, and a new iPhone if it delivered the goods.


that remains to be seen - i'm not sure most users upgrade every new model anyway. the 4 is already huge, and whatever else the 4S is a big improvement on the 4, so i doubt sales are suddenly going to dry up.

Iain