Now that folks have had a couple of days to play with Apple’s latest smartphone, the reviews are rolling in. Siri is awesome (when the server’s not down), iOS 5 feels super quick, and the 8MP camera takes gorgeous photos.

But Apple’s new handset doesn’t come without its flaws, and one of them that has been repeatedly pointed out is its battery life. Even with its major hardware upgrades, the iPhone 4S was still supposed to have outstanding battery life. But does it?

Given how much folks tend to play with new gadgets initially, it’s no surprise that some are seeing the device’s battery drain quicker than usual. But if you believe that your battery isn’t lasting as long as it should, you might try out some of these tips.

Note: Keep in mind that these tips are a bit extreme, and you shouldn’t have to turn off every setting in your iPhone to get reasonable battery life.

1. Turn off Location Services

It seems like almost every app nowadays uses your location in some fashion, and all of that GPS work can drain your battery. Just open up the Settings app, and select Location Services. Keep in mind that if you turn off all location services, you’ll lose the ability to use Find My iPhone. So you may want to shut apps off individually and leave that one running.

2. Turn off Wi-Fi

This is kind of a no brainer. Enabled Wi-Fi means another radio is running, and using battery. It’s even worse if your Wi-Fi is on when you’re not connected to a specific network and your phone is constantly searching. Turn it off by opening the Settings app, and selecting Wi-Fi.

3. Make sure Bluetooth is off

This is another no-brainer. Even though the iPhone 4S uses low-powered Bluetooth 4.0, leaving it on still means another radio is running. Turn it off by launching the Settings app, selecting General, and then Bluetooth.

4. Shut off Push data

Having your new emails automatically pushed to you is pretty convenient, but once again it will cost you battery life. Turn it off by opening Settings, selecting Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and then Fetch New Data.

5. Turn off Vibration

If you receive a lot of phone calls, messages or alerts, your phone’s vibrator is working overtime. If you don’t absolutely need it, you can save precious battery life by turning it off. Open up the Settings app, and select Sounds.

6. Make sure Auto-Brightness is on

This feature adjusts your display’s brightness according to the lighting of your current environment. This keeps the display from being constantly at its brightest. To check it out, open the Settings app, and select Brightness.

7. Make sure Auto-Lock is on 1 Minute

By default, Auto-Lock is set to one minute. That’s because the longer the iPhone’s display is left on, the more battery it uses. If it’s set to longer than one minute, you’ll notice a major difference in battery life by lowering it. Adjust this in the Settings app by selecting General, and then Auto-Lock.

8. Turn off Cellular Data

If you get poor cell reception at your home or place of business, you might try turning off Cellular Data if you don’t need it. Searching for service weighs heavily on your battery. Turn it off in Settings by selecting General, and then Network.

9. Turn the Equalizer off

The iPhone’s Music app has an EQ feature that alters its sound output according to your music preference. Because these adjustments happen on the fly, your battery suffers. Switch this off by going to Settings, tapping on Music and then EQ.

10. If all else fails, try a Restore

Restoring your iPhone as a new device (not from a backup) can work wonders, and in this case it can erase any problematic data or settings that may be causing your battery to drain. Do this by hooking up your iPhone to your computer, and clicking Restore. Make sure you set it up as a new device.

Another thing to keep in mind is how much power Siri uses. Not only is information being processed on the iPhone, but there is also data transferring back and forth with Apple’s servers. Using this feature frequently can certainly affect battery life.

Do you have any pointers for saving battery life? Let us know below!