Watch apple's iPhone 5 announcement live

[kenny]

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/cvplive/cvpstream1&hpt=hp_c2#/video/cvplive/cvpstream1

 

[Gypsy]

Can't but can someone post if:

it will have 4G
what release date is

please?

 

[Okie_girl]

Gypsy, yes to 4G and release date is September 21, looks like.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/12/apple_unveils_redesigned_iphone_5_with_4_inch_display

ETA: 4G LTE on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint in the US.

 

[iheartscience]

WANT!

 

[pandabee]

online preorders start friday!

 

[ame]

No NFC though
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57511682-37/no-nfc-for-you-iphone-5-heres-apples-explanation/

 

[iLander]

We have always had iPhones. From the first one. We have also always had MACs, all the way back to the Macintosh SE (yes, I am that old).

So I believe I am uniquely qualified to say; the iPhone? Not so great.

The iPhone does weird things to people when it syncs with a computer, sometimes losing music, or photos or contacts. You have to watch it like a hawk, especially if you have more than one computer to sync it with. The audio quality is not that good, when and if you can actually make a call. The phone itself is not particularly rugged, just ask any group of teenagers and they will, 9 times out of 10, show you a cracked screen. The service is expensive, and will become even more expensive as the price of data plans goes up.

So, am I looking forward to the new one? No. Do I want it? No. Will I eventually have one? Yup.

DH and DD will see to that.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We have always had iPhones. From the first one. We have also always had MACs, all the way back to the Macintosh SE (yes, I am that old).

So I believe I am uniquely qualified to say; the iPhone? Not so great.

The iPhone does weird things to people when it syncs with a computer, sometimes losing music, or photos or contacts. You have to watch it like a hawk, especially if you have more than one computer to sync it with. The audio quality is not that good, when and if you can actually make a call. The phone itself is not particularly rugged, just ask any group of teenagers and they will, 9 times out of 10, show you a cracked screen. The service is expensive, and will become even more expensive as the price of data plans goes up.

So, am I looking forward to the new one? No. Do I want it? No. Will I eventually have one? Yup.

DH and DD will see to that.

Well, I was about to break down and get one for our daughter and myself! I am now wondering what to do!

 

[iheartscience]

We have always had iPhones. From the first one. We have also always had MACs, all the way back to the Macintosh SE (yes, I am that old).

So I believe I am uniquely qualified to say; the iPhone? Not so great.

The iPhone does weird things to people when it syncs with a computer, sometimes losing music, or photos or contacts. You have to watch it like a hawk, especially if you have more than one computer to sync it with. The audio quality is not that good, when and if you can actually make a call. The phone itself is not particularly rugged, just ask any group of teenagers and they will, 9 times out of 10, show you a cracked screen. The service is expensive, and will become even more expensive as the price of data plans goes up.

So, am I looking forward to the new one? No. Do I want it? No. Will I eventually have one? Yup.

DH and DD will see to that.

Well, I was about to break down and get one for our daughter and myself! I am now wondering what to do!

Get them! I haven't had issues with syncing my phone, and I am not particularly tech savvy. Nor am I particularly careful, but I do have my phone in a regular case, and it hasn't gotten a cracked screen yet. I pay $68/month for my plan from AT&T, which includes unlimited data since I've had it for so long. Everyone I know who has switched to an iPhone says they can't believe they took so long to switch.

 

[kenny]

Here are the cheapest plans available from the three carriers today per apple's website.

 

[ame]

I have never had a syncing issue, a lost photo/song/contact from a sync. You're only supposed to sync it with one anyway, and now you can sync with iCloud. I have also not had screen cracking or scratches, though my husband's is destroyed from his keys, just not cracked. Service will be expensive with any smart phone. They charge that because they can. And people pay it because they want these phones.

 

[iheartscience]

Re: pricing: I'm on a family plan with my sister, my sister's ex-boyf and my husband, so that makes a difference I'm sure. We all only have cell phones, my other fam is on AT&T also, and we mostly call each other, so most of our calls are free.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We have always had iPhones. From the first one. We have also always had MACs, all the way back to the Macintosh SE (yes, I am that old).

So I believe I am uniquely qualified to say; the iPhone? Not so great.

The iPhone does weird things to people when it syncs with a computer, sometimes losing music, or photos or contacts. You have to watch it like a hawk, especially if you have more than one computer to sync it with. The audio quality is not that good, when and if you can actually make a call. The phone itself is not particularly rugged, just ask any group of teenagers and they will, 9 times out of 10, show you a cracked screen. The service is expensive, and will become even more expensive as the price of data plans goes up.

So, am I looking forward to the new one? No. Do I want it? No. Will I eventually have one? Yup.

DH and DD will see to that.

Well, I was about to break down and get one for our daughter and myself! I am now wondering what to do!

