iPhone 4S vs BlackBerry Torch 9860 | BlackBerry Torch 9860 vs Apple iPhone 4S Speed, Performance and Features
Apple finally released iPhone 4S on 4 October 2011, and it will be available from 14 October 2011. The external appearance of 4S seems identical to iPhone 4. The much anticipated iPhone 5 has been delayed for 2012 release. iPhone 4S is the first dual core smartphone from Apple. Siri is a new feature in iPhone 4S; it is an intelligent assistant that enable user to manage the phone with voice. iPhone 4S will be compatible with wide range of networks. It will be available in US for all major carriers except for T-Mobile. iPhone 4S carry a price tag similar to that of iPhone 4 at release; 16 GB model is priced at $199, and 32GB and 64GB are price $299 and $399 respectively, on contract. Apple has brought down the prices of iPhone 4 now. BlackBerry Torch 9860 by Research In motion was officially announced during August 2011. It is the first full capacitive touch screen BlackBerry smart phone. BlackBerry Torch 9850 is the CDMA version of the same phone. BlackBerry Torch 9860 is available for $200 on contract. Following is a comparison of the similarities and differences of the two devices.
iPhone 4S
The much speculated iphone 4S was released on October 4th 2011. The much speculated iphone 4S was released on October 4th 2011. The iPhone which has bench-marked standards in the smart phone hemisphere has raised the expectations more. Will iPhone 4 deliver to the expectations? Having one look at the device one can understand that the appearance of iPhone 4S remains similar to iPhone 4; the much raved predecessor. The device is available in both black and white. The glass and stainless steel built that most find appealing remains intact.
The newly released iPhone 4S remains 4.5” of height and 2.31” of width the dimensions of iPhone 4S remains similar to its predecessor iPhone 4. The thickness of the device is 0.37” as well regardless of the improvement done to the camera. There for, iPhone 4S remains the same portable slim device everyone love. iPhone 4S weighs 140g. The slight increase of device is maybe due to the many new improvements that we will discuss later. iPhone 4S includes a 3.5” touch screen with 960 x 640 resolution. The screen also includes the usual fingerprint resistant oleophobic coating. The display marketed by Apple as ‘retina display’ has a contrast ratio of 800:1. The device comes with sensors such as an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, three-axis gyro sensor, a proximity sensor for auto turn-off and an ambient light sensor.
The processing power is one of the many improved features on iPhone 4S than its predecessor. The iPhone 4S is powered by a Dual core A5 processor. According to Apple, the processing power is increased by 2 X and enables graphics that are 7 times faster and the energy efficient processor will improve battery life as well. While the RAM on the device is still not officially listed the device is available in 3 versions of storage; 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. Apple has not allowed a micro SD slot to expand the storage. In terms of connectivity, iPhone 4S has HSPA+14.4Mbps, UMTS/WCDMA, CDMA, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. At the moment, iPhone 4S is the only smart phone which can switch between two antennas to transmit and receive. Location based services are available through Assisted GPS, digital compass, Wi-Fi and GSM.
iPhone 4S is loaded with iOS 5 and usual applications one can find on an iPhone, such as FaceTime. The newest addition to the uniquely designed applications on iPhone is ‘Siri’; a voice assistant which can understand certain keywords we speak and virtually do everything on the device. ‘Siri’ is capable of scheduling meetings, checking weather, setting timer, sending & reading messages and etc. While voice search and voice command assisted applications were available in the market ‘Siri’ is quite a unique approach and sounds more user-friendly. iPhone 4S comes with iCloud as well, enabling users to manage content across multiple devices. iCloud wirelessly pushes files across multiple devices managed together. Applications for iPhone 4 S will be available on Apple App Store; however it will take some time for the number of applications supporting iOS 5 to increase.
