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| Steve Jobs (seated) and the flag that flew over Apple's Corporate HQ for many years -- Jobs used to tell his employees "It's better to be a Pirate than to join the Navy!" Considering how Apple sometimes acquired tech and software that may very well be more a business philosophy for Jobs than a witty observation... |
One element of my life as a writer is the Digital Grind Column, which I write for the Cape Cod Times, Business & Tech Section, and which appears in that newspaper every other Tuesday, covering a very broad assortment of information and subjects. The most recent column (as I write this blog entry) is called "What to get your geek" and represents the annual gift suggestion column for the geeks in your life, and tends to include devices or products that I have recently learned about or have discovered that seem particularly appropriate.
That neatly applies here because it is around this time of year that our focus in the paper tends to narrow in upon the holidays and tech, and it also relates to the subject of this entry here at Speaking Of because the primary subject -- the new iPhone as well as the new iPad and Tablet Computing, has a tenuous relationship that is pretty obvious if you think about it...
The recent release of the iPad Mini along with the very confusing release of the iPad III that has been variously presented as the iPad (rather than iPad III / iPad 3 which it should have been called) and the new iPhone 5, has resulted in a flurry of email from readers asking for a mix of clarification and additional information as well as my opinion on the two devices and whether or not they should upgrade. This post is a general (and sometimes specific) response to that question, and is necessary due to the large volume of what are essentially email messages that are asking the same basic set of questions or are requesting the same information.
Normally I do not like the idea of writing a general reply like this, as I feel that it lacks the personal touch that a considered reply to an email retains. After all, the reader went to the trouble of actually sitting down and thinking about their questions and then emailed them to me, the least that I could do is take the time to think about my reply and then send it to them, right? Well, no, not so much really, since the questions are more of the general tech sort, as opposed to being personal for instance, so while it would not be right to create a post like this to offer an opinion on something personal, in this case it really is the exception to the rule...
To make this easier I am dividing the post into two logical sections: iPads and Tablet Computers, and iPhones. Note that the former includes a lot of questions that relate to Windows 8 and the various aspects that relate to touch-computing and whether or not Windows 8 really was created for tablet and touch-based computing or not, and where the iPad fits into that issue, and whether the iPad Mini is really something new or simply a repackaging of something old. Just to be clear.
Making the Decision to Upgrade Your Tech
A significant focus for the email that I have been receiving begins by dealing with the question of whether or not an upgrade is required. When it comes to wireless phone and to a limited degree, tablet computing tech, that can be a foggy area, particularly when a significant measure of the PR effort that is expended by companies like Apple is oriented towards convincing consumers to upgrade for no other reason than the fact that a new model iPhone or iPad is available, and when that is the basic impetus behind the urge to upgrade your tech, well, logic rarely ever plays a role there!
With respect to the questions Do you need to upgrade? and Is it time to upgrade? my basic first choice for the answers tend to be other questions -- like Is your device not providing the level of service that you presently require? Will replacing/upgrading your device provide visible benefits that you can feel and that are genuine? The final question is perhaps the more significant one: Are you looking into upgrading your device because you saw the latest commercial from Apple that tells you that a new version of the tech is available and you should upgrade today?
While those questions are all well and good, the real question you should be asking yourself is whether or not the upgrade you are contemplating actually provides you with benefits that will have an impact on your use of the tech. If the version of iPhone or iPad you presently own is the most recent one before this new one came out, you may not want to hear this, but upgrading really does not make a lot of sense. Unless you simply need to have the latest and greatest -and- you can afford that sort of expense merely to own the most recent version.
A lot of times my advice on upgrades when the reader asking the question has an older version (or even a very older version) of the device is to ask them what feature in particular that is part of the new model that they feel is lacking in their old model, and what differences that will make in how they use their device?
