New iPhone (5) Reviews Thread

[Prestidigitweeze]

Here's my seven-year-old post on the irony of calling Apple users sheep. It's a bit of ancient web history, but it actually still applies.

The Irony of Calling iPod Users Sheep

Pos or neg, any reaction based on the projected personality of a mere brand name is evidence that one is being pulled to pasture by the tinkling collar.

[5thWiggle]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Personally, I'm still waiting for the iClaudius.

It's been several centuries now.

Would you settle for the meClaudius?

[david_e]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

...But it is part of Apple's success that quite a large number of people buy Apple products because they are Apple products, because they trust that what Apple brings to the table is what they want. And these people will most probably keep on buying Apple unless Apple disappoints them or others bring out some really exciting products.

It is my impression that non-Apple users in general do more research before they buy a product (a simple necessity because there are so many different choices available).

This pretty much sums it up. I don't have to do any research, just decide what size hard drive and how much memory I need.

[Prestidigitweeze]

I don't know that I'd make generalizations about any group based on its most conspicuous members. That strategy tends to punish everyone else for various obnoxious individuals' excesses.

=======

In case this is lost on anyone:

Hans and I both have a history of using Apple and non-Apple devices. This means that every time we define the behavior of the Apple or non-Apple user, we're actually defining our own behavior. This will hold true until some further distinction or limitation is added to each definition of each user group.

Could we please get back to discussing reviews and the technical aspects of the iP5 versus other phones? If people want to talk about the iP5 as an e-reader, or the differences, if any, in readability between the iP4 and 5, then that's fine as well.

===========

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

Would you settle for the meClaudius?

5thWiggle: That's hilarious, yet even now, I'm paying for having watched it: The ghost of my English teacher mom is tugging at my bib and gazing at me with a worried expression as she complains about the number of kiddies who will watch that clip and use first-person pronouns incorrectly.

The worm inching across the credit mosaic is classic.

[darksaber35]

My female friend ordered a 16gb model iphone 5 a few days ago and i went with her into a phone shop yesterday on the off chance that they might have one to look at as she was getting concerned about all the negative press regarding this phone.

She is so glad she did as she has now cancelled her order saving herself £600.00 +pounds The build quality of her iPhone 4s is far better.
This phone feels cheap to me and the extra screen space does not make that much difference.

Most of the new features are software updates and can be updated to the old phone just buy adding ISO 6.The Camera is almost the same as 4s just a few tweaks.

Apple has not made any real upgrade on the IPhone since the 4. So my advice is to keep your iphone 4s if you have one or do what she did and go Buy a Samsung Galaxy S3 which appears to be a better phone in all respects including price .

You also have the advantage of being able to get the galaxy S3 unlocked at a reasonable price unlike the Iphone 5 as it will set you back even more money.

As for the GPS and mapping what can i say, according the mapping we where currently standing in the middle of a lake that was roughly 24 kilometers from our real position i drew out my trusty nexus 7 to assure her that we where not standing in a lake and my nexus gave a true reading to our position via google maps

For the rest of the day when ever she mentioned iphone 5 it brought a big smile to my face so i can see why the iphone 5 makes there users so happy
Apple

SAMSUNG Galaxy S3 £415.00 UNLOCKED
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Gala...9464042&sr=1-1

Iphone 5 £679.00 LOCKED
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-iPhone...9462734&sr=8-1

Phone 4S 16GB £434.99 UNLOCKED
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-iPhone...ef=pd_sim_ce_3

[frahse]

Originally Posted by darksaber35

---

As for the GPS and mapping what can i say, according the mapping we where currently standing in the middle of a lake that was roughly 24 kilometers from our real position i drew out my trusty nexus 7 to assure her that we where not standing in a lake and my nexus gave a true reading to our position via google maps

For the rest of the day when ever she mentioned iphone 5 it brought a big smile to my face so i can see why the iphone 5 makes there users so happy
Apple

-

Truly, I can now say that the iPhone 5 makes me happy also!

That is just too rich!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I've decided either to buy an Android phone like the Galaxy S3

The SIII has a really poor camera. Don't buy one. You'll regret it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

DON'T TRY TO BE THE FIRST IN LINE EVERY TIME TO GET THE NEWEST UNPROVED PRODUCT!

The charger that comes with the iPhone is the same one that comes with the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, & 4s. The only difference is the cable and plug on the iPhone 5. But the charger itself is exactly the same. It can even be plugged into a USB port on a computer to charge. I've even used a Sony Reader USB charger to charge an iPad.

[JSWolf]

The iPhone 5 is not a significantly better phone then the 4s. But it is significantly better then the 3G. I had a 3G before I got the 5 and I really do like the 5.

It's like the iPad2 vs. the iPad. Not enough reason to upgrade. But the New iPad was reason enough to upgrade.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The SIII has a really poor camera. Don't buy one. You'll regret it.

I don't know where you get your info from, but at least the S3's camera does not have purple fringing. Of course, all apple is saying is that you're using it wrong.

