My take on the new iPhone announced yesterday

I've been an Android smart phone owner for over 3 months now but that doesn't mean I still don't pay attention to the iPhone. Personally, I still think it's a great phone and, for many, it's a better fit than an Android-based phone.

Which is why I watched with great interest as Apple unveiled its brand-new iPhone yesterday. And also why I was pretty disappointed with the announcement.

Why? For starters, Apple didn't announce the iPhone 5 as millions of people expected. Instead, they announced the iPhone 4S. What does the "S" stand for? I have no idea. Perhaps, "Siri" but that's just a guess. I chuckled when I read one review on the Internet that claimed the "S" stands for "Same".

Now, I know it's just a naming convention but the fact the the new iPhone is called the iPhone 4S just stirs up the pot even more about what Apple has in store for the eventual iPhone 5. Which means months and months more of iPhone 5 rumors. Greeeeeeaaaaaaaaat.

But to me, it's not just the name that disappoints. It's what's missing from the iPhone 4S. Namely:

• A bigger screen
  
  
• 4G compatibility
  
  
• Voice-to-text capability for hands-free text input
  
  

I could go on, but these are really the big three for me. Now, to be fair the new iPhone 4S does have some nice new features including:

• A dual-core A5 chip which is fancy talk for "it's much faster"
  
  
• A brand new 8 megapixel camera and full 1080p HD video capability
  
  
• A longer-lasting battery
  
  
• iOS 5 and iCloud
  
  
• A digital assistant called Siri which can answer questions like "What's the weather going to be like today?"
  
  

Would I recommend that current iPhone 4 owners upgrade their phone to the new iPhone 4S? Only if they absolutely have to have the new features. And for those of you looking to get their very first iPhone? If you can afford it, there's no reason not to the get the latest and greatest version of the phone. But if budget is an issue, you'll probably see some great deals on the iPhone 3G-S and iPhone 4 in the very near future.

And finally, for those of you who are undecided about an iPhone in general, you might want to watch this video.