Iphone 4S not what people wants

[Red Storm]

Please take these in a "this is a real question because I do not know" tone and not a "WTF are you talking about, Apple-hater!" tone:

What options on hardware, other than screen size, does the iPhone 4S lack?

What options in software does the iOS lack?

I am not sure what you mean by "carrier levels".

MotionMan

Hardware options as in there are many different types of handsets to choose from. Some people need a physical keyboard, others need a really big display, while others need as small a phone as possible, etc. Android gives you these options.

Software options as in the ability to customize the look and feel of the OS to suit your needs. I personally like to go with a single home screen from which I can use swipe gestures to access my ~30 most used apps. Some people like to go widget heavy so they can take one look at their phone and get the weather, last caller, calendar appointments, messages, emails, etc. Android gives you the freedom to do this without having to resort to rooting/jailbreaking.

Carrier options as in you can get an Android phone on just about every carrier out there (and I'm not just talking about the top 3-4). For example, Virgin Mobile has a $35 unlimited plan, and you can get an Android phone with them.

Options.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Other than screen size, what features does Android have that the iPhone 4S does not?

And please, you can skip things like iTunes is bloated and sucks, the "walled garden", no Flash, the "Apple Tax"/overpriced and the general hate for everything Apple. I am trying to have an intelligent exchange.

MotionMan

I think most people wanted a bigger screen, but I think that number of people is just a vocal minority and doesn't show what the rest of the market wants.

But other that the screen size, the SG II has the Pentile screen (not 100% sure) and a 1.2GHz dual core.

That being said, the A5 has a much faster GPU which Anand has reviewed and compared to the one in the SGII.

 

[preslove]

Other than screen size, what features does Android have that the iPhone 4S does not?

MotionMan

The thing keeping me away from an iPhone is the lack of free wireless tethering. On my Vibrant, it's in the freaking wireless setup. For other android phones, there are plenty of free apps that will enable it. I'm thinking of selling my Honeycomb tablet to buy an iPad, though. The problem there, though, is not having flash is a much bigger problem on tablet web browsing :-/

<--- does not understand why everyone android thinks EVERYONE wants a 4"+ screen.

part of the reason i got an iphone was BECAUSE the size of the phone.

EVERYONE knows that apple could easily make a 4" (not 4"+) screen without increasing the phone's size by getting rid of the ridiculously large top and bottom bezels.

And not sure why you are comparing the transition from the 3gs to the 4 to the transition from the 4 to the 4s. one is a whole new generation of phones. one isnt. this is like a .x release, not a full fledged X release.

Apple's 'generation' schedule is only so long because they choose it to be. They could, like Samsung, put out a new generation every year. Waiting 18 months to put out an iterative upgrade is extremely slow by the standards of the mobile market.

 

[MrX8503]

You can sync google services such as email, calendar, contacts to an iPhone.

iCloud is way different and much more robust, in no way is Apple following "suit". No other phone has cloud service.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

-built in nav- this one is huge for me, I never had a problem with google nav and in my experience it's been better than the crap I've bought on the iphone.

Have you tried Mapquest Mobile?

 

[Red Storm]

Have you tried Mapquest Mobile?

Mapquest does give you voice guided GPS on iOS, but Google Nav is much better. Mapquest wouldn't rotate names on the map (so road names could be upside down depending on your position), and for some reason they thought it was more important to show what's behind you more than what's ahead...

 

[QuantumPion]

I was hoping for an LTE, 4"+ iphone5 to upgrade from my 3gs. Since apple did not deliver, I went out and bought a SGS2 which I am having fun getting used to now. I will probably get an iphone5 when they release it though as I find the android OS kind of clunky and annoying in terms of usability.

Examples I've found so far: the music player does not remember last positions for podcasts, which I listen to frequently. Also, apparantly there is no way to preemptively mute the volume of media/games/etc without going into the music player and manually lowering the volume (for playing angry birds on the can, etc). I was surprised that the silent mode does not actually silence the phone, it just tuns off the phone ringer.

