[lynchburgwildcats]

I'm interested to see what Android features they steal this time around.

I'm pretty sure that's gone evenly both ways. Though a lot of things I've seen people accuse Apple of stealing from Android are actually things that both parties took from iOS jailbreak devs. Seriously. A ton of stuff in both OS's came from those guys. That's where the real innovation happens.

But the difference is that Google doesn't go out in front of the world and say Apple steals from them, which is exactly what Apple does, or even sues them, whenever someone else copies them.

It's fine by me if they steal, more power to them if that makes whatever they want to do better, but they shouldn't be whining and moaning about others stealing from them when they have no conscience about stealing as well.

[RubberMallet]

http://live.arstechnica.com/apple-septe ... most-here/

[lynchburgwildcats]

I won't go so far as to say the current gen iPhone is inferior in general - although it is inferior to the SIII without a doubt -

You're comparing a phone that came out three months ago to a phone that came out a year ago. That's a lot of time in terms of mobile tech. (And good luck getting timely software updates for a Samsung device.)

I was comparing based on the specs that have been leaked out.

...but I do insist and always will that it is overpriced when compared to the price points for the top phones on Android.

I'm pretty sure the subsidized prices are exactly the same.[/quote]
Same price doesn't mean one is priced equally. If one phone has better hardware at the same price, or the same hardware at lesser price, the the iPhone is overpriced. And no, you can get a top of the line Android phone cheaper than what the iPhone 5 will cost. The most expensive Android phone from Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T is the Samsung Galaxy SIII, which is $250 with a two-year contract. Correct me if I am remembering wrong, but don't the current gen iPhone's cost no less than $300? That's what I recall. I assume Apple will use the same price points as they always have.

CORRECTION: 16GB model for $199, 32 for 300, 64 for 399. Same as before, I had forgotten about the 16GB model.

[lynchburgwildcats]

http://live.arstechnica.com/apple-septe ... most-here/

Thanks for that, much better than refreshing the Gizmodo page.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Looks like iTunes has received a quite significant overhaul. I can't really grasp it much the ars technica live blog, but lots and lots of changes on the horizon for it. Hopefully that means not being complete crap on Windows.

[lynchburgwildcats]

new iPod nano, reverting away from ultra tiny to more like a mini iPod Touch. Not sure if that's the right direction to go, just spend a little more and get an iPod Touch. Glad I got my iPod Touch when I did, the new one is 100% impractical to be used as a watch like I use mine now. Hopefully it lasts a long time then.

[lynchburgwildcats]

the new iPod Touch is quite fantastic from wha little they have said thus far. If I didn't have a smartphone or a tablet I'd be all over getting one of them. I used to have one, once I got my smartphone, and especially after I got my tablet, the thing had turned into an expensive paperweight.

Oh if only the iPod Touch had a 3G/4G data option with as little as I use actual phone features (aka talking) on my phone. I already dropped regular texting and have started to use entirely google voice. With a data connection I could just abandon the phone altogether. One can only dream one day...

[lynchburgwildcats]

Apple introducing a redesigned earphone called the "earPod". As big as they are, looks like they could be painful on the ears. Pictures they showed made it look like there was a lot of stretching of the skin...

[lynchburgwildcats]

WEll looks like Apple has stolen from Samsung and Nokia this time around

Here is the new iPod Nano


Here is some device called the Samsung YP back from 2007


Also strikingly similar in design to the Nokia Lumia 800

[Hold My Own]

I love that they now have info cards for search results....hmmmm

[adam42381]

Quick question, Scorch, how are you able to upgrade at no additional cost? Is it a carrier/contract thing? I signed a 2 year agreement with Sprint last fall when I bought the 4s and I'm not eligible for any upgrade discounts until next June. Is there a way around this that I'm not aware of? The 5 will probably be around $650 (current 4s price for 16gb is $650) from Sprint and I got a quote of $240 from Gazelle to sell them my 4s.

[RubberMallet]

Quick question, Scorch, how are you able to upgrade at no additional cost? Is it a carrier/contract thing? I signed a 2 year agreement with Sprint last fall when I bought the 4s and I'm not eligible for any upgrade discounts until next June. Is there a way around this that I'm not aware of? The 5 will probably be around $650 (current 4s price for 16gb is $650) from Sprint and I got a quote of $240 from Gazelle to sell them my 4s.

verizon bumps your upgrade date around the time of release of the iphone. mine was due next year. a week ago i noticed it was up in a month all the sudden.

