Sprint iPhone officially announced: on sale October 14

[Baldilocks]

I know that boss...I am just wondering if I should stay up until midnight on the 7th

I would say most likely.

[Rrazr-X7]

My only answer to that is...

[mdasen]

Wow...this is it? I figured out what the S means for on the 4S. The S stands for "seriously!?" As in, yes we seriously released a slightly modified iPhone4 with still no 4G capabilities. We seriously expect you to follow the cult and buy our new phone like you did with the iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, and 4. Please ignore the fact that more powerful phones have been released earlier this year. Ours is better since it has a picture of a fruit on the back.

You might not like it, but it will probably outsell any other device. First, WiMAX barely qualifies as 4G and Clearwire's network expansion has been nil for 9 months. It's likely that the iPhone 4S will get equal or faster data on AT&T than an EVO 3D on Sprint. Beyond that, it's a device that feels genuinely premium. The display is still a good deal sharper than competitors. The build quality is certainly better - especially when compared to things like the Galaxy S II. Most people don't seem interested in 4G - the iPhone 4 outsold all LTE devices combined by nearly a 2:1 margin on Verizon. It's a much nicer size than LTE devices and the battery life difference is incredible. The iPhone 4 already offered 2.5x the battery life of the HTC Thunderbolt and the 4S gets even better battery life than the 4. Even little things like the camera matter. Other companies have just gone for megapixels without regard for actual performance or image quality.

I remember when the original iPhone came out. People said no one would buy it because it didn't have a keyboard, it didn't have real apps like Windows Mobile and Palm OS, it didn't have a replaceable battery, it didn't have 3G, etc. Yet it's the iPhone that pushed the industry forward. You don't need to buy it, but lots of people will because, for them, it's a superior device.

[gambit57]

Wow...this is it? I figured out what the S means for on the 4S. The S stands for "seriously!?" As in, yes we seriously released a slightly modified iPhone4 with still no 4G capabilities. We seriously expect you to follow the cult and buy our new phone like you did with the iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, and 4. Please ignore the fact that more powerful phones have been released earlier this year. Ours is better since it has a picture of a fruit on the back.

Seriously? Want some cheese with that whine? Just like the 3GS, the S stands for speed. Improved processor chip. Just like their computers, which while never having the most cutting edge specs, still offers the easiest and most integrated user experience because Apple is a vertically integrated company. Sure the lack of 4G is disappointing, but since 4G is still in a state of flux and the horrid battery life really ruins the user experience, it's not surprising that Apple is sitting it out this time around while the technology matures. And considering the sales of the relatively ancient 3GS, it's clear that most people care about the overall experience vs having cutting edge specs.

So the 4S isn't jaw dropping like the 4 was or original iPhone, but it's still a great upgrade. Seeing how awesome SIRI worked and based on history, it's still gonna be an incredibly easy phone to use which ultimately is what matters. My just turned 2 yr old is using my iPhone 4 right now. Meanwhile, I still get confused and frustrated when trying to do even simple stuff on relatives' Android phones.

[digiblur]

Exactly. It's the iPhone 2G all over again...release an EDGE only phone with no MMS, no multitasking etc, when 3G is the norm. Release a 3GS with a screen that phones from 2yrs ago were using. Now we have the 4S with features that have been out for quite a while and it's missing a few features.

I have to give it to Apple's marketing dept, they are absolutely amazing for selling a phone to people that is yesteryear's technology then the customers drink the koolaid and explain to everyone else why they don't need those new features.

[billm261]

I remember when the original iPhone came out. People said no one would buy it because it didn't have a keyboard, it didn't have real apps like Windows Mobile and Palm OS, it didn't have a replaceable battery, it didn't have 3G, etc. Yet it's the iPhone that pushed the industry forward. You don't need to buy it, but lots of people will because, for them, it's a superior device.

If you did a survey asking people questions about their phone, most would not know. People to this day think the iPhone4 is a 4G device.

I literally parked my car today next to a tower to do a speed test on Wi-Max, 2.51Mps down and 1.36Mps up is a pathetic result for 4G.

I like my EVO but it's too big and I need to have a car charger or I don't make it through the day. My Nexus S has the perfect fit, is a size like the iPhone4 but it has a sucky battery too. I could go all day when I had the iPhone4 and out of habit, I bought a car charger that I rarely used.

This phone will sell and sell well. I hope that they get true organic growth out of this and not just current customers converting.

[gambit57]

What good are features if they don't work well? A small subset of customers (the early adopters) will. Those who like to have the latest tech and don't care if it's half baked. 95% of the customers prefers stuff that works. And Apple stuff doesn't just work, it works amazingly.

Apple is a luxury goods maker. The phone's made of stainless steel and high end glass. Not cheap plastic that's disposable. The screen still has the highest pixel density. I haven't seen the Galaxy S II screen yet, but the supposedly awesome Samsung displays on the older phones were horridly dim. Yes, they displayed pretty graphics, but what good is that when I've gotta squint to see it properly?

