Thursday, September 13, 2012

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 5 and it's thinner and lighter than the previous model, with a bigger screen.

If you want to stand in line, it's available in NZ on September 28 - I'll have to stay with my old one for a while!

The new version features a 4-inch "retina" display, ability to surf a high-speed 4G LTE wireless network, and is 20 per cent lighter than the previous iPhone 4S.

The recommended retail price here will be $1049 for the 16GB model, $1199 for the 32GB model and $1349 for the 64GB model.

So, what's in the new beastie? The iPhone 5 comes with Apple's newest "A6" processor, which executives claim runs twice as fast as the previous generation.

Three microphones feature now, instead of two. They're located on the back, the front and the bottom and there's also a noise-cancelling earpiece for better sound.

Battery life - always important- is eight hours of talk time and eight hours of web browsing.

There's a new 8-megapixel camera, with special features to eliminate noise in images and perform better in low light. You can also stitch multiple images of a landscape for a panoramic view.

Then, there's the new connector!  It's a new one, which means the new iPhone won't be compatible with old accessories, though Apple says accessory makers are already working to update their products.There'll be an adapter to work with older accessories.

The new phone's software - iOS 6 - promises enhancements to email. You can make certain people "VIPs" and flag emails from them so you can go back to them more easily.

Apple has also demonstrated Passbook, a central place to keep your boarding passes, tickets and gift cards.

It's improving Siri, which is supposed to get better at fielding questions about movies, restaurants and other things. Apple is partnering with OpenTable Inc to make reservations, for instance. [ I want the blasted thing to simply recognise my accent!]

The new software also has a better tie-in with Facebook and you can talk to Siri to post a status update.

Facetime video calls will work over cellular networks for the first time. It had been limited to Wi-Fi connections.

Older phones will get Apple iOS 6 upgrade for free next Thursday (NZT). Apple has said it will be available for the 3GS, 4 and 4S models, though some new features won't work on them.

It will also be available on last year's and this year's iPad models and newer iPod Touch devices.

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the iPhone 5 to try out, but since I bought the iPhone 4s only last year, I can't see my budget stretching just yet - I'll hang in there for the next version!