Whether or not you should upgrade your iPhone or iPad often is not the real question anyway -- the real question is often the answer to Do you want to upgrade? With the constant improvements that are provided to the kit via updates to iOS, unless your device literally lacks a specific capability that you want -- and yes, not having Siri capability is a legitimate reason to upgrade your old iPhone but maybe not to the most recent one, considering that the iPhone 4S very nicely makes use of Siri in the same fashion that the iPhone 5 does but at a mind-numbing difference in price, if Siri is behind your desire to upgrade, you may want to look at the expenses involved and use those as your personal upgrade barometer... I am just saying.
So with those notions examined, let us take a look at the specific tech and its changes, improvements, differences, and other very important details shall we?
The iPad, Windows 8, and Touch Computing
Upgrading your iPad? If you own the original iPad upgrading to the more capable current model makes a lot of sense, and in particular if you are going for a model with more memory, but the recent release of the iPad3 along with the even more recent release of the iPad Mini means you have a lot of options available to you that you would not have had a year ago.
Whether you choose to go for the newest model or not is going to largely be a question of what you have to spend, though even from Apple's own website there are some rather tasty deals on the iPad2 and in particular refurb deals on the higher capacity models with or without cellular hardware installed in them. When I made the choice to upgrade I ended up going with a refurbished iPad 2 directly from Apple as it came with the standard Apple warranty and was a considerable step up in oomph from the original iPad.
Going from the iPad 2 to the new iPad is not as obvious a leap though, since most of the improvements in speed and appearance are subtle enough so that the casual user is not really going to notice or detect them... Now the iPad Mini, well, that is a horse of a different color entirely.
Ignoring for the moment that the Mini has considerably less screen real estate, its main selling point is that it is large enough to be useful, but small enough to easily fit in the average purse -- forget day pack since the full-sized iPad will conveniently and easily fit into one of those. Full sized or Mini they both weigh next to nothing, so it is not a weight issue but a size issue -- and if you are getting the impression that I consider the Mini to be a downgrade from the standard-sized iPad, well I do!
I have been accused of considering the iPad Mini to be made for girls (I do) and my comments about it being sized for the average purse is not sarcasm! While the full-sized iPad is not the perfect choice for a mobile tablet that allows its users to quickly surf the web, send and receive email, and play media entertainment when that person only carries a handbag (purse) the Mini is. If I were a girl and I was considering a tablet device to do all of that, I would choose the Mini in a New York minute simply because that form is more convenient. If size was not an issue though, I would go with the full-sized iPad because hey, size matters.
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| Microsoft's new Surface Tablet is cool, but it is not a computer. Like the iPad it is a computing appliance, and anyone who looks at it as a full replacement for their notebook is likely to be very disappointed down the road a bit... |
Windows 8? Touch Computing?
The release of Windows 8 had nothing to do with the newest generation of touch-computing based tablets, no matter how closely related they appear to be. That new gen of touch-computing units was going to be released regardless of when Microsoft released Windows 8 -- and speaking of Windows 8 if you are still laboring under the impression that it is a touch-computing OS, you should take a few minutes to read the Digital Grind column on that subject and then read this blog entry and then this one.
Do I think you should buy a touchscreen tablet computer so that you can enjoy what Windows 8 has to offer? Well, only if you want a touchscreen tablet computer to replace your current notebook computer, since Windows 8 really is not (or rather should not be) a factor in that process! Seriously if that OS is your primary motivation, you should rethink the issue -- and read the column and the two blog entries.
What Tablet / Touch Screen Should I Buy?
That by far is the most frequently asked question that I am getting lately -- and the answer that I have been giving out is probably not the one that most of the people asking the question were expecting...
The first important distinction that needs to be made is that touchscreen computing is not new, though a significant percentage of my readers who are emailing me about it seem to think it is. Tablets and touchscreen computing have been around for over 10 years! The fact that the PC industry is now pushing that tech seriously has more to do with the fact that they are looking for a new trend to ride and a new direction to push the consumer of their products in that lets them sell another unit had a much bigger influence on this than anything else really.
Now when you consider that the natural advancements in CPU tech are such that you already find yourself almost forced to upgrade and replace your computer every two years anyway, these new lines of tablet and touchscreen computers when combined with Microsoft also discovering the cool factor in them and focusing a major way on it with their new OS really changes nothing...
