Apple iPhone 5 hands-on review
Last night in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook presented his third keynote in fine, relaxed form. There were announcements about iTunes, a longer iPod nano and colourful iPod touch models. But the night belonged to the iPhone, not to be dubbed the new iPhone, but the iPhone 5. Hacks in London were treated to a simultaneous …
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"a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
When Samsung were ordered to show Apple a number of their upcoming phone designs, I joked that Apple would be unable to design their new phones without knowing what Samsung were going to copy from them. Now we have the iPhone 5, which apart from scale and the round home button is scarcely distinguishable from a Galaxy S3 - which is one of the phone designs Apple got to see.
Me, I'm saying nothing.
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
From now on I should just make all my posts anon. Every time I make an anon post, thumbs up everywhere. Moment anon goes off, thumbs down everywhere.
Anyway, I still find it hard to see how anyone could mark a samsung and an iphone as similar. I'm registered partially sighted, my vision is 6/18 on a good day (on a bad day closer to 6/36, normally rests around 6/24) and yet I can tell from a couple meters away which is an iphone and which is a samsung. From that distance I can barely make out any detail on the handsets, just the general shape.
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
@Jedit: "Now we have the iPhone 5, which apart from scale and the round home button is scarcely distinguishable from a Galaxy S3"
And based on the fact that most people are complaining that Apple hasn't shifted from the iPhone 4 design, this soundly illustrates how much Samsung ape Apple phones in even recent models. Or does Apple have a time machine so they could see the S3 when they were designing the iPhone 4? Downvote all you like, but the fact remains that you're head over heels in love with a knock-off artist that hasn't released a revolutionary product in its entire existence and runs an operating system scraped from open source by a marketing firm chasing all your personal details on behalf of large corporations. And you think Apple fans are sheep...
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
"From now on I should just make all my posts anon. Every time I make an anon post, thumbs up everywhere. Moment anon goes off, thumbs down everywhere."
Thumbs up because, well, you're anon.
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
"Downvote all you like, but the fact remains that you're head over heels in love with a knock-off artist that hasn't released a revolutionary product in its entire existence and runs an operating system scraped from open source by a marketing firm chasing all your personal details on behalf of large corporations. And you think Apple fans are sheep..."
The whole way through that I was thinking, "Wait, I thought he was pro-Apple." Wasn't 'til the last sentence I realised you were having a pop at the other guys.
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
"From now on I should just make all my posts anon. Every time I make an anon post, thumbs up everywhere. Moment anon goes off, thumbs down everywhere."
I find this as well.... but it gets worse, as soon as I post something negative about the Iphone I find that all my other non related posts posts get a down vote too !!
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
And since it's basicallly a stretch iphone 4 then you agree with the US courts that samsung copies apple.
That's cool that someone is willing to say in on a website full of fandroid mental midgets.
* STRETCHED
you may have heard of something called the past tense.
Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"
@ Ralph 5 or is that Ralph 4S
And you think Apple fans are sheep..
That's a Baa-aaa-aaa-aad thing to say
Re: At first glance the newly announced handset looks like an iPhone 4S
Hte proles will be able to tell the difference as soon as they pick it up, when they can't find the features they're looking for on the Samsung phone...
</flamebait>
Adaptor
>"But it means that speaker docks, third-party chargers and more will all need an adaptor"
For a lot of people it means getting a new speaker dock. I have a speaker dock where the very bottom of the phone leans against the dock, if the phone is raised up (by an adaptor), there is nothing for it to lean against.
Re: Adaptor
That is why Apple have also made an adaptor on a cable.
Re: Adaptor
There are also many dock accessory makers that didn't follow apple design guidelines and will shortly be feeling a biting sensation on their derrière...
Re: Adaptor
Yes, but even WITH the adapter there's NO ANALOG OUTPUT so your existing speaker dock will most likely not work.
Re: Adaptor
No, it doesn't have video out and iPod out. iPod out is a serial connection.
Re: Adaptor
>Yes, but even WITH the adapter there's NO ANALOG OUTPUT so your existing speaker dock will most likely not work.
Here's a thought - your old iPod Touch still works so don't buy a new one - use the money for a Kindle HD. Instead of that iPad4, get an MS Surface device - and next phone contract renewal get the telco austerity smartphone and £20 a month cashback for life.
Large numbers of people will be doing 1, 2 or all 3 in 2013......
Re: Review?
Apple give some journalists some "Hands on" time with the iphone 5. This is a review based on that "hands on".
"Get it?"
"Samsung and Nokia may not feel they’ve been leapfrogged.......
.....................in the way they have been by some Apple unveils"
They have absolutely no need to feel that way because they haven't - at all. However, it remains to be seen what happens in the market place. This Autumn promises to be very interesting indeed.
