By Nicole Lee 
posted Sep 27th 2012 4:32AM
posted Sep 27th 2012 4:32AM
Foursquare Foursquare rolls out iPhone 5 / iOS 6 update, Explore gains more personalization options
Foursquare iPhone 5 Review: Apple Has The Closest Thing To A Perfect Phone, Ever
Apple's iPhone 5 fulfills the true potential of everything a smartphone should be able to do.
The iPhone no longer feels like a device with compromises.
In the past, the iPhone was great for everything but making phone calls. It is now good for making phone calls. It was a good camera, but struggled in low-light situations. It's now good in low-light situations. It was great for checking the web, but it took forever to get the web to connect on 3G. With LTE, that's not an issue.
After using the iPhone 5 for five days, I feel like it is pretty much a perfect smartphone. I upgraded to a Verizon iPhone 5 from an AT&T iPhone 4 and the difference is almost night and day.
Design
The iPhone 5 is slim, light, and solid. It looks good, but compared to the iPhone 4 design, it's somewhat pedestrian.
The iPhone 4 with its all glass back and silver band around the edge was a much more striking design. I would pull out the iPhone 4 and admire the design even after I had owned for more than two years.
The iPhone 5 looks great but I don't feel compelled to stare at it in awe of the design. It's almost like a really nicely designed remote control for a TV. It's all black and flat.
That said, I still think it looks better than any other smartphone on the market.
The Screen
The new four-inch screen on the phone is great. It makes the old iPhone's screen seem tiny and old.
Speed
It's the speed of the phone that makes it feel like the most significant upgrade to the iPhone yet.
When the iPhone 4 came out I couldn't come up with a particularly strong argument for why people should upgrade other than, it's new and it looks great.
The iPhone 5 is so much faster than the iPhone 4, it's mind-blowing. The speed of the iPhone 5, which is the fastest smartphone on the market, makes it worth the upgrade.
The web loads lightning-fast on LTE, the "4G" wireless network on Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T (where available). Apps like Tweetbot, Foursquare, and email load fast and pull in data as quickly as a desktop computer.
This is how an iPhone is supposed to work. You're not supposed to try to check-in on Foursquare only to see it spinning its wheels for a minute. You're supposed to get tweets instantly. You're supposed to have web pages load in a second.
Maps
turnbyturn
Screenshot
Apple's decision to kick out Google-based maps for a new maps app using a blend of data from TomTom and other companies has overshadowed the launch of the iPhone 5. While some people say they're having problems with the maps, I have only good things to say about the new maps app.
I think the new maps app looks much better. It moves more smoothly. The integration with Yelp is fantastic. Turn-by-turn directions work very well and look better than any turn-by-turn app I've ever seen.
I live in New York City, and it seems like the New York metro area has been thoroughly mapped out, so I could be an exception. Basically, you're going to have to use them and find out if they suck where you live. If they do, then use Google's web-based maps.
A lot of complaints about Apple's maps seem to center on its 3D maps. The 3D images don't look all that 3D in some cases. That's embarrassing, but it has close to zero impact on your ability to get around the world. 3D maps are a lot of fun to play with when exploring New York City, but I see no practical use for them. If they don't work, it's really not a big deal.
No public transit is a bit of a drag, but jumping from Apple maps to a transit app like Embark is pretty simple.
Siri
siri weather
Screenshots
Siri is not a great product. But I don't think it's a disaster. It just needs work.
My first experience with Siri was asking for the weather in New York City. I got the weather in New York, Texas.
I use my iPhone as an alarm. Every night I put in airplane mode so it's not buzzing and blerping in the night to wake me up. I told Siri, "Turn my phone to airplane mode." Siri said, "I can't do that." Siri should be able to do that.
It's not all bad. I've used Siri to send text messages while I'm on my bike, to set an alarm, to set reminders, to give me driving directions, and to tell me sports scores. It works 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time Siri just spins and spins and then craps out.
Phone Calls
If you're on AT&T and you can afford to switch to Verizon, do it. I've had no dropped calls, and the call clarity has been off-the-charts great. For the last four years I've struggled to hear people on my cell phone. I was worried something was wrong with my ears. Now I hear people easily. It's better than a land line.
Camera
The camera is huge upgrade over the iPhone 4, but in normal lighting it's not much better than the iPhone 4S. In low light, the iPhone 5 demolishes the iPhone 4. It also beats the iPhone 4S.
Here are some comparisons between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 I took at dinner the other night.
iphonecamera
Business Insider
Here's one more comparison shot:
iphone comp
Business Insider
Battery
Battery life is about the same as the iPhone 4. It would be nice if Apple could figure out a way to make a big leap with battery life in the future.
iOS 6
Apple made some nice tweaks to iOS. I like the new look of the music app. The App Store looks great and updating apps is easier than ever. There's also Facebook integration, if that's your cup of tea. Aside from Maps, it doesn't feel like a huge upgrade, which is a good thing. The last thing Apple needs to do is add a bunch of features that are pointless.
