Apple's iPhone 4S event seen lacking 'panache,' allowing Android to gain - Page 3

I hear Google is offering IBM $20 Billion to buy 'Watson'.

If it was called iPhone 5 and had a different form factor I think people wouldn't complain that much.

The big news though: Apple now DOES provide a low budget phone. The iPhone 3GS. For free, on contract.
This might be bigger than any new flag ship model announcement in terms of growth, if played right.

Wow, selective outrage there.
You seem to think that bigger screen (and making apps designed for that useless on smaller screens), and LTE (for which there is no infrastructure and which will suck up our data plans) is the be-all, end-all.
And yet performance that will enable greater functionality is a waste of time?
And cameras are NEVER good enough. Going from phone as backup to phone as primary is a BIG deal.

Hello boys and girls, been lurking around here for so long, but I had to register and vent today cos I've had enough of the iOS vs. Android argument :-)

If Apple licenced iOS to other manufacturers we would not be having this discussion. If Android were only available on the Nexus we wouldn't be having this argument. Bottom line is this... Apple has one range of phones, now with 3 models covering a range of costs and features. Android is run on scores of phones from different manufacturers, the whole iOS / Android market share thing is pointless. If iOS were run on more manufacturers it would have a far greater market share.

Apple are right in doing things the way they do. I'm not upset about there being no iPhone 5 announcement yesterday, I'm happy with my 4 and really just want iOS5. When the 5 does come out next year, I'm sure it'll be something better.

Amen. Just take a look at the ads for Android with the warrior lady ripping apart a robot for parts to make a 4G android phone. Then compare that to iPhone ads where they show people using the device with ease to complete everyday tasks. This is why Apple can relate to the customer. Average Joe and Jane, the ones who far out number whiny nerds are not interested in specs. Can I use it to do everyday things and the occasional complex task with ease? Can I get everything I need to extend the functionality of my phone (apps, music, movies, etc) in 1 place? And Apple answers, you can't put that on a spec sheet.

It's a distinct possibility that the 3GS already outsells the iPhone 4 at ATT.

Your Galaxy comparison is lacking. It is quite different. Well, more so than IP4 vs 4S anyway. First of all the Galaxy S2 is larger than the S1, both form wise and screen wise (4.3-4.5" vs 4.0") but still managed to be a little bit lighter. The screen is also of a different kind (SAMOLED+ vs SAMOLED) with the former supposedly providing more clarity, more vibrant colors and less battery consumption. These along with significant internal upgrades, larger battery and better camera, and on some variants, LTE, NFC and soon to come, 720p SAMOLED+ HD screen providing retina-like resolutions.

I feel Apple would need to break its one phone a year model soon, given the Android onslaught. Apple still hold the software advantage though in terms of user-friendliness and lack of fragmentation, but for how much longer? More varieties and choices are good. I noticed a majority of people disappointed with the 4S just want a larger screen, not some awkward tear drop design. A lone 3.5 incher just doesn't cut it anymore.

As for me, I was hoping for an A5 iPod Touch with larger screen. Only to get an announcement of a white 2010 model. Now that's sad.

Galaxy S vs S2:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3...&idPhone2=3621

SAMOLED vs SAMOLED+
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Super...d-back_id18700

....this is an AWESOME upgrade!

If I were an iPhone 4 owner, I probably would not upgrade.

Will be picking up a black one for myself and a white one for my wife. Can't wait!

I suggest you compare this keynote to the last few. Then you will see only small variations in script.

They always do some back-patting, and have spent more time on this as Android has grown. The defensiveness is there, and has been there for a year or two now. They almost always tout some home-grown app or insignificant (to us) feature. In fact, Scot Forstall has always liked showing off features or apps with family pictures. Perhaps he is a photography buff?

Listen to the words used. Cook had the same speech writer that Jobs used. There is no question about it. The simplicity of the sentences, spiced with high wattage superlatives, is very much Jobsian. The difference is that it wasn't Jobs. Cook does not have the same gravitas, for he has not been an industry pioneer for 3 decades. So the same words would sound different.