[El Scorcho]

Quick question, Scorch, how are you able to upgrade at no additional cost? Is it a carrier/contract thing? I signed a 2 year agreement with Sprint last fall when I bought the 4s and I'm not eligible for any upgrade discounts until next June. Is there a way around this that I'm not aware of? The 5 will probably be around $650 (current 4s price for 16gb is $650) from Sprint and I got a quote of $240 from Gazelle to sell them my 4s.

Yeah, what RubberMallet said. AT&T always gives me the fully subsidized upgrade price.

[El Scorcho]

Full iPhone 5 hardware update list:

1. Larger 4-inch Retina (1136x640) display. First in-cell touch display in a smartphone.
2. Now with LTE radio for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
3. First Apple device to utilize the new A6 processor. (Double the speed of the A5 from the 4S)
4. Improved battery with up to 8 hours of LTE web browsing. (225 standby hours)
5. Size reduced to 0.299 inches (7.6mm) in thickness and 3.951 ounces (112 grams) in weight.
6. New 8MP rear camera with better low-light sensitivity, improved video stabilization and 40% faster image capture.
7. New 1.2MP front camera now with 720p video.
8. Location device now supports GLONASS in addition to GPS.
9. New smaller, reversible dock connector (dubbed "Lightning")
10. Prices remain the same as previous models. $199/$299/$399

Pretty much exactly what the rumors had been and what I was expecting. Combined with the feature updates in iOS 6, it seems solid. Come on out, haters.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Full iPhone 5 hardware update list:

1. Larger 4-inch Retina (1136x640) display. First in-cell touch display in a smartphone.
2. Now with LTE radio for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
3. First Apple device to utilize the new A6 processor. (Double the speed of the A5 from the 4S)
4. Improved battery with up to 8 hours of LTE web browsing. (225 standby hours)
5. Size reduced to 0.299 inches (7.6mm) in thickness and 3.951 ounces (112 grams) in weight.
6. New 8MP rear camera with better low-light sensitivity, improved video stabilization and 40% faster image capture.
7. New 1.2MP front camera now with 720p video.
8. Location device now supports GLONASS in addition to GPS.
9. New smaller, reversible dock connector (dubbed "Lightning")
10. Prices remain the same as previous models. $199/$299/$399

Pretty much exactly what the rumors had been and what I was expecting. Combined with the feature updates in iOS 6, it seems solid. Come on out, haters.

http://sortable.com/phones/Samsung-Gala ... e-iPhone-5

Read it and weep. Samsung Galaxy SIII still better.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Want to use your old accessories and cables with the new iPhones and iPods? That will cost you a cool $30 for the Lightning to 30-pin connector adapter. Want your adapter to have a 0.2m (0.65 feet) cord? Cough up another $10 for that to make it $40. Glad to see Apple still hasn't abandoned their price gouging ways.

[El Scorcho]

http://sortable.com/phones/Samsung-Gala ... e-iPhone-5

Read it and weep. Samsung Galaxy SIII still better.

Nope.

Half of the supposed advantages in that list are highly debatable.

Example: "Much better theoretical download speed 168 Mb/s (HSPA+) vs 20 Mb/s"

Uh what? They're both LTE phones. Why wouldn't I be downloading at LTE speeds? Are they talking about 3G? If so, then that's dependent on your carrier. Show me the 3G carrier in the U.S. that supports 168Mb HSPA+. There isn't one.

The Galaxy S III has a 20% bigger screen. Okay, the iPhone 5 is 20% lighter. Whee.

Apple hasn't announced how much RAM is in the thing and no one has been able to get an official number yet. Their RAM comparison is bunk.

Transmits music over FM radio? Cool. Analog is very 2012. I'll continue using Bluetooth 4.0.

OLED screen? I'll take the in-cell Retina display that I can read in the sun and is touch accurate any day.

The battery capacity, NFC and expandable storage are real advantages of the Galaxy S III that I'll concede. There are offsetting advantages for the iPhone 5, though. The Galaxy S III is not a clearly better phone. If you have one and enjoy it, good for you. I want nothing it offers, though, save for the expandable storage. And even that's never actually been an issue for me on the iPhone.

[lynchburgwildcats]

http://sortable.com/phones/Samsung-Gala ... e-iPhone-5

Read it and weep. Samsung Galaxy SIII still better.

Nope.

Half of the supposed advantages in that list are highly debatable.

Example: "Much better theoretical download speed 168 Mb/s (HSPA+) vs 20 Mb/s"

Uh what? They're both LTE phones. Why wouldn't I be downloading at LTE speeds? Are they talking about 3G? If so, then that's dependent on your carrier. Show me the 3G carrier in the U.S. that supports 168Mb HSPA+. There isn't one.

