Apple's first press conference without Jobs on the 4th left many yearning for more, and maybe even Jobs himself. In an usual Apple manner, they patted themselves on the back by announcing their achievements and peeved many that wanted the next awesome iPhone announcement. Instead they were greeted by angry investors and fans alike, with stock prices falling as much as 5% after the 4S announcement. (but they recovered since..
In other news, they announced price cut for the Nano, with 16 GB coming in at only $20 more than the 8GB version at $149. (i'm irked that apple is charging $100 extra for a 16 GB upgrade to the 32gig iPhone 4S while it can be much cheaper to upgrade the memory.. :p
The event took place at 2 a.m. Korea Standard Time. (it was a very interesting time) At 2:54ish a.m. KST, Apple announced the iPhone4S!
i thought, "ok.. that's cool, we were expecting a cheaper iPhone, and let's just hope that's what this is.."
Less than a minute into that announcement, the dreaded word: "It has the A5 chip! Doh! Doh! Doh! ["how will they differentiate the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5, if they have the same chip?" was the question running through my mind.. the answer: don't worry your pretty little head about it.. :p
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| newly announced and booed iPhone 4S |
8 megapixel camera @ 3264 x 2448 but backside illuminated CMOS! (73 percent more light and faster! 1/3 quicker!) f2.4!
A new antenna (which they should've had in the first place!
14.4 Mbps down HSDPA (instead of 21 Mbps HSDPA+ oh well) upload is still at 5.8 Mbps and no LTE (more on that later)
A World Phone!
1080p HD video recording.. meh~ (too big! a file size)
and of course SIRI!
And it keeps the same dimensions :/ but also keeps the awesome retina display, although i wish for a slightly bigger 4.0 display that goes up to 720p.. oh well..
the phone will drop in 7 countries on the 14th, the United States, Canada, Australia, U.K. France, Germany and Japan.
Korea, once again got the shaft (perhaps due to Sammy) and didn't even make it to the second round of countries slated for the 28th release.
Overall, fanboys and gals in 70 countries will at least get a chance at a pre-order (and most likely get their hands on the phone) before the end of the year. (due to less than usual fanfare for the product - my estimation)
Contents ripped from engadget liveblog (since it's now stable, unlike during the mayhem of the keynote :p
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/04/apples-lets-talk-iphone-keynote-liveblog/
My Impressions and thoughts on the event
My first "live" apple announcement, and I really didn't think too much of the event. actually, i was raging along with the masses, and the feeling of being rejected at seeing the "iPhone Not 5" as CNET put it, only served to fuel the rage.
I tuned into the live broadcast by the Buzz out Loud / CNET special coverage team, shout out to Molly, Brian and Steve! btw!
I was utterly disappointed, as i wanted to see the svelte, tear drop shaped iPhone 5. But after the dust settled, and went though what i call crappy fifth of October, i'm full on w/ apple's new....ish phone.
"iPhone Not 5" ;)
To me the iPhone 4S experience, (at least on paper) is like going on a blind date with a supposedly really HOT supermodel. with your expectations above the clouds, there's no way to hide the disappointment.
when you arrive, to find your blind date to be a pretty hot model, not the Supermodel of your friend's description.. But during the course of the date, you learn that, not only is she good looking, she's also a great cook, loves basketball, actually has a personality and isn't a bore to talk to ;)
Yes she maybe as high maintenance as other hot chicks, but she is a model too after all right? ; Alright, enough of my fantasy driven analogy,
Bottom line for me: not sure if i like to make the 2 year commitment with a product that fell way short of the hype that myself and and rest of the fan community built up, especially if the next generation is only hopefully 9 short months away. but that being said, newly announced iPhone seems like a solid phone, and i actually hate the trend of smart phones getting bigger. (Nexus Prime sounds awesome, decked out with the latest tech. But would i like to keep a curved bulge that houses a 4.65 inch screen in my pocket? "oh sorry, i'm not happy to see you and no it's not a wide and "thin" banana in my pocket :p
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| canned, seasoned perilla leaves |
i actually like the form factor of the iPhone. even if it looks like -->
being a smartphone-less IT enthusiast, (yes the irony) i carry a wi-bro egg (for wireless broadband on the go), 2G phone, my iPad 2, and a galaxy 070 phone (wifi phone anywhere i get wifi) here in Korea, which sort of acts as my psudo-smartphone, The galaxy has a nice screen, but is a tad big. and newer android phones are approaching 5 inches in screen real estate, but i have an iPad, so i don't need a bigger screen for my phone. (it'll never be an all-in one device!) i want it to be easily pocketable, so the iPhone form factor works for me. I could've lived with a bump in screen size and resolution, to say, about 4 inches (edge to edge screen) and at least 720p HD screen, but neither panned out. But i think Apple guessed correctly, and is not a deal breaker.
