Taylor Hatmaker for Tecca, reporting on the 6 biggest technology flops of 2011 (an article with the URL ‘worst-technology-of-2011’):

3. iPhone 4S

Man, that iPhone 4S was a total disaster, wasn’t it? I mean, apart from the record sales and the new technology inside it, obviously.

While it’s no flop when it comes to sales figures, the iPhone 4S remains one of 2011’s biggest consumer letdowns.

So, hang on: the iPhone 4S is not a sales flop, just a consumer letdown? I guess that explains the huge number of consumers that bought one, and why it’s been included it in an article entitled ‘A Year In Fail: The 6 biggest technology flops of 2011’ and not ‘The 6 biggest consumer letdowns for people who were expecting digital unicorns’.

Earlier this year, Apple’s iPad 2 upped its prececessor’s [sic] appeal considerably, slimming the original slate down while speeding it up — but it’s tough to not be disappointed by the iconic company’s most recent handset.

*no new form-factor sadface*

Apple’s newest iteration of the iPhone is certainly nothing to sneeze at — it’s still one of the fastest, best-looking smartphones on the block — but it’s no iPhone 5.

*NO NEW FORM-FACTOR SADFACE*

After spending the better part of the year salivating over a reinvented iPhone with a larger screen, a thinner profile, and other untold Apple-flavored wonders,

All of which were ‘announced’ by rumours coming from unnamed and unreliable ‘sources’, natch, and not Apple itself…

Apple aficionados were presented with the iPhone 4S — a nominal upgrade over the previous model that touted the now much-parodied Siri app as its main selling point.

That is, if we ignore the camera upgrade, faster CPU, and redesigned antenna. But these things count for nothing if the body is the same, clearly.

While Siri is a capable (if at times perhaps too capable) virtual companion, 2011 is still an off-year when it comes to the world’s must-have gadget. Patience is a virtue, and all eyes are on 2012’s iPhone to up the ante.

Because in becoming the fastest-selling Apple iPhone ever, the iPhone 4S didn’t up the ante at all. Still, maybe next year everyone will be happy. Oh no, hang on a sec, next year will be exactly the same, with people predicting summer iPhone-shaped unicorns and getting all disappointed when Tim Cook and chums ‘only’ present a new iPhone, the fools!