First of all, this is just purely my POV as your average (if not newb) phone consumer and pardon me if I get any facts wrong. Am not an Apple fanboy/girl, in fact I actually preferred Android for it's free market approach... who wouldn't like freebies???!!! But I digress.
Ground-breaking news! (literally?)
So Iphone 5 was launched yesterday night. No I didn't stay up at 1am to catch the live blog. Twas too much effort when I know I can always wake up earlier (7 am a new record yay!) and see the aftermath AND read the responses *cough disappointments. Thank god I didn't. I bet those people in San Francisco prolly wasted a few hours of their lives thinking 'that's it? man, that was a lousy shag'.
Anyway, now the news is finally out, everybody already knows what the Iphone 5 is (um a few months ago) (bigger screen, LTE, camera bla bla bla yada yada yada) except for the battery capacity (Apple quote 8 hours but mAh nada!) and the topic of Io6 wasn't even touched upon.
Apparently Io6 will be revealed later, which is odd when you can make your presentation better. Why waste people's time??? *grumble grumble grumble. So we won't know how powerful the Iphone actually is compared to the other smartphones until you actually get one in your hands. Which does't make sense because then new phones would be out (Nokia Lumia 950 and Galaxy Note 2) and you're just out-dated.
Apparently Io6 will be revealed later, which is odd when you can make your presentation better. Why waste people's time??? *grumble grumble grumble. So we won't know how powerful the Iphone actually is compared to the other smartphones until you actually get one in your hands. Which does't make sense because then new phones would be out (Nokia Lumia 950 and Galaxy Note 2) and you're just out-dated.
I was really disappointed. I thought those rumour videos were hoaxes, just pulling on people's legs and teasing us while we wait anxiously for this 'mysterious' Iphone. Why 'pebble' sized changes? Why can't they dominate the market and give the consumers more? Oh wait, because they already are. Despite the lousy launch and not-so impressive specs, people are still going to buy the Iphone for its placebo-like effect. ~Own an Iphone and see your status transform! *light beam~
I have to give Apple some credit though for the awesome marketing strategy. Building up such a big hype for almost 1? 2 years? Only to be let down on September 12, 2012... lolololololo
Anyway, have a look at the comparison between the Iphone 5 and the current leading smartphones...
let's break it down a bit...
- At a glance, the Iphone 5 looks puny compared to the others due to its small screen size. Personally, I don't dig huge phones. I think it's funny when people hold up their gigantic phablets to their ears. No they weren't supposed to do that... There's a bluetooth for a reason you dorks! The question here, is BIGGER really better? Not necessarily. For serious users, maybe. But I'm just your normal average joe/jane. I don't like the idea of carrying something that I can't put in my pocket. I've tried my cousin's Iphone 4, an HTC One X, Galaxy Note... Unless I'm old and I can't see very well like my mum (She has a Galaxy Tab 10.1 btw), no the Iphone 5 isn't going to put me off.
- Another thing is the internet connection. LTE enabled phones = awesome. But looking at the current internet providers in Malaysia, I'd say it's a shame to buy something you can't use. Coverage areas sucks, and data plan is so expensive compared to other countries. We're talking Rm68 min for a 3Gb plan. I'm already paying Rm68 for 4Gb broadband every month. For someone who's not going to spend her entire life glued to phone, will I want to fork out another Rm68 on phone bills? So if LTE is coming to Malaysia (next year?), one, I'll be using an Iphone 5 but can't enjoy it's uber fast connectivity (lame lame lame!) and two I'll expect to fork out more. T_T
- Battery. Logically speaking, you can't expect a teeny phone to last long when there's so many apps, bright screen, quad-core OS running in the background. This is why I've been put off getting a smartphone. Scientists has yet to crack the code of making safe, longer lasting yet cheap! batteries. So till that happens, we're stuck with the average 8-hour-ion-lithium people. Right now, the Galaxy Note 2 looks very promising with its large 3100 mAh capacity, largest so far, but bearing in mind of its size and the nifty things it can do, I doubt it'll last as long as the Iphone 5. But I hate reminding myself that I have to be frugal with my usage when I've paid so much for a high performance phone. It doesn't make sense! Gah~
These three are my main concerns when choosing a smartphone. Sure there's the camera but it's not worth mentioning since it's the same as every other smartphone. 8 megapixels yawn yawn yawn.
So what's my verdict?
The thing that got me is Iphone's stability. One thing people can't argue is that it never hangs unlike phones running on Android. My mum's tab loves freezing on its own. Which terrorises my mum into a frenzy and explaining why she calls me on random times not because she misses me but she wanted me to fix her tab... >.< But Iphone lacks all the pretty features that Galaxy Note 2 and Nokia 950 are offering.
After weighing the pros and cons, there still ISN'T a smartphone out there that has the complete package that I want. I know I'm difficult to please, but if I'm going to spend Rm2 to 3k on a phone, it better be a good one. In the mean time, since Iphone 5 isn't going to arrive in Malaysia any time soon anyway, I might as well put the money safely away where it belongs, in the bank! Or until Oct 17 when Galaxy Note 2 is launched. *winks
