iPhone 5

Remembering is difficult now. 

Five-plus year ago, Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone. 

Where are the buttons? 

How do you make calls?

Reviewers were astounded.  People stood in line at Apple stores, much like they would later for the iPad 2.  The iPhone is an insanely great product, to borrow Jobs' terminology.  When I received the iPhone as a Christmas present from Skip later that year, I soon declared it to be the best (non-jewelry) gift I had ever received.  I compared it to the automobile.  The iPhone brought almost as much freedom as obtaining one's driver's license. 

Since then, the technology has been replicated, duplicated -- blatantly ripped off.  Yesterday, Apple again demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to creating great products when they launched the iPhone 5. 

Again, they made significant improvements with the camera.  According to David Pogue's blog:

"Not many rumor mills predicted the improvement in the camera. It’s an eight-megapixel model with an f/2.4 aperture, meaning that it lets in a lot of light. The panorama mode is the best you’ve ever seen: as you swing the camera in an arc in front of you, a preview screen shows you the resulting panorama growing in real time. I took only two panorama shots in my limited time with the iPhone 5, but they came out crazy good.

The camera takes 40 percent less time between shots, it can recognize up to 10 faces (for focus and exposure purposes) and it can take still photos even while you’re filming video."

Consumers are quibbling with the new connector.  We have several cables that fit our current devices (2 iPhones, 2 iTouches, and an iPad).  The change doesn't irk me, as they kept the same connector for five years; ultimately, change was inevitable.  The adaptor's cost $30-$40 is more of a point of contention.  We will not need one, as we use Bluetooth wirelessly, but the adaptor should not carry a significant profit margin. 

Will you be upgrading to the new iPhone 5?

Disclaimer:  Although the product seems amazing, I am refraining from upgrading. Why, you ask?  I am a memory/storage glutton and prefer the 32GB over the 8GB (at the much lower price point).  For my piggish storage needs, I would even want to take advantage of the 64GB version ($399 -- ouch!).