*~*~* Yay, it's new iPhone day! *~*~*

[Bozza]

What did the 'damp squib' crew expect or hope for?

 

[Fef]

So it's the 4s not an iPhone 5, not overly impressed with it to be honest, think I'll stick with the 4 until the 5 does come out.

I must admit to being slightly underwhelmed by the town hall meeting. It seemed to be a reiteration of the previous launch of iOS5, plus an interim phone. I'll be hanging on too.

 

[tinx]

Pretty much as expected I reckon, Only good thing for me is I have no desire to upgrade. iPhone 4 with IOS 5 will do me until the next release.

 

[siclean]

Big deal, who needs one of them, a phone is for calling and texting and taking trhe odd picture, who need those silly little apps, which, lets face it, most peope get bored of after awhile, and whats more, who wants to carry a brick around in their pocket.. i phones are over priced, way over hyped, far too big, and just not needed. And people get sucked in by it all, worlds gone mad

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

I can't wait to hear all the new features BUT if you ask me the next big thing we're all REALLY waiting for is a MASSIVELY improved new type of battery.

We've all got gadgets in our pockets eating up battery like there's no tomorrow and for the vast majority of these devices, you won't get more than a day's use out of it before it needs a recharge. This needs improving, and not just incrementally. It needs improving DRAMATICALLY. I want to be able to power my smartphone for several days at a time, as it is permanently connected to 3G data networks, quietly organising my life on the fly.

Phones have gotten SO advanced now that people are running out of ideas as to what features future devices may boast. We can't dream them up faster than they're being developed. But one thing surely everyone can agree would be appreciated is a battery life you can be proud of. And besides, a longer battery life means fewer charging cycles which means you use less electricity and in turn save the planet. Everyone's a winner.

I wish they'd hurry up and develop it. I hate running out of juice

My god, yes!

 

[fork me]

On the news this morning it seems all they've done is bring it into line with current android devices, they don't superscede it in any way.

With the added problem that trying to move anything from your PC/Laptop to your iPhone or vice versa will be a complete pain in the ass, whereas with Android it ees not compleecated.

 

[Colossal Squid]

This Siri gimmick reminds me of the Orange Wildfire service that was around in the early 2000s. It was basically a service you called up and talked to for getting certain tasks done. It managed your voicemail, would call or text people for you and stored any information you cared to share with it, all by your commanding it: "Wildfire, call my Mum" or "Wildfire, take a memo".

The service didn't last very long and Orange killed it off. Why? Because people just don't like talking to machines. Most modern phones have degrees of voice activated functionality but barely anyone takes advantage and no amount of dressing it up with this "personal PA" element is going to change that.

The first time I see some ponce on a train talking into his phone "what's the weather going to be like today in Brighton?" I am going to laugh because quite frankly how hard is it to press the little WEATHER button on your screen? In fact on an Android device you don't even need to press a button as there's a weather widget right there on your home screen.

Frankly this announcement has been disappointing. There's nothing new with the iPhone 4S, just slight tweaks and improvements. Where's the innovation?

 

[skipper734]

From £499. Are the Jobs disciples mad.

 

[DTES]

From £499. Are the Jobs disciples mad.

£499 stand alone, that is (not on contract). By comparison, the new Android phone to be revealed next week (Samsung Nexus Prime) is expected to be $550 stand-alone in the US, so I can't see it being any cheaper than £400-£450 over here when you allow for VAT.

New smartphones being expensive is far from exclusive to Apple!

 

[Bold Seagull]

Pretty much as expected I reckon, Only good thing for me is I have no desire to upgrade. iPhone 4 with IOS 5 will do me until the next release.

I think anyone with an iPhone 3GS would be mad to upgrade at this stage unless they really need to. My 3G is still fine, although the wife wants it, and I could use the camera/video in the 4 or 4S for work so an upgrade makes sense. Going from a 4 to a 4S would strike me as someone with a little too much money to burn. If your due an upgrade, sign up for a 12month sim deal instead and get a much lower monthly rate.

 

[Marshy]

Good so when my phone contract ends in Feb I wil be able to get a standard Iphone 4 for a cheaper price no doubt... cool

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

This Siri gimmick reminds me of the Orange Wildfire service that was around in the early 2000s. It was basically a service you called up and talked to for getting certain tasks done. It managed your voicemail, would call or text people for you and stored any information you cared to share with it, all by your commanding it: "Wildfire, call my Mum" or "Wildfire, take a memo".

The service didn't last very long and Orange killed it off. Why? Because people just don't like talking to machines. Most modern phones have degrees of voice activated functionality but barely anyone takes advantage and no amount of dressing it up with this "personal PA" element is going to change that.

The first time I see some ponce on a train talking into his phone "what's the weather going to be like today in Brighton?" I am going to laugh because quite frankly how hard is it to press the little WEATHER button on your screen? In fact on an Android device you don't even need to press a button as there's a weather widget right there on your home screen.

Frankly this announcement has been disappointing. There's nothing new with the iPhone 4S, just slight tweaks and improvements. Where's the innovation?

I agree with all of that. However, I think there's going to be quite a lot of curiosity about Siri from people with the iPhone 4S. If you asked, 'Can you serve me some MILF porn?' would Siri be able to deliver? If you asked, 'What's the meaning of life?' what would it say? I think people will play with it and over time using it for real world situations will increase.

 

[DTES]

If you asked, 'What's the meaning of life?' what would it say?

I like to think Apple will have had the sense to realise people will do this all the time, and program it accordingly. I wouldn't be surprised if it just says "42".

No porn though - this is Apple remember!

 

[helipilot]

I can't wait to hear all the new features BUT if you ask me the next big thing we're all REALLY waiting for is a MASSIVELY improved new type of battery.

We've all got gadgets in our pockets eating up battery like there's no tomorrow and for the vast majority of these devices, you won't get more than a day's use out of it before it needs a recharge. This needs improving, and not just incrementally. It needs improving DRAMATICALLY. I want to be able to power my smartphone for several days at a time, as it is permanently connected to 3G data networks, quietly organising my life on the fly.

Phones have gotten SO advanced now that people are running out of ideas as to what features future devices may boast. We can't dream them up faster than they're being developed. But one thing surely everyone can agree would be appreciated is a battery life you can be proud of. And besides, a longer battery life means fewer charging cycles which means you use less electricity and in turn save the planet. Everyone's a winner.

I wish they'd hurry up and develop it. I hate running out of juice

Not strictly true i'm afraid. Energy doesn't just appear from nowhere. If you have a bigger battery (or a super new one) you still need to charge it up with the amount of energy you wish to get out of it. So either the charging cycles will have to be longer or the charger more powerful. Either way you aren't saving anything. The only way that you will save energy is by making the device use less power to start with.

 

[Colossal Squid]

I like to think Apple will have had the sense to realise people will do this all the time, and program it accordingly. I wouldn't be surprised if it just says "42".

No porn though - this is Apple remember!

42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. It is not the meaning of life.

Mind you, if you ask Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine "What is the meaning of life?" it returns 42

 

[fork me]

42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. It is not the meaning of life.

Mind you, if you ask Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine "What is the meaning of life?" it returns 42

Theo Gray, one of the developers of Wolfram, and a company director is an online friend of mine (and a Facebook friend as well). Mainly because I am a science geek and have sent him sample for his periodic table table site.

 

[del strangefish]

The last time I queued up for an iPhone by the time I'd got to the front they'd bought out a new one.

 

[Drumstick]

Been playing with my Aunt's 4s today namely the Siri function.

It's very good although I did have to slow down my speech for the text messages and leave the dining room with people talking as it seemed to up set it. 6/10