 

[Deeko]

Other than screen size, what features does Android have that the iPhone 4S does not?

And please, you can skip things like iTunes is bloated and sucks, the "walled garden", no Flash, the "Apple Tax"/overpriced and the general hate for everything Apple. I am trying to have an intelligent exchange.

MotionMan

Primarily, LTE and/or HSPA+. I didn't expect a bigger screen and I'm not sure why everyone else did - have we already forgotten Steve Jobs' speech about how consumers don't want big screens - but the lack of 4G is a letdown.

 

[Bateluer]

Primarily, LTE and/or HSPA+. I didn't expect a bigger screen and I'm not sure why everyone else did - have we already forgotten Steve Jobs' speech about how consumers don't want big screens - but the lack of 4G is a letdown.

Especially for Sprint. Verizon ca, and has, hyped the coverage of their 3G network, AT&T can clap the Faux-G monitor onto the 4S with their HSPA+. Sprint's got nothing. Sprint's 3G is going to make the original EDGE iPhone look speedy.

 

[badb0y]

Primarily, LTE and/or HSPA+. I didn't expect a bigger screen and I'm not sure why everyone else did - have we already forgotten Steve Jobs' speech about how consumers don't want big screens - but the lack of 4G is a letdown.

Doesn't it have HSPA+?

 

[Bateluer]

Doesn't it have HSPA+?

AT&T bands, 14.4Mbps. Below TMO's 42Mbps and Verizon's LTE. Still better than the other 4S models though.

 

[badb0y]

AT&T bands, 14.4Mbps. Below TMO's 42Mbps and Verizon's LTE. Still better than the other 4S models though.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[VashHT]

Have you tried Mapquest Mobile?

Yeah I have, it's not very good compared to google nav, also the SGS2 is not a pentile screen.

I used motionx navigation for a little while but it wasn't that great either and I don't want to use a subscription based service either. All of the big nav programs are like 50$+ and I can't bring myself to drop that money because none of them are very well reviewed and a lot of people complain about them losing GPS lock often.

 

[Bateluer]

Opinions on Siri? I know its old hat for anyone who's had an Android phone for the past three years, but still, I hope its really offensive.

"Siri, are there any good burger joints nearby?"
"You're a fatass. Rerouting to nearest gym."

 

[Ns1]

What options on hardware, other than screen size, does the iPhone 4S lack?

absolutely NOTHING which kills me cuz the screen is a deal breaker for me

 

[AstroManLuca]

I was hoping for an LTE, 4"+ iphone5 to upgrade from my 3gs. Since apple did not deliver, I went out and bought a SGS2 which I am having fun getting used to now. I will probably get an iphone5 when they release it though as I find the android OS kind of clunky and annoying in terms of usability.

Examples I've found so far: the music player does not remember last positions for podcasts, which I listen to frequently. Also, apparantly there is no way to preemptively mute the volume of media/games/etc without going into the music player and manually lowering the volume (for playing angry birds on the can, etc). I was surprised that the silent mode does not actually silence the phone, it just tuns off the phone ringer.

Yeah the volume thing is annoying. I downloaded a free widget called AudioManager that monitors all your different volume levels. Tap on it and it lets you adjust them all independently.

There's also a nice little app called Timeriffic that I use to make sure my phone stays quiet at night, goes to full volume just before I get up, and then goes back down to vibrate mode (with the media volume muted) before I head to work.

 

[MrX8503]

Opinions on Siri? I know its old hat for anyone who's had an Android phone for the past three years, but still, I hope its really offensive.

"Siri, are there any good burger joints nearby?"
"You're a fatass. Rerouting to nearest gym."

I think its pretty cool if it works as advertised. Google has always had voice recognition, but its not able to take actions based on that recognition. Ontop of that, the voice recognition isn't very accurate.

From the demo it looks like Siri can send messages, reschedule meetings, set reminders, and among other actions. This can come in handy versus launching an app to do what you need to do.

