If it is the former you may well have a point. If it is either of the latter two I’ll put my money on the iPhone 4S. The Prime and it’s curved glass will certainly be interesting but I suspect “light” translates to “feels cheaper” too. I could be wrong since I have not actually held the Prime. But I haven’t held the 4S either. And that’s the point- all of the folks whining about the 4S not being what they were hoping for haven’t used it. Try it and then let’s talk.

Yes, the 4S looks the same as the 4 but I’m more interested in the user-experience of it. The 4 still doesn’t feel “old” or “dated” to me and the 4S will bring with is a host of upgrades. I suspect that is why it now has a 1-2 week wait after only 24 hours. That certainly sounds “hot” to me… Whether I lived in freezing Siberia or here in NJ where will will be over 80 degrees today.

Next week Nexxus Prime will be released and it’s specs will blow 4s away – curved glass, nfc, LTE, thinnr, lighter and it looks really cool. whreas the 4 just looks the same.

Apple has left the door wide open for the competition and for sure they ar going to push it widee open. Lame move by Apple.

What we wanted was a game changer, an iPhone 5 and we didn’t get it.

Yup, Apple didn’t announce the iPhone 5 with an odd shape and a bigger screen. Deal with it. Regardless, the 4S is a huge step forward. No, it is not a complete rewrite but within the same shell (oh, right, that means all the cases and accessories you bought still work and save you money) you get a kick-ass camera (it isn’t just about the MP (a ton of Android phones have great camera specs but stink. This won’t.), a super fast processor, a huge step up in the antenna department (hopefully) and a voice-enabled system that will transform how you interact with your phone. It is a BIG upgrade no matter how you slice it. No, it doesn’t look different but so what?

If all of this came in a shell that looked different none of you would be whining. Just sayin’.

This was not the Apple event we’ve come to expect nor the Apple device we’ve come to expect. The facility was small and subdued; the presentation, while adequate, was neither inspiring nor exciting. It had all the pizzazz of lunch at McDonalds. And honestly, Phil Schiller is selected to present the device? Who made that call? I won’t waste my time watching the live blog of one of these “presentations” again and it may well be a long time before Apple sells out one these so called “events” like they used to. It was really just an hour long free commercial for all things Apple. They didn’t even get to the “main event” (Let’s talk iphone) until 65 minutes into the show and by then things were quiet. I’ll never forget the second last blog on Engaget as the presentation was concluding; the blogger wrote, “that’s it?”. A sentiment we all shared but had no voice to convey. Clearly Apple is going to milk the “4” for every drop of revenue, even at the risk of losing ground to Android and Windows – not a savvy marketing ploy. It’s looking like the change at the helm was a change from a company run by marketers to a company run by accountants – and that is huge. Heck, why rent a major convention centre when we have an empty cafeteria at home we can use? This reminds me of the Palm debacle years agp where they lost their direction and quietly wandered off the nearest cliff, oblivious as to what went wrong.

At the end of the day I may buy one as I have quite a number of apps that would otherwise go to waste if I change devices – but I’m certainly in no rush to do so. Seriously, the Galaxy S II is looking pretty hot – someone give me another reason not to buy the GSII.

-I watched the Keynote last night, and I fell asleep during it. Granted, I was tired, and I had already heard/expected most of the announcements. However, it was boring. There was too much “Apple is great” underlining everything. I agree, mostly–I love Apple, too. But it was tiring to hear over_and_over. I felt really bad for Phil, just like I did when he was thrown out there to announce the 3GS.

-The specs/upgrades look appealing to me. I am excited to give Siri a try, and if the camera works half as well as it’s advertised, it will really be a great selling point. Speedier processor, more RAM–great!!

-I, too, was disappointed to not have a bigger screen/form factor. But, again, I was already prepared to accept that, the announcement just made it final for me.

I will most likely buy the next iPhone, and the iPhone after that, mostly because I prefer the software, I am entrenched in the ecosystem, and I really love the UI.

Unfortunately, Apple is the victim of their own success. Keep creating/designing great products, and people will grow accustomed to expecting the next big thing each and every time. The iPhone 4 is the best selling phone on the market. People love it, and people will buy the 4S just like they did the 4.

Unfortunately, I think the 4S will start off ok, but will only make the same modest gains we have seen recently as the iPhone 4 has aged. However, six months to a year from now, there is a real possibility that Apple will have missed its window to get less than hardcore Android users on Sprint and Verizon to switch. The longer you stay with a platform and buy apps, the less likely you are to leave. Apple took the road to a crap load of profits, cashing in on the existing iPhone 4 manufacturing rather than sticking to building great devices with innovative designs. I think this is a white flag, of sorts. I think this is Apple giving up on trying to ever come close to Android in smartphones.

I know that certain types of consumers will buy Apple no matter what, especially those who are heavily invested in apps, but there are other factors in play here. For those who go into a cell phone store wanting a iPhone, they will probably leave with one. However, because of carrier incentIves, specials, sales, and employees who are trained to push the carrier-centric products, many average consumers will be talked into Android or WP7 phones at the store. The AT&T rep I talked to yesterday told me flat out that they can move contract dates and cut prices on those smartphones to make a sale. They cannot on the iPhone. I saw more than one commenter yesterday who wasn’t eligible for a $199 iPhone, but was given the upgrade price on a Galaxy S II and took that instead. The only thing Apple has to fight this are it’s marketing and the buzz that their releases create. The mainstream media did exactly what I thoght they would do yeaterday evening and this morning. They killed that buzz by hammering Apple. If consumers go phone shopping without iPhone on the tip of their tongue, forget it. Apple lost that yesterday, and I think they knew it would happen before they went on stage. They will make a ton of money on the 4S, but they will lose a lot of defectors from webOS and Blackberry, as well as new adopters.

As for me, I don’t slobber over specs. I wanted the bigger screen for purely practical reasons. It would make typing in portrait mode so much easier for my big thumbs. I am very happy with the early hands-on reviews of Siri. I do a lot of car traveling, so that will make life so much easier for me. The camera upgrade is worthwhile, too. I have three kids, so having a solid phone cam with me all the time is very important. However, even though I will get it, I lost my buzz too. I am not excited about this release at all.