Now that tech journalists have gotten their hands on the iPhone 5, Apple's smartphone is no longer an object of speculation, and its triumphs and faults are laid bare. While the phone has been admired for its elegant design, improved screen, and refined features, a few nagging complaints remain. Common criticisms include the lack of Near Field Communication (NFC), Apple's insistence on evolving its device rather than revolutionizing it, an inaccurate Panorama feature, and the price of connector adapters needed to attach old iPhone accessories to the iPhone 5. Latinos Post has compiled a roundup of these criticisms, featured below.
"Given the level of hype around the Apple iPhone 5, it's almost inevitable that phone itself ends up feeling a little underwhelming when it is launched, but Apple is a past master at ticking the boxes, and giving its growing legion of fans enough to justify an upgrade."
"Is it going to sell like hot-cakes? Of course. Will it send shockwaves shuddering through the tech world and turn competitors back to their drawing boards? No."
"Not having NFC is a real misstep, as it would have made the Passbook application in iOS 6 much better (and in keeping with its Android and Windows Phone rivals) and it certainly would have been nice to see something remarkable in addition to some nice, but not startling, upgrades."
"Still, think of all those charging cables, docks, chargers, car adapters, hotel-room alarm clocks, speakers and accessories-hundreds of millions of gadgets that will no longer fit the iPhone."
"Apple will sell two adapters, a simple plug adapter for $30 or one with a six-inch cable for $40, to accommodate accessories that can't handle the plug adapter."
"That's way, way too expensive. These adapters should not be a profit center for Apple; they should be a gesture of kindness to those of us who've bought accessories based on the old connector. There's going to be a lot of grumpiness in iPhoneland, starting with me."
"We like the idea of being able to take panorama shots with the iPhone 5. Unfortunately when we tried there was some sort of interference appearing in the shot. The Apple representative with us claimed that it was the first time he had seen it and proceeded to demonstrate Panoramas. When taking a Panorama shot the user is guided to keep the camera straight, there is a box that appears in the middle of the phone containing an arrow and a line. You aim to keep the arrow on the line, its a simple and intuitive way to train users to keep the phone straight. The process wasn't intuiitive enough for me, even before encountering the problem with interference, I began by holding the iPhone in landscape, before being told to take the panorama in portrait, as the Apple rep explained: "That way we get a wider shot from top to bottom". The finished product was good, although there was obvious warping, but we get the impression that it's supposed to be fun, rather than accurate."
"There is nothing here that leaves the Galaxy S3, the HTC One X or the Nokia Lumia 920 looking dated or out of touch. Equally, there is little that the rivals offer that Apple hasn't covered. More than ever, the choice of smartphone comes down to personal preferences."
"Apple will offer an adapter and adapter cables (of course it will), which range from $19 to $39. We imagine, though, that the adapter may be awkward to use with some current accessories like a bedside alarm clock/music player. For new accessories, Apple says that manufacturers like Bose, JBL, and Bowers are working on new products."
"Though we welcome the idea of a smaller connector, we're miffed that Apple couldn't just adopt the semi-industry standard of Micro-USB. That would make things easier for smartphone users across the globe. Yet, even so, the smaller connector may be a smart move for the future."
"The screen size, also, is more of a subtle improvement. This isn't a jaw-dropping leap from the iPhone 4S: it's a gradual increase, done almost so cleverly that the front face of the iPhone 5 might, with the screen turned off, look very much like the iPhone 4S."
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