I'm sorry, were you expecting an iPhone 5?

You mad, bro? So, yeah, that just happened. The fifth-generation iPhone is--tada--the iPhone 4S, an evolution of the iPhone 4. It doesn't slice bread, but you can probably ask it the meaning of life and it will tell you.

I saw a lot of hate spewed out across the live blogs, comments on Engadget and MacRumors etc., and the Twitter. A lot of people failed to manage their expectations. The iPhone 4 sells like hotcakes, and so do the cases and accessories that fit it, so why would Apple change that? I know yesterday I told them to do just that, but for them to do so amidst booming sales doesn't make sense. People who will upgrade to the iPhone 4S will get a nice speed bump, a hell of a camera, a world of goodies that already work with the iPhone 4 to choose from, and will live happily ever after. People who aren't impressed will pass on that, and will live happily ever after. It's the same story every year.

They managed to cram CDMA and GSM/HSPA, a faster processor, more capacity, a better camera, AND the same/better battery life into the same small enclosure. Of course, iTunes still needs to be thrown out like the garbage that it is, and that silly 3G 20mb download restriction needs to be stabbed thoroughly, among other things. They're not perfect. But ignore the brand hate for a moment and just admire it for what it is and what it has done. The iPhone changed communications and information access for the better. I now exclusively use mine as my instant messenger, quick "let me google that for you" lookup of just about anything, podcast collector & player, and time waster (Angry Birds anyone?). I still don't keep up on Facebook like a good honest Facebookian should. But in any case, I have it all everywhere I go with me now. Try to imagine what it would be like if we were still tethered to a keyboard that's wired to a tower that's sitting on our floor next to the cable modem in order to do computer-like things.

I don't care what logo is on the stuff I use (as much as you might think I'm an Apple fanboy), but no one can deny that Apple brought it on. Their devices and interfaces have yet to be matched in many ways. I'd happily switch to my Android if it stopped hanging & rebooting, missing calls, and failing to play my music and stuff. Palm/HP failed miserably, sadly. Windows Phone 7 looks promising, I think it'll be worth a try.

Bottom line, the iPhone 4S has new, faster innards. It has features the old one doesn't have. It still has good battery life. Marvel at the mind-boggling technology that allows you to have a supercomputer in your pocket. I certainly will.

"But...but..fury... I wanted them to give it a bigger screen! And--and a thin aluminum case design! And a keyboard. Oooh, ooh, and an SD card slot so I'm not limited in how much content I can put on there!"

I think they call that a MacBook Air.