Tech Blog

[#1]

The headline is what everyone wants to know first, isn’t it? Okay the ever-important “Yeah, how much?” is next, but I’ll get to that in a moment. Today Apple announced the a bump to the iPhone 4 dubbed the 4S which has a faster processor, faster graphics, better camera, HD video recording, and Siri your personal assistant. Ballpark prices are going to be $199 for 16 GB, $299 for 32 GB, and $399 for 64 GB. Those are the US prices given during the event and assumedly with a contract. Fear not, the iPhone 4 isn’t going away, it’s down to $99 for the base model (on a plan) and the venerable 3GS (yep, still alive and kicking) free with a plan.

Now for some details…

The 4S is going to be the same form factor and size as the 4, but a tad heavier. For travelers (with deep pockets) the 4S is now a world phone by default, nice if you’re heading out of Canada, not a big deal here.

Powering the 4S will be the dual-core A5 chip that is in the iPad 2, which Apple says is going to make the iPhone not only do stuff faster but also play games faster.

Other big news: a new 8 mega pixel camera with a new lens system, better low light sensor, and the ability to record 1080p HD video.

And then there is Siri, the voice-activated assistant. Looks like while this will be a part of iOS 5, Siri will only be on the 4S, probably because the phone needs the extra oomph from the A5 chip to make it run acceptably. That’s important to Apple, don’t talk about how amazing something is—and by all accounts Siri is amazing—and have the experience be sub-par on other devices. Sure, Apple has missed the boat on that in the past, but I think they are really trying to keep to that plan with Siri.

I’ll talk more about Siri and iOS 5 in a later post.

From Apple’s iPhone 4S page:

• Height: 115.2 mm (4.5 inches)

• Width: 58.6 mm (2.31 inches)

• Depth: 9.3 mm (0.37 inch)

• Weight: 140 grams (4.9 ounces)

• 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

• Location

• Assisted GPS

• Digital compass

• Wi-Fi

• Cellular

• Display

• Retina display

• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display

• 960-by–640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi

• 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)

• 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)

• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back

• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

• Camera, Photos, and Video

• 8-megapixel camera

• Autofocus

• Tap to focus

• Face detection in still images

• LED flash

• Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio

• Video stabilization

• Front camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second

• Photo and video geotagging

• External Buttons and Connectors

• External Buttons and Controls

• Power and Battery

• Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

• Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter

• Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)

• Standby time: Up to 200 hours

• Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi

• Video playback: Up to 10 hours

• Audio playback: Up to 40 hours

• Audio Playback

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz

• Audio formats supported: 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

• User-configurable maximum volume limit

• TV and Video

• AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p

• Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)

• Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)

• Video formats supported: 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

So is the iPhone 4S a must have upgrade? Probably not for all but the hard-core fans among us. Oh sure, I’d love to be able to ask my phone the weather or find a restaurant for me (which are just a couple of things Siri can do), but not at the premium cost of getting a new phone. Yes, this is very much like the iPhone 3G to 3GS transition. As well, there will come a time when the iPhone 4 won’t have enough horsepower to run something in iOS (beyond Siri), so the 4S is a stepping stone to the 5. And if I had to place a bet, I’d say we’ll see an iPhone 5 and iPad 3 in May-June.

Oh and iPods? Yes, the iPod Touch is coming out in white (woo hoo!) and the Nano in more colors. As far as killing off the Shuffle or Classic? No mention of that, but you know they probably aren’t too long for this world I think. Apple sees, and is banking on, the power of touch so those devices don’t really fit in anymore.

[#2]

Regarding the "world phone" feature, it would make sense for Verizon or Sprint customers in the US, such that they can bring their iP4S (activated under CDMA) with them overseas and get a prepaid SIM card in another country for temporary use (provided that Verizon or Sprint do not SIM-lock the phones).  But for Canadian customers this feature means little, as 1) most Canadian carriers have abandoned CDMA and I doubt very much they would activate iP4S as a CDMA phone (I'd wonder if Public Mobile will activate iP4S as a CDMA device), 2) these carriers already have previous generations of iPhones running on their GSM and/or UTMS networks, 3) most people will obtain iP4S under contract, in which they will have a SIM-locked device such that SIM-swapping cannot be done easily.

[#3]

mtrump, yep you're bang on. However, carriers do have to unlock phones for a reasonable fee if you request ... I've been tempted to do that so I could get a SIM for the States.

