Ended up buying an unlocked 4S last night. The trick appears to be the terminology at this point. If you ask for an AT&T phone off contract, they hand you the phone and never scan it in their system. The first time it's attached to iTunes, it confirms it's unlocked. There is a pretty lengthy thread I found talking about this, with confirmation from people putting in various non AT&T SIMs and finding they worked fine. This includes T-Mobile, but as in the past, the phone drops to edge only. If something changes, I still have a 30 day no questions asked return period.

Now to figure out if the CDMA piece is indeed completely shut down. Though for my possible transition to prepaid service or to a different provider, I'll probably look to stick with one using AT&T's network. For data, their speeds still exceed what most people are seeing with the 4S on Verizon or Sprint by a noticeable amount. My primary use is data, and the motivation to switch payment/providers is to drop my mostly unused voice part of the bill.

In Canada at least last year, the unlocked phone was sold with a different/specific ICCID (SIM serial number) input at purchase time. The box is the same, but they punch it up differently when you pay for it.

The ICCID is input as a series of 1's which I suppose flags their system for the unlock. So when you connect to iTunes, which then hits Apple's servers, your phone isn't locked to a provider.

The receipt also clearly stated: "No Contract SIM"

Just before buying mine I read stories of people having walked out of the Apple store to find out their phones had actually been locked - the employee had punched in the SIM number instead of 1's - the rest of the receipt was the same, including the unlocked price.

When I bought mine I checked this specifically and even mentioned it to the employee, and she confirmed that a few at that store had also been previously punched in wrong, but that they were being extra attentive to that now.

Wonderful! I'm glad about that. I think the manufacturers need to focus on making a better variety of screen sizes, but I'm glad I have the option of getting a phone with a large screen. I saw a freind's "Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Plus Other Extraneous Names" last weekend, and the screen is stunning.

Screen size preference is subjective, IMO, and for that reason I think Apple would do well to increase the size on the iPhone 5. 3.5" is proving to be the minimum for a useful smartphone. That's not to say that the iPhone's screen isn't usable. I agree with what others have said about the keyboard, and I've always been shocked at how well the keyboard works. It's certainly harder to type on some Android phones even with another half inch on them. I think this is because of the superior screen hardware the iPhone has over most Android phones.

I'm sure it's no surprised to anyone here that I'm excited about the Galaxy Nexus, but mostly just because I'm tired of my Nexus One. I'm looking forward to the advancements made in Android 4.0, too (except the face unlock - that looks a little useless).


I wanted to make one last point about screens. Screen size is not as important to me as two other dimensions: bezel width and distance from the glass. The second factor, which I think Android manufacturers and Apple have only just recently fixed, is how far away from the glass the LCD is. This is especially noticeable on my Nexus One, where it looks like my screen is in a museum in a glass-encased exhibit. When I hold my phone at an angle with the screen on, it looks like nearly 2mm of depth from the glass. The 3GS is nowhere near as bad, but you can still see it.

But on the 4/4S and the Galaxy S II phones, it looks like there's zero space there, and that makes it look so much more impressive and clearer. That's just as exciting to me as the larger screens.



Oh, one more thing: I think we can all agree that the real loser this week was Motorola. Who's going to buy the RAZR? It's hideous, the OS won't get upgraded until early next year, and the Galaxy Nexus is just a better option in almost every way! I keep reading that people felt bad for Motorola because the Samsung announcement came ~12 hours after theirs. Well, I think they were lucky, because going by the initial plan, they would have come out a whole WEEK after everyone had moved on to 4.0 as the exciting new thing. This way they at least got ~12 hours

I've seen mentioned that the new GNexus pentile-based display isn't as good as the GS2's.

Android 4 is looking super slow and unresponsive, hopefully they'll address that - though it's an issue that has been around since the first Android version.

Face detection is one of the best features of the whole release - once it's working properly. I didn't watch the video for this part to see how responsive it was, but not having to type a passcode is pretty cool. I hate typing passcodes and would much prefer to just be able to slide the unlock button on the phone while it analyzed my face to determine whether it should actually unlock or not. I wish iOS 5 had introduced this.

Screen size can be evaluated quantitatively however. There are certain things you can and can't do given a certain sized screen. The importance of the interaction to any one individual is definitely subjective however. But that doesn't matter when you're designing a product that you would like to sell millions of.

I hope the iPhone 5 comes out with a slightly bigger form-factor and larger screen, but I sincerely hope all those rumored dimensions and models go in the trash bin. I'd like the next phone to be as brick-like in design as the iPhone 4. In fact I'd love to see precisely the same design cues, simply adjusted for size. No scallops nor curved backs. No difference in height between chin and forehead.

