iPhone 4S

With well over 4 million iPhone 4S units sold over the first week of release, some owners are reporting that battery life is inexplicably short with normal usage. Even compared to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, for some reason the new design is sometimes experiencing power drain for no apparent reason. According to the Guardian, Apple engineers have begun to respond to iPhone 4S owner complaints and many have installed diagnostic software to help track down the issue.

One of the unannounced iPhone 4S surprises was a shortening of the standby time on the device to 200 hours down from the iPhone 4 spec of 300 hours. There was no wave of concern over this number, until the iPhone 4S started losing battery power at a much faster clip in some cases. Initial reports of shorter than expected battery life have evolved over time into serious battery drain problems in some cases.

There's word that Sprint plans to deploy its own 4G LTE network next year to compete with Verizon and AT&T, but right now everyone is talking about 3G speed problems on the iPhone 4S. Unfortunately for Sprint the carrier seems to be experiencing the same woes that plagued AT&T after its record iPhone launches of days past. Support forums are full of people asking questions and wondering why their iPhone 4S is so slow compared to other devices on the same network.

Now reports indicate Apple has stepped in and the problem could be a software issue affecting Sprint iPhone customers nationwide. CNET reports that an internal memo was leaked explaining just that, and a fix for the problem is in the works. Apple made no official statement regarding the issue.

Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey raised a lot of eyebrows when he told IFTN.com he used an iPhone to film some scenes for The Avengers.

“The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand. On The Avengers, I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will effect the look of the film."

The Avengers is Marvel Studios most ambitious film to date, rumored to have cost over $200 million. The studio probably wasn't very happy when their director of photography told the world it was filmed on a cell phone. McGarvey later clarified he only shot one mobile phone POV using an iPhone.

After delaying the launch of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of respect for Steve Jobs, Google finally announced their new operating system and its flagship phone the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Motorola also announced their "faster and thinner" Droid RAZR on the same day. These Android devices are the newest and baddest smartphones on the market, but do they stand a chance against the iPhone 4S?

Motorola didn't lie, the RAZR is "impossibly" thin measuring in at 7.1 millimeters. Its 4.3-inch display is bigger than the iPhone 4S, but smaller than the Nexus which measures in at 4.65-inches. The Galaxy Nexus has the highest pixel resolution (1280 x 720), but the iPhone 4S features the higher pixel density with 330 ppi (Galaxy Nexus 316 ppi).

Waiting to buy an iPhone 4S could have its perks. After all, if you're out of your mobile contract and you've decided to see how things pan out with the new iPhone, there will be more information out there in the coming weeks. Choosing a carrier is no different, and now that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are available on three different wireless networks there are more factors involved in the decision.

For some, comparing the costs of each carrier's calling and data plans will be a primary concern. Others will jump right to the big question: who has the fastest download speeds?