New iPhone proves a big hit

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Okay, so it’s not the eagerly anticipated iPhone 5 everyone expected, but the iPhone 4S has a lot going for it.

Boasting everything from a faster processor and a sharper camera to twice the storage of its predecessor and even a smarter virtual personal assistant, if there was a must-have phone on the market this is it.

On first impressions it looks like any other iPhone (this from a non-Smartphone user), sleek and sophisticated with its black glass front and silver metal exterior and nice to hold and easy to use, albeit smaller and a little heavier than most of its Android rivals, however that extra weight is negligible compared to the iPhone 4 (137 grams versus 140 grams).

There have been a few tweaks on the inside as well with starting the new A5 processor the same dual-core chip that powers the iPad 2 running at 800 Megahertz, while its storage capacity now matches the iPod touch at 64 Gigabytes.

While the 3.5-inch 960 x 640 Retina display may suit users with moderately proportioned hand, for those who have lived with a 4.2-inch or larger device, looking at the digital world through a smaller portal feels a bit narrow.

But one of the best and most fun new features is Siri your very own little digital helper which alongside the iOS 5 operating system offers a host of improvements while retaining most of the fundamentals that made the iPhone so appealing in the first place.

The smart new addition can do a huge number of tasks, from sending texts and emails to finding restaurants and giving you directions from one place to another.

For example you can you might want to remind yourself to call a friend to wish them happy birthday so tell Siri words to that effect and she will send you a message at the appropriate time prompting you to do so.

In the case of receiving a text message from someone wanting to meet you can ask Siri to check your calendar and tell her that you will see them on a particular date without specifying who it is and she will remember that in the future.

Quite an unusual experience at first, it felt like interacting and having a proper conversation with a machine rather than a one-way series of commands.

The more personalised touch comes from telling Siri: “Get me directions to X,” or “Tell me how to get to X,” or even “Directions to X,” for example.

The real joy was in receiving a new text message which was then promptly read out to you with the option to reply by voice.

Battery life is another plus, with the iPhone 4S able to run for up to eight hours when fully charged but it is the speed of connection which really impresses once you are up and running in a 3G zone making application and webpage downloads a breeze.

In terms of the camera, Apple is proud of the camera’s ranking as the number one for photo sharing sites like Flickr, with the eight-megapixel, backside-illuminated sensor that sits behind a new lens array with an f/2.4 aperture (improved from the old phone’s f/2.8) capturing some impressive shots.

The phone also doesn’t seem to be too bothered by big differences in contrast (like the Galaxy SII) and does a good job of focusing quickly and accurately, with only one or two missed macro pictures when I put it to the test.

The video quality is similarly top-notch, with the phone recording at 1080p30 and the footage both clear and bright.

If you’re into iOS, have a wealth of App Store purchases you’d like to keep using and in general are an Apple fan this is the best phone out there. If, however, you favour Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry or Meego then it’s hard to see this as a truly forward-looking device.

On balance though it gets a thumbs-up from me.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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