 

[vi edit]

The thing keeping me away from an iPhone is the lack of free wireless tethering. On my Vibrant, it's in the freaking wireless setup. For other android phones, there are plenty of free apps that will enable it. I'm thinking of selling my Honeycomb tablet to buy an iPad, though. The problem there, though, is not having flash is a much bigger problem on tablet web browsing :-/

That's not an issue with the iPhone, that's a carrier problem. With jailbroken phones you can do pdanet for free or spend $5 on tetherme. Some people opted for the $20 miwifi. Both AT&T and Verizon were able to sniff the data coming from users (and just look at general data usage) and peg tethering users. Nobody has been able to tell exactly for sure what they are using for indicators, but one suspician is the traffice type and browser headers. IE and Mozilla aren't on iphones. And they don't come across as mobile devices. Plus how they are associated with the APN's made a difference too. Tethering or lack there of isn't an issue with the iPhone...it's Verizon and AT&T that are the evil overlords controlling that. If they wanted, they could (have been?) cracking down on Android users too.

FWIW I'm still tethering to my ipad, but it's very low amounts of usage and the browser & and app/data types I'm using are very similar, if not identical to my phone so it's likely not getting flagged on any snooping reports.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm done on my 2 year contract with att. Still enjoy my iPhone 3GS. What kind of updates have taken place since 3GS? Is the screen any better(I know it's the same size)? How much are the new iPhones with contract?

 

[vi edit]

I'm done on my 2 year contract with att. Still enjoy my iPhone 3GS. What kind of updates have taken place since 3GS? Is the screen any better(I know it's the same size)? How much are the new iPhones with contract?

Much higher resolution, it'll be way faster in scrolling and response, significantly improved camera, HD video, better battery life. Facetime camera if that's important.

 

[badb0y]

I'm done on my 2 year contract with att. Still enjoy my iPhone 3GS. What kind of updates have taken place since 3GS? Is the screen any better(I know it's the same size)? How much are the new iPhones with contract?

That's a big jump in performance and the screen resolution is much better on the iPhone 4/4S.

 

[zinfamous]

absolutely NOTHING which kills me cuz the screen is a deal breaker for me

4G?

 

[kubani1]

i'm not sure if i would say i'm disappointed with the new iphone, but i'm just not impressed with any of it, and I think its because it took soo long.

funny thing the screen size, its doesn't bother me, i prefer my phones smaller; anything 4in or larger is just silly, its not that i rely on my phone as a major consumption device, i watch occasional youtube videos, play angry birds, use extensively the calendar and email and i take a lot of pictures. all of which doesn't need a huge screen. if i need a big screen, i'll use my computer.

i don't know, i still couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on a phone though. but then again, that is apparently another reason why i am the minority.

 

[poofyhairguy]

i don't know, i still couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on a phone though. but then again, that is apparently another reason why i am the minority.

As a geek your phone is your flagship tech device. Right or not, it partially effects what people think about you in that capacity. That is why many are willing to buy out of contract European phones- it is a geek status symbol.

 

[preslove]

That's not an issue with the iPhone, that's a carrier problem. With jailbroken phones you can do pdanet for free or spend $5 on tetherme. Some people opted for the $20 miwifi. Both AT&T and Verizon were able to sniff the data coming from users (and just look at general data usage) and peg tethering users. Nobody has been able to tell exactly for sure what they are using for indicators, but one suspician is the traffice type and browser headers. IE and Mozilla aren't on iphones. And they don't come across as mobile devices. Plus how they are associated with the APN's made a difference too. Tethering or lack there of isn't an issue with the iPhone...it's Verizon and AT&T that are the evil overlords controlling that. If they wanted, they could (have been?) cracking down on Android users too.

FWIW I'm still tethering to my ipad, but it's very low amounts of usage and the browser & and app/data types I'm using are very similar, if not identical to my phone so it's likely not getting flagged on any snooping reports.

With Android you don't have to root/jailbreak. You, at most, just need to download a free app. Of course, you shouldn't abuse it and use enough data to be flagged, but it is VERY convenient to be able to use the internet on a tablet wherever you want. I love the fact that I can surf the net with my Asus Transformer whenever I travel or go just go out around town.