iPhone 4s

[Kwesi]

If you have an iPhone4 already, you'll probably want to pass on this "upgrade" and wait for the 5, unless you have some discretionary income to burn. There isn't a lot there for a current 4 user, but very tempting for someone contemplating an iPhone.

I went ahead and stayed Android yesterday when I upgraded from my Droid1 to a Droid3. I really like the larger screen, but I thought I wouldn't.

I don't know what all the fuss about Siri is. I have been able to talk to my Droid since I got it two years ago, and the same technology is in our Ford Edge. So uhhh, congratulations on catching up Apple.

-Mike

I'm starting to sound like some kind of Apple fanboy despite my owning and loving Android phone but here I go again :d...

Anywhoozle, Siri is more than simple speech recognition. It's a speech recognizing artificial intelligence capable of completing tasks based entirely on you talking to it as if it were another human being. Hit a button, say a few words and the deed is done as opposed to being able to use speech recognition only here and there on an Android phone.

Here's a video showing how open ended it is and how thoroughly it can interpret your commands.



It's pretty damn schweet... and no I'm not just saying that to appease our soon-to-be robot overlords .

EDIT: I don't think it's leaps and bounds beyond Android's own voice command thingie but it seems like it's more versatile, accurate, and responsive from what I've seen.

 

[MJ5150]

Got it, I found the video on the Apple website. Cool stuff and more than I thought. Eh, I don't plan on using my mobile device to replace human interaction, so that isn't all that appealing to me. But I can see how someone craving a more automated life would enjoy that feature.

I use voice recognition on my Droid now to find places to eat or a store with something I need, and I'll use it to dictate text messages while I am driving. In our Edge, we use it to adjust the temperature, change the radio station, and get a map to somewhere. Even then, it's really only showing off since I can press one button to change the temperature or another button to change the radio station. Finding maps and dictating texts though is nice.

-Mike

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

What kinds of advances and who is making them?

bc

Need to double check, there is one being advertised that works better in low light conditions. Judging by the images you get from it, it isn't simply pumping the ISO. (I think it's a Samsung, but will check).

 

[EricF]

To echo what Kwesi said, I have no problem reaching everything I need on the 4"+ screen of my Droid X with my thumb. It took me all of 5 minutes to get used to the screen size, and (to me) the iPhone looks puny. I like that I don't need to turn the phone sideways and still have large enough buttons to text efficiently.

I am definitely envious of the iPhone camera. From what I've seen, it is the best - by far - of the smartphone cameras. The one in my Droid X is quite mediocre, despite operating at 8MP.

As it stands now, the iPhone 5 would need to step up in screen size before I'd consider it.

 

[NateS]

I'm starting to sound like some kind of Apple fanboy despite my owning and loving Android phone but here I go again :d...

Anywhoozle, Siri is more than simple speech recognition. It's a speech recognizing artificial intelligence capable of completing tasks based entirely on you talking to it as if it were another human being. Hit a button, say a few words and the deed is done as opposed to being able to use speech recognition only here and there on an Android phone.

Here's a video showing how open ended it is and how thoroughly it can interpret your commands.

Invalid Link Removed

It's pretty damn schweet... and no I'm not just saying that to appease our soon-to-be robot overlords .

EDIT: I don't think it's leaps and bounds beyond Android's own voice command thingie but it seems like it's more versatile, accurate, and responsive from what I've seen.

Yea, I thought it was cool too, until I looked up information about it. Apple bought what was basically a finished app that was ready to be released on iOs, Android, and blackberry, and released it as their own. Cool story bro.

 

[Kwesi]

Yea, I thought it was cool too, until I looked up information about it. Apple bought what was basically a finished app that was ready to be released on iOs, Android, and blackberry, and released it as their own. Cool story bro.

Haha, I can't knock the hustle. Smart move on Apple's part. Without Siri I honestly don't think there'd really be much worth talking about with the 4S. I probably wouldn't use it much anyway but it is a very cool feature that I can see a lot of people liking.

 

[DigMe]

Yea, I thought it was cool too, until I looked up information about it. Apple bought what was basically a finished app that was ready to be released on iOs, Android, and blackberry, and released it as their own. Cool story bro.

Wait a sec.. You thought it was cool based on its functionality but then you found ou its history and now the functionality is no longer cool? Strange logic.

