Apple Iphone 5: Pros vs Cons ?

[evidens83]

I love my Apple products(iPad2 and iPhone4). The iOS is stupid simple to use unlike my wife's Android which can be quite cumbersome YMMV. The iPhone5's extra 1" didn't excite me enough to upgrade though. Although I'm quite fond of the simplicity of the iPhone, the Samsung GS4 is looking mighty fine right now. Gonna try to hold off a few months longer and see what the next iPhone has to offer before finally upgrading.

[the86d]

Wow, your knowledge of mobile technology is only surpassed by Rep. Diana DeGette’s understanding of high-capacity magazines. So let’s break down a few of the items you mentioned:

Ummm, isn’t this true for almost every single smart-phone on the market?! Including the one probably in your possession. Anyway, physical keyboards were great...10 years ago.

Apple’s service is unsurpassed. You have a question or problem, you can simply walk into any Apple store and they’ll help you out quickly. Yes, buying Applecare costs money (like many things in life), but the service and no hassle help they provide is best in class. Good luck walking into an AT&T store or Best Buy with your android looking for help.

Seriously, you can actually tell when a battery is about to explode?! The iPhone 5 has better battery life than most competitors. If you need extremely long battery life, you can always buy a Mophie Juice Pack. I’ve used it on business trips and the battery life has been great.

Apple’s Lightning connector is faster than USB and, unlike USB, can be inserted with either face up….great when you are fumbling in the dark.

Wrong again. It has and will continue to roll out across all product lines, e.g., iPad.

Considering that the iPhone 5 is THE best selling phone in the country I don’t think this is an issue. That way when the zombie apocalypse comes you’ll have easy access to millions upon millions of iPhone 5 charge cables to pick from your fellow walkers.

Of course it’s made under the Apple name, they spent billions of dollars developing it. The fact that you obviously dislike Apple and use an android product means that there IS competition.

No, you don’t. It works perfect right out of the box, all you have to do is turn it on.

The android operating system is owned by Google. You know how Google makes money, right? Yes, browser ads.

First of all, you probably won’t need to restore as the platform is extremely stable. However, I’ve once restored and it was a quick, simple, easy process. I also once restored my wife’s phone from a prior back-up easily and without hassle.

Isn’t this the natural progression of any business? Last I heard, Ford was no longer selling the Model T. The funny thing about your statement is that the android manufacturers release dozens of different models a year employing different versions of the android software. The android market is EXTREMELY fragmented. Think of an army with each soldier carrying a different caliber weapon…logistics will be a nightmare.

To each his own.

Safari can show ads that do not appear on any other browser... if advertisers pay Apple.
Google can track anything they want under Jose Fuego, I don't put MY name in my google accounts...
Google does not require it for warranty.

Most people I know have had to either replace their iPhone (same model), or restore data on their iPhone.

You really didn't do so well at a rebuttal, just tried to defend Apple with no real working experience with (never used a rooted/custom-ROM?) Android .
i.e. Cable: I'll be better when apple comes out with more new devices? meh

Li-polymer is known for exploding...

I actually owned an OG iPhone and sure it was a fun "toy", but pretty-much useless compared to every one of the 9 Android devices that have been used daily (only 2 w/out a keyboard).
Anyone who runs a dedicated Linux box (non *buntu) knows why a keyboard has it's benefits, especially if you know what to do via a cli (those that have no use for a "|" character, or what it does probably don't know why anyone would need a k/board), apparently most iPhone users don't do much more than browse web pages, check e-mail, watch netflix/Hulu, possibly use it for tethering (between updates), & hit social network apps... Admittedly I do those too, but quite a bit more.

So everyone has still yet to answer: if you can factory one of the newer iPhones (any non-2g), can you activate it (without an active SIM), and then use it without a data plan on WiFi only?
I ran into issues with iTunes and the 2g version where it wanted to activate, but I didn't have AT&T service... I jailbroke it, then gave it away.

[.40CALIbear]

I have a 5 now. No problems yet after 4 months. But I still like the 4s more, it's a little more solid feeling.

[SilverTauron]

My beer money job is selling phones for a major carrier.As of late Apples quality control has hit the pooper. I cant tell you why that is, but a lot of iPhones have come back because of problems.

Issues to look out for:
Failed power button-button either sticks or wont respond to inputs.
Battery problems- I processed a warrany replacement for an iPhone 5 which seems to have shipped with a junk battery. It would discharge 10% just sitting on a table without any activity in a 3 minute timeframe.

Beyond those two concerns, the iPhone ought to be OK.It helps that your office will replace it if theres any serious problems.

