APPLE’S upgraded iPhone 4S went on sale today, prompting a rush on stores around the world. it arrived less than two days after the company unveiled its new operating system iOS5, which caused a 20 per cent spike in internet traffic in the UK and Europe after its launch as customers updated their devices.
The buzz is impressive, considering there was widespread disappointment when Apple failed to announce the much-anticipated iPhone 5 at a press conference earlier this month. But interest in Apple products has been piqued by the death of co-founder Steve Jobs, and iOS5 has a large number of new features, including iMessage – a rival to BlackBerry’s messaging service, that have been well received.
But despite the queues and the positive reviews not everyone is convinced. Some users were unable to download iOS5 when demand was high, and others reported losing data when they did download the new system, leading to unflattering comparisons with their rival BlackBerry, which has been battling outages all week. Apple’s problems were not serious but it did not help in their efforts to rub RIM’s noses in it.
But there was worse to come. Live blogging the iPhone 4S launch in New York, CNET admitted: “Honestly, this launch just doesn’t have the same energy and spark as other Apple product launches.”
According to The Guardian the iPhone 4S is selling significantly more units than the iPhone 4 managed on its launch, even though it has arrived with one of its main features, voice command system Siri, at half-mast. as the British version of CNET reports: “Here in the UK, Siri’s local maps and look-ups don’t work yet. That’s because Apple doesn’t have a deal with a UK-focused provider of local information.”
But as Shane Richmond comments in his review for The Daily Telegraph, the revamped iPhone 4 makes sense. “In hindsight, this year’s upgrade makes sense: it mirrors the 2009 upgrade from iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS.”
He concludes: “Overall, the iPhone 4S is a good upgrade to a very good phone.”