Prasad, please don't tell me you're impressed by the new iPhone

[Guest valueInv]

Last time you weren't impressed with the iPad 3 and it went on to become a blockbuster. You've become my contrarian indicator.

 

http://live.gdgt.com/live-iphone-5-launch-coverage/

 

If you're impressed with the iPhone 5, I may have to dump all my Apple stock.  ;D ;D ;D

 

 

[racemize]

I'm definitely getting it.  Like the integrated touch display.

[Guest rimm_never_sleeps]

i think we are getting to the stage in smartphones when we got to windows xp. from then on it's been pretty boring with little innovation. there isn't a lot of excitement to be generated anymore with new smartphone announcements. there really is only so much you are going to be able to do with this form factor. I'm not sure you're going to see lines for this one. if you do it will be somewhat manipulated imo.

[Guest valueInv]

i think we are getting to the stage in smartphones when we got to windows xp. from then on it's been pretty boring with little innovation. there isn't a lot of excitement to be generated anymore with new smartphone announcements. there really is only so much you are going to be able to do with this form factor. I'm not sure you're going to see lines for this one. if you do it will be somewhat manipulated imo.

The problem with Windows XP and later was that MSFT stopped innovating because they didn't have the competitive pressure on them - they had one the market. Once Apple started winning on mobile and started making gains on the desktop, out comes Metro. For the first time in its life, MSFT is doing some radical innovation!

 

The mobile market is nothing like that, it is heavily competitive and no one is resting on their laurels, including Apple.

[tng]

You don't need huge year over year improvements to sell iPhones any more. Providers are subsidizing the cost of the phone with a 2 year contract, so it makes a lot of sense for people to replace their phone every 2 years. I replaced my iPhone 3 with an iPhone 4GS last year. I sold my used iPhone 3 for about $200 to cover the $200 I needed to buy the iPhone 4GS. So it was basically a free upgrade.

 

Even without this subsidy, phones don't have very long lifetimes. I take very good care of my phone so it can last years, but most people don't. The phone gets scratched up or the battery doesn't hold its charge that well after 2 years. Or the home button starts coming loose (a lot of people press that button really hard for some reason). Some people lose their phones. Because it is a portable and chargable device, not one that sits under the desk all day, it takes quite a beating. A lot of people want to replace the phone because it's getting worn out.

 

Depending on how much money I can get for my iPhone 4GS, I may buy an iPhone 5 and sell the 4GS. The effective "rental rate" is pretty cheap for Apple products because the old ones hold their value very well.

[Parsad]

Last time you weren't impressed with the iPad 3 and it went on to become a blockbuster. You've become my contrarian indicator.

 

http://live.gdgt.com/live-iphone-5-launch-coverage/

 

If you're impressed with the iPhone 5, I may have to dump all my Apple stock.  ;D ;D ;D

 

Love it!  Going to buy one.  ;D

 

Truth...I'm glad they increased the screen size...4.5" would have been even better.  I like this design better than the previous phone.  The display looks even better, but I'm not sure how much that will help with only a 4" screen...will have to see how my eyes feel when reading off of it.  I'll test the Samsungs versus the iPhone 5 when I switch.  I really do like the bigger screens on the Samsungs though, but it's going to be a pain in the ass for someone less technically savvy like me to switch phones.  Cheers!

[racemize]

You don't need huge year over year improvements to sell iPhones any more. Providers are subsidizing the cost of the phone with a 2 year contract, so it makes a lot of sense for people to replace their phone every 2 years. I replaced my iPhone 3 with an iPhone 4GS last year. I sold my used iPhone 3 for about $200 to cover the $200 I needed to buy the iPhone 4GS. So it was basically a free upgrade.

 

Even without this subsidy, phones don't have very long lifetimes. I take very good care of my phone so it can last years, but most people don't. The phone gets scratched up or the battery doesn't hold its charge that well after 2 years. Or the home button starts coming loose (a lot of people press that button really hard for some reason). Some people lose their phones. Because it is a portable and chargable device, not one that sits under the desk all day, it takes quite a beating. A lot of people want to replace the phone because it's getting worn out.

 

Depending on how much money I can get for my iPhone 4GS, I may buy an iPhone 5 and sell the 4GS. The effective "rental rate" is pretty cheap for Apple products because the old ones hold their value very well.

 

Yeah, this will be a big upgrade to me from my iPhone 4.  The thing is, the competition has to be much better for me to want to switch ecosystems, setup, etc. 

[gokou3]

I don't see any huge upgrades from the 4S which I am using.  I do a lot of web browsing (news sites).  Having a longer screen certainly won't make MY web browsing experience a lot better, so yeah an even bigger screen would be better.  A CPU upgrade and from the 4S is expected.  A slightly better front camera is nothing to brag about.  The other improvements are mostly software.  Remind me of any other hardware upgrades I missed.  Btw, notice the lack of NFC?