Some stuff Apple is cutting edge. For other tech, if it's not fully baked, they're not gonna release it until they get it perfect. Their screen was cutting edge when they released it, but it worked perfectly when released.

Realistically, just how far "behind" is Apple's new 4S? The processor is dual core like the top line Android phones. Android is finally (with the newest dual core phones) getting the swipe action to mimic the iPhone 4 (not 4S). I haven't seen the Galaxy S II but the Evo 3D and Photon aren't quite as smooth as the iPhone 4 but they are faster. Camera is good, and it uses the gyro to add antivibration. Do the Android phones do that? Sure Android comes up with a few features first, but that's because every month, the newest phone becomes outdated. Still, in the end, what are all those phones doing? They're trying to replicate the iPhone. Even screenwise they're only now just starting to match the overall excellence of the iPhone's sharpness and brightness. I really need to go see the GS2, but the ones before it were still playing catch up in one way or another.

[Mackdad]

Got this in the mail today.


http://www.apple.com/iphone/?cid=CDM...1-176982&sr=em

[Sam73065]

You should probably start camping out in front of your computer now, so that you won't have to worry about anyone else being in your chair the night of October 7th. Maybe even take your laptop and campout in front of the nearest Sprint store....

I know that boss...I am just wondering if I should stay up until midnight on the 7th

[bigsnake49]

I think that Apple could have changed the outward appearance a little bit, just to give people a sense of "new". It's definitely "improved".

I can understand Apple's hesitancy on incorporating LTE. The integrated chipsets are not there yet so they either have to make a bulkier phone to make up for the increased power consumption or have sucky battery life which is a no-no for Apple. Then, there's the state of LTE. Verizon is way ahead of the curve, AT&T is nowhere near full deployment, Sprint has not started yet, the major European counties have not started yet, China and India have not started yet.
Then, there's all the different bands that LTE will be deployed on. AT&T's 700MHz band is different than Verizon's band. They probably want to implement it on AWS and then eventually on 850 MHz and 1900MHz.
Sprint will want it on SMR, 1900MHz, and 2.6GHz at least, if not on AWS as well.
European counties have implemented it on 2.6GHz, and 800MHz and eventually on 900, 1800 and 2100Mhz.

So, as you can see it is really a mess on the LTE side.

I was surprised that they did not have HSPA+ 21Mbps. Then I remembered that the MDM6600 chipset only supports 14.4Mbps HSPA+. If they wanted to do a world phone, MDM6600 is it. When the MDM9615 chipset is available in the second quarter of 2012, then they can accommodate HSPA+, EVDO and LTE. So be patient. The God chipset will be out soon.

[reuthermonkey]

What good are features if they don't work well? A small subset of customers (the early adopters) will. Those who like to have the latest tech and don't care if it's half baked. 95% of the customers prefers stuff that works. And Apple stuff doesn't just work, it works amazingly.

Right. So 50% of the smartphone market are early adopters? Because that's Android's share of it. I've been using voice-control on my Android phone for almost 2 years now. "navigate to xyz". "send text to yzx". "go to gizmodo.com". Works perfectly. It's just not advertised very well at all. Shame too. Because now people like yourself will think that Apple does things better, when in reality they just market their cool features better.

Derp.

Apple is a luxury goods maker. The phone's made of stainless steel and high end glass. Not cheap plastic that's disposable. The screen still has the highest pixel density. I haven't seen the Galaxy S II screen yet, but the supposedly awesome Samsung displays on the older phones were horridly dim. Yes, they displayed pretty graphics, but what good is that when I've gotta squint to see it properly

Are you kidding me? They were dim, probably because of the brightness being set to dim. I'm sitting right next to a guy with an iPhone4. With brightness settings at full blast, they're the same. "luxury" goods? Do you realize that half the stuff in the iPhone is made by Samsung? That precious A4? Samsung. Almost identical to the Hummingbird used in the SGS.
That even more precious A5? SAMSUNG.. Flash Memory? SAMSUNG TOO!
I'm gonna guess that new camera sensor is Sammy's also.
Wireless Chip: Broadcom. Same one everyone else uses.

The only thing that Apple has is some really good build quality. I will certainly give that to them. But calling their $200 phone with identical parts "luxury" to other $200 phones with identical parts "not" luxury is ludicrous. They're all a luxury. You're gloating about a Mercedes, while calling BWM's inferior.

Now I know you're just a silly little troll.

Some stuff Apple is cutting edge. For other tech, if it's not fully baked, they're not gonna release it until they get it perfect. Their screen was cutting edge when they released it, but it worked perfectly when released.

Like that antenna design? Man, that was FLAWLESS.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Realistically, just how far "behind" is Apple's new 4S? The processor is dual core like the top line Android phones. Android is finally (with the newest dual core phones) getting the swipe action to mimic the iPhone 4 (not 4S). I haven't seen the Galaxy S II but the Evo 3D and Photon aren't quite as smooth as the iPhone 4 but they are faster. Camera is good, and it uses the gyro to add antivibration. Do the Android phones do that? Sure Android comes up with a few features first, but that's because every month, the newest phone becomes outdated. Still, in the end, what are all those phones doing? They're trying to replicate the iPhone. Even screenwise they're only now just starting to match the overall excellence of the iPhone's sharpness and brightness. I really need to go see the GS2, but the ones before it were still playing catch up in one way or another.