Personally, I give Apple kudos for believing in their design so much that they trust it to lead the industry for another year. Who cares if the competition feels compelled to change its looks every few months. A leader does not have to follow.

It's a good thing you're not eh? Otherwise rounded rectangular PC monitors and TVs would be banned everywhere.

Excellent observations stelligent.

I for one, am sort of disappointed. What was I expecting? I'm not sure. Innovation, I guess.
I have a 3GS. I love it. I have noticed it being a bit slower with iOS 4. My music did not skip on iOS 3. I would sort of like to use Facetime, but I have an iPad 2 for that. Yes, I would like a HD camera, the iPad 2 camera sucks in my opinion.

So why should I upgrade to a 4s? Siri doesnt really do it for me. Sure, an A5 would be nice. Im really holding out for iOS 5. Im mean, if the 3GS didnt run iOS 5, I would upgrade in a minute.

So $199 for an HD camera, a better display, and faster chip? I dont play games on the phone.

Im also stuck on the "S" upgrade cycle. If I upgrade now, it'll be 2 years before I can upgrade again. Say next year the real iPhone 5 comes out. I wont be able to upgrade without paying more. So I wait until the 5s?

Also, I was hoping for an upgraded Apple TV. I have a first gen Apple TV. Would like a 2nd, but dont want to buy one if a 3rd is coming out soon...which apparently it's not.

Im not a "hater" or whatever. I love my Apple products, would recommend them to anyone. Im just not sure it's worth it to upgrade right now. Meanwhile the specs on the Droid Bionic look really nice...too bad I hate Droids.

Btw..these are all first world problems.

Apple will truly kick a** with this phone.
The Android market is beyond saturated. Lg, Samsung ect have put more crap on the market than the market needs.

Onslaught eh?

The cool thing about Apple is that it does not do what people think they need to do. They don't do market studies about what customers want. They don't do what's needed. They do what they think is the best.

They knew, like everyone else, a completely different look could have earned them more sales. Heck, even a slightly different look could have done it. They knew that fewer iP4 owners would upgrade by keeping the same design. But they resisted temptation to gain sales on the back of those customers. Instead, Apple is allowing them to feel good about what they have, and to make an upgrade decision based on meaningful features (better camera, Siri, etc.) rather than the superficial exterior. They're allowing accessory makers to keep making revenue off their own investments (moulds, tooling, etc.). Now that's an ecosystem that is sustainable.

Apple engineers and management believe in themselves, not pundits. And, to repeat, they don't do what's *needed*. They do what they think is the best according to their principles. They are willing to live or die by these principles. So cool. Yes Siri

In this case Apple's secrecy has backfired on them. Everyone was expecting a new look iphone5 and came away disappointed.

Personally I don't quite understand what people were expecting. It's a phone, it probably needs to be rectangular and it needs to fit in my pocket. The 4s is all of that and is a pretty decent upgrade over the 4.

Wow, really? You're a genius, man!

I wonder if the CEO's secretary is the same too.....

Not blaming anyone. However, when as a company you are extremely anal and very secretive, you breed these sorts of issues. It's not about blame, but perception and reality. Even if one looked at no rumor's or "analysts" one would wonder why a long term cycle was broken. Sans explanations people create expectations.

Ultimately, this will either hurt, benefit or be neutral to Apple's sales which is all that really matters.

Go Droid (do your research before making a commitment). Get an iPod Touch. Best of both worlds.

And now, you can have people label you an iFan and a Fandroid, both at the same time!

If Apple had delivered exactly this same hardware in a different form factor and called it the iPhone 5, 'analysts' would now be proclaiming that Apple would rule the industry. These guys are myopic - they don't generally know what they are talking about.

In this slugfest a few things are being missed.

Firstly the 4S is an awesome phone but 6 months too late. If this was the Verizon phone in the spring of this year, then everyone would have been screaming what a great phone and update this is. However, Apple is late to the table, remember the Prime is being debuted next week, and the hardware specs will be as good and probably better than the 4S.

The bigger issue which every one has ignored is the timing of the next iPhone, the 4S is only an interim upgrade, if admittedly a good one.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, there are three possible scenarios.

