i Don't Hate iPhones

The iPhone 5 has been announced and Twitter has lost its mind. People are tweeting the same info over and over again in an attempt to be the first to announce something we've known since the early summer.

Then again, maybe that's unfair.  I'm a geek, so I keep up with that type of stuff.  I knew about the "secret" announcement a while ago from information "leaks" on the Web.  Now that the day has arrived, like the previous four iPhone launches, I don't care.

Well, let me retract that.  The first iPhone was a big deal, but I was working with AT&T (Wireless) at the time, so I was immersed in it.  Long hours and crazy demands during that time period.  From what I hear, the same applies now.  No vacations are allowed for employees during an iPhone launch week from what I've been told.  That's the way it was when I was there, too.  But, there's the thing: I don't care for iPhones.  They don't thrill me any more than a pair of Nike Air Jordans that people stand in line for every other season.

Let me run down a list of reasons why I'll be once again passing on the "new" iPhone:

1) I hate paying new money for something that looks like an old product.  Although this iPhone does look a little different and better than the i4s, it's still basically the same phone with upgraded software and processor.  I like my new products to look new.  Don't buy my car, put an air freshener in it and try to sell it back to me at a much higher price.  That's what Apple (and EA Sports, too...) tend to do in my opinion.

Why everyone who owned an i4 ran out to buy an i4S is beyond me.  They virtually only got an upgrade to Siri and I can vouch for the fact that she works nothing like the commercials.  Samuel L. Jackson would be cursing out the real Siri and Zooey Deschannel would have been met with "I don't understand" replies.

2) This is more of a question: do all iPhones have to have that same old tired applications layout?  Can you customize an iPhone at all?  Someone will have to fill me in on that one.

Same old screen? (Source)

3) I refuse to stand in line to buy something that everyone has.  I like to be different.  I will admit that if I thought that iPhones were the absolute best cell phones out there, then I'd own it.  But, since I know that there are other phones that get just as good, if not better, ratings, I'll pass.

Now, there are some things about the iPhone that I do like:

1) Powerful processing is important when it comes to phones.  Apple does a great job in this department which is why their products tend to run so smoothly.  The new A6 processor is expected to be double the power of the previous i4S which is impressive.  Rumored to be quad core, this phone could run rings around a lot of the competition.

2) Apple's marketing strategy is absolutely amazing!  Now, that has nothing to do with the performance of the phone, but Apple's ability to tweak a product, put a "new phone" price on it and still cause people to stand in line for it is amazing!  Their Apple-only environment insures that everything is completely compatible and works flawlessly together from iTunes to the Apple TV.

3) Apple is the reason smartphones are so great these days.  The reason Motorola, Samsung and others got off their butts to improve their products is because of the original iPhone.

Having said all of that, the iPhone is no longer the leader in technology.  Sure, they'll make a ton of more money than the other companies, but the technology is very 2011.  More like early 2011.

• At one time, iPhones were unmatched when it came to memory capacity, but now the Galaxy III also has models with 64GB storage.  

• Although Siri was a big hit and was one of the first of its kind, it doesn't nearly perform as well as the TV ads insinuated.  Some Android users would argue that Google has a better product in Iris ("Siri" spelled backwards).  

• iPhones are just now getting to a 4" screen while the Samsung Galaxy III is almost pushing 5".  

• Apple is just now getting their phone to LTE while other phones have been there for a while now (granted LTE is still limited).

• The Retina Display looks great, but the resolution of an iPhone isn't HD at all (1136 x 640).  In fact, the front-facing camera has a higher resolution (1280 x 720) than the phone itself.  But, the display on the iPhones do look really good.

My next phone is on the far right (Source)

So, to those who think that just because I call things like I see it that I'm a hater, then whatever. I Don't hate iPhones. Heck, I have a second generation iPad and I love it.  I just don't give any technology the benefit of the doubt without making a comparison or two first, that's all.  Some people just want something simple that works and frankly, you can't go wrong with an iPhone.