iPhone 5 worth the hype
Like many I was anxious to see if all the rumors were true about the iPhone 5.
So I tuned in Wednesday into the Engadgets live blog of the event and sure enough everything we saw was true.
The biggest thing for me was the reaction after everybody started to see and hear what changed between the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. A lot of my friends and people I talked to were not impressed.
The biggest question that I have is “What features did they miss?” I usually get back the same answer: “I don’t know.”
With the iPhone 4s, Apple had a great phone. It looked good; it felt good in your hand, and it was fast and people loved it. The problem is that people get tired of the same iPhone and the same look and many people wanted that bigger screen. So that’s what Apple did, and, in my opinion, did what the company always did. It made a great phone with a great new look and upgraded almost every part of the phone. This phone matches up spec- to- spec with every phone out and it got the Apple spin.
So let’s go ahead and cover exactly what changed with the new iPhone.
Look:The look you see on the Internet is exactly the final look Apple went with. The part I like about the new look is the that the outside of the phone is made of aluminum and glass.
The iPhone 5 is 15 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter. If you like the look and feel of your old iPhone, you will love this one.
Taller: One of the features that everyone has been waiting for us the bigger screen. Apple made the screen taller versus wider. The size of the screen will be 4 inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Processor: One of the biggest questions about the new iPhone was what processor will Apple put in it? Will it be the a5 chip in the new iPad or will Apple go with the newest a6 chip. Well I am proud that Apple went with the a6 chip, which will make this phone a huge upgrade from the 4s speed. It also is 22 percent smaller than the A5, and reportedly has twice the CPU power and twice the graphical power inside, according to Apple.
LTE: The other big question was whether apple would include the talked about lte comparability everyone has been talking about. Again the answer -yes. If you are not aware LTE is the next generation of data speed you get from your phone provider. Speeds can reach speeds as fast as some wireless hot spots.
Smaller dock connector: Apple has ditched the old 20 pin connector and went with a much smaller dock connected called the lighting connector. This does mean without a bulky adapter all of your old chargers are now useless. Overall, Apple did not spend too much talking about the new iPhone. Still, many already were aware of a lot of the changes because it was so hard to keep secret. Apple focused on its new iPod and iPod nano. Apple also showed off its new iTunes with enhanced feature and much more information about all artists. The look of the new iTunes is similar to the look on its mobile devices.
New Headphones: Remeber those old Apple headphones that you see everywhere? Well apple has changed the look and feel of those too for comfort in your ear and acoustics.
iOS 6 Features: Apple also talked again about its much anticipated iOS 6 and all of its new features including maps, FaceTime, Facebook, shared photos stream, improved mail apps, Passbook, Siri understanding more languages and more. This is exciting for many iPhone users because the easiest way to improve technology is to improve the software it runs.
So what are you waiting for? Dump that Blackberry and join the rest of us.
Erik Hoffman is a web designer and computer consultant. He has run a computer consulting company for the past four years where he enhanced businesses by designing and developing user-friendly websites that have helped companies reach targeted revenues.
Apple fan girls like the balding Erik Hoffman will love the iPhone 5 I’m sure. The only thing i see that is good is LTE, .5 inch taller screen? pffft. .5 taller, .5 wider, i would want it. iOS 6? the 4s gets all the benefits. A6 chip? I’m not worried about Angry Birds opening 3ms faster. New head phones? They suck as much as any stock headphones. Smaller Dock? No thanks, i don’t feel like spending another several hundred dollars to upgrade all my iPhone music players that haven’t even been made yet. Not to mention, ive heard alot of complaints about the iPhone, the size of the connector has never been one of them. Mr. Jobs is probably shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the iPhone 5.
So my beef is with the dock connector/charger. Did they really need to do that? How frustrating and potentially expensive for the consumer. I think on principle they have tested my patience with this one, and not sure I’m going to stay a loyal iPhone customer (I have the 4S and it’s just fine for me for now). Seems like the competitors have caught up with a lot of the great features, too.