On the iPhone 4/4S it looks like zero, because it is zero. The glass is bonded to the LCD.

http://www.slashgear.com/android-face-unlock-might-be-fooled-with-a-photo-20189642/

This was my first thought when I read about the face detection unlock.

I'm not so worried even if a photo could be used. Most people who would happen to pick up my phone wouldn't have an 8x10 headshot of me lying around.

Without knowing exactly how it works and what limitations it places on how the photo is taken, it seems feasible that somebody could snap you on another phone and then use said picture to unlock your phone showing the picture either on the phone that took the picture or a tablet, laptop etc.

I'm assuming that you'd have to show it video, it probably takes a few images and checks that they're somewhat different (fft or something).

Just wagging around a picture is probably enough to fool a simple "did it change" detector. To do this sort of thing "properly", you'd want to make it a "challenge-response" biometric, in the sense that it asks you to do something and then you do it. Maybe that's a pattern of blinking your eyes. Maybe it's a pattern of where you look. Etc.

Oh that's a given, unless we move back to CCDs or Orthicons, it's here to stay.

Part of it is subjective, yes. But part of it is what works best for how people use the product. Screen size on a computer only really matters for one sense, our vision. Screen size on a touchscreen though starts to matter for two senses, touch and vision. Careful thought went into picking 3.5 inches, beyond just the vision aspect. This was an image someone made to point out one of the touch considerations. If you hold a phone in one hand, where can the average sized thumb touch?

I'm not saying Apple will never move away from 3.5 inches on the screen, nor am I saying 3.5 is absolutely perfect and everything else is wrong. Instead, I'm just trying to show some of the thought that goes into the decision. For Apple, they make one phone product, so they need to ponder the average user much more then a company like Samsung who releases many different phones every year. If Apple ships a fatally flawed product, they impact their business in a major way. If Samsung does the same, they simply bury it, burning just a few customers, and promote other phones more to make up for the mistake.


Part of it is likely the hardware, specifically in the resolution and quality of the touch screen digitizer. Android phones have been improving in this regard, but it's still hit or miss depending on the phone. The other part is software though. Apple has a huge advantage with there vertical integration. They can work as one company to optimize everything. From the silicon in the SOC design in the CPU (A4/A5) through the firmware for the touch screen, the OS, and the hardware. If it's something that has to be created, Apple will tend to do it, instead of compromising greatly. Apple engineered the machining process needed to build unibody laptops, and in turn the same process can be adapted to building the metal structure/antenna of the iPhone 4/4S.

I sooooo mis-read that.

The "crappy digitizer" issue is no small thing. Since Samsung "worked with" Google on the Galaxy Nexus, it's entirely possible that somebody at Google might have pushed back on this topic. It's not like we haven't known about this mess for years.

Tom, let us know how the 4S camera works indoors in the evening under various lighting conditions including dim.

IMO, the camera in the iPhone 4 is decent as far as phones go, but it sucks compared to any P&S camera at any price point. Real P&S anyway, so excluding things like those Fisher Price kids cameras.

This is just lamination; the first iPhone was laminated (LCM laminated to touch glass laminated to front glass). 3G and 3GS went to air gap - between the LCM and the touch panel, the touch was still laminated to the front glass. 4 and 4S are laminated again.

Lamination is more expensive, because if it fails you have to throw out a known good touch panel and LCM as well as the front glass, but it's thinner and looks waaaay nicer - the image appears to be on the front surface of the glass.

The actual distance from the pixels to the top of the front glass isn't really so different, it just looks it due to the refraction at each boundary.

So far it does seem improved over the 4 by a good bit. I managed to get some good shots at Blizzcon recently, and HDR indoors helped too. One particular shot that turned out well was of the bright screens, and the dark crowd watching the Starcraft II finals.

I can't say for certain if it's improved enough for your very high end and picky tastes, but I'm happy with the upgrade

*edit* attached the unmodified JPG from the phone, with HDR. Yep, it's still pretty grainy, but some of that is also probably the fog crap in the air. (Blizzcon has this weird need to use fog machines heavily). Being that this was taken from a device I always have in my pocket to remember an amazing matchup, I'm happy with the results.

A few months out now, and I still find the 4S to be a worthy upgrade choice. I use Siri multiple times a day, and it continues to surprise and amaze me. I'm looking forward to future enhancements to it to make it even more capable.

