Some of the two most important features that come with the new iPhone
4S are iCloud and iMessage. iCloud is an amazing facility. It’s not
just a software application, nor a hardware application – it’s both.
Apple has released their new version of operating system, the iOS 5, two
days prior the launch of the new iPhone 4S. We have seen a similar
episode last year, with the launch of iOS 4 and iPhone 4. The decision
to launch the iOS before the product is a wise one, mainly to avoid
servers failures.
Basically, what iCloud does is, it synchronizes your apps, your
pictures and your documents with all the other devices that are
connected to the iCloud. All this without the need to plug and unplug
wires. You probably already feel the relief as you read this paragraph.
Yes, iCloud synchronizes everything “invisibly”, without you needing to
do nothing about it, nothing manual, everything is automatic, and when
you swap devices, it’s just like you never swapped them, since your work
is resumed just where you left off.
iCloud is also applicable to iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, as well as all
the other iPod Touches released after 2009. An estimate of 200 million
devices(iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches) that are capable to run iOS 5
and iCloud are active and in use at this time.
One thing is not certain though: the sync speed of iCloud. Although
Wi-Fi might work flawlessly, we assume that we will experience some
delays in 3G networks, especially when syncing large files such as
landscape photos. Google+ offers the same photo syncing feature, so the
iCloud is a fair competitor in this respect.
What about music syncing?
Well, the record labels have some minor issues with all cloud based
applications, since there isn’t a foolproof syncing process for
purchased songs between iCloud devices. Every time you plug in a device
in order to shift your music over, you will probably say some “lovely
words” to those record labels.
What about notifications?
We are all familiar with the clunky iOS 4 notifications and how
elegant the Android’s are with the top menu bar icons of “something’s
changed”. But with the iOS 5 things are different. All you need to do
is, from the menu bar, swipe downwards to view the latest changes, with
all the necessary details, including what new emails you have received
or events that you need to deal with. It’s a slightly better
notifications facility which goes beyond what Android is offering, but
not with much.
Is iMessage the BlackBerry killer?
iMessage works via Wi-Fi without needing a phone contract, which is
great news, and this feature comes like a serious competitor to
BlackBerry Messaging feature. This new Apple capability allows kids to
communicate with their parents without spending money on a mobile
contract. It will work on iPod Touch as well.
Imagine the impact Apple will make over their competitors with this
new feature, especially on RIM. Considering the fact that there are well
over 200 million Apple devices capable of running iMessage, and only 70
million subscribers for BlackBerry Messenger, it’s pretty obvious who
will win this fight. If we take into consideration how many of that high
percentage of Apple devices are used by teenagers, we kind of realize
that this “move” is a clear indicator that Apple wants to make iM the
new BBM.
The iPhone 4S comes with great features. If you had in mind to swap
your iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, realize that there will not be that many
things you will gaining. Considering that most upgrades sported by the
newest iPhone were mainly software related and that iOS 5 is not only
available to iPhone 4S, it makes sense not to purchase the 4S, if you
own a previous model or if you have the chance of buying a used iPhone
3GS or an iPhone 4 for a couple of bucks. Personally, I would not sell my cell phone
and buy a new iPhone 4S, it’s just not worth it. Maybe iPhone 5 would
be a worthy investment, but at this moment, the iPhone 4S is not.
0 comments:
Post a Comment