iPhone 4S — Should I Upgrade?

The short answer is yes if you have the budget for a new phone, prefer the iPhone platform over Android and you don’t mind signing a two-year agreement.  The iPhone 4S has some notable improvements over the iPhone 4, especially in the speed, photo and video departments. There are also parts of iOS 5, Apple’s new mobile operating system, that will only run on the iPhone 4S.

If you’re looking for the latest and greatest wireless innovations and aren’t 100% loyal to the iPhone platform you might want to consider an Android phone with 4G LTE technology. Those looking for a fast and reliable mobile Internet connection may be better served with a device like the Droid Bionic.

Cost of Upgrading to the iPhone 4S

The cost of upgrading to an iPhone 4S will vary dramatically depending on your carrier and how long it’s been since you last upgraded.

Are you eligible for the advertised iPhone 4S price? (Total Cost $379 to $579)

If you’re eligible for an upgrade, you’ll be able to pay the advertised iPhone 4S prices of $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB) or $399 (64GB) plus taxes and fees. But that’s not all you need to pay. Most states require mobile phone buyers to pay tax on the full unsubsidized cost of new phones. That’s an extra $450 you need to pay tax on, which means you need to budget up to $81 for tax on average (assuming a 9.6% state and local tax according to Forbes). Tack on another $18 for an AT&T activation fee and you’re up to $379 for an entry-level iPhone 4S.

Most people eligible for an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 4S upgrade are going to be AT&T subscribers. Most Verizon iPhone 4 owners won’t be eligible since Verizon started selling the iPhone 4 earlier this year. AT&T’s been selling the iPhone 4 since June of 2010.

AT&T does offer select customers the fully subsidized prices, even if they’re several months away from the end of their two-year contracts. The early discounts typically go to AT&T’s most profitable customers, such as those with expensive plans and extras, such as the mobile tethering option. AT&T isn’t going to offer you the lowest price on the iPhone 4S if you you have a bare-bones iPhone contract or are piggy-backing on a lower family plan. Some family plan subscribers will find that one iPhone 4 line is eligible for an upgrade while others are not.

Are you eligible for an early discount? (Total Cost $461 to $656)

If you have been with your carrier for a year, you might be eligible for a small upgrade discount on the iPhone 4S. This will vary from carrier to carrier, and even from line to line on family plans.

AT&T is offering some iPhone 4 owners a partial early discount of $250 off the unsubsidized price, bringing the 16GB iPhone 4S to $399. The 32GB iPhone 4S is $499 and the 64GB iPhone 4S is $599 if you fall into this camp.

Are you not eligible? (Total Cost $729 to $929)

If you are not eligible for an upgrade to the iPhone 4S at the end of your contract, or as an early upgrade, your only option will be to purchase the iPhone 4S at the off contract price.

The iPhone 4S off contract pricing is $649 (16GB), $749 (32GB) or $849 (64GB) plus taxes and any carrier fees. These prices are normally cut dramatically when you sign a new two year contract. In this case, you will need to plan for an extra $62 to $81 in sales tax.

Do You Hate Your Carrier?

Many AT&T iPhone 4 users are frustrated by call reliability issues, but refused to jump ship to Verizon since it didn’t make much sense to buy the same phone all over again and pay an early termination fee.

But it’s been eight months since Verizon started selling the iPhone 4 to non-Verizon subscribers, which means their early termination fees have decreased. AT&T subscribers need to pay $325, minus $10 per month if they want to cancel their contracts before the two-year agreement expires. Assuming you bought the iPhone 4 on launch day back in June 2010, you’d have to pay $175, which still hurts, but is worth it if you live or work in an AT&T dead zone that has a strong Verizon signal.

iPhone 4 users on Verizon’s network cannot access data while on phone calls. This is especially frustrating if you use your iPhone 4 as a mobile hotspot, which means you can’t share your iPhone 4’s 3G connection with your notebook or tablet while talking.

If you have limited data plans on AT&T or Verizon, the unlimited data plans that Sprint is offering may make it worth the switch for heavy data users.

Get $200 Or More For Your Old iPhone 4

Whether or not your eligible for a discount, you can sell your iPhone 4 back to Apple or any number of gadget buyback services (Gazelle.com and Nextworth are two of our favorites).  Selling your iPhone on eBay or Craigslist will fetch even more if you’re willing to deal with strangers directly.

iPhone 4S Features

Upgraded Camera

The camera on the iPhone 4 is no slouch but Apple saw it fit to upgrade its successor with a camera that will have the competition playing catch up. In fact, Apple made it a point to point out how far behind the competition was at the iPhone 4S launch event.