Let me put this another way -- if you have never used a touchscreen computer or tablet, BEFORE you buy one, go down to Best Buy and play with the display units first. Think about how cool that touchscreen will be for the 10% or so of the time you will be using that computer on trips in the car when you are a passenger (I sincerely hope you are not using it when you are the driver!) and on commutes, or when you are lounging on the floor of your living room and you want to read the IMDB entry for the movie you are about to watch/are watching...
Now think about the other 90% of the time when you need to write a long email, or paper, or report, or surf the web? How about playing a game? Will you really do all of that holding the computer in your hands? Do you want to?
What do you think is easier -- the onscreen keyboard or a real one? If the onscreen keyboard is so cool why do they sell detachable keyboards for those computers?
I have been using computers for most of my adult life, and I have used touchscreen and tablet computers in the past, but when I went shopping for a new notebook PC (with Windows 8 I should add) what I chose was a traditional one... With a built-in keyboard. And then I bought a wireless keyboard and mouse to use with it because I like the full-sized 101 QWERTY keyboard better and I abhor a touchpad! I much prefer to use a mouse -- and when I am serious about working on my computer - such as now when I am writing this -- I also like to snack on Smart Food and eat the occasional pizza. God help me if I needed to touch the screen right now because I would be leaving greasy finger smudges all over it!
While tablet and touchscreen computing is a novel idea, if you are an average computer user you will realize that not only is the keyboard your common interface to your PC, it is your preferred one. Having tried upon more than one occasion to use the onscreen keyboard of a tablet computer to write a lengthy email reply, I know -- I know -- that I am much more productive and enter data much faster with a real, traditional keyboard. I am just saying....
Besides that I already have a tablet computer to use for when I need that -- it is called an iPad.
BUT. . .
If you really do want a tablet computer or a touchscreen computer, make sure it is really a computer. What I mean by that is that if you are going to spend that sort of money on that sort of device, then please be sure that you get what you pay for -- starting with a hard drive rather than a miniscule amount of onboard Flash RAM..
Microsoft's new tablet is cool looking and slick, but it is not a computer, it is a computing appliance. That's OK though, so says Microsoft, because consumers know that, right? Well, no, not so much really. The fact that it runs a version of Windows 8 is enough to fool a lot of people into thinking it is a computer akin to a notebook PC that you just happen to use like an iPad when, in reality, it is closer TO an iPad than it is a notebook PC!
If you really do need a computer you can carry with you and use for drawing, making diagrams, and other touch-based actions, make sure that it has a hard drive and is expandable. Pay the extra cost for its proper docking station so you can use it like a regular computer, with keyboard and mouse and have access to a CD/DVD too, so that you when you need to install a new app or program that is less an exercise in network gymnastics and more like the process you already know well...
The iPhone
The question being asked is a simple one: Should I buy the new iPhone?
If you consult the table below you will note that there are significant differences between the major model numbers and there are even significant differences between the minor numbers -- the table below addresses the most significant specification items but is not a comprehensive listing of specs, rather it is intended to address the major spec points that are likely to factor into the decision as to whether or not to upgrade.
Following the table are my considered upgrade recommendations with weight given to cost as well as convenience and capabilities...
I have used the iPhone 5 -- and when I mentally compare it to the 4S I do not feel like I am missing anything. If you are a 3G/3GS owner and you are thinking about upgrading, check the deals page for upgrades on your service providers site and you may find that you, too, can get a really good deal on the 4S.
As the author of the Digital Grind Column for the Cape Cod Times'
Business & Tech Section I am used to getting loads
of email whenever a new tech product comes out, that is of wide
interest to consumers (and my readers), but the volume of email that
the iPhone 5 generated was unusual, and to put a point on it, the
vast majority of that email consisted of variations on the theme of
asking “Should I upgrade to the iPhone 5?”
The answer to that question for the
most devoted Apple aficionados was not to be found from me, because
they were not the people who were writing to me to ask it.