The rear facing camera is another area improved on iPhone 4S. iPhone 4S is equipped with an improved camera with 8 mega pixels. The mega pixel value itself has taken a huge leave from its predecessor. The camera is coupled with LED flash as well. The camera comes with useful features such as autofocus, tap to focus, face detection on still images and geo tagging. The camera is capable of HD video capture at 1080P at about 30 frames per second. In cameras it is important to have a larger aperture since it allows the lens to collect more light. The aperture in the lens of camera in iPhone 4S has been increased allowing more light to come in however, harmful IR rays is filtered away. The enhanced camera is capable of capturing quality images in low light as well as bright light. The front facing camera is a VGA camera and it’s tightly coupled with FaceTime; the video conferencing application on iPhone.
iPhones are generally good on their battery life. Naturally, users will have higher expectations for this latest addition to the family. According to Apple, iPhone 4S will have up to 8 hours of continuous talk time with 3G on while on GSM only it will score a massive 14 hours. The device is rechargeable via USB as well. The standby time on iPhone 4S is up to 200 hours. In conclusion, the battery life is satisfactory on iPhone 4S.
The preorder of iPhone 4S starts from 7 October 2011, and will be available in US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan from 14 October 2011. Worldwide availability starts from 28 October 2011. iPhone 4S is available for purchase in different variants. One will be able to get their hands on an iPhone 4S device starting from $199 to $399 on contract. The price without contract (unlocked) is Canadian $649/ Pounds 499/ A$799/ Euro 629.
BlackBerry Torch 9860
BlackBerry Torch 9860 is the first full capacitive touch screen BlackBerry smart phone by Research In Motion. It was officially announced during August 2011, but the release to market is still expected on September 2011, to be exact. The much anticipated phone has a plastic chassis and a black glossy finish to it with a 3.7″ multi touch screen.
Unlike the majority of touch screen smart phones in the market, BlackBerry Torch 9860 has few hardware buttons in place. The power button is at the top of the device and allows easy locking of screen as well. Volume control buttons and camera button lives nearby. A micro USB port is available on the side of the device, while an optical track pad, call button, end call button, as well as, back button are situated right beneath the screen, in the front of the device. Nearby the volume buttons, one will find the 3.5 mm Audio jack. Overall, users should prepare for a 4.7″ long, 2.4″ broad and a 0.45″ thick device complete with a virtual keyboard.
What sets BlackBerry Torch 9860 apart from other devices of the BlackBerry series is the full capacitive touch screen. With its 3.7” screen real estate, the display makes BlackBerry Torch 9860 ideal for web browsing, gaming, reading, social networking and more. The resolution of the screen is 480 X 800 making it perfect for video viewing. It’s also important to note that BlackBerry Torch 9860 has a scratch protected plastic display.
BlackBerry devices have always had their signature QWERTY key pad. Even with the presence of a virtual keypad, the hardware keypad was part of most BlackBerry smart phones. However, BlackBerry Torch 9860 strays from the norm and comes with only a virtual keypad. Loyal BlackBerry users with heavy texting habits might find texting using the virtual keypad a little difficult at first. On landscape mode, the virtual touch pad utilizes a good screen real estate.
BlackBerry Torch 9860 comes with admirable processing power. The 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor by Qualcomm and an Adreno Graphics processing unit of the device supports the hardware accelerated graphics of BlackBerry Torch 9860. The new and improved graphics is known as “Liquid Graphics” by RIM and promises superior quality. In addition, BlackBerry Torch 9860 has 4 GB internal storage, which can be extended up to 32 GB using a micro SD card. BlackBerry Torch 9860 also has 768 MB worth RAM.
Though, a front facing camera would have been ideal on the new BlackBerry Torch 9860, one is nonexistent. However, the rear facing camera is 5 Mega pixel and comes handy with autofocus, geo tagging and face detection. The camera records HD video at 720 p. Overall, users can be really happy with the rear facing camera quality.
BlackBerry Torch 9860 is running on BlackBerry OS 7. This new version of BlackBerry has been optimized for full touch screen devices with improved browser performance. The interface and graphics is smoother and more appealing. The browser has impressive performance with rendering and responsiveness to touch gestures. Voice activated universal search is available in BlackBerry Torch 9860. The only drawback as far as the applications are concerned would be the lack of it in comparison to Android and iPhone applications.
BlackBerry Torch 9860 will last more than 300 hours standby and provides more than 4 hours of talk time with Wi-Fi on. BlackBerry Torch 9860 might be the ideal BlackBerry phone for heavy web surfers, and users used to touch screen devices best.