Laptops are cool, but phones are even cooler. Yesterday, we took you guys on a tour of some really cool laptops as part of a guide sponsored by eBay, but let’s face it. You do most of your important stuff on a smartphone these days — between checking Facebook and not checking Facebook — and you need a good one to keep doing that cool stuff. Whether an Apple iPhone 4S tickles your fancy, or you’re more an Android type (our list has two, the Samsung Galaxy SIII and the HTC Evo 4G), it makes you a better consumer to know about your options. Especially with our … uh, creative descriptions, above. Enjoy!
This post is sponsored by eBay. From the new to the hard to find, when it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay.
Here’s the full list of devices that will be compatible with iOS 6 when it releases this fall.
» Want to pre-order the iPhone 4s in Hong Kong? Too late. You’re stuck waiting in line. The phone will be available in stores this Friday and analysts are expecting “long lines and serial stock outs.” It’s a good sign for when the phone hits mainland China — a date for which has not been announced. It’s led to a black-market Apple-smuggling industry between Hong Kong and China, which is likely to only continue with the iPhone 4S
[Analyst Nigam] Arora believes that Siri could change users’ mobile habits, making them search for information via Apple’s Siri rather than directly through Google. He thinks Siri is a better solution because it provides a small number of relevant results rather than a long list that users must sort through. Plus, he views advertisements on a small screen like an iPhone as a distraction.
To support his hypothesis, Arora cites a small study he conducted, in which a total of 40 iPhone 4S users were queried about their mobile search habits. All 40 said they see no need to search Google if Siri can answer their question, while 27 indicated they have not done a single direct Google search since they obtained their iPhone 4S.
Is he full of it? Or could you see Siri replacing some of Google’s usefulness on cell phones?
» But they’re not so worried: Parsing the present-day meaning of past quarter business reports can be a sketchy task, especially considering that in Apple’s case, the recently released iPhone 4S is expected to lend a surge to their profits, though that won’t come across until the current quarter’s figures come out. (One company official specifically blamed iPhone 5 rumors for hurting the company’s bottom line.) And despite the dip in share prices, Apple’s actual business in the 3rd quarter was yet robust; profits increased by 54%, and sales went up 39%. And since we’re talking Apple, we’d be remiss not to mention also that there’s a Steve Jobs memorial exclusively for employees that’s happening today; Apple’s Cupertino campus is hosting, and Apple stores nationwide will be closing for the duration to allow staff to watch.
The iPhone 4s has sold 4 million units since friday. PCMag has a few ideas why Apple’s latest product has done so well so soon. There was hype surrounding the 4S, as there usually is with a new Apple product; rumors floated all summer about the phone, giving it an air of mystique. Add that to the passing of Steve Jobs, and you have a good amount of buzz. The phone is now available on more networks and in more countries, two demographics that the iPhone 4 didn’t have for its release. Plus, owning an iPhone comes with some sort of blood contract, right? source
We like to think that Siri is really Steve Jobs, in AI form. Also, this site is the funniest thing on the internet today, by far.
Apple’s big speech is a real turning point for the company. It’s the first major one since Steve Jobs gave up his role as CEO earlier this year amidst significant health problems, passing the role off to Tim Cook. Since then, new competition has started to heat up — most notably from Amazon, whose CEO Jeff Bezos has shown some of that old Jobsian sparkle of late. But without getting too far ahead of ourselves, let’s do a check of what to expect today:
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