My plan was to get an iPhone 5 but I was offered a good deal on a 4S so took it (previously I’ve had a 3 and a 4 but at the time was on a rubbish old blackberry). I am sure the 5 will be a step forward but the 4S is a great device, I use that term intentionally as I hardly make/receive any phone calls. I use my iPhone for text, email, web browsing and apps inc Skype (so super cheap phone calls abroad via WiFi).
IMO the iPhone is the absolute market leader. Everyone else is trying to play catch up. I have no doubt some of the competitors have individual features which are better than the iPhone but as an all round package to me it’s the best.
I confess we are now an Apple household (5 people), computers, phones and iPad. This is due to the fact the devices work very well and connect together effortlessly, much much better than the comparison. The sort of thing I get a kick out of is streaming YouTube, Vimeo, BBC iPlayer to my TV using the iPhone as the browser and AppleTV (£100)