The Galaxy S III has a 20% bigger screen. Okay, the iPhone 5 is 20% lighter. Whee.

Apple hasn't announced how much RAM is in the thing and no one has been able to get an official number yet. Their RAM comparison is bunk.

Transmits music over FM radio? Cool. Analog is very 2012. I'll continue using Bluetooth 4.0.

OLED screen? I'll take the in-cell Retina display that I can read in the sun and is touch accurate any day.

The battery capacity, NFC and expandable storage are real advantages of the Galaxy S III that I'll concede. There are offsetting advantages for the iPhone 5, though. The Galaxy S III is not a clearly better phone. If you have one and enjoy it, good for you. I want nothing it offers, though, save for the expandable storage. And even that's never actually been an issue for me on the iPhone.

I noticed you "conveniently" ignored removable battery, NFC, standby time, talk time, and screen resolution. All of which are advantages of the SIII. ANd if he iPhone has anything more than 1GB of RAM, I'd be pretty surprised. All the leaked specs have said 1GB of RAM and thus far all of the leaked specs have been spot on.

[Hold My Own]

How in the world can LTE talk/data time be the same as 3G. I guess the LTE radios arent nearly the hog that wimax was for Sprint. That is shocking to me.

I was really hoping for something so innovative it changes the industry and causes others to panic to catch up....this is all pretty much a yawn though. I'm more excited about the MBP's improvements.

[adam42381]

Quick question, Scorch, how are you able to upgrade at no additional cost? Is it a carrier/contract thing? I signed a 2 year agreement with Sprint last fall when I bought the 4s and I'm not eligible for any upgrade discounts until next June. Is there a way around this that I'm not aware of? The 5 will probably be around $650 (current 4s price for 16gb is $650) from Sprint and I got a quote of $240 from Gazelle to sell them my 4s.

Yeah, what RubberMallet said. AT&T always gives me the fully subsidized upgrade price.

Maybe I'll get lucky and Sprint will do the same. Fingers crossed.

[El Scorcho]

I noticed you "conveniently" ignored removable battery, NFC, standby time, talk time, and screen resolution. All of which are advantages of the SIII. ANd if he iPhone has anything more than 1GB of RAM, I'd be pretty surprised. All the leaked specs have said 1GB of RAM and thus far all of the leaked specs have been spot on.

Dude.

The battery capacity, NFC and expandable storage are real advantages of the Galaxy S III that I'll concede.

How much more plainly could I have said it?

The screen resolution is not so much greater that it warrants mentioning. In fact the iPhone still has greater pixel density. So I'm not conceding that.

I also don't care about a removable battery because the last phone I owned that made me care about a a removable battery was the HTC Apache. Not to mention that adding the hardware to accommodate removable batteries adds to the size of the device. It's just not a factor for me. If someone burns through that much battery every day and needs to carry an extra one, then by all means they should get the Galaxy S III.

[Sly Fox]

It is kind of funny to see Apple has become a me too company. Anybody remember back when they used to be innovative? Yeah, I know it has been awhile. But keep that a secret so the iPhone crowd can continue to live oblivious to the world beyond their walled garden.

[El Scorcho]

How in the world can LTE talk/data time be the same as 3G. I guess the LTE radios arent nearly the hog that wimax was for Sprint. That is shocking to me.

That's exactly why Apple waited until now to add LTE. They wait until the power usage and chip size hits a sweet spot for them. They did the same thing with 3G.

That's also the real story of why the iPhone screen size increased. Extending the screen that much allowed them to pack that much more battery behind it.

I was really hoping for something so innovative it changes the industry and causes others to panic to catch up....this is all pretty much a yawn though. I'm more excited about the MBP's improvements.

I don't think you'll see much of that in phones anymore. Things like that only come along once or twice in a generation. It should be evolutionary for some time to come.

I do enjoy that doubling the speed, reducing the weight by 20%, tripling the bandwidth of the radio AND increasing the battery life at the same time qualifies as a yawn these days, though. We live in technologically spoiled times.

[El Scorcho]

It is kind of funny to see Apple has become a me too company. Anybody remember back when they used to be innovative?

Show me any company who's innovating in the mobile industry right now. They're all still creating evolutionary updates of the original iPhone. As soon as the chips for a new tech hits production-ready quality status in China, everyone throws it in their phones over the course of the next year.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

[flamehunter]

This is the same argument I heard in high school 30+ years ago. Only then it was Ford vs Chevy.The more things change the more they stay the same. Sounds like a free market working to me.