The iPhone 4S has been outfitted with a new 8MP camera, which includes new optics and a better sensor. In short, the iPhone 4S camera is on par with many dedicated point and shoot cameras on the market. Don’t believe it? Here are several sample photos taken with the iPhone 4S, which show off the abilities of the camera in several settings. (click to enlarge)

If you like to record videos, you are able to record in full 1080P HD and the camera uses built in image stabilization to help produce prettier video.

We should also note that the iPhone 4S’ camera features face detection, something not found with the iPhone 4’s camera.

Faster Processor

The iPhone 4S has the same A5 processor found in the iPad 2. This means that the iPhone 4S is nearly 2x as fast as the iPhone 4, and has 7x faster graphics. This makes for a snappier phone and prettier graphics when you play games like Infinity Blade.

Gaming won’t be the only thing that will be made faster by the iPhone 4S’ A5 dual-core processor. Watching video content should be an even smoother experience than it was on the iPhone 4 plus switching back and forth betweenapplications and multitasking will be quicker than ever. The time it takes to load an application will also be much shorter due to the A5’s powerful core.

The best part? There is no sacrifice in battery life. In fact, the iPhone 4S will last even longer than the iPhone 4.

New Antenna

Last year’s iPhone 4 was part of a debacle dubbed Antennagate that saw Apple hand out free bumper cases to please owners concerned about a perceived ‘death grip.’ So, we knew that Apple was going to find a way to improve its antenna for this new phone.

The iPhone 4S’ antenna has been changed in a way that allows the cellular radio inside the device to determine which of the two antennas, embedded in the stainless steel bands on the sides, will offer the best signal.

That means, at least in theory, that there should be no death grip on the iPhone 4S because the radio will use the antenna that’s not being blocked by the hand.

World Phone

The iPhone 4S will be a true world phone. It contains both GSM and CDMA radios which means that you can travel the globe and use it like you would in your hometown.

This is a feature that is not available on either the AT&T or Verizon iPhone 4. So, if you’re a world traveler or find yourself on planes and in hotels on business, the iPhone 4S is certainly a phone to look at.

New Assistant App – Siri

Perhaps the biggest reason to consider an upgrade is the iPhone 4S exclusive assistant app called Siri. The iPhone 4 won’t have this ability, even after you upgrade to iOS 5.

Siri is a virtual assistant for your iPhone. The app can respond to a number of requests including,

• Ask for a Reminder – At a specific time or place
• Ask to send a text
• Ask or the weather
• Ask for information – Like a restaurant
• Ask to schedule a meeting
• and much more

For more on Siri, check out why Siri could make the iPhone 4S worth the upgrade.

Bottom Line

Since the iPhone 4S isn’t a completely new phone, many may choose to wait until they can get the phone at the fullest discount. But if you can get a good trade-in price for your old phone that offsets the cost of upgrading early or even switching to a new carrier, go for it. There are enough advantages to the iPhone 4S to justify an upgrade that cost you much. But if you’re looking at having to pay the unsubsidized price or an early cancellation fee, consider holding off.

- Android users 10% more likely to be male
- Android users are 35% more likely to have just one email address compared     to other OS users
- Smartphone operating system market share – Android 39% — iPhone 28%
- A list of the top ten paid apps and free top ten apps

The above photo is the latest leaked shot and clearly we can see the bottom looks similar to the Sensation 4G while the top looks like a myTouch device, a nice blend if you ask me. We mentioned this when that photo leaked but the new details confirm it. It will be sporting a dual core 1.5 Ghz CPU, 4.3″ high-res qHD display, 1GB RAM, a rear facing 8 MP camera and 2 MP shooter on the front for video chat. It should also be powered with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the new Sense UI 3.5 but we are still awaiting more details on the latter.

[via TmoNews]

Best HTC EVO Apps. The hottest and most anticipated Android smartphone of 2010, HTC Evo 4G for Sprint, has finally launched for mass consumer purchase! That said, we’d like to recommend more than 30 of the best Android apps and games for your Evo. Each link has a full Android app review with screenshots, some videos and links to download the apps and games. Let’s get started:

Android Apps Just for Evo:

We know you’ll love the Qik HD and YouTube HD built-in apps, but fring caters to the HTC Evo in a special way as it is the world’s first Android app to offer free video calling via Skype using the front facing camera.

