iPhone 4s

[. .]

Some key specs:

Weight: 4.9 ounces (140 grams) [+3 grams over 4, +5 grams over 3gs]

Standby Time: 200 hours* [down from 300 on 4 and 3gs]

*corrected – thanks Kyle.

[Ryan Elsey]

but the iPhone 4 weighs 4.8 oz why would would any self respecting bpl member upgrade?

[Kier Selinsky]

Why even take a smartphone on the trail anyways? If you're anywhere where you'd need GPS, you're not going to have cell reception anyways. And the battery life of them just aren't multi-day worthy (especially not with it hunting for a signal the whole time).

[Eric Lundquist]

The GPS function operates independently from any cellular reception meaning you can find your location (if you preloaded the maps) without coverage.

The performance gains are really not that impressive IMO. For gaming probably, but I don't do very much of that. Faster download speeds are nice though.

[Cayenne Redmonk]

GPS works FINE outside of cellular coverage.

Turning off the constant search for cellular signal saves battery life.

[Ken K]

>> Why even take a smartphone on the trail anyways?

GPS, still camera, video camera, notepad, backup compass, evening reading, music/audio-books, apps that help with plant and animal recognition, apps for first aid or learning knots, route tracing, alarm clock… the list goes on and on. I'd take mine even if it didn't have a phone.

That said, the iPhone 4S is underwhelming. I don't mind the speed & performance of my 3GS. I'd love to have the faster chip and better camera, but it's not enough to induce iStupidity. I want a bigger screen, a more durable aluminum case, much longer battery life, and more power management options (widgets to shut off power-hungry features, on-demand under-clocking, simple band/frequency management & shut-off, etc), and the option to keep settings after a reboot (radio off).

In my dream world, I'd start adding some fun stuff (altimeter, barometer, thermometer with hi/low memory, laser pointer. The fun stuff wouldn't keep me from buying… but did I mention the super battery life?

[Jesse H.]

It's kinda nice as a sprint customer, I now have the option, I love my epic 4g though, its a beast…

[joseph peterson]

My EVO lasts 5 days when used heavily as a camera, including taking HD video. I have a couple thousand hiking photos I have taken the last year. I recently got a second battery for longer trips.

[Jason G]

yup, pretty much what kevin said. Its a very useful backcountry device. but sure, its not for EVERYone.

kev, You should jailbreak your iphone. its pretty easy and it has widgets (sb settings) to turn stuff on/off to help with bat. It also allows you to disable multitasking so apps don't stay running when you close them (you can do it manually) . Just check youtube for instructional videos. You might wait till iOS 5 comes out along with the jailbreak for it.

[Tommy Smith]

4GS…the S stands for "sigh"

I was a little underwhelmed by it also. It doesn't bring enough to the table for me to worry about upgrading until the 5 comes out.

[Kier Selinsky]

Ah – did some research and see what you're saying now. For my Android's battery to last more than 8 hours in the backcountry, I have to put into Airplane mode (all antennas off). In airplane mode, my GPS is very inaccurate. After doing some research, I see that this is a motorola issue, not something experienced by all smartphones as I had presumed.

[Kyle Meyer]

Standby Time: 200 minutes [down from 300 on 4 and 3gs]

Just to clarify, it's 200 hours, not minutes. That said, in an area of weak or nonexistent signal, you'd get much less than that without keeping the phone on airplane mode. I am personally very excited for this new toy. Siri (a virtual personal assistant) seems amazing and will simplify a lot of use cases for people.

[Ryan Tir]

I ALWAYS take my iPhone on trips. On weekend trips, the battery will last the entire weekend if you turn OFF all radios as soon as you go in. No point having it on and blasting RF and burning through the battery for a non-existent network.

I carry it because it's a great stargazing tool, backup flashlight, compass, gps and entertainment. Given the right app, it doesn't need data to use GPS. The built-in compass can be useful, and some other fancier apps can use augmented reality to orient yourself.

The 4 has a great camera. If the promise of the new 8MP sensor and optics are true, then it can replace your point and shoot too. I carry an SLR backpacking (yes, I know…but I just can't get what I want out of point and shoots), and it's a 6MP body.

[Kyle Meyer]

Yet another reason to get an iPhone 4S — buying the final product created by a vigorously authentic, inspired visionary that changed the world we live in. We could all learn something from his philosophy of living every day like it was his last, and requiring the best from himself and the people around him as a result.

Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

[Ryan Tir]

All products for the next 10 years probably have large contributions from Jobs. More importantly, all upper management and major players in Apple must have been handpicked by Jobs himself. Apple today, in its strongest and best form, IS Steve Jobs.

[John Martin]

Every time you hear one man can't make a difference think of Steve Job.

I have had every iphone that has been released to the public.

I am not really sure I will upgrade to the 4S

To me, the only viable reason for upgrading (as a hiker) if you already have the 4 is the 1080 video abilities. However, anybody who already shoots 1080 knows that the memory usage is much greater, which means we who want it to shoot 1080 are going to have to spend the big bucks to get the 64gig version. However, at that, I think a person would be hard pressed to find any other 1080 camera out there that can also do everything else the phone could do, and at about the same weight factor, so if a person does not have a video camera, needs one for a hike, already has a phone and is looking for another one, it seems like the 4S *could be* a viable alternative.

As for Siri… somebody shoot it and get the pain and suffering done and over with!

[Kyle Meyer]

Siri is actually the culmination of hundreds of millions of dollars of research sponsored by DARPA starting back in 2003 with over two hundred of the brightest minds working on the problem. This is simply the beginning of another world changing technology—one that will start simple but grow into a brilliant piece of software that people will wonder how they lived without. Much live the mac, the iPod, the iPhone, etc.

Of course, that will take vision and hopefully that vision didn't die yesterday.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

Well said Kyle. May a little bit of Steve Jobs take root in all of us.

-H

[Emmett Lyman]

I usually take my phone because I hate the idea of returning to my car to find a window broken and my phone stolen. Probably not really compelling as I could just leave it at home, but I guess deep down I'm addicted to being connected.

At any rate, the 4S's camera might be getting close to trail-worthy. Still needs a better battery and a "quick startup mode" for taking photos and videos easily without keeping the phone on all the time, but it's headed in the right direction. I'll be happy when my phone can replace my camera on trail, since (per the above) I'm likely to have it anyway. :-)

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