YTechCity.com

So you’ve waiting this long to see what magical amazingness Apple will bring with its new iPhone. A large number of you, us included, was hoping for a revolutionary device with a radically new design and out-of-this world features.

Unfortunately, we were all desperately disappointed. The world waited for a completely new iPhone, instead Apple gave us an iPhone 4 rehash and called it “the most amazing iPhone yet”. While amazing, the iPhone 4S is not, many are still wondering if it is a worthwhile buy.

However, considering the 18-month gap between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the new features are barely enough to keep up with the blistering pace of mobile phone developments. By the end of the year, the iPhone 4S will be overshadowed by faster, more powerful devices running not just Android but Windows Phone as well.

So, should you upgrade to the iPhone 4S?

The two most compelling features of the iPhone 4S is the 8MP camera and the A5 processor (we don’t consider Siri a notable feature due to the lack of native language support and the different user habits of Asian users which is not necessarily complementary with the service). These improvements will indeed offer appreciable performance boost to the user but is it worth the investment? We don’t think so. If you’re already using an iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S offers only incremental improvements not worthy of an upgrade. If you’re on the iPhone 3GS, purchasing an iPhone 4S is certainly justifiable — that is if you’re only interested in iOS devices. But if you are open to adopting any one of the prominent mobile platforms available today, you’ll quickly see that it gets increasingly difficult to make a case for the iPhone 4S.

As it is, the current crop of Android devices are superior to the iPhone 4S. The Galaxy S II for example, was launched 6 months before the iPhone 4S and despite having “older” tech, the Samsung is arguably better in almost every aspect. The same can be said with the HTC Sensation.

We predict the iPhone 4S could come to Malaysia in October 28 at the earliest or in time for the year-end holiday season at the latest. In this period, we see a number of smartphones coming into the market, with almost all offering vastly improved hardware and performance compared to the iPhone 4S.

Don’t have time to sit down for over an hour to catch up on the whole iPhone 4S keynote? Here’s a compressed 90 seconds version perfect for your lunch time viewing. We’ll have to warn you though, its all numbers, numbers and more numbers.

Yes have just opened registration for the beta version of its Yes Life app for Android. You’ll need a Yes ID to sign-up and the app is not available in the Android Market just yet.

Only devices running Android 2.1 and above are supported. To sign-up click here. Yes has not mentioned when the final version of the app will be released. But considering that the beta is being distributed to the public at the moment, it going to be just a matter of weeks till the final version is released.

We’ve gotten our hands on the beta version of the application and we have to say it is much more polished than the iOS version with loads more useful features added making it much more conducive to use.

The debate between Apple’s iOS and Android can get heated pretty quickly. I (in some cases) would rank someone’s mobile OS preference right up there with their political views. It can get that serious.

But whether you prefer Google’s open platform, or Apple’s more fenced-off approach, you have to agree with one thing: Both OSes are killing it. The proof is in the numbers, as 9to5Mac points out in Millennial Media’s Mobile Mix report…

In August, the mobile advertising firm tracked which mobile operating systems folks were using. And out of Millennial Media’s 15,000 users, 54% were using Android, 28% were using iOS, and only 13% were using RIM’s BlackBerry OS.

Perhaps the most surprising number was that only 1% of users were sporting Windows Phone OS, which a lot of folks believed to be gaining traction in the market. Obviously this research doesn’t cover every mobile user, but it is indicative.

When it comes to hardware, Apple topped the other manufacturers. Of those tracked in last month’s Mobile Mix report, 23.19% were using Apple devices, followed by HTC at 16.33% and Samsung at 14.55%. Palm came in last at 0.22%.

With the Cupertino company rumored to be announcing multiple new devices this Fall, on multiple new carriers, it’ll be interesting to see what these results look like in 6 months. How much will Android’s share decrease? How much will Apple’s share increase?

Finally U Mobile has released the full details for its Samsung Galaxy S II offer. As reported earlier, the Galaxy S II is offered as low as RM849 with 24 months contract of U Premium’s RM168/month plan, while DiGi offering Samsung Galaxy S II from RM1349.

While that option is quite heavy for some, there are other lower options which are surprisingly affordable ranging between RM999 to RM1499. The best part is the contract duration of only 18 months instead of 24.

For example, those that want the least commitment and cost of ownership, the Galaxy S II is offered at RM1499 on U Lite plan. The U Lite plan offers combined 300 minutes of calls, 200 SMS (within U Mobile and for other networks) and a rather generous 3GB worth of data for just RM68/month. That totals up to RM1,224 for subscription over 18 months and you get to enjoy RM875 subsidy for the phone. On other telcos, RM68/month only give you mobile internet without any calls/sms included.

Overall, these plans aren’t too bad at all and probably is the lowest ownership plan for the Galaxy S II. The only downside of course is the upfront payment which you would need to pay as much as 7 months in advance. That doesn’t necessary mean its a bad thing since you would be paying for subscription anyway.

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