[#4]

This is a pain to have phone locked to a particular carrier. I want to know if the price advertise is an unlock phone which I can take oversea, Europe and Asia and be able to buy local SIM card and the phone still works. I know Japan is an exception. 

Maybe someone can explain to me what the term "world phone" really mean to consumer.

For Iphone4, one can get an unlock phone from Apple Store and can use it with multiple service providers in Canada and from what I was told by the techie at the Apple store, the phone works with oversea service providers' SIM card without any modification.

Can someone confirm what is the situation with iphone 4S? Thanks

Pw  

[#5]

I think "World Phone" means it can handle CDMA and GSM.  Some countries are dominated by one standard and having a World Phone means you can use different standards.  The iPhone 5 has more than one antenna (one for CDMA and one for GSM).  This is helpful to avoid the "death grip" issue.

http://www.google.ca/search?q=iphone+4+death+grip

[#6]

PW - the situation with the iPhone 4S is the same as the situation with the current iPhone 4. You will be able to purchase it at a subsidized price with a service provider contract (in which case it will be "locked"), or you can purchase it at full price with no contract (in which case it will be "unlocked").

The only price notice for the new iPhone 4S currently posted on Apple's web site is $649 - presumably this is for the 16MB "unlocked" version not tied to a provider service contract. To the best of my knowledge, official pricing of a "locked" phone that includes a contract with one of Canada's cell service providers has not yet been announced.

[#7]

Thanks all for the clarification on the definition of "world phone"

We still expect to pay a premium for unlock iphone 4S then... very sad, especially today for the loss of Steve Job,  his visionary sense make him the sole of Apple and he is definitely a good apple.....

I am keeping my iphone3 for world travel as it has been software unlocked and serves me well for having a tool to communicate while travelling oversea.

I really like the handwriting feature of the iphone and ipad, so far I have not seen another phone which has the ease of inputting chinese character as easy as iphone(which acts like a builtin tablet) and ipad which has no ability to act as a phone...if you folks know of a brand of phone which can do chinese character input the same way like the iphone and can be unlock, please let me know... Thanks

I don't know pin-yin so keyboard input of chinese character is beyond my ability even if there is phone apps to support that.

[#8]

PW - to clarify, the "premium" you are paying is not simply because you are getting an unlocked phone. The higher cost is entirely related to the fact that you are buying the phone without a cell provider contract, and therefore you are not receiving the hefty subsidy that the cell provider is paying in order to provide the phone to you at a significantly reduced price. If you are still locked into an existing contract your cell provider might still be able to offer you a new iPhone 4S at a discounted price if you are willing to sign onto a new contract - you'll have to ask them.

[#9]

hb -

This "subsidy" price from service provider on the iphone is another scam from the phone companies. Phone companies get the iphone at volume discount price from Apple and who know how much saving they pass on to us on contract signing. Until we know how much the phone companies pay for an iphone, we are being fool as design...

Another annoying thing about buying iphones with cell provider contract is that they insist you to sign up with a data plan. Fido, Bell, Rogers does not offer iphone contract if I do not subscribe to their data plan.

There is a reason why I don't want data plan.. I use Rogers rocket stick while I am out of Toronto to access internet via satellite for multiple laptops. I find the iphone screen too small to be effective to read and compose email, which is the app I use most while I am not in Toronto.

Using (competitor) phone and playbook with data plan to access internet is another joke, its slow and not appealling to me at all. Therei is one more point of failure just in case my (competitor) phone is out of juice, what am I going to do with the playbook trying to access the internet, go figure.

I have no desire to use ipad with 3G either due to ipad's bigger footprint and lack of Flash support. Maybe there are other tablets in the market that fit my need other than the playbook or ipad, I just don't have time to check them out individually. Maybe someone here can give me suggestions. Much appreciated.   

At home in Toronto, laptops, desktops, iphone, playbook all connect via Bell's wireless router using fibre optics internet services. Within Toronto downtown core, many retailer offers hot spot to tap on the internet for customer.  While you are in the rural area, its a different situation.

pw 

[#10]

Apple suddenly seems down in the innovation department on this phone.  The biggest change being the being the voice recognition and even that is a kinda meh feature.

My question:  Will holding the iPhone 4S wrong cause it to drop calls?

[#11]

I'm not sure how it works...what's the diffenrence between buying a iphone 4S from Futureshop with choosing Bell's network and ordering an iphone  4S directly on Bell's iphone 4s site? Anyone?