 

The iPhone is still among the best smartphone out there, but there's no wow factor with the iPhone 5.  Specifically, there's nothing that would make one say "Wow, how many years would it take the competition to catch up with this feature?".  I should also mention that in Canada, they have increased the unlocked phone price by $50 to $699 for the 16GB.  Wonder whether the carriers would also lift their subsidized price or whether Apple would sell to the carriers for a higher price as well.  I think this move is giving the carriers more incentives to push other brands.  After all, less incentive --> more profit, all else equal.

 

I think smartphone related technologies are still only in its infancy and have a long way to go.  Go check out Nokia's Lumia 920.  Their stuff may not be as polished as Apple (especially in terms of marketing), but they have some neat innovations.  Video stabilization, indoor GPS (they didn't call it this but that's how I interpret it), wireless charging, and nice screen.

[Guest valueInv]

Last time you weren't impressed with the iPad 3 and it went on to become a blockbuster. You've become my contrarian indicator.

 

http://live.gdgt.com/live-iphone-5-launch-coverage/

 

If you're impressed with the iPhone 5, I may have to dump all my Apple stock.  ;D ;D ;D

 

Love it!  Going to buy one.  ;D

 

 

Uh oh

[Guest rimm_never_sleeps]

went to the verge and it's just like i thought. it's purely an evolution from 4s. people will buy it when their contracts are up. apple is running out of ideas to put in the os. however, apple does a great job of refining and evolving their current products. just not a lot of places they can go from here. the smartphone is losing it's ability to wow people. just like the pc did. just like the ipod did. just like tablets will do.

[Guest valueInv]

http://www.apple.com/iphone/#video

[tradevestor]

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-57511658-233/iphone-5-opens-the-door-for-nokia-samsung/

 

There's no doubt that the iPhone 5 is going to be a great, fast-selling smartphone, but it's out-innovated by Nokia and Samsung.

[DCG]

This is kinda interesting to me:

 

"Making a thinner, lighter iPhone meant even the display had to be thinner. Apple engineers accomplished that by creating the first Retina display with integrated touch technology. Which means instead of a separate layer of touch electrodes between display pixels, the pixels do double duty — acting as touch-sensing electrodes while displaying the image at the same time. With one less layer between you and what you see on iPhone 5, you experience more clarity than ever before."

[txlaw]

Looks to be a decent upgrade. 

 

LTE, bigger screen (which is a necessity given the competition), and a bit thinner.  I bet typing will actually be a bit better in landscape mode because of the elongated screen.  I've never used Siri before, but it sounds like it may be more useful now.  Pretty disappointed that there is no NFC support. 

 

No big deal, though.  I find it a bit weird that they're marketing this as the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.  (I get the playful reference to the bigger screen but . . . )  I suspect most consumers aren't going to buy that line -- though that won't stop many of us from buying the damn thing.

 

I'm probably going to wait to upgrade until I get a chance to play around with the new Razrs.  Mostly I just want to get on an LTE network. 

[Liberty]

I just finished watching the keynote video and I liked what I saw. I'm sure it'll sell really well.

[Guest valueInv]

Watch the retail video at the beginning:

 

http://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2012/

 

Marketing at its best.

[Guest valueInv]

Nails it:

 

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/

[DCG]

Nails it:

 

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/

 

One of the best techcrunch posts I've seen in a while. Thanks for posting it.

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

It's nearly $900 sim-free here in Europe. Personally, I think I will stick with my $200 Nokia that pretty much does everything that the iPhone does ;D

[txlaw]

Is any other board member who has loved using their iPhone just bored with the whole product line? 

 

I don't know if that's the techie in me, but I'm really bored with my iPhone, and I kind of want to try something new.  Maybe it's because I have had the iPhone 4 for a while now.

 

That Techcrunch article about the "turn" and the "prestige" is dumb.  There's nothing extraordinary about the iPhone.  There's nothing magical about the iPhone 5. 

 

I don't think it's just me:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/09/iphone_5_dock_connector_the_one_incredibly_irksome_feature_that_will_leave_you_cursing_apple_.html

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/live-blog-apples-iphone-announcement-plus-itunes-11-ios-6-new-ipods.php

[DCG]

Is any other board member who has loved using their iPhone just bored with the whole product line? 

 

I don't know if that's the techie in me, but I'm really bored with my iPhone, and I kind of want to try something new.  Maybe it's because I have had the iPhone 4 for a while now.

 

 

I'm not bored with it. It does what I need, and does it very well (and better than Android and any other phones out there). I'm looking forward to the some of the new features in iOS 6.

 

I had an Android phone for 2 & a half years (and we have a few Android devices at work that I play around on a lot). While Android offers things like keyboard replacements, and homescreen replacements, all of those replacements are incredibly buggy in my experience. The widgets on Android are a pretty good feature, but also eat battery power, and are also pretty buggy in my experience.

[Guest valueInv]

Is any other board member who has loved using their iPhone just bored with the whole product line? 

 

I don't know if that's the techie in me, but I'm really bored with my iPhone, and I kind of want to try something new.  Maybe it's because I have had the iPhone 4 for a while now.