Classic Hot Android Apps:

Here’s some oldie but goodie Android Apps that have been around for quite some time because they’re quite frankly good apps!

Besides hanging out on AndroidTapp.com try AppBrain Market Sync which lets you find Android Apps from their website and sync downloads to the phone plus apps recommendations , manage and search files on your SD Card with Astro File Manager, Twidroid was one of the first and still reigning Twitter clients for Android, ShopSavvy lets you scan all kinds of barcodes to get better pricing on products you may be overspending on, and Exchange by Touchdown still holds the benchmark for Microsoft Exchange email on Android.

High-End Android Games:

There are plenty of fun and addictive games, however we’re sticking to the high-end 3D games you should buy for your high-end Evo!

Many titles from Gameloft are good provided you get the ones from the Android Market as going through their website still is a nightmare; which is the reason why we’re only recommending one thus far, the fast paced 3D racer Asphalt 5. Another awesome 3D racer is Raging Thunder 2, high octane 3D accelerometer game Speedx 3D, dogfight aircraft battles with Armageddon Squadron, slug out online homerun derby with Homerun Battle 3D, shoot it out with Hockey Nations 2010 and throw in some brain twisting horror suspense with Mystique. Chapter 3: Obitus.

Drop Your Jaw WOW Factor Android Apps:

These apps top almost everyone’s list even Verizon’s DROID App Showcase because they show sheer innovation in bending possibilities with mobile applications:

Shazam listens to and tells you the song playing, Google Goggles sees your search and tells you what it is, Google Sky Map lets you see the stars from anywhere anytime… literally, and Layar Reality Browser uses augmented reality to convey a host of information, facts and even social on camera.

Music Apps:

There are a ton of cool music and multimedia apps but we’ll only list a few of the coolest:

The HTC music player pwns Android’s default music player but doubleTwist Player and ³ (aka Cubed) Music Player pwns them. Here are some awesome streaming music players that you don’t need to sync any MP3 tracks; Pandora Radio, Slacker Radio, Rhapsody Music or Last.fm Personal Radio.

Trick Out That Evo Apps:

The HTC Sense user interface with huge digital clock, Contacts, Twitter, and Facebooks widgets are extremely cool on the Evo, but if you want to trick out your phone’s home screen… try a few of these home screen replacement apps:

aHome and Open Home have hundreds of themes and icons packs in the Market, SlideScreen takes the most unique approach of streaming email, calendar, text messages and more to your home screen… no need to open several apps when it’s all in one place. GDE Home puts a different interactive twist on the home screen, and ADW.Launcher gives granular controls over your home screen and app launcher features.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard the term smart phone quite a bit recently. Smart phones have been around for years and with the introduction of Apple’s iPhone they were catapulted into an every day item. The definition of a smart phone is- “Electronic handheld device that integrates the functionality of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or other information appliance”. In other words, a smart phone is a hand held computer. A smartphone runs a complete mobile operating system. Most popular examples are Apple iOS, Google Android, Microsoft Windows Phone 7, Nokia Symbian and BlackBerry OS. Such systems can be installed on many

Smart phone market share

different phone models from different manufactures. Smart phones also have the ability to download 3rd party applications, such as, games, productivity tools, books, media & videos, shopping, social and many many more.

According to an early 2010 study by ComScore, over 45.5 million people in the United States owned smart phones out of 234 million total cell phone users. Despite the large increase in smartphone sales in the last few years, smartphone shipments only make up 20% of total handset shipments, as of the first half of 2010. In March 2011 Berg Insight reported data that showed global smartphone shipments increased 74% from 2009 to 2010.

Among the features stated above, smart phones can also be used for navigation, as almost all smart phones have a GPS built in. Another popular feature is the camera, many smart phones have as high or higher megapixel cameras as most stand alone cameras. Currently 3D phones are in development as well as a mobile payment system to eliminate the need for credit cards, this technology is already widely used in Japan today.

HTC’s online support center

HTC’s phone and email support

HTC Forums

It is also a good idea to search on Youtube for instructional videos if you are having trouble finding our setting up a certain function on your phone.

Demo Video Showing How to Unlock the HTC Desire using the Rebel Simcard II v1.1 Firmware

See for yourself How Easy the Rebel Simcard II is to use in the Full range of HTC phone models worldwide.

Video Demo showing how to use your Favourite network simcard in a locked HTC Phone without the use of cables of software and best of all without loss of warranty for your Smartphone.

Simply cut the Network Sim and Enter under your network sim and you are Ready