Apple announcement 12/09/12 - iPhone 5?

[Martin]

Best phone on the market? Please, my old Sony K700i and K810i could do pretty much everything the iphone can years ago. The only major feature they lacked was wifi.

The new Nano looks cool, though.

Any decent non-Apple MP3 players out? Ones that don't do that annoying pause between tracks?

 

[Nick]

Any decent non-Apple MP3 players out? Ones that don't do that annoying pause between tracks?

No, but the 2nd gen Nano remains the best. I can get over 24 hours of music out of it.

Best phone on the market? Please, my old Sony K700i and K810i could do pretty much everything the iphone can years ago.

Best "phone" on the market, but it would be better to get a 2nd gen iPad an a £5 quid brick instead.

 

[Sam]

Blaze, your blind fanboyism is just as tiring as blind Apple fanboyism.

It reminds me of the time people used to get really worked up about what console was better, Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, and actually had strong feelings about it like it was in anyway important.

 

[Dagan]

Not impressed by the new Nano as it means products like this can't be used - https://www.lunatik.com/products/lynk

I've always skipped a generation with iPhones (Original, 3GS, 4S) and after seeing the new model, I'm going to keep that trend. Wait for the 5S

I'm not saying I don't like the new phone. It's an amazing piece of engineering. I just can't see anything it offers new compared to my current model.

 

[Stelios]

4G networks in the UK. When is this happening?

4G was actually confirmed yesterday before Apple as I heard on Radio one with something like 20 cities and towns, mainly down South as I'd imagine.

And this phones lack of new content screams more money. No thank you.

 

[Martin]

Blaze, your blind fanboyism is just as tiring as blind Apple fanboyism.

It reminds me of the time people used to get really worked up about what console was better, Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, and actually had strong feelings about it like it was in anyway important.

What fanboyism? It's a simple fact that those two phones quietly had features Apple shouted about several years and versions later. They weren't great phones, they froze a lot and hated cold weather, just like modern Androids. Just because I strongly dislike Apple and their products, doesn't mean I love any other company more.

 

[Adam James]

I bought an iPhone 4 last year instead of a 4S, in anticipation of a groundbreaking iPhone 5 and to be honest I'm pretty disappointed.

The one feature that would have enticed me is a much longer battery life, and it's the one thing they seem to have noticed, yet forgotten. If there is an improvement it will most probably be negligible going off the keynote. iOS 6 however will be much welcomed.

Here's to iPhone 6.

 

[RyanY]

I am also somewhat disapointed, and after buying a iPhone 4S recently I'm glad that I didn't splash out another £100 + for the 5. There are no new features. All it is bigger, thinner and faster and honestly, I don't need any of that. Plus I can get all the IOS 6 features on my 4S...

But I am looking forward to getting my hands on IOS 6 as the maps, upgraded Siri and other features look exciting.

 

[Tom]

Frightfully disappointing and anticlimactic.

 

[Martin]

Everyone saying "Oh well, the iphone 6 will be the real deal", remember last year when you all said "oh well, it's ok that this 4S is just an updated 4, next year the 5 will blow us away".

Don't get your hopes up for the 6.

 

[RyanY]

I don't think I'll upgrade again until the 5s or 6 or whatever it'll be called comes out. And if that doesn't have any groundbreaking improvements then the upgrades over the two phones will warrant the upgrade.

 

[Dave]

There phones....

I owned an galaxy S but because I wanted an IPad I got an iPhone with it, there are no major differences both do the job and both are fine. Samsung v Apple is less than interesting (though it is well known Samsung steal design styles of other brands, Samsung TVs copy Loewe TV's).

At the end of the day noone is arguing over the choice of blue ray players... Really don't understand the passion here.

 

[GaryH]

To those saying the iPhone is best phone out there, sorry but your very mistaken, at present the S3 is the best phone out there, nothing comes close to it.

68% of the smartphone marker is now Android. Thats up from 47% last year, while in the meantime Apple slid 17% downwards on market share. Thats 4 times a bigger share than Apple currently has of the smartphone market.

Also, R&D - Apple spend 2% of their revenues on R&D into new products, Google spend 14% of theirs.

Lets face it - the iPhone has had its day, Apple are running out of ideas are one loyal Apple fanboys are now turning to phones like the S3 are are not looking back. Apple's answer to this is to try and sue other companies and get their competitors products out of the marketplace to try and regain some of their market share.

The iPhone 5 could have been something very special indeed since the death of Steve Jobs, but instead it just a stretched version of the 4s, looks identical, hardly any major improvements, and better still, they have the cheek to charge people £25 for a connector adaptor even though they were fully aware when doing it that millions of people would be unable to use their current equipment (speaker docks for example) with it. Thats the audacity of this company, and the stupidly of its customers who fork out a small fortune for this overpriced substandard phone.

 

[Martin]

You pretty much C&P'd the article I posted in my first reply.

 

[Scott]

and the stupidly of its customers who fork out a small fortune for this overpriced substandard phone.

Ah, I must be stupid because I like my iPhone.

It really grates me how people must make the choice of product that you own something personal... It is your opinion that the iPhone is over-priced and substandard. In my opinion I think it is a great phone which does everything I want it to do... and then some. So, does that make either of us stupid? No.