Besides, for the
serious Apple addicts the choice of whether to upgrade to the newest
iPhone is not really a choice at all – they knew that they would be
among the first in line at their local Apple Store to do it; and if
they did not have a local Apple Store, well that's what paid sick
days and the train to Boston or New York City are for, right?
No, the folks that sent me that
question by email were largely regular Joe's – my neighbors, the
guy who owns the fish store, and everyone who does not believe that
there is no cost too high to have the newest Apple tech, and for them
the question was a sincere and serious one. The issue at hand was
not whether the newest phone would be cool to own, but rather what
did it offer that made the expense and the hassle of upgrading worth
it?
Announced for September 12th, the
iPhone 5 features a larger screen, a lighter and slimmer frame, and a
faster CPU and, for the first time, fully compatible 4G LTE wireless
connectivity – but was all that a good reason to switch or upgrade?
Most of my readers did not think so if the form of their questions
and what they wanted to know are any indication (and they are).
While Apple knows when it has a good
thing it seems that the people who make up the largest block of
consumers in the country may not. Since I happen to be a member of
that group – which I loosely define as people who have to go to
work to pay their bills – like them I need to hear that this new
iPhone is going to make my life significantly better before I commit to paying what
amounts to a premium for it when it is compared to the other phones
on the upgrade list for my wireless carrier.
According to pollster Kantar Worldpanel
the first 24-hours of sales for the iPhone 5 pushed Apple back into
the top spot for mobile phones, but the big surprise was not so much
that the iPhone 5 served to re-establish Apple's position at the top,
but rather that the majority of sales for the new iPhone came from
existing customers. That begged the question: Did they know
something that I did not?
Considering that industry experts were
predicting that the largest individual group of measurable consumers
expected to switch to or upgrade to the new iPhone was thought to be
current Android owners (early polling data suggests that far from
being a majority, the population of new iPhone 5 owners who switched
from an Android mobile phone product weighs in at slightly less than
12%), the fact that the largest measurable group of consumers
upgrading or switching to the iPhone 5 were, in fact, people who
actually already owned an iPhone suggested that maybe they did... Or
maybe not – it was a question that I needed to answer and that
meant researching it and talking to people.
In the interests of full transparency you should be aware that I am an Apple iPhone user, that I owned an iPhone 3GS, and that in addition to my iPhone 3GS I own an iPad2 and there are other members of my family who own and use iPhones. With that out of the way, please read on...
After spending a considerable amount of time reviewing the specifications for the iPhone 5, the apps that come with it, and the basic features of the newest version of iOS that are specific to the iPhone 5, I came to the following conclusions with respect to the advisability of upgrading your current iPhone to the new iPhone 5:
Comparing the current crop of iPhone
Following the table are my considered upgrade recommendations with weight given to cost as well as convenience and capabilities...
iPhone Model
|
Mem
|
Average
Price
|
CPU &
Speed
|
Display
|
Siri?
|
Camera
Video
|
Standby
Time
|
Talk
Time
|
Internet
Time
|
5
|
64GB
|
$399
AT&T
|
A6
1.1GHz
|
Retina
1136x640
|
Yes
|
8MP
1080HD
|
225h
|
14h
8h 3G
|
10h WiFi
8h 3G
|
5
|
32GB
|
$299
AT&T
|
A6
1.1GHz
|
Retina
1136x640
|
Yes
|
8MP
1080HD
|
225h
|
14h
8h 3G
|
10h WiFi
8h 3G
|
5
|
16GB
|
$199
AT&T
|
A6
1.1GHz
|
Retina
1136x640
|
Yes
|
8MP
1080HD
|
225h
|
14h
8h 3G
|
10h WiFi
8h 3G
|
4S
|
16GB
|
$99.99 AT&T
|
A5
800MHz
|
Retina
960x640
|
Yes
|
8MP
1080HD
|
200h
|
14h
8h 3G
|
10h WiFi
6h 3G
|
4
|
8GB
|
.99 AT&T
|
A4
1GHz
|
Retina
960x640
|
No
|
5MP
720pHD
|
300h
|
14h
7h 3G
|
10h WiFi
6h 3G
|
3GS
|
8GB
|
Free
|
ARM11
600MHz
|
TFT
320x480
|
No
|
3.15MP
VGA
|
300h
|
12h
5h 3G
|
9h WiFi
5h 3G
|
3G
|
8GB
|
Free
|
ARM11
412MHz
|
TFT
320x480
|
No
|
2MP
None
|
300h
|
10h
5h 3G
|
7h WiFi
5h 3G
|
From a practical point of view there are three basic recommendation groups -- seriously, I am not being funny here or joking, so take this for what it is: sound advice based upon considered logic.
