When the announcement of the eagerly anticipated iPhone 5 turned out to be an iPhone 4s, disappointment was the overwhelming response from fans and analysts. Apple shares fell and internet memes spread the word: it's just not what we expected.
But the initial reaction turns out to be a bit of an over reaction. It might be an upgrade of an existing product, but the iPhone 4s still has many advantages that will keep Apple at the top of the smartphone market, despite strong competition.
While the iPhone 4s looks the same on the outside, Apple has added an improved 8 megapixel camera and an A5 dual-core processor, and another antenna to fix the reception problems that dogged the original iPhone 4.
According to Apple, the processor it created for the iPad 2 makes graphics seven times faster. Given that some of the games available for the iPhone are a lot more sophisticated than Angry Birds, the addition of the iPad's chip turns this phone into a powerful handheld gaming console.
The processor has also been used to power the most interesting feature of the new iPhone 4s – Siri. While voice recognition has been around for a while, it has never worked well enough for everyday use.
Billed as a personal assistant, you can ask Siri anything that you would previously have gone into Google, or opened an app for. It's also handy for dictating texts and emails in perfect English. It is certainly an improvement on trying to type out a legible message on the tiny touchscreen keyboard and I would be inclined to write longer emails using this technology instead of putting them off until I could sit at a real computer.
Surprisingly, Siri can not only answer questions but respond intelligently to demands. For example, if you ask Siri to make a note of an appointment, it may well remind you that you are already booked for another event that day and ask if you would like to reschedule.
Siri also knows where you are through GPS, so you can dictate your shopping list then ask Siri to remind you to go to the supermarket when you leave work.
The iPhone 4s comes with an operating system update, iOS5. It's also free to download onto previous iPhone models, and comes with a few useful features.
The Notification Centre will be a popular addition, with one swipe on the centre of the screen revealing missed calls, text messages received and upcoming appointments.
iMessages is another useful – and money saving – feature, allowing users to send free instant messages to other iPhones, iPods or iPads over the internet.
Another mention must go to iCloud, Apple's cloud service that lets you wirelessly sync all your photos, apps, music, video, ebooks, email and calendars to your other gadgets.
On the downside, standby time is shorter, at 200 hours instead of 300. But overall, this is a great upgrade to the iPhone 4. Those who upgraded to the iPhone 4 may want to wait and see until the iPhone 5 does eventually appear, but for those who are using an iPhone 3Gs or who have not made the switch to smartphones should certainly consider this model.