The world of smartphones has some very unique setups. You have the seemingly endless array of Android-based phones, which collectively lead the market but don’t have one dominant superstar.

Other systems, like Windows Phone or Blackberry, also rely on a group attack, though they are much less successful.

And finally, we have Apple – who takes a whole different tactic: Release 1 phone, the mythical iPhone, every 12-15 months and sell a ton of them.

The latest shiny new smartphone from Apple is the iPhone 4S, which wasn’t changed enough from the iPhone 4 in some people’s minds, but still offers some very impressive updates.

I recently tested the Verizon edition of the iPhone 4S (it’s also on AT&T and Sprint), and here’s a quick look at what it has to offer.

LOOKS

In terms of shape and size, the iPhone 4S is pretty much identical to the iPhone 4. Its 3.5-inch screen is smaller than most new phones being released these days, which will be good news for some people who don’t want a huge screen and bad news for people who do want that extra real estate.

I must credit Apple for the high quality of the materials used on the iPhone 4S. The glass used on both front and back make it much less likely you’ll cause any http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifmajor http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifdamage to the phone.

There had been rumors that the iPhone 4S would get a larger screen and become more flat and wide, like an iPod Touch style, and I really wish that would have happened. One of my biggest knocks on the iPhone line is the smaller screen, which I’m not a fan of. I would prefer at least a 4.0 inch screen (no need to delve into 4.3 or higher like Android does, but 3.5 is just a little too small for my tastes, especially when it comes to typing on the on-screen keyboard.)

To continue reading the full review, including a video, click here.