Group I: People who have more money than they know what to do with.
If you fall into this group of consumer you already know you have more than enough money, and the decision to upgrade is more a matter of convenience for you than anything else. That being the case, if you have an older iPhone and you want to upgrade, you may as well get the iPhone 5.
Group II: The rest of us.
The decision to upgrade for you is largely based upon the model of iPhone that you own now, so please find that in the listing below and read the comments.
- iPhone 3G/3GS Owners
I have used the iPhone 5 -- and when I mentally compare it to the 4S I do not feel like I am missing anything. If you are a 3G/3GS owner and you are thinking about upgrading, check the deals page for upgrades on your service providers site and you may find that you, too, can get a really good deal on the 4S.
- iPhone 4 Owners
- iPhone 4S Owners
If it is failing, on its last legs, has a cracked screen, those
are all good and justifiable reasons to upgrade it, but if your phone
still perfectly meets with your needs, why are you thinking about
upgrading? If your answer is "because I want to!" you don't really need my advice, do you? If on the other hand your answer is more along the lines of wondering if you need to, well then the answer is no, you don't really need to upgrade. The iPhone 4S is a great phone, still has massive potential and will very likely be able to run all the new apps that are coming out over the course of the next few years.
When you get to a point where there are apps you want to be able to run that the 4S cannot run, well then that is the time to start to think about an upgrade. If it helps with your perspective any, when I made the decision to upgrade my iPhone 3GS I ended up choosing the iPhone 4S and not primarily due to the lower price, but because the 4S offered pretty much the same basic and most of the same advanced functions as the 5 but at a substantial discount.
Group III: People who do not currently own an iPhone.
You belong in this group if you own a wireless phone that is not an iPhone and you have an active wireless phone service subscription. The decision to upgrade to an iPhone is basically split into two groups -- smart phone owners and non-smart phone owners.Initially you are probably going to find the iPhone to be a bit more expensive than the phone you used to use thanks to the data plan that is a mandatory element in the reality of joining the iClub. On the other hand you now have a phone that empowers you and is the source for information and connects you to the rest of the world.
The camera on the newer versions is pretty slick -- and being able to shoot HD video of your sister's friend's pet Chihuahua dancing to Psy's Gangnam Style is actually pretty cool even if your post to YouTube only got 17 views and you know each of them personally... Heck, the fact that the process of posting that video to YouTube required you to push just ONE button is pretty darn cool in and of itself if you stop to think about it!
There is also the fact that the iPhone 5 (well also the 4/4S) has that whole Facetime thing going for it, which basically is the video chat that we have been promised since the original Star Trek aired in 1966, but we can hardly blame Gene Roddenberry or the cast (including Captain Kirk) for the slow rate at which the modern corporation has caught up with the changing face of technology, right? Of course I am still waiting for the flying cars and transporters and a luxury holiday home on the moon, but thanks to the fact that the iPhone has both the to-be-expected camera on its outside as well as a less powerful but no less useful camera on its front, which is why the whole Facetime thing can work, and well, there you have it!
Another aspect of having the camera built into your iPhone is that you always have a camera and video cam with you pretty much wherever you have your iPhone with you -- and cool that. If you are starting to realize that the iPhone is a feature-rich wireless phone that is also an entertainment center, camcorder, digital camera, and media player, you are starting to get the idea.
