iPhone 5: Week Later

There is no shortage when it comes to opinions and reviews of Apple’s latest iPhone. To sum it up, it’s the greatest thing to ever descend from heaven unless you use maps in which case you’re doomed. More realistically, it’s an iteration or two behind what Samsung S3 is putting out. I’m a big fan of the iPhone for no particular reason so I figured I’d offer my impression of it to anyone thinking about the upgrade.

Apple Is Annoying

First off, the device is great. Not one regret in getting it. I’ve upgraded from iPhone 4 so with all the discounts it was less than $300.

The biggest annoyance is with the new charger – in order to fit more gadgets inside the phone Apple shrunk it’s power connector and rendered all the existing toys I have obsolete. Fair enough, with every new technology you get some forced changes (Windows Metro ring a bell) and I can understand that I’ll have to shell out a few bucks for the adapter for my existing gadgets – except there are no adapters to be found! Apple mall store is sold out and the one I purchased online at the same time I got my phone won’t be here for another two weeks. So much for the “screen supply shortage”..

Keyboard takes some adjusting to. The phone itself is slimmer but taller so hitting some of the keys correctly every single time takes practice. My typing out of the box was pretty horrible but it has gotten back to normal now.

The Good Stuff

Battery: Even though I only have one place I can charge my iPhone, it lasts 2 days on a single charge. Not something I could say about my iPhone 4 and definitely not something I can say about the Samsung Galaxy android phone I use for work.

Siri: It’s kind of stupid but I’ve been able to use it for quick stuff while driving (setting appointments, alarms, sending emails).

Speed: It’s fast. It’s really, really, really fast.

The Flameworthy Stuff

Now some of you will say that this is all just a part of the reality distortion field (and you’re partially right) and that there are better phones out there (still right) and that I should check out Windows Phone 8! It’s the best damn phone with the most amazing faked camera ever! Put down your Zune phone and get back to work M$ drones.

I do own an Android phone that I use for business. I actually really like the new Galaxy S3. My problem with Android is about 30% technical – I have never met one that didn’t have terrible battery life. Look, it’s a phone, it’s not a PC – I don’t want to load it with battery optimization software, manage which applications are going rogue, worry about whether it will be fixed by a legit ROM released by Samsung or one I’d have to cook myself. It’s something that a phone should do on it’s own and I have no interest in “managing it”.

The other reason why otherwise reasonable people go with Apple, even though it’s clearly not the most advanced thing on the marketplace – has to do with comfort. I had to make absolutely 0 adjustments with the new phone. All the data, all the settings, all the look and feel made it from my iPhone 4 to my iPhone 5. I just unplugged one, plugged in another and I was back to my phone experience uninterrupted.

This is something that I think bares relevance for IT Solution Providers as well. Even though there are “better” phones on the marketplace, the pain of switching to something else is just too big. I don’t want to move all of my pictures, all of my music, worry about backups and battery management software – even if it brings me NFC and a bigger screen. There is also no real cost advantage, $100 here or there is not going to make me completely redesign my mobile life.

If I didn’t have an iPhone already, I’d probably buy the S3. But with my tablet also running iOS and being able to use the same apps I bought on it on my iPhone would probably play a part in it too. This gets me to Windows 8 – if it’s a major departure from Windows 7 that’s been relatively the same UI-wise since XP days (for over a decade)… interesting