First iPhone 4S Reviews Are Mostly Thumbs Up

The early reviews for Apple’s iPhone 4S are in and, as expected, reviewers — who had anticipated an iPhone 5 — are tempered in their praise. Still, they give the model points for its 8-megapixel camera, speed and the Siri voice-recognition feature.

Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter S. Mossberg, for instance, notes the iPhone 4S “isn’t a dramatic game-changer like some previous iPhones.” For that reason, Mossberg recommends that iPhone 4 users don’t rush to upgrade, but download the new iOS instead. “But owners of older iPhone models, or those with basic phones, will find this latest iPhone a pleasure and a good value.”

Though Mossberg praises the phone’s “brilliant new camera” and “faster, 4G-class download speeds,” he dubs Siri, the voice-recognizing personal assistant, the “standout feature.” Siri “isn’t perfect, and is labeled a beta, but it has great potential and worked pretty well for me, despite some glitches,” he writes.

The New York Times‘s David Pogue, meanwhile, was also captivated by Siri, though he notes its similarities to Dragon Dictation, a free iOS app. “Apple won’t admit that it’s using a version of Dragon Dictation,” he writes, adding that Siri “is infinitely better, though, because it’s a built-in keyboard button, not a separate app.”

Pogue was also enamored with the 4S’s built-in camera, which delivers photos that are “crisp and clear, with beautiful color.” Though it lacks a zoom and has only a tiny LED flash, he says “this phone comes dangerously close to displacing a $200 point-and-shoot digital camera.”

In The Guardian, Stephen Fry gushed about Siri, the camera and the phone’s ability to offer service in various parts of the world. “Siri, the high quality and ultra-fast camera, 30 fps 1080p HD video, globally available voice recognition and the introduction of two antennae (the phone seamlessly switches between whichever is getting the strongest signal) are features that make the 4S irresistible,” he writes. Like Mossberg, he advises iPhone 4 owners who are “tired of the upgrade race” to download iOS 5 instead of buying the 4S.

On the downside, many reviewers also unfavorably compared the iPhone 4S to Android competitors and noted Apple lagged in some Android features. Joshua Topolsky at This is My Next, for instance, notes the phone’s Notification Center feature that collects all of your updates in one place, takes “a page right out of Android’s playbook.”

Finally, there’s the issue of call reception, a bugaboo that has plagued past iPhone models. Apple claims that the model’s two antennas will help that solve the issue. Topolsky wrote that it may have helped. “In my testing, I did seem to be getting more bars more consistently, though it’s tough to say if it made any big difference in terms of call quality.”

Mossberg, however, didn’t see any change, especially if on AT&T. “My AT&T model dropped too many calls, just as earlier AT&T iPhones do,” he writes. “My colleague’s Verizon iPhone 4S dropped none.”

Below you can find CBS’s hands on segment with the new phone. Stay tuned in the coming days for Mashable‘s take on the new iPhone 4S.

Color

White

Black

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Capacity1

16GB

32GB

64GB

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Price2

$199 $299 $399

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Size and Weight3

Height: 4.5 inches (115.2 mm)

Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)

Depth: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)

Weight: 4.9 ounces (140 grams)

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Cellular and Wireless

World phone

UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4

802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)

Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology

Location

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Assisted GPS and GLONASS

Digital compass

Wi-Fi

Cellular

Display

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Retina display

3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display

960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi

800:1 contrast ratio (typical)

500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)

Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back

Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Camera, Photos, and Video

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8-megapixel camera

Autofocus

Tap to focus

Face detection in still images

LED flash

Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio

Video stabilization

Front camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second

Photo and video geotagging

External Buttons and Connectors

External Buttons and Controls

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Connectors and Input/Output

Power and Battery5

Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter

Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)

Standby time: Up to 200 hours

Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi

Video playback: Up to 10 hours

Audio playback: Up to 40 hours

Audio Playback

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz

Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and Video

AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p

Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)

Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)

Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

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Headphones

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz

Impedance: 32 ohms

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Mail Attachment Support

Viewable Document Types

.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Sensors

Three-axis gyro

Accelerometer

Proximity sensor

Ambient light sensor

System Requirements

Apple ID (required for some features)

Internet access6

Syncing with iTunes on a Mac or PC requires:

Mac: OS X v10.5.8 or later

PC: Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later

iTunes 10.5 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)

Environmental Requirements

Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)

Nonoperating temperature: −4° to 113° F (−20° to 45° C)

Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing

Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Languages

Language Support

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

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Keyboard Support

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese - Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Chinese - Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Dictionary Support (enables predictive text and autocorrect)

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Siri Languages

English (U.S., UK, and Australian), French, German

In the Box

iPhone 4S

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Dock Connector to USB Cable

USB Power Adapter

Documentation

Mobile SEO is a Myth

I hate the term “Mobile SEO.” What exactly is it? Besides being a buzzword thrown around at every conference, seminar, and new business pitch it’s a topic that nobody seems able to accurately explain. Google it; the results are all over the place. In a perfect world, there would be no need for mobile SEO at all.