One of my tests tonight after seeing a movie was to try and find some place that served cake. It did expose a limit in the system, but handled it well "I need cake at a place open after 10pm". Siri searched for places that served cake, returning 20 results nearby. It also apologized for not being able to determine opening and closing times.

The reminders still remain my primary use of Siri. "Remind me about this at X time" or "Remind me about that other thing when I get home" has been immensely useful. It's a situation where everything was possible before, but the method now is much improved, to the point it becomes second nature to just use it. Down to the little details such as the reminder alert offering to dial if I asked it to remind me to call someone.

I should add, after months of using Siri, I could personally care less if someone else judges me for using it in public. One handy feature though that does help in public is the ability to just raise the phone to my ear and talk as if I'm on a call. Siri will automatically recognize I raised the phone, and talk through the private earpiece. It also uses the same noise canceling system used during phone calls, allowing use in noisy environments.

I do keep etiquette in mind at times though. For one, I don't dare try to use Siri at the Alamo Drafthouse

Interesting. I have the totally opposite experience.

I find Siri to be a pretty cheap gimmick, and I never use it. It was fun for the first few weeks. It's scope outside the US is currently very limiting, and I find I can't speak naturally to it. I somehow feel like I am barking commands at it as there is little point in being human with it.

I am also finding the build quality of the 4S to be somewhat lacking compared to the 4. There is a rattle coming from inside the phone now and it's lost that block of glass feel. I'm not sure if it's a fault or not but it's certainly starting to feel a little hollow to me.

Cheers

Cris

I'm still using Siri and am looking forward to getting the rest of the functionality in the UK. I find it works pretty well, right up until the point when I try to demonstrate it to someone...

My 4S also has a rattle, but then so did my 4. Still feels solid to me.

I wish battery life was a bit better on wifi, with moderate use at home I find the battery only lasts 24 hours or so now. However with wifi off it goes back to more like 48+ hours.

I am having to charge the 4s much more than the 4 as well. Seems to be getting worse actually.

I can squeeze the phone a little and it creeks, then when I top it the rattle goes away. When I am next passing one, I'll drop into the Apple store as I can hear it a little when talking now.

Cheers

Cris

I have seen it have some pretty bad issues with some accents, and they even called this out in the 5.0.1 update in regard to Australian accents. We tried it out at work, and did see an improvement with one of our down under folks. Over time it should hopefully improve. I can speak pretty naturally to it without too many issues.

It wil help as they expand what it integrates with in each country. For now, the location search parts seem to be US only.

Some of the other common things I use it for is weather info and light texting duties. One advantage Siri has for me over just using normal apps is the accessibility even when the phone is PIN locked. I can do some basic things just by holding the home button down, vs the typical slide, type, type type, search for app, run then relock. (And for the security concerned, Siri can be turned off completely until the device is unlocked).

My 4 has developed a flaky home button. Hope they've fixed that on the 4S. I'm considering the upgrade, mostly just to fix that particular problem.

Blast, I went ahead and ordered it. I figure I've got until October before the 5 comes out and I regret the purchase. Maybe. I'll look forward to a functioning homebutton again.

I'm curious to hear if you've had any issues with it failing. My wife gets a failed search fairly often. By failure I mean that there's clearly an overloaded server issue, not a connectivity problem.

Not often enough for me to really commit each time to memory. Most of the time I'll encounter Siri issues due to the phone wanting to hang onto a distant WiFi router instead of transitioning back to the 3G network. The way Siri reports this is the same as if the server is actually down, but trying it again when the phone swaps to 3G has generally worked.

Not really making an excuse for Apple per say, but they did indicate Siri is beta. I imagine they said this due to the inherent issues with voice recognition and needing lots of usage to iron it out. Along with Apple's weakness in server scalability compared to someone like Google. For me, the occasional downtime and issues aren't large enough to diminish the overall benefits it has brought.

They also advertised the hell out it too though of course

You certainly wouldn't guess from the adverts that it is beta.

Agreed, I wasn't aware it was beta, and I'd guarantee that the majority of iPhone users have no clue either.


That's definitely not what we're seeing (that's a pretty specific scenario).

I'm not saying it's down all the time, but she has noticed issues. Of course, the worst was the period right around Christmas, when everyone was getting their new phones and trying Siri out

It's rather obviously NOT in beta.
They're just doing like google, and labelling anything new as "beta" to preempt/deflect bad reviews.

Or are they simply the first (well, second) company in existence to properly label early software releases as "buggy" (aka. "beta") ?