There’s been a lot of talk and certainly much hype surrounding Apple’s latest smartphone – the iPhone 5. Months before it’s official release on the 12th of September “leaks” of pictures and whispers of its design ran rampant through the Internet like a bushfire. We saw a few pictures of it’s possible new design and from this came the inevitable questions the whole world wanted answered; “What new features will the new iPhone have”, “Will they improve on current features that need fixing?” “What will it not have?”
Many believed that Samsung had won the smartphone war with its Galaxy S III. Could Apple match this latest offering? Or could this be the start of the Apple demise? Apple were now about to launch a product that was either going to revolutionise the world or make it yawn. Which way was Apple going to go? We were about to find out.
Anyone who may have been worried that Apple were about to offer the world just another “S” version of their phone technology were about to be proved wrong. The new iPhone 5 has, according to Apple pundits, critics and average people (Like me) delivered on their usual innovative and sleek offerings.
I have to say at this point that I’m certainly no Apple fanatic. Although I do have a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an iPhone 4S, I’m not one of those Apple nuts who lines up outside an Apple store two days before a launch of a new product so I can say I’m one of the first in the world to have the latest Apple product. However I prefer Mac to PC. I’m no technophile but I find apple products easier to use, and more inline with my aesthetic.
I have decided to let the hype die down and wait a few months before considering purchasing or upgrading with my phone carrier, however, I have been doing some investigation on the new iPhone 5 as well as Apple’s latest operating system the IOS6 and here are my thoughts.
iPhone 5:
I haven’t yet upgraded, but I have spent a fair bit of time annoying sales staff at the Apple Store. Even though the screen size has increased to 4 inches, it’s lightweight, easier to carry, the design allows the user to keep a hold of the handset in one hand and still use the touch screen without using another hand. Apple didn’t go down the same path as Samsung did with the Galaxy. Apple knew it was important to keep the size small enough to be useable with one hand but bigger to keep up with our ever-increasing obsession with HD video, gaming and pictures.
Speaking of pictures, the new 5 has an improved camera to match its new retina display. One feature that I love is the “Panorama” feature. This feature allows the user to take panoramic shots. An on-screen feature assists you in taking the perfect panoramic shot. The results are amazing.
Another cool feature of the phone is the ability to connect to the latest Wifi and LTE technology. This is perfect for customers who can now take advantage of LTE in some capital cities and in the next 6-12 months, a further expansion is on the cards for some other carriers and other areas. And with the new A6 chip other processing functions are even faster.
A slimmer, more lightweight phone needed a new docking design. Apple have been marked down for the new “lightning” dock which means that you will need to purchase new charging hardware or purchase an adapter to fit the old style docks. The new dock is smaller and is versatile so it doesn’t matter which way you insert it.
One thing I’m excited about is the new headphones or “head-pods” as Apple call them. A new design in headphones which Apple claim to be more suitable to wear for more people and provide a much better sound experience. We will wait and see.
IOS6:
I updated my iPhone 4S a few days ago with Apple’s new operating system. I really like the new updates. Here are some of my favourites.
SIRI has been updated and can now allow you to ask her to search for local restaurants, game results and so on. I’ve only used SIRI for restaurant locations in the area. I tried asking for the results of the Sydney Swans vs Hawthorn match from last night but unfortunately SIRI has not been updated with this feature for Australia yet. Hopefully she will become more robust with further updates.
Apple have done away with Google Maps and introduced its very own maps based on ‘Tom Tom’. I prefer the look of this new map app. Although it has been released with some mixed reviews. Claims that suburbs and towns are missing, roads end up in the water and so on. Maybe this will, like SIRI, become better with some more updates, but for me it’s so far, so good.
Facebook has become much more integrated, so you can now upload a picture directly from the photos app to Facebook seamlessly. I love this. I’m an avid Facebook user so I will use this feature quite a lot. This is something that in my opinion has been long overdue.
Passbook is a fledgling technology here in Australia. Radio station NOVA 100 is the only company so far to utilise the app. Passbook allows you to have your store, loyalty cards, boarding passes, movie passes etc. all in the one place. No need to print them off and carry them around. Once you have arrived, at say your local cinema to watch the latest release, your movie ticket will appear on your iPhone ready to be scanned. Once used, a virtual shredder will shred the ticket for you. This app will become more useable as more companies jump on board. There is talk that Virgin Australia will be the next to utilise the technology, but you have to ask yourself… how long until cyber crime catches up with this fad?
So there we have it. 6 plus 5 not only equals 11. The equation equals much more than that. It’s awesome, it’s excellent, it’s innovative and it’s the future of smart phones. 6 plus 5 puts a smile on my face.