It’s an emerging topic that, thanks to smart phones, is dying off quicker than it emerges.


Like most buzz words though, I don’t think the concept of mobile SEO is going to go away anytime soon.

So if we’re stuck with it, we might as well attempt to do it right – by not really doing anything mobile specific at all.

For starters, we need to stop confusing the terms mobile and local. While related, they are very different things – especially when it comes to SEO. It is true that local search is mostly done on mobile phones, but it does not mean mobile and local SEO are the same thing. They are not and that is where the industry confusion comes in.

When people say mobile SEO they usually mean local SEO. Sometimes they actually mean search results on a mobile phone. Most of the time though, they have no idea what they mean and are simply trying to shift their paradigm and leverage as many buzzwords as they can to help synergize their sales pitch. (see how successful that is?)
So let’s clarify:

Mobile Search refers to search done on a mobile device. That’s it.

Local Search deals with results specific to a location. This usually also includes place pages, maps, and other things that help augment local search.

Part of what helps sustain the mobile search myth is this whole multi-screen concept that is somehow gaining popularity. If you look hard enough you’ll find studies that show mobile phone users use their devices differently than tablet users who use their devices differently than ordinary computer users. I’m recalling a presentation I once sat through where somebody in a cheap suit defined 1st screen, 2nd screen, 3rd screen, 4th screen, and 5th screen and how we should have a strategy for all of them. That type of thinking achieves billable hours but not results.

The whole “multiple screens need multiple sites” theory just doesn’t make sense. We have never designed separate TV commercials for 13″ CRT screens and 70″ plasmas – even though people watching them are usually in very different places/situations. When it comes to viewing a website, my 10″ tablet isn’t much different than my 13″ laptop. Sure it does not support flash, but that is not a reason to design a different site – it is just a reason to learn HTML5.

Mobile screens are nothing more than smaller computer screens. There are some minor differences now, but look at how fast phones are evolving; within a year or so there won’t be any difference at all. With browsers (like IE6) there came a time when we collectively decided to stop supporting old technology. That time for mobile sites is now. In the 90’s we designed websites for various resolutions. Today we use fluid layouts. It is time we apply the same approach to mobile.
The best Mobile SEO strategy is to not have a mobile SEO strategy.

Apple does not have a mobile strategy and they practically invented the modern mobile device. Apple.com is a great example of how to handle mobile site design. Apple shows the exact same site to mobile and “wired” visitors. It is even on the same URL. Sure, there’s probably a different style sheet involved, but that’s it. The experience is the SAME.

Even better, since it is the exact same URL they only have one site to optimize. All of the SEO work they have done to their wired site also applies to their mobile site – because they’re the same thing! They do not need a mobile search strategy because they do not technically have a mobile site.

It is not just Apple either. Google does the same thing, only the little promos below the search box change.

This is a best case scenario though, and various technical decisions made in the past might not make it applicable to everybody.
If you really MUST have a different site, use device detection and canonical tags.

Creating a separate site can open you up to all kinds of SEO problems. Having two different domains with similar content is something most SEOs strive to avoid. The last thing you want to do is create a mobile version of a site that competes with your existing site in search. Luckily, there are several ways to avoid this.

If you can’t go with using the same domain then the next best choice is m.yourdomain.com It does not really provide any SEO benefit, but “m” has sort of become the industry standard. In a best case scenario you would be able to keep all of the URLs exactly the same except for the “m.” subdomain. That way, at least it will keep things simple for users.

Remember when I said the best mobile strategy is no mobile strategy? The trick is to leverage device detection and canonicals so that your “wired” site is always shown in search results regardless of what device the searcher uses. As John Mu from Google describes the best thing to do is to slap a canonical tag on that mobile site and point it back to your wired site.

Using this strategy, search engines will always show the wired version of the site in results, but users will be taken to the proper “canonical version” that best fits their device. It is also a good idea to include a link to the full version just in case.
If you truly want a different experience, build an app.

I can hear your argument now: “a mobile device is a different experience. It has got a touch screen!” So what? We are talking about a web browser here. Touch screen, trackpad, mouse, joystick – they are all just methods of pointing and clicking. My art director on the 2nd floor uses a pad and stylus and he has not once asked for his own version of a website. If you really want to use the device’s capabilities you don’t need a mobile website – you need an app.

If you want something that is really native to a device, an app is definitely the way to go. Apps can access multi-touch features, rich media, in app purchases, gps, camera, and other aspects to provide a truly unique experience that a website cannot. But don’t just stop there. Use that same device detection to show an interstitial on your mobile site advertising the app. How is that for leveraging pre-existing SEO? Let your site’s pre-established authority work for your mobile version and help you sell apps!
TL;DR

* The best mobile strategy is to create a site that works on all devices.
* Otherwise use m.yourdomain.com, device detection to redirect (both ways) and canonical tags.
* Always provide a link for me to switch to the full version.
* If you want a true “device experience” then create an app.
* Stop saying “mobile SEO” when you mean “Local SEO”