Apple iPhone 4S (64GB - black, Sprint)

Pros: -Best cell phone camera by far - its not about the mega pixels its about the picture quality
-Superfast performance and improved call quality with the dual antennas
-Siri is amazing. For Someone with a busy life and who doesn't wanna die in a car crash.

Cons: - Smaller screen can be hard to get used to. I moved from a 4.3 inch to this and I do miss the bigger screen
- Hype around a redesign caused me to think twice about buying this phone. But apple never said it was coming so thats the medias fault.
- Gettin

Summary: Ok - So I have purchased apple products for many many years and I am not a fanboy. I simply do my research and purchase what I believe will be best for my needs. I have never purchased an apple product on release day until the Iphone 4s. I did this time and I havent regretted it one bit.

The phone is fast, and has an amazing display and I know myself well enough to know what I really need in a phone.

Heres what I think so far...

To start the performance is amazing. I have an apple TV and 27" Imac in my room. Theis phone integrates well with both these items and I havent seen any hiccups or errors while using wireless itunes sync, Icloud, or Apple Tv mirroring. It simply works and works well so far.

I also havent seen any issues with completing tasks such as using photo-stream or I-cloud at all. Apple did well with the way they did this. They have a reputation for quality they aren't a company that focuses on price or rushing a product release to meet public demand. Thats what android does and I have owned only android phones since the release of the Tmobile G1 so I am speaking from years and years of experience. The trend seems to be that Apple creates something then all these other companies rush to meet the demand and also rush in releasing a bunch of subpar products before the really good ones catch up. There have been some really great android phones and Ive owned most of them but every time i have purchased one there have been lots of little things ive had to wait for before all features and software were in sync. Apple is not immune to this but I do have far less complaints with this phone then any android I have ever owned.

The camera takes pictures surprisingly better than any phone Ive owned, I expected it to be better than the motorola and HTC phones I have owned. My old Nexus 1, Droid X, HTC Incredible. None of them even come close to the quality of the iphones photos and I really have enjoyes having all my photos go directly to Iphoto and My Apple TV. The video looks great too although I've only taken two videos thus far, One was walking around best buy and the other was just a tour of my home so i could see how clear and stable it was then mirror the playback to my apple tv. I have to say I was impressed on both fronts.

Gaming on the Iphone is one area I feel a bit of loss here. The games perform beautifully and the graphics are amazing. But the smaller screen is noticeable especially when playing tower defense games which i love. You cant use the mirroring to play the games either because while you can see the image you cant see where your fingers are on the TV. Bummer. But Im still adjusting to the smaller screen so hopefully this gets better.

ICloud works as expected. Quick and seamless and it just works. What else can you say. As for the Itunes wireless syncing. Once you set it up its just like syncing with a cable but without the cable. Just select what you want to sync and you can either sync by hitting the sync button in itunes or you can use the sync button on your phone.

Last but not least theres Siri. My first few attempts here I had mixed feelings. Then I realized I had to let Siri know who my mom and dad and brother was. After that I would say Call my brother and it would call my brother. I ask " Can we go to breakfast" and i got a lit of places that mentioned breakfast in their descriptions complete with a review and map. I schedule appointments, set reminders, call my girlfriend, email my friends and family and it just works and works very surprisingly well. Siri is awesome and I gotta say the fact that when you ask her questions like " how are you today Siri" she responds like a robot assistant. I say good morning and she says it back. LOVE IT.

So overall Im super pleased with my new Iphone. Its fast, intuitive, great for capturing amazing moments, I have a personal assistant now that will only get better with time and updates. The battery life is good and I purchased a Mophie Juice pack which is the best case ive ever owned and charges the phone for me, so it lasts twice as long now. But thats for another review.

I can see a small group that wouldn't use siri as much as I do or who will stick to android at least until the Iphone 5 comes out. But for a busy insurance professional who needs a reliable , fast and super easy to use phone...at least for me...this is it for the next year with no regrets.

On a final note: Thank you Steve for all your contributions to my life and to the world of technology. I know that Apple isn't just a company you started..its the culmination of your life's work and your dedication and love show in so many of the products that you and your team created. You will be deeply missed.. but i promise that every so often you will be thought of when I am marveling at just how far we have come because of you.