Recent benchmark testing showed not only that iPhone 4S is indeed twice as fast as iPhone 4, as Apple advertised at the release but other results revealed an interesting hierarchy when it comes to processing performance.

Editors from AnandTech, compiled Apple’s benchmarks and test results from official sources and came up with a graphic comparison between high-end smartphones and tablets that are currently on the market, fighting for supremacy. As AnandTech points out from the very beginning “all of these tests measure performance of the software stack in addition to the hardware”. Javascript, CPU and GPU were tested and the results showed iPad 2 to be the best device on the market according to standards.

When it comes to power, iPad 2, with its dual core processor and sufficient battery, holds the top position. Immediately after, on the second place comes iPhone 4S and AnandTech editors speculate over the difference in performance between two devices that supposedly have the same processor. One of the explanations could be that iPhone 4S has a 800MHz variant, not the same 1GHz chip found in the tablet, but this was not verified yet.
Samsung Galaxy SII gained the third place in this top of the fastest devices, while Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 only reached the fifth place in this ranking.

In SunSpider’s Javascript benchmark, the competition was tight between iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, with iPhone 4S winning by just a few points. GPU testing in GLBenchmark 2.1 showed iPad 2 holding a winning position above all the other devices.

The analysts’ eyes are now on the upcoming next-generation Android high-end devices, especially Nexus Prime. A new challenger for the star iPhone 4S can appear any day now.
[NIN]

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While the US and some parts of Europe are already enjoying their iPhone 4S’, which they have stayed up to pre-order on the 7th of October, it appears that those living in Australia are facing some issues regarding delays of their iPhone 4S’. According to Chris Rawson of TUAW, despite pre-ordering the handset on the day of the pre-order itself, the device has yet to make its way to customers’ hands.

The status has been reported to be stuck in “Preparing for Shipment” (as pictured above), and after contacting Apple and speaking to a service representative, he was informed that shipment of the iPhone 4S has been delayed by an additional one to two weeks, and that Australians who pre-ordered the handset on the 7th of October will have to wait at least until the 21st of October to receive it.

While we can’t say for sure what caused this delay, and if Apple retail stores in Australia have been affected, but we’re guessing that Apple did not predict that the iPhone 4S would be such a hit, and possibly did not foresee the 1 million pre-orders on the first day itself, which was 400,000 more than the iPhone 4 which saw 600,000 pre-orders on the first day.

Today, October 14th, is the big day. The Apple iPhone 4S is now available at the three major US carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. All three carriers have their own advantage. Sprint is the only one with an unlimited iPhone 4S data plan, while AT&T claims to have the highest download speeds thanks to its HSPA+ network. If you choose Verizon, you’ll be getting the best nationwide call coverage.

Specs wise, the iPhone 4S spots that same 3.5-inch Retina display we saw on the iPhone 4, but with better hardware this time around. It has a better 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording and the same dual-core A9 processor found in the iPad 2. The iPhone 4S runs on Apple’s latest mobile OS, iOS 5.0. Probably one of the coolest new features is Siri, your own personal assistant. Basically, you give Siri a task and she completes it. You can check out our in-depth look at Siri by our own Staska here.

If you were lucky enough to be one of the many who pre-ordered their iPhone 4S through Apple or through a carrier, congrats. If you weren’t as lucky, we have a full list of the places you’ll be able to go and grab an iPhone 4S . The obvious choice would be the Apple Store, although we don’t know how long it will take until they are sold out. Your next best bey is the carrier of your choice, although all three have been sold out online, they have all stated that they will carry some stock. RadioShack, BestBuy, Sam’s club, and Target are all good retail alternatives. If you plan on getting your iPhone 4S today or already pre-ordered yours, let us know how long it took you to get it and what your initial thoughts are on the device.
[UWV]

iPhone 50 GB

Life is all about the Cloud. It might actually someday be about iCloud if Apple’s servers can catch up. (We’re still waiting for that to occur around here.) But, life is all about moving your files to the Cloud these days. iCloud is supposed to be a big move for Apple, but it probably won’t be replacing services like DropBox or Box.net anytime soon. Once Apple lets others hook into its iCloud we might see some of that, but at the moment, iCloud only offers a place for your contacts, calendars, photostream (as opposed to photos) some documents, and few other goodies to go back and forth between the Cloud and your devices.

What services like Dropbox and Box.net have been offering is Cloud Storage. Dropbox is the acknowledged leader here in my view simply because so many Apps have hooked into the Dropbox API that makes moving documents and files around so easy. But Box.net started making a name for itself with the launch of the HP TouchPad by offering a free 50GB of Cloud storage to TouchPad and webOS users. Well, as good as that was we all know what happened to the TouchPad.

