Bill Long My thoughts and ideas on technology and life

I have been using the iPhone 4S for a few hours and my first impression is this phone is a significant step up from the iPhone4.

Pros:

• The iPhone4S is noticeably faster than the iPhone 4. Every interaction with the phone feels quicker, from web browsing to moving around in apps.
• The Siri voice recognition system is not only amazing technology, it is a very practical tool for daily use. Using Siri to send text messages is actually easier than I thought it would be.
• The Siri system has personality it is very funny and sarcastic! I find myself asking it “off the wall” questions just to see how it responds.
• The new reminders app is a great productivity tool when it is combined with Siri and GPS.
• The camera takes better pictures indoors, but I haven’t had a chance to give it a real test outdoors.

Cons:

• Apple should have added an external button that users can to push to engage Siri.
• Siri does not know how to send a “tweet”
• To use Siri you need to have a data connection to the Internet.
• It seems like the battery life is not as good as the IPhone 4. I think we will see a software update addressing battery performance in a few weeks after launch like Apple has done in the past with the iPhone 3 and iPhone 4. My battery performance issues could be because my iPhone was backing up my settings to iCloud while I was using it.
• While the phone does look almost exactly the same, my iPhone4 clear case from Belkin does not fit on the iPhone4S. It appears that Apple moved the mute button down a few millimeters to accommodate the second antenna at the top of the phone.