Local deals site modifies giveaway to accommodate launch of iPhone 4S

Posted on October 7th, 2011. Written by Rico.

It took a while, but local group-buying site Gupo has finally caught up with the news that Apple’s latest phone is named the iPhone 4S—not the iPhone 5 as widely speculated before the product’s launch last Wednesday.

Last week, we wrote that Gupo was giving away the “iPhone 5″. The site, which offers a new deal daily, was raffling off two units of the rumored gadget in an effort to attract more customers. Gupo even adorned its home page with a banner calling for entries:

A visit to the site now shows a different banner however:

The mechanics remain the same, as revealed by this tongue-in-cheek message from the site:

My oh my oh my. Who’d have expected these sudden turn of events? Steve Jobs (RIP) had an astounding legacy, and it’s NOT the iPhone 5. It’s the Phone of the Future.

We’ve all heard it and seen what it can do. If you were wondering, YES, we are still ON with our Gupo Apple iPhone Raffle, but this time the prizes are changed in the ultimately awaited [sic] Apple iPhone 4s!

…Same raffle terms and conditions apply. If your friend wins, both of you get an Apple iPhone 4s…

The official launch of the iPhone 4S ended months of speculation. It features more powerful processor and graphics relative to its predecessor, a fast high-resolution camera, and a voice assistant that Apple claimed could understand natural language questions.

Reception to the smartphone was lukewarm. Some quarters even expressed disappointment, with the iPhone 4S’ hardware improvements less obvious due to its similar form factor to the iPhone 4. Reaction to the gadget however was overshadowed by news of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ death.