But Box.net is back in this big week and weekend of the iOS and iPhone 4S launch, preparing a promotion that will offer iOS users 50GB of free Cloud Storage. The promotion kicks off tomorrow at 12 noon Pacific Time and runs for 50 days. To take advantage of it, you need to download the Box.net App and access your account or set up a new one from the App on your iOS device. But once that’s done you can access it from any device. Box.net has updated its service so you’ll be able to include AirPlay streaming of videos and photos and music. I’m betting this will be a big hit.

Apple’s iCloud tosses in 5GB of free storage when you get started but an equivalent 50GB will set you back $100 a year. Dropbox charges you beyond 2GB and for 50GB you’ll pay $10 a month. If this takes off look for Box.net to hustle up on releasing and API for other Apps to take advantage of its service. [GB]

iPhone 4S

The Bluetooth 4.0 specification could have been finalized in July of last year, butsmartphones supporting the typical are only beginning to hit the market. Of course, the 1st such handset is the iPhone 4S. That the 4S is the primary to deliver its 4.0 wares to the yank public is something that got lost in each of the hubbub surrounding its launch.

One of the crucial biggest selling points of the most recent version of the PAN standard is its low-power mode, though that wont have much of an impact on Apple’s device. What it would enable the most recent iGadget to do however, is act as a hub — collecting data from multiple sensors and accessories simultaneously, which include heart rate monitors and cats . Don’t expect this to be alone available to buy for long, other manufacturers will definitely be squeezing support for the specification into their next flagship device.[EN]

iOS 5 Twitter

In accordance with last week’s keynote, Apple users have some downloading to do: iOS 5, iTunes 10.5, and Mac OS X 10.7.2 have all been released. These updates collectively enable Apple’s new iCloud service, which will eventually replace the older MobileMe service and provide syncing and backups for users’ documents, pictures, and other data.

iOS 5, which supports the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S, all iPads, the third and fourth-gen iPod Touches, and the Apple TV 2, enables a number of other new features: a new notifications system and the Notifications Center, the iMessage protocol, wi-fi syncing, and over-the-air OS updates. You can download the update to your devices after downloading iTunes 10.5. Expect our full, in-depth review of the new OS soon.

Mac OS X 10.7.2 doesn’t bring major new features to the OS, but it does apply a range of security and reliability patches to the operating system which should help with some of the teething issues most new OS X releases have. Release notes for the update haven’t yet been published, but we’ll update the article to link to them when they’re live.

Along with these updates, Apple has also published a Lion Recovery update, which updates Lion users’ recovery partitions to work better with the new Find My Mac feature.[BN]

As you’ve probably heard by now, Apple has finally decided to launch the iPhone via Sprint, too (both the 4S and 4 versions).

The third largest US carrier has thus joined Verizon, which is offering Apple’s smartphone since February this year, and AT&T, which is selling the iPhone since the very first day it was launched (back in 2007). This, of course, leaves T-Mobile as the only major US carrier that doesn’t have the iPhone in its line-up.

Not long before Tim Cook unveiled the new iPhone 4S in Cupertino last week, Cole Brodman, Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile USA, posted an article over at the carrier’s official blog, titled “About the iPhone.” In the article, the CMO stated:

“We think the iPhone is a great device and Apple knows that we’d like to add it to our line-up. Today, there are over a million T-Mobile customers using unlocked iPhones on our network. “

Naturally, this gave hopes that T-Mobile would carry the iPhone starting later this year. But it obviously won’t happen. So, one may think that T-Mo is going to lose a fairly important part of its customers because of this. Well, maybe. But I don’t see why this will matter in the long run. Not with AT&T ready to buy T-Mobile. Even though many (including Sprint) are opposing the merger, I’m pretty sure the deal will take place, and it should be closed sometime next year – when current T-Mobile customers will finally be able to buy subsidized iPhones.

This (the AT&T acquisition) was likely one of the main reasons why Apple didn’t want to complicate things now with an iPhone for T-Mobile USA. Another possible reason is that T-Mo’s HSPA network uses the 1700MHz AWS spectrum band (unlike AT&T’s) – so Apple would’ve needed to put a different 3G radio in the iPhone 4S than the one featured now for it to work on T-Mo’s 3G. Apple may have thought this would be too much of a hassle (especially since the new iPhone also has a CDMA / EV-DO radio inside), and it probably considered T-Mobile (with its 33 million customers) is too small for all the trouble.

