by STEPHANIE WO
Staff Writer
The iPhone 4s, Apple’s latest release into a market chock full of smart phones and iGadgets, has raised the bar of cutting age tech specs, while its sleek exterior cements its status as one of the top phones a la mode.
Apple CEO Tim Cook debuted the 4S on October 4th in place of the late CEO and Apple visionary, Steve Jobs. Although the newest iPhone appears to be the same as its predecessor the iPhone 4, the similarities between the two are virtually superficial. The highly anticipated release of the 4s generated intense speculation in the months leading up to its release.
Since its release, Apple has lifted network restrictions to include Sprint, but still left T-mobile in the dark. When it was finally released, there was initial disappointment that Apple had not made the leap to the iPhone 5; however, even so, millions pre-ordered the iPhone 4s and joined in on the latest iPhone update.
Perhaps the feature that sets the 4s apart from other smart phones is Siri, an intelligent, albeit beta, voice-activated command system. Siri is capable of understanding what the user wants and knowing what he or she means. For example, a user can say that he or she prefers Italian food, and Siri will interpret that the user is looking for an Italian restaurant and pull up several local places that serve Italian cuisine.
With Siri also comes a voice-to-text option that allows the user to say what he or she wants to have transcribed through text messages or emails. Siri acts as a personal assistant to the user, capable of a variety of actions, such as setting alarms and reminders to playing a song all by voice command.
Equipped with a dual-core A5 chip, Apple describes its latest phone as “the most powerful iPhone ever.” The dual-core chip not only doubles the phone’s battery life, but also speeds up game play up to seven times so users can play games such as Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja at record speeds.
Another feature the iPhone 4s boasts is an eight-megapixel camera resolution, which puts it on the level of some basic digital cameras on the market today. An eight-megapixel camera resolution means 60 percent more pixels than the camera resolution on the iPhone 4. The camera on the iPhone 4s is capable of producing strikingly clear, high definition images that set it apart from the ability of cameras on basic messaging phones, while still preserving the sleek and thin exterior that Apple is known for.
The iPhone 4s also comes pre-installed with the latest iOS5 software, which includes 200 updates to the the previous iOS4. New default apps such as newsstand organizes all the user’s newspaper and magazine subscriptions into one easy location. Now, all notifications can be accessed and viewed with the swipe of the finger, as opposed to notifications from Facebook or Instagram being strewn about in different apps. The conglomeration of notifications only augments the novel convenience of the iPhone 4s.
Once again, Apple has served up a new gadget that entices users to upgrade to the newest iPhone, at least until the next iPhone update.
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