????The video camera got a bump, too. Now it captures video in 1080p. Video is every bit as clear as stills, and thanks to image stabilization, I don't need to carry my Flip Ultra HD around anymore. With iOS5, you finally have more direct access to the camera: double tap the home button when the phone is off, and a camera icon appears. You can also press the volume up button to snap shots.
????Depending on which mobile carrier you're with and where you live, you'll get different results with call quality and download speeds. In San Francisco, where AT&T is notoriously spotty, the 4S did fine. We didn't notice a huge improvement in call quality (good, not great), and we still experienced dropped calls. Download speeds fared better. While the 4S isn't technically a 4G-labeled device, downloads of web sites and apps were generally quicker than the iPhone 4, though not as fast as Verizon's 4G network in the area.
????A Siri-ous voice assistant
????Much has already been made of Siri, the voice recognition "intelligent assistant" that's exclusive to the 4S. It seems one of her (of if you switch to the English UK option, his) best assets is an especially dry sense of humor. Ask Siri to marry you as I did mere hours after receiving the phone to review, and it'll say that it hardly knows you. Push the subject, and it'll claim that her "End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage." And if you ask it about one of the 20th century's biggest mysteries -- "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?" -- you'll get an answer (3,481).
????When you're not kidding around, Siri's also good at performing some practical tasks. Ask it where the nearest sushi place is, and it'll present a list of sushi restaurants in descending order based on proximity; ask it which one is the best, and it'll sort those nearby restaurants by rating. Siri is also handy with basic text message dictation and short emails, though I've noticed punctuation isn't its strong suit. Likewise, scheduling appointments and even avoiding double-bookings, is much easier. I didn't use the calendar app on the iPhone, but because of Siri, I do now.
????But Siri isn't without its quirks. Apple says the app is still in beta, and our experiences bore that out. Siri sometimes has problems understanding what I'm saying, even if I'm in a quiet setting. Apple says that situation will improve as Siri adapts to the way you speak. Its logic isn't entirely foolproof, either. When I asked it to "call dad," it presented me with three dialing options: "Dad work, Dad home, or [colleague] Adam Lashinsky." (For the record, Adam and I aren't related.)
????You also run into its limitations quickly, which will also be frustrating. Because Siri makes certain tasks much easier, you try to push the boundaries and figure out just how many tasks you can offload. You can look up movie theaters, but you can't look up show times. You can send texts, though you can't add contacts. Many of Siri's shortcomings ought to be fixed in the future. It's just a shame you can't do more with it now.
????In the end
????Whether the iPhone 4S warrants a purchase all depends.
????I can see why Siri is a big draw. Apple's offering a tantalizing future: a simple, streamlined user interface where many interactions with the iPhone are conducted via voice. And what it does do, it often does well. (Looking up restaurants and booking appointments are a breeze now.) But Siri is clearly still in its early days, and for every task it can do, you'll run into just as many situations where you're better off navigating the "old-fashioned" touchscreen way. It feels like a smart, nascent piece of technology that can't grow up soon enough.
????If you own the original iPhone, 3G, or 3GS, you'll enjoy the speed gains and quality camera. If you own an iPhone 4, the upgrade path is less certain, especially if you just bought a Verizon iPhone earlier this year. The improvements will seem far less dramatic and more iterative, probably because using the iPhone 4 never felt like a drag to begin with. Either way, there's a lot to like, even if the changes are evolutionary, not revolutionary.