Conclusion
The iPhone 5 is pretty much a perfect phone.
I've asked around the office for complaints from people with an iPhone 5 and the only thing they've come up with is the new cord. Yes, the new cord is annoying, but Apple had to make it smaller to fit everything into the phone. Plus, at some point in our lives, we had no iPhone charging cords. We're back at square one. It doesn't affect the actual phone's performance.
The number one reason this phone feels like a significant leap forward is the speed. Now that Apple's on LTE it feels like I'm using the iPhone as I've always wanted.
I'm sure in two years I'll think this thing is a hunk of crap. But for now I couldn't be happier with the phone.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-5-review-2012-9#ixzz27jukzav7
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-5-review-2012-9
iphone 5 features
1. Completely redesigned headphonesThe flimsy white earbuds that come bundled with every iPhone are often criticized for their tinny sound and poor durability. But now, the Vietnamese website Tinhte.vn has published a video (watch it here) of what it claims to be a brand new set of Apple headphones — allegedly obtained from a Foxconn plant in the country. The headphones, which are reportedly more comfortable than the current model, have the appearance of a "horse's head," with a more-streamlined profile and white plastic surrounding the speakers. While we can't vouch for the authenticity of the video, says MacRumors, it's worth noting that this Vietnamese website has a proven track record of obtaining Apple prototypes pre-release.
2. A new metal bodyApple's next iPhone may be be "housed in Liquidmetal," says Christina Bonnington at Wired,
"the commercial name for an alloy of titanium, zirconium, nickel,
copper, and other metals." The "amorphous" alloy can be poured into a
molding like plastic to produce ultra-thin parts. When it hardens,
Liquidmetal retains "high strength, high resistance to wear against
scratching and denting, and [has] a good strength-to-weight ratio."
Cooled, it looks "smooth like liquid," and may bestow the next iPhone
"its special swagger." Eh, let's not get too excited, says Adrian Kingsley-Hughes at ZDNet.
While Liquidmetal is "incredibly tough," it's not great for radio
frequencies. Remember Antennagate? Well, we might not have to worry, says Ed Oswald at PC World. Some photos indicate an aluminum back like the kind used on MacBooks. This lightweight, two-tone metal appears to cover 80 percent of the handset's backside, making the shatter-prone iPhone "a little less breakable."3. A larger screen
The next iPhone may feature a much larger display — possibly 4.6 inches versus its current 3.5-inch set-up — and Apple has already started placing orders to its suppliers, reports Reuters. While that sounds nice, making "a 4.6-inch display would mean that the size of the iPhone itself would be much larger than it currently is," says Jordan Crook at TechCrunch. And that doesn't seem realistic. More likely: Apple is working on a 4-inch display to "fit on to the iPhone at its current size." Keeping the same iPhone size sounds more like an Apple move, says MG Siegler at Parislemon. "A device that stays the same size, but gets a slightly larger screen for one more row of apps"? Exciting stuff.
4. Less glassThe current iPhone's touchscreen uses two separate layers to achieve its effect: A touch sensor layer and an LCD display layer, which are stacked on top of each other. But Apple is said to be introducing "in-cell touch panels on its next iPhone," says Josh Ong at Apple Insider, which means the two space-hogging layers will be consolidated into one. (The Wall Street Journal corroborates reports of the skinnier glass.) Not only does integrating touch sensors into the LCD make it thinner, but it also "improves the quality of displayed images." Another plus: The iPhone will run with "vastly lower power consumption," says Kyle Wagner at Gizmodo. Fewer lights require less power, which could be a huge boon for the phone's battery life.
5. New connections
Leaked photos make it look like Apple is rearranging its plugs, says Mark Gurman at 9to5 Mac. The earphone jack is being moved to the bottom (an iPhone first), and the device will charge using a much smaller dock connector. Yup, we've "independently verified" that Apple is switching from a 30-pin port to a 19-pin port, says John Biggs at TechCrunch. Three different manufacturers say the port you use to plug your phone into a computer or power outlet will be different than in years past. "This is certainly not going to go over easy," says Chris Burns at Slashgear. Fans collecting third-party accessories for their iPhones and iPads will have to pony up for brand new connections, like HDMI cables and chargers. "Accessory hell, here we come," says PC World's Oswald.
6. 4G LTE... and a better batteryApple already introduced "the high-speed network on its new iPad," says Dave Smith at the International Business Times, which was probably done as a "practice run" for the iPhone. But the main problem with LTE is that it tends to "ravage battery life." If the company wanted it on the iPhone 4S, it would have had to "increase the phone's thickness" to accomodate a larger battery. Now that Apple appears to be shaving off millimeters here and there, the next iPhone could receive the bigger (and better) battery required to handle faster networks.
7. iWallet
On March 6, Apple won a "major patent" for technology called the "iWallet," says IBT's Smith, which allows users "complete control over their subsidiary financial accounts on their iPhones." The technology uses Near-Field Communication to make credit card transactions by holding the device next to a payment console, effectively turning the iPhone into a digital wallet.
Source : the week
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)