The Not So New iPhone 4S/5?
October 4, 2011 | 
Author
Greetings,
I am not a fan of Apple, I will make that abundantly clear. The “new” iphone is basically an iphone 4 with a better processor, and better camera. It’s not even… a 4G network phone, it is still using the 3G network. That’s all fine and dandy, but definitely not worth the cost of an upgrade if you already own the iphone 4. Is this a sign of things to come, now that Steve Jobs is gone? I know that he was there while the lack of design took place, but something tells me he was not involved as much as usual over the last few months.
The thing I really don’t get is the main selling point of the “new” iphone, which is basically an application and has nothing to do with the hardware. A virtual assistant named Siri. I am not saying my Droid X can do all of the things that Siri does, but I am sure there isn’t much it can’t. I can send a text by using voice, an e-mail using voice, and dial using voice. I might have to push an extra button here or there, but it works.
Out of all smartphone subscribers, about 50% are Android users. It seems Apple has been losing it’s market share fairly quick over the last two years. My daughter owns an iphone 4, and I just don’t get it…there’s nothing special about it. My Android phone does everything and more than an iphone can do, for example Flash websites work as they should. I have HDMI without needing to purchase an Apple HDMI adapter at an additional cost. I can expand the storage on my Android with a Micro SD card. And my favorite part…I am not a slave to itunes.
If you have a comment on the “new” iphone I’d definitely like to hear it.
-Ebenezer
Posted in Thoughts
Its not that steve jobs wasnt involve. iPhone 3g and 3gs was the same thing basically. Slap in a new processor and memory then its a new model. Apple just knows how to make the hype, and fortunately android is eating away at that hype.
Ya see, that’s what happens when you ask an accountant about an iPhone 4S. Yes, that deep dark secret is revealed. Gamer that Ebenezzer Stooge (Scott S) is, his daytime alter ego (the one that brings home the pay check to feed the family), is an accountant.
Accountants, to my knowledge, have never figured out Apple products. They are too concerned with processor speed, (note, scott quotes that), than inspiring user interfaces.
So let’s take a quick look at that iPhone 4S that Scott called an “iFail”.
First things first. I didn’t rush out and order an iPhone 4 the first day it was announced. I took my time, read the details, the comments, the concerns. And then, I patiently waited until the first day of online ordering, and placed my order. BTW, I waited several months before ordering the first iPhone, and again for my 3GS. This was the first time that “I just couldn’t wait” for the new capabilities.
And so, my iPhone arrived from China, via Hong Kong (Apple sent me tracking, of course – all part of the user experience), last Friday. I’ve had it now, for 4 full days.
My take is Scott got it way wrong. I officially rename his idea of the iPhone 4S, from the iFail, to the iWin (or for some of us: ” iWinagain”
So, what did Scott get wrong? Mostly the concept. apple products are rarely technological champs, they just work better than other products. Ditto for the iPhone 4.
Oh, the better camera is nice, but hardly enough to get me to splurge. So, what makes the iPhone 4S so exciting that 4 million people ordered it in the first 3 days?
Siri!
Like millions of others, I love Siri, She saves me time, she saves me money, she makes my life easier. She costs far less than a wife, yet also has cute comebacks when you ask her silly questions, or make silly statements. But mostly, Siri is a breakthrough implementation. The only question is how far Apple will let us take Siri. It certainly seems to be more clever than the Dragon Dictate and IBM Simply Speaking softwares that I’ve been playing with for more than a decade, with little satisfaction. I’m hoping eventually I can use her for full blown dictation.
Meantime, though she’s incredibly good at sending voice dictated text messages and emails. It’s great in the car, but mostly, I’ve also been using Siri to send emails from my phone that normally I would wait until I was back in front of my laptop. The minor errors in word recognition have been just that, not a problem.
So, for my $400, I figure I’m going to pick up about 1-2 hours a week of improved productivity. If I keep the phone for 2 years, that works out to less than $500 a year (phone and contract), or $10 a week, for all that productivity. Well, if I figure that I pay myself $50 an hour, that’s one hell of a bargain.
But, more to the point. It’s organizing me to a degree I have been unable to achieve before. That’s really helping things move along.
So, great on the faster processor and better camera. But it’s Siri, that’s the real value. Now some of you will say… just wait, you’ll be able to jailbreak the iPhone 4 so it can use Siri… etc. No matter. 95% of people could care less about jailbreaking, and the headaches involved.
Sure, an iPhone 5 with even more goodies, perhaps a bigger screen, perhaps NFC so it can double as your credit cards, will of course be nice, but Siri, is the big news here, and an easy justification for mov’n on up.
BTW, speaking of products Apple related, we’ll be publishing a review in a couple of days, of Epson’s new MegaPlex 850HD all in one projector. What’s cool, is it has a dock on board for an iPhone, or even an iPad. Looks very cool. Mike’s doing the review, and may have to borrow my iPad to fully work it though its paces. Any day now, re that review.
And if you haven’t yet, check out the Epson Home Cinema 3010 review. Either Scott S, or Pete will get a crack at this one, for gaming, and post their gaming insights. -art
The only reason the ifail sold that many units is because Steve Jobs died right before it was released…lol. Siri is an app and has nothing to do with the hardware itself. So the best thing about the new iphone is an app, correct? Accountants think logically and rationally, that’s why we can’t figure out why people would want overpay for an Apple product…ha ha. Apple products don’t work when it comes to PC gaming, that’s a proven fact. Android is 50% of the smart phone market and rapidly growing, it’s only a matter of a few years before Apple is irrelevant again.