I have had the Siri app for a long time. It can't do a quarter of what Apple has turned it into. I couldn't care less where it came from though. It's a breakthrough in phone utility that is above and beyond anything else available.

bc

 

[NateS]

Haha, I can't knock the hustle. Smart move on Apple's part. Without Siri I honestly don't think there'd really be much worth talking about with the 4S. I probably wouldn't use it much anyway but it is a very cool feature that I can see a lot of people liking.

Smart yes, they made a whole new version of a phone with a "new" technology that is the next best thing since sliced bread. Millions of people will believe that apple has once again created a new, amazing product. Except it isn't really true, because they just bought somebody else's 15 years of hard work. But the average Joe don't know, and won't care.

But then again, that's been apple's mobile perogative since they started.

 

[NateS]

Wait a sec.. You thought it was cool based on its functionality but then you found ou its history and now the functionality is no longer cool? Strange logic.

I have had the Siri app for a long time. It can't do a quarter of what Apple has turned it into. I couldn't care less where it came from though. It's a breakthrough in phone utility that is above and beyond anything else available.

bc

The functionality itself is pretty cool.

 

[DigMe]

Haha, I can't knock the hustle. Smart move on Apple's part. Without Siri I honestly don't think there'd really be much worth talking about with the 4S.

Just that it's by far the fastest, most powerful and most graphically capable phone around even surpassing some current tablets.

Once its out we might find that the camera alone is worth talking about.

bc

 

[DigMe]

Smart yes, they made a whole new version of a phone with a "new" technology that is the next best thing since sliced bread. Millions of people will believe that apple has once again created a new, amazing product. Except it isn't really true, because they just bought somebody else's 15 years of hard work. But the average Joe don't know, and won't care.

Who gives a crap about any of that? Every touchscreen smartphone around is an amalgam of technologies created by thousands of different people - no different than the iPhone Who cares? It's not like they stole Siri from someone. They paid a lot of money for it to someone who willingly parted with it. Big whoop. Besides the Siri tech came out of a DARPA project which is way more cool than if Apple had invented it.

bc

 

[MJ5150]

I care, just sayin'.

-Mike

 

[L-A]

Apple brings great technology to the masses. They seldom create it, and nothing's hidden about that fact.

This said, here's a pretty transparent tryout of Siri:
A conversation with Siri on the iPhone 4S - YouTube

 

[Eric Perry]

I just replaced my iPhone with the Galaxy S II. There was certainly a learning curve switching to an Android OS, but now that I am familiar I absolutely love it. I don't know how the fast the 4S is going to be in real-world examples, but I see a point of diminishing returns, as my Galaxy is wicked quick.

 

[aborgman]

Why a larger screen? It's a phone, primarily,

No, it really isn't... it's a miniature tablet primarily, that just happens to be able to make phone calls.

and four inches has a huge downside.

The green area is your thumb's reach:

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I don't know about you, but I have TWO thumbs.

 

[Kwesi]

Millions of people will believe that apple has once again created a new, amazing product. Except it isn't really true, because they just bought somebody else's 15 years of hard work. But the average Joe don't know, and won't care.

C'mon now, expecting the average joe to actually be educated about that product and cooperate that entity that he swears by is pretty unreasonable these days . How many Apple owners actually know anything about Apple? Of course, I won't pose that question to TB because you guys are smarter than the average joe... mostly .

Just that it's by far the fastest, most powerful and most graphically capable phone around even surpassing some current tablets.

Once its out we might find that the camera alone is worth talking about.

bc

Isn't it expected to be? Apple is most definitely no slouch in the phone department so it being a more powerful machine was a given. The upgraded camera, camcorder, graphics card, processor and all the other bits are pretty much par the course. It won't take too long for HTC, Motorola, Samsung and whoever else to catch up (minus the camera and camcorder). What I mean to say is that Siri is the X-factor here. It's bringing something extra to a table.

 

[DigMe]

I care, just sayin'.

-Mike

I know ya do, big guy. I know.

bc

 

[MakiSupaStar]

I care, just sayin'.

-Mike

You're a jerk.

 

[SoComSurfing]

...[snip]...

I don't know about you, but I have TWO thumbs.

What?! FREAK! GET HIM!!!

 

[hover]

Um, that's why you have TWO thumbs. Just sayin.

I don't know about you, but I have TWO thumbs.

see? someone gets it, barring the fact that God saw fit to replace my two agile thumbs with two big plump sausages is the insult, not an issue of reach.