Summer 2012. But this will screw all those that bought 4S phones, but please those with 4s, since they are just coming off contract.

Fall 2012. This would screw 4 owners, since they will be off contract by now, and we talking millions of people either upgrading to a 4S in the summer and seeing that phone become obsolete in a few months, or have to go on a month to month basis.

My question to all those iPhone 4 owners is are you happy to be on a month to month basis for 4 to 5 months?

Spring 2013. This is if Apple maintains a 16 month cycle. So no iPhone in 2012, is that realistic?

One final point, Apple is aiming for the Chinese market, Asia works in a different way, the 4S will be seen as last year's phone, it is not about the specs, but showing you have the latest gadget, so a design change was very important for the Chinese market.

In summary, the 4S is awesome, but 6 months too late, and it will screw up the owners of iPhone 4 phones.

Why do people have an aversion to the glass back? As an owner of a 3GS and a 4, I can safely say the 4 is MUCH more durable, and I've dropped it several dozen times, even on asphalt. My 3GS' case would often crack while in a case, and the whole thing would creak when I squeezed it.

Metal & Glass > Plastic

Even though car analogies are usually off the mark, I think there may be some apt comparisons made to the the way cars were designed in the 50s and 60s to the way they have been designed more recently.

In the 50s-60s every year a completely new body style was released while the chassis and drive chain were relatively unchanged. Now the body styles are slightly updated every few years but the internal technology and components receive evolutionary upgrades. The later method makes a lot more sense since it allows the manufacturer to conserve on costs and also gives them the opportunity to refine the functionality without having to re-invent the wheel every year, so to speak.

I think Apple is just trying to bring some sanity to the cell phone market. Your iPhone 3Gs or iPhone 4 will serve you well for many years since you can upgrade the OS. Upgrade the hardware if you have the money but there is no need to if you want to get a few more years from your current model.

like 2 people say that out of 1000...but of course they are who you hear.

The Galaxy S2 .6oz lighter and actually THICKER than the iPhone.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/09/iph...rds-authority/

Are you really suggesting this matters?

I still can't believe people are disappointed with the 4S. This phone isn't for the current iPhone 4 users. It's for users or older iPhones, dumb phones, and crappy android phones. I have a droid eris and can't wait to get rid of it for the iPhone.

Even if the iPhone 5 came out with a 4" screen, 4G LTE, 10hr battery life. People will still be disappointed because it didn't come with a unicorn crapping rainbows!

Yes, you are exactly correct.

I haven't seen them side by side, no. But if you're saying bigger, then that's not a design change- that's a feature change. And the improved screen bring it what... up to par with the iPhone 4 screen?

The larger screen issue aside, your points are moot. Apple did release an iPhone with an improved camera and faster processor. Apple has made it very clear that LTE isn't in the cards until they can ensure that it won't mean a hit to battery life. They have to at least be able to meet if not exceed the battery performance of the current iPhone. And if you're saying you also want a thinner design as well, THAT's going to impact the quality of the camera, and the space for battery as well. None of these things live in isolation. Maybe what your asking for isn't possible until next year by Apple's standards.

So to throw it back at you- the only thing they DIDN'T change is the design. And it seems like that's all some people are interested in. Unless you wanted a bigger screen, which just didn't happen.

A led on the front of the case to see if you miss phone calls.

a flip phone is >>>> an Android crap phone...

A high end Android = iPhone depending on your preferences...but in Apple land and Fandroid land such logic is blasphemy.

Quite a few of my coworkers that have an iPhone 3GS plan to jump ship to Android. The iPhone 3GS was powerful for its time, but the iPhone 4S is just playing incremental catch-up to Android, and even then, it's still behind. Has Apple even revealed how much RAM is in the iPhone 4S or what the A5 is even clocked at? Android has dual-core 1.5 GHz phones with 1 GB RAM. We will be seeing 16 MP cameras in Android phones starting next month and quad-cores are coming.

Most of the iPhone 4S sales will be iPhone 3GS owners that have been out of contract for months. But, I do not think it will convert Android users or bring in new customers excluding new Sprint customers.