Get them! I haven't had issues with syncing my phone, and I am not particularly tech savvy. Nor am I particularly careful, but I do have my phone in a regular case, and it hasn't gotten a cracked screen yet. I pay $68/month for my plan from AT&T, which includes unlimited data since I've had it for so long. Everyone I know who has switched to an iPhone says they can't believe they took so long to switch.

That is good to hear! It will be a learning curve for me for sure. Somebody posted some expensive but very protective cases on here recently. I might consider those especially for my daughter.

 

[stargurl78]

I will definitely be getting one but if the price is super high when it is first released, I'll be waiting until it comes down.

I have never had any issues with my iPhone 4. I like it much better than my previous Droid phone, although there do seem to be some really nice Droids out there now...

 

[iheartscience]

We have always had iPhones. From the first one. We have also always had MACs, all the way back to the Macintosh SE (yes, I am that old).

So I believe I am uniquely qualified to say; the iPhone? Not so great.

The iPhone does weird things to people when it syncs with a computer, sometimes losing music, or photos or contacts. You have to watch it like a hawk, especially if you have more than one computer to sync it with. The audio quality is not that good, when and if you can actually make a call. The phone itself is not particularly rugged, just ask any group of teenagers and they will, 9 times out of 10, show you a cracked screen. The service is expensive, and will become even more expensive as the price of data plans goes up.

So, am I looking forward to the new one? No. Do I want it? No. Will I eventually have one? Yup.

DH and DD will see to that.

Well, I was about to break down and get one for our daughter and myself! I am now wondering what to do!

Get them! I haven't had issues with syncing my phone, and I am not particularly tech savvy. Nor am I particularly careful, but I do have my phone in a regular case, and it hasn't gotten a cracked screen yet. I pay $68/month for my plan from AT&T, which includes unlimited data since I've had it for so long. Everyone I know who has switched to an iPhone says they can't believe they took so long to switch.

That is good to hear! It will be a learning curve for me for sure. Somebody posted some expensive but very protective cases on here recently. I might consider those especially for my daughter.

My older sister has her iPhone in one of those OtterBox cases, and a few weeks ago she accidentally left her phone on top of the car and drove away. Her husband followed her route and found it on the side of the road a couple of miles away completely unharmed! So it appears those cases are worth the money!

 

[iLander]

Here's my experiences, which may not be typical;

DD has dropped and cracked 2 iPhones. Her friends, all intelligent girls, have dropped and cracked 3 phones, among the 5 of them. DH has cracked 1 of his. And he's an iPhone Authorized Developer, not a clumsy, untech guy. You might have one of his apps on your phone now.

We have an early, unlimited data/text plan. We recently tried an experiment with another phone which was limited to 5 GB of data. We used 2 GB within 4 days. The cheapest Apple plan has only 1 GB. If you only make voice calls, you're okay. If you surf the net or watch TV shows, you're looking at $$$ unless you go unlimited.

My phone recently decided to jettison all my music. I have no idea why, and super tech DH couldn't figure it out. I synched it, music came back, but WHERE did it go? My uncle, a typical untech consumer, recently lost all his contacts, and his phone always asks for his voicemail password when it starts up (mine did this too for a while, but then it stopped). Uncle took his phone to AT&T store, where he bought it, they couldn't help him. DH fixed it, but seriously, should it be this aggravating for regular people?

As for reception, it's meh where I live, using AT&T. Most people can't hear me, I echo, and I sometimes can't hear them. Granted I live pretty far out and should probably use a booster.

I think if you want one, and you get unlimited data, you'll be okay. If you have a teen that carry the phone in a too-shallow pocket (oh, goody, an even longer phone!) then you should pay for the insurance. Also, get a rugged case (otterbox is the latest for DD) even if it's ugly.

I also find it odd that we are so enamored with the iPhone when they have phones in Asia and Japan that are light years ahead of Apple. I think Apple has essentially parsed the features of an Asian phone, and is selling it to us, one feature at a time, with each new "update".

 

[iheartscience]

What phones in Asia are light years ahead of the iPhone? I thought the iPhone was in high demand there, too?

 

[Gypsy]

I think I'm not going to upgrade. I keep thinking about spending the money on a new phone and... it's just not a priority for me. I'd rather have new lighting in my living room. I know, I'm weird.

Thanks so much for answering my questions though!

 

[lovebug1031]

We have always had iPhones. From the first one. We have also always had MACs, all the way back to the Macintosh SE (yes, I am that old).

So I believe I am uniquely qualified to say; the iPhone? Not so great.

