Five Reasons to Avoid the iPhone 4S at All Costs

You know the six reasons to buy an iPhone 4S. But what are the reasons you should stay away? 5. Contrary to Popular(!?) Belief, You Don't Need an iPhone 4S to get iOS 5 Despite Apple's AAPL promotional campaign – which has made it fairly clear that iPhone 3 and 4 users can run iOS 5 – there are some consumers who think you need an iPhone 4S to take advantage of the new iOS. While Apple Store specialists will surely tell you that the iPhone 4S is the “best away” to use iOS 5, it is not essential. In fact, you don't even need an iPhone to use iOS 5, as the iPad and iPod Touch (third and fourth generation) can also run the operating system. 4. Your Existing Camera is Good Enough If it's not Siri people are talking about, it's the eight megapixel camera. Sure, that camera is nice. Yes, it will produce better results than the dated snap-shooter that's built into the original iPhone 4. But is it worth the cost of an entirely new phone? No. Seriously, no. I highly encourage you to resist the urge to flush money down the toilet to take what you perceive to be a better photograph. As many experts have pointed out, most photos are stored on computers, on blogs, and on our phones. In all three cases, anything above four megapixels will be wasted. If you plan to print a 4x6, 5x9 or larger photo, it is better to have a higher megapixel camera. But while most people plan to print a lot of photos, very few actually do. Most consumers simply post ‘em to Facebook, a place where low-resolution imagery reigns supreme. Your photos could be enormous and beautiful but Facebook will still shrink them down to a more manageable, website-friendly size.

3. The Competition is Growing There are many people who like the iPhone simply because it's an Apple product. That's fine. But if you bought (or plan to buy) an iPhone because it's the best phone available, take note: Samsung is doing everything it can to build a superior product. While the Galaxy S II may not be everything consumers had hoped for, it is one step closer to mirroring the iPhone experience, all the while adding improvements and doing whatever it can to avoid being another generic copycat. Google GOOG is constantly making improvements to the Android platform as well. Despite a few significant delays, Android is a growing brand. And now that Google has acquired a company that manufactures cell phone, there's a good chance that the search engine giant is getting ready to launch a full-scale assault on all things Apple.

2. Long Lines and Auction Prices Suck If you didn't pre-order the iPhone 4S, you are going to have a nightmare of a weekend trying to track one down. Where's the fun in that? Who has the time to drive back and forth between the Apple Store, Best Buy BBY, Target TGT, and other retailers? Who has the desire to hunt online for a retailer that still has one in stock? Who in their right mind would pay $1,600 for a device that retails for well under $1,000? No one except the most devoted Apple fan, obviously. If that person isn't you, don't let yourself get sucked into the iPhone 4S hype machine. 1. iPhone 5 is Just Around the Corner With a speculated release date of June 2012, the iPhone 5 is less than 12 months away. It will surely come with all of the bells and whistles of the iPhone 4S, plus a few new features – and a faster processor. If you don't need every single update Apple releases, you might as well wait. Follow me @LouisBedigian