[tbob22]

1. The only shots with a shallow DOF are the macro shots, this is standard for any point and shoot or modern phone camera.

2. Agreed. But it seems like a lot more post-processing was done on the 4S video, which may have reduced the compression artifacts.

3. That scene looks like it was shot on an overcast day. Even with my Epic 4G it would not be difficult to get that level of shadow detail.