The week of Apple’s 4S and Steve Jobs

October 9, 2011

The Apple iPhone 4S was announced last Tuesday  then sadly one day later former Apple CEO Steve Jobs lost his long struggle with cancer. Jobs had been diagnosed with a rare pancreatic cancer seven years ago and had undergone a liver transplant in 2009. Last Friday, the day of Steve Job’s funeral,  Apple enthusiasts rushed to preorder the iPhone 4S, giving the company a psychological boost as it came to terms with the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.

Preorders for the iPhone 4S are coming in thick and fast;  AT&T said it had ‘‘more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours alone’‘, making the iPhone 4S ‘‘the most successful iPhone launch we’ve ever had.”

Reaction to the 4S is key for Apple, because it is an indication of whether the company can continue to generate desire for its devices. Smartphones are Apple’s single-largest product category by revenue. Early consumer demand for the iPhone 4S could be shaped by an outpouring of emotion surrounding this week’s death of Jobs. Steve Jobs will be remembered as the man who had a gift for giving us easy-to-use products we did not even know we wanted.

Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, was among the first to see the potential of the mouse-driven interface for the Mac computer in the early 1980’s. He went on to develop the iPhone, iPad and iPod by excelling in an understanding of technology and popular culture. Jobs has been quoted as saying that ” It’s not the consumer’s job to know what they want.

The Sunday Times suggests ” Jobs achieved his cult status not just by being single-minded, driven, focused, perfectionist, hard-driving,  uncomprimising and a total ballbreaker – but he also made high tec so easy that even grown-ups could use it.” His ethos was – ‘You know you can do this. Its easy.’

So how will Apple survive without Steve? Will you still want the next Apple smartphone after iPhone 4S? Apparently, you will, as much of the credit for a new products’ visual and operational simplicity should also go to Apple’s brilliant British designer Jonathan Ive Ive’s believes the future of Apple is rosy as the possibilities to create new computer products, forms, and materials are endless.

Our takehome message is – if you don’t have a smartphone: iPhones are still the kings of the smartphone world, with unsurpassed access to high-quality applications and the world’s most advanced iOS 5 (operating system). Check out our latest reviews of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

Did you know that more people choose Three for their iPhone 4 than any other network? Go to our sponsored links for the latest deals.

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