iPhone 5

[Allan Edwards]

Anyone order one yet? I am getting one because my existing phone had the glass replaced (broken) and it is really poor glass, not like the factory glass. And yes, I now use the Otterbox. It appears the only real upgrade is a larger screen?

I am getting the 16GB model, I currently have only used 7GB and still have 6GB available, I really don’t see myself needing more storage. I have 600 songs loaded, and since they aren’t making any good music these days, I think I’m set.

[TWhite]

I am on the hook for 3 of them! My first smartphones.

[dlhunter]

from what I've heard the only significant differences are different size screen and different style power cord. Not exactly groundbreaking.

[Ted S.]

Let us know if you any better luck with Siri, Allan.

[Hoover]

Apple markets well.

Upgrades are 4" screen, droids have had those for 4 or 5 years, newer droid are closer to 5". Also the apple screen i believe is just longer than the 4s, not wider.

The added turn by turn direction navigation. Droids have had that for many years

I guess the increased the speed of the camera and added some camera features.

In general as others mentioned there is nothing new here. If you don't have a smartphone now, look at droids from HTC, samsung and motorola, you can get the same or better phone probably free with a contract. App prices are better for droids too

[Ohiobuilder]

I have an iPad - will the iPhone and iPad have their apps synced via iTunes?

[tjbnwi]

As long as you use the same iTunes account.

Tom

[Allan Edwards]

Let us know if you any better luck with Siri, Allan.

Siri and I don't talk to each other very much these days. I am using the microphone function to send emails and texts, I can just speak what I want to say much faster than typing it, and this works much better than Siri.

[TSJHD1]

From what I've read, the real change is the phone will now be true 4G. Apple calls the current I-phones 4th gen, but it's not 4G, it's 3G. So the I-phone 5 should see much faster downloads.

From CNET: "It's also worth noting that up until now, Apple and the carriers have played fast and loose with the definition of 4G. If you remember, AT&T iPhone 4S owners suddenly saw a 4G icon on their phones when they upgraded to iOS 5.1. That was because AT&T was calling its HSPA+ network 4G even though there was disagreement about whether the technology really qualified."

Tom

[Otis P. Driftwood]

I see Apple stock hit $699 per share today...they appear to be doing something right ?

[Allan Edwards]

I see Apple stock hit $699 per share today...they appear to be doing something right ?

I think Apple has been doing a lot of things right for the last few years. I hope they can continue.

By the way, Warren Buffet's company Berkshire Hathaway, a publicly traded stock, closed today at $132,685. per share.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BRK-A

[Ted S.]

I see Apple stock hit $699 per share today...they appear to be doing something right ?

We joke about Apple at least once a day.

What I appreciate most about Apple and/or Steve Jobs, is that he created great demand for his products, to the point people stay up all night in lines, they pay premium for the products, they put Apple bumper stickers on their cars. Its like a cult.

I do like Apple products, but I have equal appreciation for other manufacturers, my business is also much dependent on Dell and Microsoft.

I tell my guys and family that when I start designing and building houses again, they will come in white, black, and either 16, 32 or 64 MB. If a customer wants any other options, they can pound sand. Apple did it, and so will I.

[jstoddard]

Allan- my wife ordered hers (32GB). Lots of apps and/or lots of MOVIES on the phone is what burns the storage space. If you don't do much movie-making and/or off-load your media on a regular basis - then you don't need much storage space. My iPhone is 64GB and almost full, because I've installed so many apps for testing etc. and am too lazy to uninstall. I am disappointed they didn't do a 128GB model - I would have purchased that probably.

I sat through a press feed of the announcement and was going to post here but I tweeted a bunch of tweets instead in +/- real time. Like most things these days, it's "evolutionary" not "revolutionary" but I'm still going to upgrade as soon as I can on my contract.

Basically, here's the good (and bad) news from JLS's perspective -YMMV

Much faster processor
Supports 4G LTE networks (watch your battery life drain before your eyes)
20% thinner and lighter
Half an inch longer, which means you get an extra row of icons and a larger screen
Better rear and front cameras... better video quality.
Better sensors in general - I'm into apps that help you measure and document like MagicPlan - those kinds of apps should get better on this phone.

Some stuff you need third-party apps for now will be built-in...there's a Panorama mode for the camera... still pic from video... also a turn-by-turn GPS nav app. That stuff is kind of meaningless if you like other apps you're already using (most are a buck or two - big deal)

Now the "bad"

No NFC - Near Field Communication. This is perhaps the biggest omission, at least from the rumor mill. Everyone was pretty sure they'd be paying for stuff directly with their iPhone.... well not quite yet, maybe on the iPhone 6 ? There is no doubt some form of this is coming (it's already here in limited doses) but Apple didn't see fit to launch it with the iPhone 5. To be fair - "pay from device" is definitely coming, but there is really no clear standard yet and by the time there is, NFC may not be the mechanism anyway. Apple apparently didn't feel confident about that to get

Only marginal battery improvement - if any. I would have GLADLY trade the "20% thinner" for a "20% larger battery". The battery is a little bigger but I'm betting performance will be even WORSE than the 4/4S if you're using 4G LTE networks.

Very disappointed that they haven't truly migrated the admin and content management to the cloud... why are we still forced to use a locally installed version of iTunes? It's such a square peg/round hole for dealing with a phone. iCloud in its current state doesn't count - it's for something else altogether

New plug/connector. Get ready to buy lots of $20 adapters and/or cables. Most analysts think they should have gone "micro-USB" like the rest of the world... Apple says that wouldn't support everything they have "planned for the lightening connector" (they actually named the new connector). What they have planned the most is "lots and lots of accessory sales" because everything you own will need to be replaced ;-) .

JLS

[Allan Edwards]

Joe:

I did receive your tweets regarding the iphone, thanks. As to the camera, my understanding is there were no-upgrades to it?

[philthegreek]

The screen is now 16x9 aspect ration.
From what I have read, they didn't want to go any bigger because then it would be a small tablet and not a comfortable phone.
The camera was upgraded both in software and opticals.
The sensors for both front and back camera were upped in megapixels (although not by much) but they are supposedly much better in dimmer light situations. If you need more than 8 megapixels, go get a dedicated camera with real performance.
The video is true 1080p from the back (main) camera and 720 for facetime.
Much faster processor.
More efficient touch sensor and inertial sensors.

iPhone introduced in june 2007, first DROID introduced August 2008

Apple products simply work and have the best track record for reliability. I have only had one problem with any of my myriad Apple products dating back to 1989. The problem was taken care of in 4 days (total, including shipping time) to my door. The machine was 1 month out of warranty and they still took care of it NO CHARGE. I have the first iteration of the MacBook Pro, the "TiBook" and it is still a viable machine, albeit a little slow.

Apple has their market and they are selling to it. Droid has their market too. Just the way it is, that's all. We'll see what happens when Google makes their own phone, then the game will really change.

I ordered mine on Friday, come on 28th! ;-)

Phil