The iPhone does weird things to people when it syncs with a computer, sometimes losing music, or photos or contacts. You have to watch it like a hawk, especially if you have more than one computer to sync it with. The audio quality is not that good, when and if you can actually make a call. The phone itself is not particularly rugged, just ask any group of teenagers and they will, 9 times out of 10, show you a cracked screen. The service is expensive, and will become even more expensive as the price of data plans goes up.

So, am I looking forward to the new one? No. Do I want it? No. Will I eventually have one? Yup.

DH and DD will see to that.

Well, I was about to break down and get one for our daughter and myself! I am now wondering what to do!

Ask most andriod owners and they'll tell you they have many of the same issues!

 

[kenny]

Re: pricing: I'm on a family plan with my sister, my sister's ex-boyf and my husband, so that makes a difference I'm sure. We all only have cell phones, my other fam is on AT&T also, and we mostly call each other, so most of our calls are free.

Free?
If you only call each other you actually pay ZERO monthly?

If not, those calls are not free, their cost is included in your monthly fee.

 

[kenny]

I will definitely be getting one but if the price is super high when it is first released, I'll be waiting until it comes down.

But then the cool new iPhone 6 will be on the horizon with rumors of wondrous new features.

 

[iLander]

What phones in Asia are light years ahead of the iPhone? I thought the iPhone was in high demand there, too?

The iPhone has captured the majority of market share "among smartphones" in Asia. But smartphones are defined as phones that do not flip open, while the vast majority of Japanese phones flip open. It's like saying that speckled brown eggs are the mostly popular type of brown eggs; meanwhile, the majority of eggs are white. iPhones are the majority in a small part of the market.

Here's a few articles about Japanese cell phones:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/15/3023170/japanese-phones-summer-2012-au-kddi-docomo-softbank

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/technology/20cell.html

http://www.technewsdaily.com/129-10-cool-asian-cell-phones-features-you-cant-have-yet.html

Some articles are out of date, but the advancements (GPS, voice recognition, etc) were developed in Japan first, then added to the iPhone, which is why I'm including them.

Many of the new Japanese phones have radiation detectors . . .

 

[kenny]

Many of the new Japanese phones have radiation detectors . . .

Now THAT'S depressing.

 

[iLander]

My take on Android versus iPhone;

I can't contribute much here, I don't use an Android. But DH, when developing an Android app, has to remove most of the features that are in an iPhone app. There are new Android phones, that do cool stuff, but most Android developers will write to the lowest common denominator when it comes to Androids. It's just not worth it to develop to the top of the line Android, the market is small.

Is owning an iPhone more fun than an Android? I think so, there's much more support in the App community, and Apple has a huge resource of stuff to do on iTunes. But to use that resource, be sure to get unlimited data.

 

[stargurl78]

I will definitely be getting one but if the price is super high when it is first released, I'll be waiting until it comes down.

But then the cool new iPhone 6 will be on the horizon with rumors of wondrous new features.

Haha, you're right Kenny! But I've never been one to have to have the newest technology, I got the iPhone 4 when the 4S was on the horizon.

 

[kenny]

NSFW http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6648229/siri-argument

 

[stargurl78]

NSFW http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6648229/siri-argument

 

[iheartscience]

Re: pricing: I'm on a family plan with my sister, my sister's ex-boyf and my husband, so that makes a difference I'm sure. We all only have cell phones, my other fam is on AT&T also, and we mostly call each other, so most of our calls are free.

Free?
If you only call each other you actually pay ZERO monthly?

If not, those calls are not free, their cost is included in your monthly fee.

Yes, I realize that, and you know exactly what I meant. I believe it's Miss Manners who says it's rude to correct someone if you know what they mean, and I'm inclined to agree.

 

[iheartscience]

What phones in Asia are light years ahead of the iPhone? I thought the iPhone was in high demand there, too?

The iPhone has captured the majority of market share "among smartphones" in Asia. But smartphones are defined as phones that do not flip open, while the vast majority of Japanese phones flip open. It's like saying that speckled brown eggs are the mostly popular type of brown eggs; meanwhile, the majority of eggs are white. iPhones are the majority in a small part of the market.

Here's a few articles about Japanese cell phones:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/15/3023170/japanese-phones-summer-2012-au-kddi-docomo-softbank

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/technology/20cell.html

http://www.technewsdaily.com/129-10-cool-asian-cell-phones-features-you-cant-have-yet.html

Some articles are out of date, but the advancements (GPS, voice recognition, etc) were developed in Japan first, then added to the iPhone, which is why I'm including them.

Many of the new Japanese phones have radiation detectors . . .

Whoa, very cool! I like the 10 Cool Asian Cell Phone Features! I'd like all of those!

 

[amc80]

I'll be getting one next month when I'm eligible for an upgrade. When I bought my iPhone 4 I sold my 3G on eBay for just about $200...which basically covered the cost of the new phone. Hopefully I will be able to do that again.