Oh, and the S3 has a maps app that actually works

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The charger that comes with the iPhone is the same one that comes with the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, & 4s. The only difference is the cable and plug on the iPhone 5. But the charger itself is exactly the same. ---.

So you are saying that the charge isn't new but only the cable and plug?

What did I say? Don't be the first in line.

Of course for people buying the latest iPhone or special Nike shoes that is probably going to be hard to resist.

Wait 4 months is what I am saying to have better odds against problems.
In 4 months that kid could have easily replaced his charger, could have easily gotten the right dongle.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The SIII has a really poor camera. Don't buy one. You'll regret it.

Yeah, according to most of the reviews I have read the SIII 8MP camera is only slightly better or equal to the iPhone 5 8MP camera, depending on which review that you go by. It has to be really poor in that case, huh?

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by afv011

I don't know where you get your info from, but at least the S3's camera does not have purple fringing. Of course, all apple is saying is that you're using it wrong.

Oh, and the S3 has a maps app that actually works

Apple is becoming the "works sometimes -we guarantee it" phone company.

"Watch out for the antenna - that you can't see." Hold the camera just so, so no purple fringe." "Use the iMaps only when you are located in the certain spots on the Globe." "Don't use common connectors (or even our old ones), use our new ones which are really hard to get."

[Prestidigitweeze]

Last night, while visiting an Apple Store to demo the Sennheiser Momentum, I had the chance to try out the iP5 again and liked it far more.

Some people might suggest my improved experience was due to the special euphoria gas pumped into any Apple environment, which they would say because of the irritation gas that permeates their own.

I gather the pump wasn't running on the particular night of my visit.

The real problem with my previous iP5 encounter might have been Sprint's unintentionally awful demo setup and the display area itself. Since the phone was secured to its stand and impossible to actually hold (perhaps due to the surge in theft at launch), the experience of the phone as a tactile object wasn't available, and that's often the deciding factor for many users' purchases.

As a held object, the iP5 does not disappoint. The relief effect of the buttons and the feel and look of the thing in your hand is quite persuasive. Not persuasive enough to make me endure the transition from Google Maps to beta ware, but an iPhone in the hand is a far more sculpted and less generic object than an SIII, or even the X One in Sprint's striking black and red iteration.

Don't get me wrong, though. In terms of performance, GPS capablities, customization and SD and battery options, the SIII is clearly the better (and less expensive) phone. On the practical level, that makes it the better phone for my non-musical uses.

Disclaimer: Don't bother reading the rest of this post unless music capabilities on a smartphone are important to you.

At the Sprint Store, the paucity of apps on the demo model reminded me of everything that's limiting about the steel-colonnaded garden which is the App Store. But at the physical Apple Store, the presence of Garage Band and other music apps on the iP5 also reminded me that calculated long-term software development for music, and the comparative smoothness of the UI, make this a musician's phone just as Macs are used most often for professional recording (at least in the States).

Jellybean makes the overall UI experience tighter on Android, and that could result in less janky and therefore more practical music apps. But I've yet to see any good ones available on Google Play to test their practicality with the SIII. The ones I've tried have been awful.

The ability to use virtually any external DAC with an SIII (and an OTG cable) is a selling point for audiophiles, but a lot of actual musicians would find a fully usable copy of Garage Band to be a better selling point, especially since it works with Logic Pro.

For those who don't know or can't remember, Logic is not some flashy morsel of app candy. Thirty years ago, it was an import from Berlin: an Atari ST application beloved for its time-locking features and lack of latency. It became available on PCs well before Apple bought it and made it impossible to get on any other platform.

Demo-level music composition -- notating, tracking, recording and editing -- is the hardest thing to find done well on a smartphone because so few users care about it and almost no one creates hardware/software integration smooth enough to make it practical. Google's collaboration series is getting there, but so far, the premium dedicated software just isn't available.

For those who travel and resent having to write and keep track of actual sheet music, the development of music creation software on the iPhone and iPad makes them clear choices for musicians who would have chosen Samsung, ASUS or Nokia iterations otherwise.

All of which doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to choose the iP5 when the time comes in the next four months. So far, I'm sold on open options, sane pricing and removable SD cards.

But that second encounter does make the iP5 and the experience of using it a lot more attractive.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

So you are saying that the charge isn't new but only the cable and plug?

What did I say? Don't be the first in line.

Of course for people buying the latest iPhone or special Nike shoes that is probably going to be hard to resist.

Wait 4 months is what I am saying to have better odds against problems.
In 4 months that kid could have easily replaced his charger, could have easily gotten the right dongle.

Only the cable and the plug that goes into the phone are different. The charger is the very same one I got with my iPhone 3G. So he could have just used a USB wall wart with his iPhone 5 just fine. I've used a Sony USB charger and it was just fine. I've even charged an iPhone 3G via the computer's USB.

I think that kid just had no clue what it was he needed. He probably tried to buy a USB wall wart that comes with an iPhone 5 cable when all he needed was the wall wart even if it came with the previous cable. So he's telling Apple what he needs and they are telling him they don't have it when he could have gone to an Apple store and gotten the wall wart replaced no bother.