New iPhone 4S: Top 5 letdowns

Apple's new iPhone 4S has some impressive upgrades, including voice controls, a faster processor, and a better camera. But to millions of tech fans hoping to be dazzled by Apple's latest creation, the 4S is, well, a tad disappointing. Here are the top pre-launch rumors that didn't come true:

No 4-inch, Curved, or Edge-to-Edge Display

The iPhone 4S' stunning 3.5-inch "retina" display is no improvement over the iPhone 4's screen, which debuted way back in June 2010--an eternity (or longer) in the mobile arena. Since then, competing Android phones have gone behemoth in a big way. In fact, four of the top five handsets on PCWorld's Top 10 Cell Phones chart have 4-inch or larger screens. All are Android models.

So whatever happened to the rumored edge-to-edge or curved glass screen on the next-gen iPhone? Not this year, apparently.

No New Design

The iPhone 4S' (unofficial) motto: Same on the outside, better on the inside. If you were expecting a daring teardrop shape, or something truly cutting-edge such as a pico projector to project images onto a nearby surface, today's unveiling had to be a bummer.

No 4G

The iPhone 4S is a 3G-capable handset, just like its predecessor. But numerous rumors had suggested Apple would launch a 4G-enabled iPhone in the fall.

Alas, this isn't the case, although Apple today did trumpet iPhone 4S' ability to double the theoretical maximum HSDPA data speed to a 4G-like 14.4 Mbps.

That said, the growing number of 4G phones on the market does make the iPhone 4S seem behind the times--at least in terms of data speeds.

No Sprint Exclusive

OK, this was by far the dumbest of the pre-launch rumors, but I'm sure somebody, somewhere believed it: the next-gen iPhone would launch exclusively on Sprint!

Sure, makes tons of sense. Apple's going to snub the two biggest U.S. wireless carriers to sign an exclusive deal with the third-place guy.

Didn't come to pass, of course. The good news, though, is that Sprint is getting the iPhone 4S--along with AT&T and Verizon Wireless, naturally.

No iPhone 5

Despite months of "iPhone 5" scuttlebutt, Apple's magical 5th-gen phone--with its teardrop shape, 4.5-inch curved edge-to-edge display, pico projector, and 5G 100 Mbps service--simply failed to materialize.

Oh, well. Let the new iPhone rumors begin!

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com.

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