68% of the smartphone marker is now Android. Thats up from 47% last year, while in the meantime Apple slid 17% downwards on market share. Thats 4 times a bigger share than Apple currently has of the smartphone market.

Let's also remember that there are literally hundreds of phones out there on Android. Someone has to make an active choice to get an iOS phone, or a Windows phone over an Android. Android is industry standard... Because so many phones use it. For a set of 3-4 phones to have such a huge share is pretty damn good.

 

[Jordan]

I'll agree, I was underwhelmed by the iPhone announcement today. I think everyone pretty much knew that the new iPhone would have a larger screen and the usual thinner/lighter revamps, but compared to past "major" iPhone updates, it was missing any other significant headline additions - on a scale of FaceTime with the iPhone 4, or Siri with the 4S. With the pre-announcement of Passbook in iOS 6, it felt like it would be a natural addition for the iPhone 5 to gain NFC, but alas not. However, I'd like to reiterate what Sam said, that the performance upgrades shouldn't be understated - over the next year there will inevitably be new games which push the performance boundaries and will deliver a superior experience on the iPhone 5.

Is it enough to convince me to upgrade from a 4S? Absolutely not. But don't let that write-off an iPhone for you, if you're comparing it against an Android or other device. I am a massive fan of Apple products, I'll admit (although I have spent a decent amount of time giving other phones a spin too) but I do believe that the iPhone is still hands-down the best phone on the market. Whilst it is fragile (and I do feel concerned about the level to which Apple have been sacrificing durability over design lately), I've yet to use a phone with a better form factor and hardware design.

And whilst at a glance, it might look largely the same as it did back in 2007, the software and interface is leaps and bounds ahead of Android: it is so finely tuned that it feels so responsive when you use it. You also can't deny that the iOS app ecosystem is miles ahead - I know Google Play is an improvement on the Android Store - but the average app quality and ease of use of the App Store surpasses the Android offering by a long way. I hate to use the cliche, but from my experience, the software "just works" - I've never had a problem with iOS itself over the five years I've used an iPhone as my primary mobile device.

I don't buy the idea that just because a phone doesn't have as major iterations as other phones, it can no longer hold its own against competitors in the market. I think Apple have a winning formula with both the iPhone hardware and software, and gradual improvements over time, instead of frequent radical changes, is the better approach.

Also, R&D - Apple spend 2% of their revenues on R&D into new products, Google spend 14% of theirs.

I think forming an opinion on a company's quality and ability to innovate based on how much they pump into the R&D machine is somewhat naive. There's a good article debunking these figures on Gigaom. You can make good stuff on a relatively small budget if you prioritise resources in the right way, and if you have good people. Companies like Microsoft waste so much on R&D simply because of the insane amount of bureaucracy and hierarchy prevalent across the company.

 

[Nathan]

As an iPhone 4 user, it makes sense for me to upgrade. I will notice the improvement. If you're a 4S owner, then maybe not so much. It's evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

To say it's "appallingly bad" though is just silly. Only an idiot would deny that it's still one of the best phones on the market. For all the Apple fanboy bashing, I find it's actually the opposers that make the biggest noise. Why people feel the need to criticise a product and mock all those who buy it to justify their own decision to purchase an alternative I don't know.

Not owning an iPhone doesn't make you a better or "cooler" person, just as owning an iPhone doesn't either.

 

[Sam]

Thats the audacity of this company, and the stupidly of its customers who fork out a small fortune for this overpriced substandard phone.

Charming.

Can't you reserve your anger for war criminals or serial killers or something actually important, rather than a successful technology company with a slightly self-indulgent marketing shtick?

 

[BigAl]

Well I still have my secondhand 3G so this will be far better anyway. Shame the 5 may not be compatible with my car, but the 4S should be nice and cheap once the 5 is out. Can't complain with that!

 

[GaryH]

Nathan - youd be surprised how many people think that owning an iPhone makes them "better" than the rest and that people who buy other smartphones do so because they cant afford an iPhone! Seriously - read comments on many of the technology websites and youll see what I mean.

No one is stupid because they like their iPhone, but to me stupidity is forking out hundreds of pounds for a phone when you could spend almost half and get something even better, but you'll still get the iPhone because after all, its an iPhone and has a shiny apple logo on the back. Not saying thats why you have yours, but many people do buy them, hardly able to afford them, just because its a status symbol. Think last time I looked at the 4s the total cost of ownership over a 24 month contract was close to a grand!!! £1000 on a ruddy phone! lol

I guess i just dont get the blindness of some of the Apple following and the people who will no doubt queue now for days, to be clapped into the Apple shop, robbed of their money and walk out to be one of the first to own this, erm, same as the 4s device.

Dont get me wrong its not a bad phone, I even held out upgrading to see what it was like, and in the same way I would upgrade to it, or Android, or Windows depending on which offers the best features for the money, but the iPhone5 could have been amazing, could have been revolutionary, but it isnt, its same old same old, and I cant help think its a slap in the face for the Apple faithful - to me its a sign that Apple think they can now take their customers for a ride, they can produce whatever they want, slap an Apple logo on it, charge the earth and their customer base will still buy it.

This may have been true, but I think times are changing now.....