I've never understood the need to wait in line for a product. I could see a rationale for lining up for tickets to a special event, because they are in limited supply. That said, I've never done it, and if I have it my way, I never will. That's why I had kids.
As for lining up for a new phone, I really don't understand this behaviour. It's not like they're going to run out of phones. And the need to get one immediately upon launch may speak to more of a psychiatric condition than I'm qualified to comment on. And I'm saying that as a gadget guy.iphone 5s refurbished
Now that said, I am a fan of the iPhone. I've had almost every model (I skipped the 3S). And since I've only had my iPhone 4S for less than a year, I had to give some thought to whether or not I need to have the iPhone 5 in my life. As you may know from my previous columns, I have a BlackBerry too.
So let's look at what's new in the iPhone 5. First of all, it's physically different in size. It is taller (123.8 mm versus 115.2 mm) than the iPhone 4S. But weighs only 112 g and is only 7.6 mm thick (versus 140 g and 9.3 mm for the 4S). The screen resolution, which was one of the primary "big features" in the 4S, is now 1136 x 640 with 326 ppi.
The other notable feature is support for the fastest mobile networks, known as LTE. Rogers just launched support for LTE in our region, and although I don't yet have a device that supports it, I have geek friends who are quite excited by the performance they're experiencing. I have not yet seen any details on whether Rogers is planning to raise the bandwidth cap accordingly since you may find yourself consuming more data in less time on LTE. That could result in an expensive surprise, so beware.
The camera is largely the same, and Apple claims the processor is twice as fast as its predecessor, but early reports indicate this doesn't change the user experience very much. It's still a very responsive device.
This new iPhone doesn't raise the bar significantly. It's an improved device, but not a revolutionary one. This happens to all technology over time. The rate of change becomes more moderate as the "big opportunities" are explored early, and the later ones become more fine tuning. It will be interesting to see if what some consider to be the most innovative technology company on the planet does indeed go through a period of subdued innovation. This is often a time when brand new product areas are explored.
One controversial change that appeared in the iPhone 5 is the new connector interface, called "Lightning." If you have a previous iPhone you're going to need to either replace all your charging/connecting cables or purchase a not so cheap adapter for them. Unfortunately, some old devices that connect to the iPhone may not work with the iPhone 5, so you should check before upgrading if you need to use any of these devices.
Perhaps the thing that excited me the most about the iPhone 5 wasn't the device itself, but the news that iOS 6 was coming, iphone 5s refurbished
and would be available for all iPhones from the 3S on, 4th and 5th generation iPod Touches , iPad 2 and the new iPad. This new operating system finally enables full support for Siri in Canada. You can ask her for directions, restaurant recommendations, movies, sports scores and many other useful things. You can also keep asking her silly questions, and enjoy her sometimes surprising responses. And I like that Siri addresses me as "Your Highness." Also improved are the Mail and Safari browser apps, and Facetime over mobile networks is now supported. You've got some new toys to play with on your current devices.
The feature that has been most discussed in iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 has been Apple's new maps app. Gone from iOS are the Google Maps and YouTube apps. They were casualties of the simmering war between Apple and Google. Apple recently won a $20 billion lawsuit against Google's Android customer Samsung. Relations between these two giants are "strained." Apple released its own maps app, claiming that they wanted to deliver things like turn by turn navigation instructions. This feature was something apparently Google only wanted to deliver to its Android partners. Apple's maps app isn't as fully developed as Google Maps, but I expect this to change quickly. And its accuracy in some cases has resulted in some embarrassment for Apple.
The big question is: "Do you need an iPhone 5?" Well, here's how I'm answering that question. If you have an iPhone 4S, then probably not. If you have an iPhone 3S or 4, then it's worth considering. If you've never had a smartphone, there are many choices today, so it pays to do your homework, so go to a mobile store and play with them.