Closing iUpgrade Recommendation Comments
No matter which group you fall into above, ultimately your decision is going to be split between two basic points - what the phone offers you compared to what you have now, and how much it will cost you.What the phone offers you compared to what you have now: perhaps the greatest strength that the iPhone has (no matter which model you choose) is its very broad support by the game, app, and software studios of the world. Even when a studio produces an app for Android chances are they also make a version for iPhone, and that being the case and especially when you are upgrading from a regular (I hesitate to use the words "dumb phone" but there you have it) or a smart phone from a different maker, when you make the switch to iPhone you are joining a group of people worldwide who are happily playing high quality games, using their phone to translate text, surf the web, email, make videos, take pictures, and use apps that do everything from keep an inventory of your personal library to counseling you on how many calories are in that mango smoothy.
In addition to doing all that great app stuff, the iPhone is innately equipped to provide you with a wide variety of entertainment options, from watching TV and movies, listening music, and thanks to the iPhone App from Audible.com, listening to audio books (iTunes has that too mind you). Your iPhone will tell you the time wherever in the world you happen to be, supports most of the world's wireless networks, and if the version you get has Siri on it, lets you talk to it and actually talks back!
The truth of the matter is that the iPhone really is not necessary but then not necessary does not mean the same thing as not useful -- it is incredibly useful! In the end I am convinced that regardless of the version of iPhone that you ended up choosing as your upgrade path, you made a good decision.
The Downside to owning an iPhone is that your wireless phone has now morphed into a wireless phone that you use as an entertainment device. What that means is that you end up using the battery time for activities other than talking on the phone, which more often than not means that you can easily find yourself wanting to make a phone call and not having the juice to do it. It really sucks when that happens.
There are a bunch of companies that make special cases for the iPhone starting with the iPhone 4 that in addition to protecting your phone also have a second battery in them and that basically almost doubles the talk time -- which means almost doubles the play time. Below are some links to their sites and personally I would seriously consider getting one of these if I were you:
- iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S
- TRIO for iPhone 4/4S with Removable Smart Battery
- PhoneSuit Elite Battery Case
- Mophie Juice Pack Plus
For Your Reading Pleasure: Some not-so-historical information about the iPhone
When Apple first released the iPhone to a public that was eagerly awaiting a smart phone that not only was actually smart, but helped to make sense of the seemingly incompatible fusion of the Internet and wireless phones, this was an event, a subject, and a consideration that often felt like it was as inevitable as death and taxes but probably was not.
The saga that is the iPhone can be neatly defined by its upgrade path, or the series of different "new tech" versions that were offered by the company, with its creative path technically based in the Apple campus in Cupertino, California, or perhaps more accurately -- at that time -- largely residing in the brain of a
human named Steve Jobs, and particularly in his Neocortex and Thalamus
and to some extent the parts of the brain that play the role of the
human hard drive (memory bank), but with him dead it is not really
all that clear just where it resides at the moment.
Bearing in mind that, like its arch-rival Microsoft, the new tech in Apple's products more often than not appears in them as a product of the co-opting and integration of new technology that was actually invented by other people who do not list the Apple Campus as their work address -- a good example of which is Siri, the voice-based assistant that is available under iOS in versions from the iPhone 4S and above; and it is OK if you did not know that she was not created by the brilliant minds at Apple...
According to the official press
releases as well as certain web-based coverage and financial
disclosures, Apple acquired Siri when it purchased Norway-based “Siri
Inc.” which was the company that created and marketed the original
voice-based personal assistant iPhone App called “Siri” – which
if you are curious, in Norwegian translates to “beautiful
victorious counselor” – paying a reported $200 million to acquire
not just the company but its creative staff, which includes Siri's
inventor, 44-year-old Norwegian Dag Kittlaus.