USB plugs
...so it's not just me that hates connectors which are symmetrical externally but not internally.
at least micro-USB is kind of D-shaped.
Paris for all sorts of reasons
Re: USB plugs
Not just you, I could never understand why USB A only goes in one way, but is bloody tricky to determine which way that is!
Whilst micro-USB is D shaped, micro-USB 3 is just weird- can't really blame Apple for using their own solution. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-superspeed-external-enclosure,2597-2.html for a picture of a microUSB 3 plug.
Re: USB plugs
Me too - ESPECIALLY when you're trying to plug something in around the BACK of somewhere!
Re: USB plugs
Its a well known stat that for usb plugs that have a 50% chance of going in the wrong way, you will get it wrong 80% of the time.
Expensive?
Samsung Galaxy S3,16GB, sim-free: £499
iPhone 5, 16GB, sim-free: £529
£30 difference doesn't seem like a huge "Apple Tax" to me.
Re: Expensive?
Apple tax is in memory extension. Ooops you can't put £20 32GB or £50 64GB microSD into an iPhone. It will be £80 more , or perhaps £180 for another model instead (and then you are stuck with it).
Re: Expensive?
I realise the competitors are similar in price.
It's expensive relative to a phone I can use to talk to people on, or a month's disposable salary, or an alternative device that does some of the stuff I'd quite like an iphone for.
Re: Expensive?
£30 is not a huge apple tax, but you ignore the fact that you can get the SIII for £425 from amazon, making it a £105 apple tax.
Re: Expensive?
"Samsung Galaxy S3,16GB, sim-free: 499
iPhone 5, 16GB, sim-free: 529"
First result on Amazon.co.uk offers a Galaxy S3 for £425. Over £100 cheaper. I also expect iPhone owners will pay a premium for cables and adapter / dongles (if they have existing kit) which adds to the price. And if they don't want to run out of 16GB space they have to pay through the nose for a 32GB / 64GB with its massive markup on the equivalent memory compared to a microSD card.
Yes these phones are expensive.
Re: Expensive?
What about re-sale? I sold my 25 month old 16GB iPhone 4 with a temperamental home button to Envirophone for £170. I bought a Nokia 800 used (few months use) for £160.
Apple kit holds its value.
Re: Expensive?
Plus, in 12 months time the iPhone will likely be worth considerably greater than the £30 more than the Samsung.
Re: Expensive?
a quick search also revealed that a skoda/toyota is much cheaper than a BMW/Audi/Merc , way cheaper than a ferrari.
So all you IDIOTS out there who pay more than what the EXPERTS in CONTROL on these forums say should be shot at birth, because they KNOW whats better for you then having your own opinion and choice of products.
Surely you MUST have the same taste, wants and requirements as them as they are the SUPREME examples of mankind and all should follow their obviously better ways.
or maybe they are just prats...
Re: Expensive?
Um, £499 for a G S III? You can get one today for about £430 from Amazon.co.uk.
Re: Expensive?
£499 for a GS3?!? Try shopping around a bit. Amazon.co.uk has 'em for about £430 shipped. So, that's a £100 difference, before you think about memory.
It's about time to replace my ancient and sloooow iPhone 3G, which is falling apart. I've never owned a computer (this is going back to my first //e in 1984) which wasn't made by Apple, so I should be a massive fanboi - but I'm unenthusiastic about the iPhone 5, and sick of iOS, its lack of customisation, the lock-in, iTunes, and Apple's business practices - so I'll probably get a SIM-free GS3 and save myself £100+ while I'm at it. Just wish the grey or black versions would show up already...
Re: Expensive?
For £70 you save on the GS3, I bet you'd lose that straight away (and probably more) if you wanted to sell it 2nd hand or wanted to get some money back through giving it to mobile recyclers a year later.
Anyway, why does anyone worry about the lack of customisation, lock-in, iTunes etc? I'll keep sighing until the end of time.
Re: Expensive?
Hey, "Obviously!", even as an AC, you stick out like an erection at a bar mitzvah..
Re: Expensive?
"Expensive?
Samsung Galaxy S3,16GB, sim-free: £499
iPhone 5, 16GB, sim-free: £529
£30 difference doesn't seem like a huge "Apple Tax" to me."
Nooooooo! Don't go saying that an iPhone is only £30 more than an S3, all the fanbois think that Android users are too poor to buy Apple kit!
Re: Expensive?
"What about re-sale?"
My daughter has hung on to get the iphone 5 as an upgrade from the 3gs... and ass its been locked up in a hard-case, always had a screen protector, still got all the box and packaging, unused ear-buds and unused charger, it is in perfect "as new" condition, I am expecting to get a more than reasonable price for it.....
