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iPhone 5 Review - iOS there for iAM
Posted on Wednesday, September 26 2012 @ 14:37:50 Eastern


[Don't worry, guys. This won't be in Vox Pop proper. But it's a fun review we thought would be good for the box. ~Ed. Nick]

It was the summer of... ****, what year was that? I honestly don't remember at this point. This is the iPhone 5, but there have actually been like... 9 or 10 of these things right? And then all that iPod crap. Whatever, it's the original iPhone launch, and I'm eagerly waiting in line to buy the original handset from the makers of all things Mac... for $600. Yes, I'm the early adoption sucker. You think Anthony is a chronic early-adopter? I had the bad habit beaten out of me that day in June.

But I was staring at my iPhone 4, just shy of a year and 6 months old last Friday and I just wasn't happy. Whenever an "S" type iPhone comes out, I'm OK without an upgrade. That doesn't mean they can't get me with even the slightest facelift.

That's what the iPhone 5 appears to be at first. It's a little longer, a little skinnier, a little lighter. One of my favorite new... "things" about the 5 is the way it returns to a metal back. My original iPhone was a tank, mostly thanks to the nearly complete metal backing. While that was a pain for the attenae to work though, it meant I didn't have to worry about cases. Pfffft... cases!

What's more, the black metal (at least on the black model) has a very welcome cobalt color, more midnight than true black. Combine the finely textured feel of the metal back with the diamond cut edge and it can feel like you're holding some sort of black monolith in your hands.

Woah, woah, woah. There's still a ways to go on the whole evolutionary ladder. One unfortunate change in the iOS 6 software is the loss of native Google Maps. Apple has ousted its Silicon Valley rival in favor of their own 3D, flyover, invasion of privacy maps service. Unfortunately, the loss means you'll no longer carry the public transportation map and schedule you used to. Yes, Google has a maps website formatted for iPhones, but this is an inconvenience.

Oh, and AT&T will charge you for every single neat thing you iPhone can do, if they can. Wanna share your phone service connection with your laptop? Hope you have the right data plan. The same goes for over-the-air Facetime.

Luckily, much of that is forgotten thanks to the newly extended screen. It seems silly, but the extra real estate is an effective, if odd, choice. While other handsets are expanding their screens both vertically and horizontally, the iPhone 5 sticks to a little extra length. This is actually of great benefit to a number of apps.

Notably enough, games manage to claim a number of improvements. Of the small selection that supports the new screen size, many have a cleaner play space where more information can be delivered to the end user. My thumbs are huge. I couldn't see **** before. Now Jetpack Joyride is just that.... A joyride. I'm coming for your score, Used.

I'm quite pleased with my iPhone 5. You obviously know if you're in the market for one. Will you be upgrading?