The entire internet is abuzz with chatter about the latest & greatest new release from Cupertino – Apple iPhone 4S. This latest version takes iPhone 4, the already-formidable, and quite frankly the most capable phone of the last year or so, and gives it a good ol’ thrashing – all the while looking exactly the same like its predecessor. So let’s take a closer look at what’s so magical about this device:
First, what hasn’t changed in this version:
- Same exterior design
- Same weight & dimensions
- Same old glass back & front
- Same brilliant IPS screen with Retina Display
And now, the new stuff:
- GSM + CDMA Network Compatible – A true World Phone
- 1 GHz Dual-Core Apple A5 processor – Up to 2x faster
- Improved Battery time – up to 8 hours 3G talk time, 9 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video viewing
- Improved Network Speeds – up to 14.4 Mbps on HSDPA (2x faster than iPhone 4)
- Dual Core Graphics unit – pumping out up to 7x faster graphics
- Brand new & improved 8MP camera (with 1080p video + Image Stabilization)
- Upto 64GB capacity
But that just sums up the hardware aspects of it. What truly makes it such an amazing product, is the software capabilities of this phone:
- iOS 5 – Brand new Safari with Tabs, iMessages, Camera shortcut on lock screen, Notification bar, etc.
- System-wide Twitter integration
- AirPlay Mirroring, meaning you can connect a monitor to the phone – both wired & wireless
- iCloud – 5GB of free cloud storage for your apps, contacts, email, documents, pictures, videos, books, etc. All synced wirelessly & automatically between all your Apple devices!
- iTunes in the Cloud – with iTunes Match (in US only for now)
- Location Sharing
Oh, and one more thing...
- Siri – System-wide Voice commands integration
Many folks all over the internet were expecting to see iPhone 5, a radical new device with bigger screen, gesture controls, multi-tasking, possibly 4G capabilities, built-in toaster, coffee maker, and God knows what else… but nope, you get iPhone 4S.
But when you take a closer look at the changes in this version, its evident why they didn’t, and couldn’t, call it iPhone 5. It has more or less all the features iPhone 4 has (or will have after iOS 5 upgrade goes live on October 12), but pretty much all of them have been improved, refined, and enhanced in the 4S. It has a better camera, more space, faster processor & graphics chips, better network capabilities, and a cherry on top in the form of Siri. So yes, if you think your iPhone 4 has started to show its age, this is a perfectly worthy upgrade for you. It will be available in the US by October 14th, and then will gradually release in other countries. As for Pakistan, rumor has it that the Factory Unlocked version might be available here by the end of November. We’ll keep you posted on how things unfold though.