Anyway, until the AT&T – T-Mobile merger is completed, does T-Mo have smartphones that can stand next to the new iPhone 4S? Well, yes, it does: the Samsung Galaxy S II ($229 on contract) and the HTC Amaze 4G ($259 on contract), which are both available for order as of today, coming with Android Gingerbread, dual-core processors, 8MP cameras, and quite awesome displays (4.3 inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus on the S II, and 4.3 inch qHD on the Amaze 4G).

And let’s not forget about the HTC Sensation 4G (launched not long ago for $199), which also features Gingerbread, a qHD screen, dual-core processor, and 8MP camera. There’s also the HTC Radar 4G, but that’s an option only if you’re into Windows Phone (Mango), since it can’t really compete with the iPhone 4S specs-wise.

So, T-Mo (which, by the way, has just announced two new Android tablets) certainly has iPhone 4S alternatives. Sure enough, this won’t keep some customers from leaving the carrier to get the new iPhone 4S. But as long as they’re going to AT&T, in a way they’ll come back to T-Mobile after the former completes the acquisition of the latter.
[UWV]

Incoming search terms for the article:

Bad news for folks planning to purchase an iPhone on Sprint’s network. According to a recently leaked internal memo – it looks like the carrier won’t be offering its Total Equipment Protection for the iPhone (for both the 4 and 4S). If consumers are concerned about the safety of their iPhones, they will have to fork out an extra $99 for AppleCare+. As usual, AppleCare+ can only be added at the time of purchase, so think hard and long before you decide to skip it or not.

But like with any insurance plan – you can go for years without using it, or you could run into trouble the very minute you step out of the store when you decide not to buy it. Sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry, but if you know you can really take care of your phone you might not want to spend any money on it. The choice will be up to you.
[UG]

Apple recently came forth to give us a look at their brand new iPhone 4S. This device features a dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera and the brand new Siri voice activated digital assistant. While the device is definitely an upgrade from the currently available iPhone 4, many were disappointed as they were anxiously awaiting an iPhone 5.

Regardless, it seems that Apple has yet another hit on their hands as stock put aside for launch day has already sold out. According to reports, that means that pre-orders surpassed 200,000 units in just 12 hours. But, make note, that these numbers are on AT&T so that could mean numbers are much higher when other carriers are factored in.

Due to the fact that these numbers have been posted, the shipping date for new iPhone 4S orders have dropped to 1-2 weeks. If you’re still looking to get the device make sure you grab it soon as these ship dates are sure to get longer as demand stays constant.
[MW]

While Apple’s new iPhone 4S looks exactly like the old iPhone 4, it comes with arguably significant improvements. One of them is the fact that it can provide faster download speeds (14.4Mbps – double the 7.2Mbps speeds the iPhone 4 is capable of offering).

Last week, when the iPhone 4S was officially unveiled in Cupertino, Apple compared it to some of AT&T’s current smartphones that are marketed as 4G devices: Motorola Atrix 4G, LG Thrill 4G, and HTC Inspire 4G. The infographic presented by Apple (see it below) showed the iPhone 4S as being on par with the other three Android handsets – since they can all handle 14.4Mbps.

What Apple did not say last week was that AT&T’s iPhone 4S would be sold as a 4G handset, too.

The second largest US carrier has already applied a virtual 4G sticker on the iPhone 4S on its official website.

Moreover, according to This is my next / The Verge, AT&T has confirmed that it’s “working with Apple” to enable the iPhone 4S status bar indicator to display “4G” when HSPA+ is in use. Reportedly, “the indicator will require an iOS update to enable.”

Now, I can’t say I blame AT&T for wanting to sell the iPhone 4S as a 4G handset. After all, its iPhone 4S will be the only one in the US to allow downloads speeds of up to 14.4Mbps (since Verizon’s and Sprint’s versions will be stuck with EV-DO rev. A). At least the carrier doesn’t work with Apple for rebranding the new device to call it iPhone 4S 4G.

What I don’t quite understand is why AT&T isn’t marketing other HSPA+ handsets as 4G-capable – take the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S II for example: the 3G radio inside it has to be capable of providing 14.4Mbps download speeds (if not 21Mbps).

Anyway. Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S have started yesterday, and it looks like AT&T has already received more than 200,000 orders. The new iPhone is offered in either black or white, in three versions: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. Their prices on contract are $199.99, $299.99, and $399.99, respectively.

After the iPhone 4S is launched (October 14), AT&T will also continue to offer the iPhone 4 (only in an 8GB flavor – for $99 on contract), and the 2-yr old iPhone 3GS (for free on contract).

[SP]