[Tripper]

The86d;
I've turned an iPhone into basically an iPod touch, no data plan, no sim
Still works over wifi.

[gorn5150]

The86d;
I've turned an iPhone into basically an iPod touch, no data plan, no sim
Still works over wifi.

I have done the same thing with several of my old model iPhones. The iPhone 5 is a nice phone. I wanted to go android but just couldn't get myself to like the OS.

There are tons of aftermarket cables for the new lightning cable. I have an adapter that converts micro USB to lightning and it works fine. It cost me $6 and will work with the millions of micro USB cables everyone else has.

[Pell]

Safari can show ads that do not appear on any other browser... if advertisers pay Apple.
Google can track anything they want under Jose Fuego, I don't put MY name in my google accounts...
Google does not require it for warranty.

Most people I know have had to either replace their iPhone (same model), or restore data on their iPhone.

You really didn't do so well at a rebuttal, just tried to defend Apple with no real working experience with (never used a rooted/custom-ROM?) Android .
i.e. Cable: I'll be better when apple comes out with more new devices? meh

Li-polymer is known for exploding...

I actually owned an OG iPhone and sure it was a fun "toy", but pretty-much useless compared to every one of the 9 Android devices that have been used daily (only 2 w/out a keyboard).
Anyone who runs a dedicated Linux box (non *buntu) knows why a keyboard has it's benefits, especially if you know what to do via a cli (those that have no use for a "|" character, or what it does probably don't know why anyone would need a k/board), apparently most iPhone users don't do much more than browse web pages, check e-mail, watch netflix/Hulu, possibly use it for tethering (between updates), & hit social network apps... Admittedly I do those too, but quite a bit more.

So everyone has still yet to answer: if you can factory one of the newer iPhones (any non-2g), can you activate it (without an active SIM), and then use it without a data plan on WiFi only?
I ran into issues with iTunes and the 2g version where it wanted to activate, but I didn't have AT&T service... I jailbroke it, then gave it away.

You are thinking of iAds, which has nothing to do with Safari.

Also, new android devices come out all the time. And you can't always get the same software when you go from one to the next. The potential for different app stores exists. At least with the iPhone, you can plan ahead. You know how often something is coming up and can plan potential upgrades around it.

If you don't think google is collecting data from your phone (which Apple is not), I have a bridge to sell you.

And, might as well address a couple of the earlier points. Each iPhone comes with a one year limited warranty. The AppleCare plan also covers two incidents of accidental damage with a $49 fee (cheaper than any carriers' insurance).

And to whomever said that the next iphone will come out this summer: The iphone is always on a minimum of a one year cycle.

[Tweaksalot]

iphone 5 would be perfect if i could run android on it. IOS is primitive. You can't even have widgets. . . .

[Kalakaua]

Compared to a BB Bold it's the greatest thing since individually wrapped cheese slices.

At work they issued me a blackberry and after a while I gave it back so I could use my personal iPhone for work. I've had a iPhone since the second one and bought every iPhone from the 4th and onward. The OS isn't perfect but Android is far from perfect as well. (bought a Google Nexus 4 because I was android curious but haven't used it after my few months of using it)

If you're planning on buying iPhone accessories such as a dock, be aware the iPhone 5 uses the new smaller connector so a lot of older accessories may not work if they require use of the older 30 pin dock connector.

Pros - Simple to get things done, fast phone (the OS never lags), very intuitive, the newest apps tend to release iOS first if they are not releasing on multiple platforms at launch, best smartphone camera and never crashes (at least for me no app has ever crashed).

Cons - iOS innovations (the OS not hardware) have slowed lately. Not very customizable. (meaning default browser, mail client, calendar app, keyboard, etc. are by default the Apple products. You can load your own 3rd party versions, minus the keyboard, but they won't be the default app). Some things that the stock version of Android 4.2.2 does that I wish iOS would do while at the same time there are some things I wish the stock version of Android would do that iOS does.

[gabe123]

Might want to look into the iCloud thing. I'm a huge fan. It doesn't look impressive but it is. When I put something into my calendar, all my device will show the appointment, and remind me at the same time. All my pictures are backup automatically. etc... but this is the most important thing: If I lost my iphone, I can get a new one, ( not necessarily same phone #), and restore it with my apple id. I will get all my calendar, notes, CONTACTS, and photo back, just like that. It backup to the cloud at night via wifi while I sleep. This is huge plus if this is your work phone.

[Donk310]

Pro: You get to say you have an iPhone
Con: After you say you have an iPhone, all you are left with is an iPhone.