There were other aspects of the iPhone you may not be old enough to remember -- or maybe you are, who can say? -- like the fact that the iPhone has its roots in a media player called the iPod... Do you remember the iPod? Did you own one? I remember feeling silly carrying an iPod and an iPhone at the same time since the iPhone was really just an iPod with a wireless phone built into it, but still at least part of the secret to the iPhone's success has to do with the fact that at the time that it was released, most mobile phones really sucked at playing audio and video files, and forget games unless your expectations in that area were satisfied by Brick Breaker and Pac-Man.
I could make a hundred full postings on examining why that is true, but suffice it to say that the most significant drawback that most wireless phones of the era -- even the so-called "Smart Phones" -- faced in terms of debilitation was the fact that they largely sucked at providing a pain-free way to enter data on them. The iPhone did not suck because it had a nice touchscreen, and it was not shaped like a Smart Phone because it wasn't a Smart Phone, it was a media playing device, and what is more to the point, in a flash of brilliance -- call it an epiphany from the Gods -- someone at Apple realized that if they mated that oddly-shaped iPod thingy with a mobile phone what they had was, quite literally, something unlike everything else. So they did.
Who came up with that idea is not clear, and in fact a suitable subject for debate and the cause for more than a few fistfights over at Apple, but what is clear is that the company has taken that original idea and turned it into a mini-empire in its own right. Remember at the time the two "big" tech items in the Apple arsenal were the iPod and the Apple iTunes Online Music Store. That from a company that in theory designs, builds, and sells computers.
Just for fits and giggles I am going to name some of Apple's products and you tell me if you remember them, OK? And no cheating!
- The Apple Lisa (and Lisa II)
- The Apple QuickTake
- The Power Macintosh 9500
- The Apple Newton
- The Apple eMate 300
- The Apple Pippin Game Console
- The Apple Cinema Display Connector
- The Apple Pismo
- The Apple iBook
If you recognized more than three of the above devices give yourself 10 points. If you owned ANY of them, give yourself 100 points. If you still own one of them and the device still works AND you know where it is, you win.
To get a historical sense for the iPhone and the path that it took to bring you the iPhone 5 and all that it can offer, let us take a look at the timeline of critical tech with absolutely free snarky comments provided by me at no cost to you!
- iPod (23 October 01) 5/10GB Versions ($399 / $499)
- iPod 2 (17 July 02) 10/20GB Versions ($399 / $499)
- iPod 3 (28 April 2003) 10/15/30GB Versions ($299 / $399 / $499)
- iPod Mini (6 January 2004) 4GB Version ($249)
- iPod 4 (19 July 2004) 20/40GB Versions ($299 / $399)
- iPod Shuffle (11 January 2005) 512MB / 1GB Versions ($99 / $149)
- iPod Mini2 (23 February 2005) 6GB Version ($199)
- iPod 5 (12 October 2005) 30/60GB Versions ($299 / $399)
- iPod Shuffle2 (12 September 2006) 1GB Version ($119)
- iPhone** (29 June 2007)
- iPod Nano (5 September 2007) 1/2/4GB Versions ($149 / $199 / $249)
- iPod 6 (5 September 2007) 80/160GB Versions ($249 / $349)
- iPod Touch* (5 September 2007) 8/16/32GB Versions ($299 / $399 / $499)
- iPhone 3G (11 July 2008) 8+/16GB Versions (Around $99 with 2+ Year Service Plan)
- iPhone 3GS (19 June 2009) 16/32GB Versions (Around $199 with 2+ Year Service Plan)
- iPhone 3GS (24 June 2010) 8GB Version (Free to $1 with 2+ Year Service Plan)
- iPhone 4 GSM (24 June 2010) 16/32GB Versions (Around $199 with 2+ Year Service Plan)
- iPhone 4 CDMA (10 February 2011) 16/32GB Versions (Depended on the Service Plan)
- iPhone 4 (14 October 2011) 8GB Version ($99 with most Service Plans)
- iPhone 4S (14 October 2011) 16GB Version ($149 with most Service Plans)
- iPhone 4S (14 October 2011) 32/64GB Version (Wicked Expensive at first ++)
- iPhone 5 GSM (23 September 2012) 16/32/64GB Models.
