No 4G For Apple iPhone 4S
Will be carried by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 10/4/2011
Cupertino, Calif. - Consumers and retailers will have to wait for a 4G-equipped iPhone 5.
The iPhone 4SApple today launched a 3G-equipped iPhone 4S, which goes to AT&T, Sprint and Verizon and will be available Oct. 14 in the U.S. in three memory capacities compared with its predecessors' two capacities. The 16GB version goes for $199, as did its predecessor, with the 32GB model going at $299 like its predecessor and the new capacity of 64GB going for $399.
The current iPhone 4 will also be available for just $99.
The company also repriced the 8GB version of its iPhone 3GS for free with two-year-contract.
The iPhone 4S gets a dual-core 1GHz processor compared with its predecessor's single-core 1GHz processor, and a personal assistant feature that lets users use their voice to control apps and features, do voice searches, and hear messages read aloud.
Other upgrades include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, compared with its predecessor's 5 megapixels, and the camera adds face detection and 26 percent better white balance, the company said.
The launch, occurring 10 years after the first iPod was launched, marks the first time that a new iPhone has been launched with more than one carrier, the iPhone 4 having been launched first at AT&T and then in January 2011 at Verizon.
The iPhone 4S features Apple's new iOS5 OS, which has more than 200 changes compared with iOS 4. It also integrates with the company's new iCloud service, which becomes available Oct. 12 to wirelessly push newly created or downloaded content from one iOS-based mobile device to a user's other iOS devices and to their Macs and PCs. The content includes apps, pictures and videos as well as documents created in iWorks on Apple's mobile devices.
The free iCloud service also automatically syncs contacts, calendar updates and email updates among multiple devices via cellular and Wi-Fi. Via Wi-Fi, devices will also automatically back up their content once per day to the Cloud.
The service also let users buy an app, song or e-book from the iTunes store and automatically push it from the Cloud to a total of 10 iOS devices. Also with the service, users can manually upload all their ripped songs to the Cloud to synchronize them via Wi-Fi with all their iOS devices, or they can pay $29.99/year for an iTunes Match service that will scan the songs on a device, match them to iTunes's 18 million songs, and push higher-quality versions of the songs to multiple iOS5 devices.
Also to cut a mobile device's connections to the PC, iPhone purchasers won't have to connect their iPhone to a PC to activate it, and they'll be able to download iPhone software updates over the air. iOS users will also be able create calendars and mailboxes right from their mobile device.
In another major change with iOS5, Apple created its own messaging service to let iOS5 users send encrypted text, picture and video messages via Wi-Fi or cellular to all other iOS5 users, even those using an iPad or iPod Touch.
Those are among the more than 200 changes that Apple announced for its iOS here at its worldwide developers conference, where CEO Steve Jobs took a leave from medical leave to announce the iCloud services.
Talkback
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An update to this story from the author.
The iPhone 4S incorporates 14.4Mbps HSPA+ cellular technology, which AT&T calls 4G. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), however, does not officially recognize HSPA+ as 4G, contrary to many tech-press reports. In fact, the ITU doesn't even recognize LTE or Mobile WiMAX as official 4G technologies. The ITU considers all three technologies as "advanced 3G." Nonetheless, the ITU acknowledges that many carriers are marketing three technologies as 4G.
Here's how an ITU spokesperson explained it to me in an email:
The term ‘4G’ remains undefined. We are aware that the term is being used by some operators to describe LTE, Mobile WiMAX and HSPA+, which are in fact considered to be evolved 3G technologies that provide a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed.
Over the last 25 years, ITU has developed the IMT framework of standards — or International Mobile Telecommunication system — for mobile telephony and continues to lead international efforts involving governments and industry players to produce the next generation standards for global mobile communications.
Since 2000, IMT-2000 has been widely deployed and referred to as 3G. ITU has announced the next-generation of standards for global wireless broadband communications, known as IMT-Advanced. Following a detailed evaluation against stringent technical and operational criteria, ITU has determined that "LTE-Advanced" and "WirelessMAN-Advanced" should be accorded the official designation of IMT-Advanced. The detailed specifications of IMT-Advanced technologies will be provided in a new ITU-R Recommendation, or standard, expected in early 2012.
For research purposes, the target transmission rates for IMT-Advanced was set at 100 Mbit/s when used in a high mobility environment (e.g. driving in a car) and 1 Gbit/s in a stationary environment.
In a second email, the spokeseprson said this:
Since “ 4G” is so far undefined, we are not using this term. It is however clear that IMT-Advanced is the next generation mobile technology, up from IMT-2000 which was referred to as “3G”.
As for LTE, mobile WiMAX, and HSPA+, yes, they are considered to be evolved 3G technologies.
Joseph Palenchar - 2011-13-10 10:19:43 EDT -
First Final Cut X and then this? Apple seems to be losing their touch...
J J - 2011-5-10 12:46:43 EDT -
I was looking forward to a faster 4g phone. I have the 3G which is not geared for business. Slow response and locking up has me looking for a new phone. No 4G on the IPhone 4S I am looking elsewhere. Apple is starting to sound like Microsoft with the false release dates and product promises. Just my thoughts.
Jon Vikse - 2011-5-10 10:40:28 EDT -
Duh! This has been "known" for forever. Go beat up the chip manufacturers, because nobody yet makes a 4G/LTE chipset small enough and with a low enough power draw to meet the power+battery-life+performance demands to which iPhone users have become accustomed.
Leon Shaner - 2011-5-10 01:14:48 EDT -
Wow, no 4G! What a loser!
Had allof this and more in my old WM5 phones 4 years ago. Screw Jobs and his iStore.
Who will buy this rather than an Android? And if you are still drinking the Kool-Aid, why not wait for a 4G iPhone5?
It make sno sense.
brian peterson - 2011-4-10 15:47:05 EDT
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