I think the upgrade time frames are not as static as you think. I got my 3Gs in September 2009. When the iphone 4 came out Summer 2010 (a bit less than a year), I was already eligible for a full upgrade. I think if you remain in good graces with your carrier you would be eligible for upgrade much sooner than two years (at least with AT&T anyway, can't speak for sprint or verizon). Of course you do have to sign a new 2 yr contract when you upgrade, but you would have to do that anyway.

There you go, guessing Apple's *aim* and their release schedule. Haven't you learned from their history that they don't do and don't care what you or anyone else predict or guess?

The 4S is not aimed at any market, other than the mobile market at large. It is the embodiment of what they think should go into a phone at this new point in time. They do not deviate from their design process just because pundits say the Asian or Martian market works in whatever way. After all, did Apple go along with how the market worked before the iphone (e.g. carrier branding, etc.)?

Jobs has said this more than once - produce the best design possible, things like sales and stock price will take care of themselves.

this AI piece is totally based on remarks by one "analyst," Alex Gauna. he is a notorious Apple bad-mouther.

as Katie notes, in March he downgraded Apple stock from "outperform" the market to "perform." what Katie did not do is check how things actually turned out. in the six months since then, the DJ is down 12%, but Apple is up 10%. so clearly Apple has "outperformed" the market, and Gauna was plainly wrong.

more notable, tho, is one of his statements Katie missed. as Fortune reported on 8/26, he also believes the departure of Jobs means: "I am skeptical. This is the beginning of the end of the innovation that we have seen Apple usher into the new era. I think investors should be looking for diversified positions out of Apple at this point."

for a much better evaluation of Gauna's "analyst" work, go again to Fortune and this piece by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, "The Day Apple Landed In Gauna":

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/...nded-in-guana/

that's how it's done, Katie. this guy Gauna has a personal agenda, and his stuff doesn't merit coverage in AI.

Well it is basically an iPhone 4 with a fixed antennae. Which means:

1.) Consumer Reports should issue a "recommend " rating
and
2.) Bumper sales will slide.

That's the understatement of the year.

Seriously? People are disappointed because of the form factor and it's a decent complaint given how long it took to come to market. The iPhone is more than a smartphone. It's the device the revolutionized the smartphone industry, it's a status symbol, a trend setter, a category leader that others try to copy, even a fetish perhaps as you say.

The thing is this: People do not want to lock themselves down for another 2-3 years with a design that has been around more than a year and a half ago.
And this is where I think Apple can improve on.

Hyperbole much. Christ, I think the point is much more reasonable than that. Being nearly everything else BUT the design was changed about the phone (hardware and software both) this is a very acceptable upgrade. Everyone thinks Apple should make business decisions based on customer wants all of the time, but they are a company and they don't. They gave their customers a really nice upgrade in almost every front AND managed to NOT waste their time retooling their manufacturing lines. Had they wasted resources redesigning it entirely we almost certainly wouldn't have gotten the upgrades that we did get.

Good grief, Terrence... do you even think about this stuff before you write it? The mere fact that all you can think about is the specs shows that you don't get it.

Consumers want something useful - something that adds value to their lives. They don't care if it has 512MB of RAM and an onboard GPU and two cores running at 1.2GHZ - they care that it takes great pictures, it's easy and fun to use, it has a ton of apps, they are safe to obtain, that you can access great content offerings, and watch them anywhere when you want, etc.

Only the geeks with the pointy hats think the amount of RAM is more important than the experience of using the device and how it adds value to your life, and only the geeks think that characteristics like "bytes of RAM" and "end user value" are actually synonymous.

Right, but outside of the larger screen, none of what you've said is exterior design. And it seems to me that design is really the hang up here. It's not enough that the iPhone4S is dramatically faster and with a better camera and new voice control system. A superficial case change seems to be the only metric by which anyone is willing to gauge this.

Not to mention that the new phone is getting tons of new features with iOS5.

Whereas you'd have to either know the phone REALLY well to tell the difference between the GS and GSII without holding it in your hands and it gets a pass.

Interesting possibility but ... I might be wrong, but I believe the 3GS has been consistently ranked as the 2nd best selling smartphone in the US, even before Verizon entered the picture?