iPhone 4S From An Android Perspective

By John Stepp, President, Free Tech Consultants

I know that many are saying that the iPhone 4S is a dud, but I have a different perspective. Being an Angroid user, I have never been tempted to spend the extra money on an iPhone. As a small business I appreciate having a business line with find me follow me, a home phone line and a Nexus smartphone with text and unlimited data for under $100 a month including junk fees, taxes and unlimited domestic LD. I really liked the iPhones of the past, but I would have to pay a lot more. And for what? Nothing that was compelling for me.

Now, we have seen the least accepted iPhone release of all time and I cannot understand why. Sure the 4S looks the same as the 4, but the 4S has so much more to offer. Mainly, Sprint to keep prices down through competition and Siri artificial intelligence. The Sprint factor goes without saying, but Siri is HUGE!

The best Android feature for me is the voice commands that allow me to do so much, so easily when I am mobile. Now Apple, thanks to their acquisition and integration with Siri has apparently raised the bar on mobile voice commands. It remains to be seen how user friendly and far reaching the features will be, but the buzz on Siri should be a wow factor for the 4S, not the butt of jokes (no pun intended). I even appreciate them paying homage to the creators of Siri by keeping the name. This is the first time I have seen a possible compelling advantage and a possible ROI for any iPhone over a Nexus quality Android. As a long time Android advocate, I am surprised.

Of course, the next generation of Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich software and dual core processors will be out real soon, so my enthusiasm may fade. After all, who can resist, an ice cream sandwich! But I am shocked about the negative press that Apple is getting on the iPhone 4S. I give it two thumbs up.