iPhone 5

[ramon_cojones]

Interesting perspective. For me, a smartphone is a tool. If it's efficient, effective, and robust, it fulfills every meta-need I have for such a device. The exciting comes from the content and services I access, not the physical characteristics of the hardware or the interface. I suppose this is because it's not a fetish item for me like flashlights and knives. Now those things, as mundane as they can be, need to excite me to join the collection.

That said, I continue to be pleased with the iPhone 5 as a tool. The only thing I wish it had in some form is GoogleNow.

Wilkey

^this

always amusing hearing people's expectations of devices, perhaps to compensate for something else?

[LGC]

Before I commit to a new 5, I have to know....

will it make me more money, will it give me a better self-image, will it make people like me more, will it make driving to work fun, will it make all of my cigars taste superb, will it make me more sexy to women, will it increase my metabolism, will it make me cool???

I must know all of these answers... or I'll have to stick with my old 4

[Fuzz]

Before I commit to a new 5, I have to know....

will it make me more money - Only if you sell it to the North Koreans as a missile guidance system

will it give me a better self-image - I'm sure there's a photo re-touch app for that...

will it make people like me more - Yes if you walk into an Apply store and say, "I just converted from Android!"

will it make driving to work fun - Using Apple Maps you will take the "scenic" route

will it make all of my cigars taste superb - Yes, you will appreciate them more... now that you've spent so much money on a new phone and have none left for more cigars

will it make me more sexy to women - Yes! All the women who work at the Apple store find you sexy... oh wait, that's just their sales technique...

will it increase my metabolism - I'm sure there's an app for that!

will it make me cool - Only to another Apple user!

I must know all of these answers... or I'll have to stick with my old 4

[CanuckSARTech]

Interesting perspective. For me, a smartphone is a tool. If it's efficient, effective, and robust, it fulfills every meta-need I have for such a device. The exciting comes from the content and services I access, not the physical characteristics of the hardware or the interface. I suppose this is because it's not a fetish item for me like flashlights and knives. Now those things, as mundane as they can be, need to excite me to join the collection.

That said, I continue to be pleased with the iPhone 5 as a tool. The only thing I wish it had in some form is GoogleNow.

Wilkey

Wilkey,

You gotta check out my new flashlight for work then, the Olight Warrior M-20S-X. A very cool piece of hardware, and relatively inexpensive too, considering the features.

[MIKA27]

This iPhone 5 Case Puts Five Spinning Lenses At Your Disposal

If you love mobile photography and have been looking for a way to negate your iPhone 5′s slim and lightweight form factor, Turtleback’s new TurtleJacket PentaEye case has got an entire photography kit on board. Five different lenses in total, mounted to a rotating wheel so you can dial in whichever glass you need for a given shot.

The concept has been done before, most notably by Holga. But its iPhone case just included simple colour filters and plastic lenses that distorted your photos. Turtleback’s case comes with a fisheye lens, a wide-angle lens, a zoom lens, and a simple pass-through filter for when the iPhone’s standard lens will suffice.

It seems considerably more useful, though at the cost of considerable bulk. But, hey, at least it offers some level of protection. Too bad it’s priced at a laughable $US270.

[OZCUBAN]

This iPhone 5 Case Puts Five Spinning Lenses At Your Disposal

If you love mobile photography and have been looking for a way to negate your iPhone 5′s slim and lightweight form factor, Turtleback’s new TurtleJacket PentaEye case has got an entire photography kit on board. Five different lenses in total, mounted to a rotating wheel so you can dial in whichever glass you need for a given shot.

The concept has been done before, most notably by Holga. But its iPhone case just included simple colour filters and plastic lenses that distorted your photos. Turtleback’s case comes with a fisheye lens, a wide-angle lens, a zoom lens, and a simple pass-through filter for when the iPhone’s standard lens will suffice.

It seems considerably more useful, though at the cost of considerable bulk. But, hey, at least it offers some level of protection. Too bad it’s priced at a laughable $US270.

Reminds me of a trip to the Optometrists Ha Ha

But still may have some merit,depends on how keen you are

[Fuzz]

Reminds me of a trip to the Optometrists Ha Ha

But still may have some merit,depends on how keen you are

[MIKA27]

Apple Releases iOS 6.1 Beta 4 To Developers

Apple’s next update to its iOS 6, which we all should know by now was used to debut a new Maps application which made us all appreciate Google Maps that much more, is getting closer as iOS 6.1 beta 4 was released to developers earlier today.

iOS 6.1 beta 4 contains the typical vague “bug fixes and improvements,” but when iOS 6.1 is released in the coming weeks, users can expect improvements to Apple’s Passbook that changes boarding pass behaviors, music playback controls from the lock screen, Siri and back-end changes to Apple’s Maps application. We’re hoping the last improvement makes Maps somewhat usable, although seeing how fast all iOS users probably ditched Apple’s Maps for Google Maps, we’re guessing whatever improvement Apple implements may be too little too late.

If you’re an iOS developer, you can update your iOS 6.1 beta to beta 4 through an OTA update which can be initiated in the “Settings” area of iOS. And iOS developers are more than welcome to sound off in our comments section below to let us and other iOS users know what improvements they’ve noticed since the last beta.

[MIKA27]

Armed Robbers Steal Over $1 Million Worth Of Gear From A Paris Apple Store

If you think you’re having a rough morning heading back to work following the New Year’s festivities, an Apple Store in Paris’ opera district is still trying to determine just how much hardware was stolen after four or five armed thieves robbed the store three hours after it had closed.

The local police aren’t confirming the exact amount that was stolen, but The Telegraph claims there are reports that the thieves made off with over one million euros, or $1.26 million, worth of goods.

The robbery was particularly brazen given extra police and security personnel had been called in to keep the peace during the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. But since most of them were concentrated around the tourist-heavy Champs-Elysées, the thieves had a fairly easy escape after spending almost 40 minutes emptying the store’s stock room into a getaway vehicle.