Apple iPhone 4S really satisfies as iPhone 5, iPad 3 loom

Tis the season of the Apple [AAPL] iPhone 4S, which the latest surveys say is even more "satisfying" than the iPhone 4. The 'iCompany' isn't asleep, it plans to pile even more pressure on Android next year when the LTE-equipped iPhone 5 and iPad 3 hit the streets. Read on...

The iPhone 4S shivers with success

We know millions of iPhone 4S units are selling. We know Apple stores across the US ran out of stock on Black Friday and we know the device has driven major smartphone marketshare gains in the UK. Things look good.

Today's latest Changewave survey data suggests this trend's going to be sustained by the happy chatter of super-satisfied customers telling their mates just how good their new iPhone 4S has turned out to be.

That's because iPhone 4S satisfaction ratings are higher than those found in a July 2010 survey of iPhone 4 new owners. What features are people most enjoying? Take a look at the chart below: Siri, the camera, super-fast Web browsing and ease-of-use lead the user experience, the survey claims

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[ABOVE: This isn't good -- this iPhone allegedly caught fire during flight.]

Weak point: battery life

Battery life remains the biggest challenge. 38 percent of owners say it is too short, while another 30 percent complain at the lack of LTE/4G support. I'd note that beyond a few spots in the US, 4G is all hype and of no use at all. This changes next year as carriers worldwide begin switching their networks on.

Apple is theoretically working away to create a software patch to improve battery life, but a previous attempt has pretty much failed, according to the sundry reports I've glanced through.

Battery life seems set to be a long-term problem for everyone in the industry, pending new innovations in mobile power and charge. Battery concerns are compounded by two reports of iPhone 4S units catching fire

[ABOVE: What people most like about the iPhone 4S.]

The rumor machine

Innovation shouldn't sleep. At Apple, there's plans already for a deluge of promising new iProducts set for introduction in 2012. These include the iPhone 5, multiple varieties of iPad and an Apple-branded iTunes-happy television set.

The iPhone 5 will indeed host a new processor, LTE support and support forNFC technology. Weekend indications claimed the gadget may boast a 4-inch screen.

Nikkei Business has confirmed the iPad 3 will also boast LTE support, based on revelations from NTT DoCoMo, which is attempting to reach a deal to offer the device.

Apple has reached a recent deal with Sharp for the delivery of screens for the iPad 3, investing in factories for the production of thinner high resolution displays for the device.

Business Insider confirms yet more speculation on the Apple-branded television from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. As I've predicted before, the analyst expects the device to be made available in a number of configurations and to be controlled by Siri voice instruction.

You can expect all the features of a television, with added iTunes and iOS integration and numerous sophisticated features to make your couch potato experience even easier. Maybe.

Real pester power

Whatever devices Apple does bring to market in 1H 2012 will immediately benefit from one factor none of its competitors can claim to have: customer satisfaction.

This hype isn't purchased except through the release of products people actually like. This word-of-mouth recommendation depends entirely on the company pleasing its people. You can't buy an experience or a support group like that, you achieve it only by delivering what people want. No one else has this.

Right now, people enjoy the experience of using Apple products. Because they enjoy them they discuss them with friends. This creates a word-of-mouth-driven halo which means with each successive product release, Apple should have a larger interested group of first mover consumers. Thus each successive iDevice release should gain even more traction than that which preceded it, just so long as the company doesn't drop the ball.

It now seems Apple intends accelerating its product release schedules and diversifying its range (iPad 2 at low price, a retina display model and a super-fast iPad 3 are rumored), thus gathering momentum to give competitors -- particularly the insecure, malware-driven and spy software-infested Android products -- a very, very tough challenge in 2012.