Re: Expensive?
OK, just for fun, a car comparo, since people are always comparing phones to cars.I gave up on Ferrari because they don't do a 4WD Estate version, as far as I know, plus they are about 5 times as expensive as these mid-range ones. :P
Skoda Superb Estate Elegance 3.6 V6 260PS DSG 4x4 - £30,910 top of range. It's basically a stretched Passat.
Or slightly larger A4 - something like an A6 in size.
http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/skoda/superb/estate/36-v6-260ps-elegance-4wd_7870220/review
OK, not a diesel, but, 28mpg tops is not too bad for a 2.3tonne estate car that does 0-60 in 6.6 and 153mph!
Please El Reg can you test one, just for fun. Get it muddy and lap some roundabouts, you know you want to.
I think some police forces have them as a stealth tarmac-burner.
Closest price BMW -
BMW 5 Series 520i SE - £31,195
No, just , no. Well, it looks nice from the outside..... probably very smooth motor ;)
Closest price Audi
Audi A4 allroad quattro 2.0 TDI - £31,380
or - Audi A6 Saloon 2.0 TDI SE - £30,495 (but estate is more)
Very respectable ;)
Closest price Merc
Mercedes Benz C-Class Estate 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Executive SE Auto - £31,125
or -Mercedes Benz E-Class Estate 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY SE - £32,005
Nice, but not as fast ... or as big inside. Skoda prob has better interior.
Expensive Toyota... Land Cruiser V8. 63,910 UKP. But also huge, unique, the rest of the range apart from lesser Land Cruisers, tops out at half the price, GT-86 is nice .... :P
It's a shame
Although I am no fan of Apple or the iPhone I was really hoping they would leapfrog ahead of Android and WinPho in terms of features. It is essential for the mobile revolution that is currently taking place to have a number of participants each trying to out do each other with new tech and features.
As soon as companies start resting on their laurels the march forward slows to a crawl. I guess the good thing with Android is that at least there will always be competition between manufacturers to keep the competition going, however the core Android OS upon which they are based also need to advance.
NFC however would get a significant boost if the iPhone had also adopted it like Android and Windows. The big caveat being as long their implementation wasn't proprietary and/or patented to Apple.
I hope this is just a blip and Apple can come back with something better next year.
Re: It's a shame
NFC however would get a significant boost if the iPhone had also adopted it like Android and Windows. The big caveat being as long their implementation wasn't proprietary and/or patented to Apple.
The cynic in me wonder if not having a proprietary version is precisely the reason for not joining in.
Re: It's a shame
Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route
The entire iPhone range has always had a familiar look and feel, I guess it works for them and their customers.
It also ensures someone who can drive an IOS device can drive most, if not all IOS devices
Android is a different animal, it so reminds me of LINUX distros where the underlying technology is the same, but the look and feel may vary as well as the packages..
Each to their own I guess...
"Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"
Ahhh...sort of like Porsche with the 911?
Re: It's a shame
"Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"
Wow, really? Like when they went from 680x0 to RISC? RISC to x86? MacOS to OS X? iPod Classic to iPod Touch? Adopting USB over ... ADB, IIRC.
Apple has, in fact, been much more willing to do this than many of the hardware and software competitors. That's part of the price of choosing Apple, just as lagging behind is the price of choosi8ng others.
Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"
> Ahhh...sort of like Porsche with the 911?
More like Ford with the Mondeo.
The luxury car analogy doesn't wash, no matter how many times it's trotted out.
Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"
"The luxury car analogy doesn't wash, no matter how many times it's trotted out." Actually, the analogy does work, in almost every respect.
- Luxury* build quality (Lamborghini had a reputation for shoddy build quality for years, as indeed did Porsche with several models. The early 2.7l engines needed a complete rebuild at 40k miles)
- Luxury* looks (Porsche Panamera? Cayenne? 917?)
- Luxury* materials (McLaren F1s were built around a carbon-fiber 'bathtub' - great until you crashed it and it shattered)
- Luxury* price (Come on, you gotta agree with that)
- Luxury* features list (luxury cars seldom excel on outright features - they tend to focus on one or two things. And I remember well the satnav voice on the Aston Martin DB9 being compared to the warder from a women's prison as well as it's keyfob being from a 20 grand volvo)
- Luxury* usability (the Mercedes AMG Black editions. Utterly undriveable. The McLaren MP4-12; clinical, clean, precise and boring as shite. iOS anyone?)
*'Luxury' doesn't necessarily equate to 'Good' or 'More'.
@ Mr Brush
"The luxury car analogy doesn't wash, no matter how many times it's trotted out."
Why not? It is, afterall, a luxury cell phone.
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