 

That Techcrunch article about the "turn" and the "prestige" is dumb.  There's nothing extraordinary about the iPhone.  There's nothing magical about the iPhone 5. 

 

I don't think it's just me:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/09/iphone_5_dock_connector_the_one_incredibly_irksome_feature_that_will_leave_you_cursing_apple_.html

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/live-blog-apples-iphone-announcement-plus-itunes-11-ios-6-new-ipods.php

 

Well, next time well tell Cook to make it more "entertaining" for you.  ;)

 

Time to buy more RIMM, txlaw?

 

 

[txlaw]

Is any other board member who has loved using their iPhone just bored with the whole product line? 

 

I don't know if that's the techie in me, but I'm really bored with my iPhone, and I kind of want to try something new.  Maybe it's because I have had the iPhone 4 for a while now.

 

That Techcrunch article about the "turn" and the "prestige" is dumb.  There's nothing extraordinary about the iPhone.  There's nothing magical about the iPhone 5. 

 

I don't think it's just me:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/09/iphone_5_dock_connector_the_one_incredibly_irksome_feature_that_will_leave_you_cursing_apple_.html

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/live-blog-apples-iphone-announcement-plus-itunes-11-ios-6-new-ipods.php

 

Well, next time well tell Cook to make it more "entertaining" for you.  ;)

 

Time to buy more RIMM, txlaw?

 

I've got plenty of RIM right now, thanks.  ;)

 

It's okay if Tim Cook is boring -- which he is.  That's not what made this release so disappointing.  I wish that Apple had been more forward thinking so that the iPhone update would have had more new useful features in it.  The bigger screen was a necessary update -- they had no choice given how people are loving it in their non-Apple phones.  Thinner?  Big deal.  LTE?  Also necessary.

 

The new dock connector bit is crappy, but it doesn't affect me personally as much as it will other people.  Not having NFC is much worse to me, and could potentially make me go with Android.  Also would have loved to see new cloud services rolled out to make the iPhone more useful, but they're probably still working on all that.

 

I find there's no compelling reason to upgrade, and this is the first time I'm contemplating switching from an iPhone to another device. 

 

It looks like we may not see any real magic from Apple again until they release their iTV.

[Guest valueInv]

txlaw - if you don't mind me asking, what is your background/profession in?

[DCG]

Is any other board member who has loved using their iPhone just bored with the whole product line? 

 

I don't know if that's the techie in me, but I'm really bored with my iPhone, and I kind of want to try something new.  Maybe it's because I have had the iPhone 4 for a while now.

 

That Techcrunch article about the "turn" and the "prestige" is dumb.  There's nothing extraordinary about the iPhone.  There's nothing magical about the iPhone 5. 

 

I don't think it's just me:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/09/iphone_5_dock_connector_the_one_incredibly_irksome_feature_that_will_leave_you_cursing_apple_.html

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/live-blog-apples-iphone-announcement-plus-itunes-11-ios-6-new-ipods.php

 

Well, next time well tell Cook to make it more "entertaining" for you.  ;)

 

Time to buy more RIMM, txlaw?

 

I've got plenty of RIM right now, thanks.  ;)

 

It's okay if Tim Cook is boring -- which he is.  That's not what made this release so disappointing.  I wish that Apple had been more forward thinking so that the iPhone update would have had more new useful features in it.  The bigger screen was a necessary update -- they had no choice given how people are loving it in their non-Apple phones.  Thinner?  Big deal.  LTE?  Also necessary.

 

The new dock connector bit is crappy, but it doesn't affect me personally as much as it will other people.  Not having NFC is much worse to me, and could potentially make me go with Android.  Also would have loved to see new cloud services rolled out to make the iPhone more useful, but they're probably still working on all that.

 

I find there's no compelling reason to upgrade, and this is the first time I'm contemplating switching from an iPhone to another device. 

 

It looks like we may not see any real magic from Apple again until they release their iTV.

 

Apple is in this for the long haul, and has a history of not throwing in features just for the hell of it. We are still some time away from retailers adapting NFC payments on a large scale, and on a global scale (remember, this phone is sold everywhere..this isn't Samsung or HTC who release 25 phones a year spread out all over the world). In a year or two, when NFC has more real uses (rather than being a extra line manufacturers throw in their list of specs), I'm sure it'll be added to the iPhone. I understand that nf has other uses than payments, but they're mostly gimmicks at is point.

 

They build a great product, and are constantly refining it. Would you rather them follow all of the android manufacturers and release 22 different iPhones a year?

 

And people seem to sometimes forget that the iPhone is the combination of software and hardware. The refinements of iOS are arguably more important than tech-spec improvements that people often fixate over.

 

Regarding the phone design, why make huge changes to something that works very well already? Android phones with large screens usually pixallate the OS and look awful. Who wants to carry a 6" phone in their pocket? Would a trackball that changes colors (RIMM shot) be a useful and magical feature?  :P