Apple launches iPhone 4S

Apple has launched its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4S, and not the iPhone 5 as was widely rumoured. The new model is a slight technical upgrade to the iPhone 4, itself released in the UK in June this year.

It boasts superior processing power and battery life, but few other improvements which will be of interest to the enterprise. Forrester analyst Thomas Husson believes that despite the failure to launch the iPhone 5, Apple will remain ahead of its competition.

"With the iPhone 4S, have Apple's product strategists designed a product that will maintain Apple's leadership in the high-end smartphone battle? Forrester believes so - even though Apple chose not to include features that its competitors use to command a premium position, including LTE [essentially a faster connection] and NFC [near-field communications]."

There was much media speculation that the new device would enable NFC, a technology often used to enable contactless payments. However Husson stated that the market is not yet ready.

"This technology is at an early stage of development despite all the hype. Nor is there a clear revenue benefit for Apple's product strategists to derive from this contactless technology."

However, voice command technology, another feature which many expected to be included, is a capability of the iPhone 4S. Siri, a free app which enables many features to be activated by voice, is now available only on the iPhone 4S. Previously it was available on devices as old as the 3GS.

Apple's share price dipped 0.6 per cent following the product launch, which Channing Smith, a portfolio manager of the Capital Advisors Growth fund blamed on high expectations.

"Expectations for Apple's product roll-outs have become really unrealistic," said Smith, according to technology site Sync. "What are [investors] expecting?"

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