Again, my Vibrant's screen paralleled the iPhone4. This is after actually comparing the iPhone4 to the SGS. The fact that you keep glowing about the iPhone's screen while utterly dismissing the SAMOLED screen from the SGS makes it quite clear that you don't care what reality is - as long as you can rationalize to yourself that your $200 "luxury" item is better than everyone else's $200 "luxury" items. Even the iphone fanbois at gizmodo and engadget even agreed that the screen on the *original* SGS was different in capability, but equally as good as the IP4 screen. As for every phone being better than the last - only if you can't make your own decisions. Is the EVO3D better than my older SGS? Not for my needs - not at all. I like having a better screen and a slimmer form factor than the Evo3d can give me.

But then again, I can think for myself.

Go figure.

Try it!

[Evan702]

I was surprised that they did not have HSPA+ 21Mbps. Then I remembered that the MDM6600 chipset only supports 14.4Mbps HSPA+. If they wanted to do a world phone, MDM6600 is it. When the MDM9615 chipset is available in the second quarter of 2012, then they can accommodate HSPA+, EVDO and LTE. So be patient. The God chipset will be out soon.

It seems like the MSM9630 'Krait' would be a viable option: http://www.gsmamobilebroadband.com/u...s/GS-TDLTE.pdf
Qualcomm’s newly launched MSM8960 is the first mobile processor with
an integrated modem supporting TD-LTE/FDD-LTE/EVDO/WCDMA, and
should significantly simplify the multi-mode LTE/3G handset design.

And it appears to be ahead of schedule: http://www.talkandroid.com/48138-qua...rter%E2%80%9D/

Qualcomm just had their Q3 2011 earnings call, and on the subject of Krait, Qualcomm Executive Vice President Steven Mollenkopf said, “We sampled the Snapdragon MSM8960 ahead of schedule this quarter. Our first 28-nanometer device will really go commercial at the end of this calendar year.”

[bigsnake49]

It seems like the MSM9630 'Krait' would be a viable option: http://www.gsmamobilebroadband.com/u...s/GS-TDLTE.pdf
Qualcomm’s newly launched MSM8960 is the first mobile processor with
an integrated modem supporting TD-LTE/FDD-LTE/EVDO/WCDMA, and
should significantly simplify the multi-mode LTE/3G handset design.

And it appears to be ahead of schedule: http://www.talkandroid.com/48138-qua...rter%E2%80%9D/

Qualcomm just had their Q3 2011 earnings call, and on the subject of Krait, Qualcomm Executive Vice President Steven Mollenkopf said, “We sampled the Snapdragon MSM8960 ahead of schedule this quarter. Our first 28-nanometer device will really go commercial at the end of this calendar year.”

Apple will not use an MSM chipset. They have their own processor design so they will use modem (MDM) chipsets.

Qualcomm seems to favor their MSM rather than their MDM offerings when it comes to schedule.

[Evan702]

Apple will not use an MSM chipset. They have their own processor design so they will use modem (MDM) chipsets.

whoops! You're right. Had forgotten for a moment that this was an Apple-related thread.

Sent from my Evo 3D using HowardForums

[clonehappy]

But then again, I can think for myself.

Go figure.

Try it!

I can think for myself, too. You need to lay off the kool-aid. I've used every mobile platform out there. Every one. You name it, I've used it. While there will always be a special place in my heart for Android (and I'll probably always still carry one, just because I like to geek out on ROMS and tweaking/hacking features), I'm getting the iPhone when it drops for Sprint.

Just like I have multiple computers. I have my homebrew custom-built PC with SSDs, loaded up with RAM and dual video cards, etc. I also have a MacBook Pro. They are two different machines for two different uses.

I'm not a Mac person or Apple fanboy, but if I have to recommend a computer to someone who just wants to use a computer, I'll recommend the Mac.

If someone wants to do hardcore gaming, overclocking, and lots of performance-based tasks, I'll recommend a custom PC or workstation-class machine. You see the difference?

If someone wants to have a hot-rod to play with on the weekends and tune, would you recommend a tricked-out Ford Mustang or a Toyota Camry? How about if someone wants a car to just drive to the grocery store, to work, and schlep the kids to grandma's on the weekend?

No one claims Android handsets are inferior, don't have the specs, or don't get the job done. They just don't do it with the same level of refinement as iOS devices. And this coming from someone who has only ever owned one iPhone, and a slew of Androids. If anything I'm an Android fanboy. But when my girlfriend and I both pull out our phones at the same time to take a once-in-a-lifetime picture, she's happily snapping away on her iPhone, while I'm waiting for the camera app to load, or see "com.blahblah.whatever.camera has stopped responding, Force Close or Cancel?", I know I need to be carrying two devices, just like I have multiple computers.

If I wasn't a phone geek, and had to carry one, and only one phone that just works, it'd be an iPhone.