being a smartphone-less IT enthusiast, (yes the irony) i carry a wi-bro egg (for wireless broadband on the go), 2G phone, my iPad 2, and a galaxy 070 phone (wifi phone anywhere i get wifi) here in Korea, which sort of acts as my psudo-smartphone, The galaxy has a nice screen, but is a tad big. and newer android phones are approaching 5 inches in screen real estate, but i have an iPad, so i don't need a bigger screen for my phone. (it'll never be an all-in one device!) i want it to be easily pocketable, so the iPhone form factor works for me. I could've lived with a bump in screen size and resolution, to say, about 4 inches (edge to edge screen) and at least 720p HD screen, but neither panned out. But i think Apple guessed correctly, and is not a deal breaker.
while i'm not sure about the ram, A5 chip rocks, new f2.4 lens w/ back-lit CMOS rocks (if it works like Sony's Exmor R CMOS) could care less, and actually would rather have 5 meg pix sensor over the 8, for pixel density sake, but whatever.
one-stop world phone feature, hopefully a better antenna, so my calls won't drop every other minute :/
and of course SIRI - which apple will kill support for all non-4S phones when it comes out. (classic rotten apple move..)
Missing parts
Bigger screen for one, but i covered that
LTE, or 4G
this is a big one, but i could understand why Apple decided not to include it. I personally thought the 3 month delay was to include the LTE radio, but i should've known it was the apple way, to not to include the latest technology, before it becomes mainstream (sometimes). adding the LTE radio would've jacked up the battery consumption, and not exactly the most elegant solution, having to switch between LTE and 3G as the network build out will still take some time.
HDSPA is a feeble attempt at matching LTE, (HDSPA+ would've been better) but whatever, i'll just use wifi to download bigger files :p
slimmer oh well.. could iPhone really encroach into iTouch territory? would apple want to cannibalize two divisions? doubtful..
Missing parts
Bigger screen for one, but i covered that
LTE, or 4G
this is a big one, but i could understand why Apple decided not to include it. I personally thought the 3 month delay was to include the LTE radio, but i should've known it was the apple way, to not to include the latest technology, before it becomes mainstream (sometimes). adding the LTE radio would've jacked up the battery consumption, and not exactly the most elegant solution, having to switch between LTE and 3G as the network build out will still take some time.
HDSPA is a feeble attempt at matching LTE, (HDSPA+ would've been better) but whatever, i'll just use wifi to download bigger files :p
slimmer oh well.. could iPhone really encroach into iTouch territory? would apple want to cannibalize two divisions? doubtful..
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| Bang & Olufsen EatSet 3i |
Putting my money where my mouth is
as of last night, i was going to pre-order the 32 gig in white as my second attempt at a smartphone (first was a Droid2, which i returned for a $35 fee after messing w/ its crap-tastic-ness for couple days :p.
Today's a new day and now i'm thinking of buying the 64 gig in White :p (freakin $399 w/ contract! but i'm already running low on my iPad2 32G storage, and hate shuffling things around for the sake of storage management. (my audio takes up less than 10 gigs, rest are videos and apps. but with a better camera, for photos and video, i have a feeling i'll need more storage :p i could find worse ways to squander $100..
i was thinking of at least pre-ordering the phone and waiting for the Nexus Prime announcement to drop before making my decision, but since the event has been canceled. i'll just not worry about it :D
i was thinking of at least pre-ordering the phone and waiting for the Nexus Prime announcement to drop before making my decision, but since the event has been canceled. i'll just not worry about it :D
Update: now apple site shows 1-2 week on pre-orders, not sure if that means 1-2 weeks from now, or from shipping date.. :/
And i want the $199 Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3i, pricey, but i've freakin wanted those buds forever. besides, i think it'll work well w/ my radio gigs too :D
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