- iPhone 5 CDMA (23 September 2012) 16/32/64GB Models.
Did you know that there are actually five significant types of official Apple Earbuds?
While all but the basic (Type 01) Earbuds include a control
capsule built into the right earbug wire that allows the user to adjust the volume as well as have limited control over the music and video
playback for their device, the tech included a very rudimentary hands-free mode by including a microphone on the wire that allows for phone calls and
voice control of certain devices.
Type 01: Apple Earbuds "Basic Design" (MSRP $34.99 / Average ARP: $6.99)
Type 02: Apple "Shuffle" Earbuds with Remote (MSRP $94.99 / Average ARP: $9.99)
Type 03: Apple Earbuds with Remote and Mic no volume controls (Average ARP: $29.99)
Type 04: Apple "Earphones" with Remote and Mic (Average ARP: $79.99)
Type 05: Apple "Earpods" Bass-enhanced design (Average ARP: $89.99)
The most recently designed set of Earbuds from Apple were created for the iPhone 5 (Type 05) and include remote, mic, and bass-enhanced and balanced "in-ear concert quality sound" which we are betting was not intended to help your brother sound like Pavarotti when you get a call from him -- your brother, not Luciano Pavarotti, who would probably sound like Pavarotti no matter what earbuds you were using, I am just saying...
* If you sit a first generation iPod Touch on a table top and sit an iPhone 4/4S on the same table and ask the average person to point out the cell phone from a distance of 6 feet they won't be able to tell which one is which. Purists claim that the iPod Touch is the true epiphany link between the iPod and the iPhone.
** AKA iPhone 1 and iPhone 2G, the original iPhone was placed in the Smart Phone category by Apple and featured quad-band GSM cellular
connectivity with GPRS and EDGE support for data transfer. The operative edge that the iPhone had over other "Smart Phones" was its well-established touch-screen interface already familiar to the bazillions of iPod Touch users.
+ Despite its designation as a "3G" device, the iPhone 3G was actually sported a 2.5G or
"EDGE" connection (2.5G was a designation that was created by wireless service providers AT&T and Cingular to describe their hybrid EDGE-based cellular service, whereas 3G, which is short for "Third Generation," is a
term commonly used to represent the 3rd generation of mobile
telecommunications technology known as Tri-Band 3G. While the iPhone 3G wasn't actually a fully 3G device, the iPhone 3GS was, sort of, but considering that most of the major cell service providers are shutting off 3G services and support in favor of newer and faster standards you have to wonder what all the hoohoo was about?
++ Initially announced to release in Australia, Canada, France, Germany,
Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States, due to a typo in one of the press releases the impression was given that the 32GB and 64GB versions of the new iPhone 4S would only be released in Australia, Canada, France, Germany,
Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States.
The result of this misunderstanding / misprint was that auction pirates who were paying attention and who helped to hype this mistake were able to rake-in massive profits between the 14 October 2011 initial release date up until 16 December 2011, when the phone actually did release in Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Chile, India,
Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, Moldova, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab
Emirates, with the most profits being taken by auction sales online to India, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates.
Interestingly enough, there was a story about a small group of thieves who worked with a manager at a company called Hon Hai Precision Industry in Taiwan to divert iPhone 4S models that had failed some minor quality control tests or had cosmetic flaws or very minor display defects but were otherwise fully functional and sold them via online auctions mostly to buyers in the Philippines, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab
Emirates, reportedly making over a million dollars (US) before being busted.
Wise Observations in Closing
This certainly did turn into a wall of text didn't it?
This just goes to show that even a decision like upgrading an iPhone or iPad, or considering a touchscreen or tablet computer is still a complicated issue... When it comes to making these sorts of decisions I am reminded of the old and wise observation that those who Sin in Haste, have the luxury to Repent at Leisure. Making any decision that you have to live with for years to come deserves at least a little forethought, don't you agree?
Hopefully in spite of the wall of text you see before you I have at least answered some of your questions. And as always, keep them coming. And before I forget, I want to thank you for your email, and for reading the paper!
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