The sixth incarnation of the iPhone was revealed to the world on Wednesday and a lot has changed since its debut in 2007, from features and availability.
Apple was largely known as computer maker until it ventured into the music scene with the iPod in October 2001, and success was on their side then. When the announcement was made that they'll enter the mobile industry, there was mixed reviews that it could have been a huge gamble for Apple and then CEO Steve Jobs.
Once the iPhone was release in June 2007, it started a craze that still affects the world today. Upon its release, police and increased security was needed due to the high anticipation. Such hype still exists today in 2012.
What has evolved in the iPhone series leading up to the iPhone 5's debut on Sept. 12?
It was only in 2007 when the only network available was 2G, but today, the iPhone 5 follows its predecessor - iPhone 4S - with 3G and now the addition of 4G LTE.
The weight of the iPhone has decreased over the years. The original device weighed in at 135g with a dimension of 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm, while the iPhone 5 comes in with 112g with a dimension of 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm.
Display has certainly evolved from the TFT capacitive touchscreen with 320x480 pixels in a 3.5-inch screen on the first iPhone. The iPhone 5 took a few years to grow 0.5-inches for the new 4-inch screen with Retina Display featuring a resolution of 640 x 1136 pixels.
The similarities with the two devices include the protection: corning gorilla glass and oleophobic coating. The devices are still multitouch-capable and in 16M colors.
When it comes to memory, the iPhone 5 features an internal storage ranging 16, 32, and 64 GB, a massive improvement from the original's options of four, eight, and 16 GB. A common factor here is there is still no card slot.
The camera has also evolved from the two-megapixels for the rear-facing camera with 1600x1200 pixels on the first iPhone to now eight-megapixels with 3264x2448 pixels that also features autofocus and LED flash. The original iPhone did not feature a front-facing camera or video. The iPhone 5's front-facing camera comes in at 1.2-megapixels and video with 1080p at 30 frames per second.
The original iPhone introduced the first Apple mobile operating system (OS) with iPhone OS. The OS will eventually be renamed as iOS as it was used on other Apple devices such as the iPad and iPod Touch. The iPhone 5 will feature the new iOS 6, introducing new apps from Passbook to maps.
Messaging evolved from the standard SMS and Email on the first iPhone to iMessage, SMS, MMS, Email, and Push Email for the iPhone 5.
The only color option for the first iPhone was black, but that has changed as the iPhone 5 will come in with Black and White.
Another improvement is the addition of GPS for the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 will be released in the US, UK, and Canada on Sept. 21, with prices going for $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB when signing a contract with AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. Pre-orders begin Sept. 14. For T-Mobile, as with previous iPhones, it will not carry the iPhone 5.
Latinos Post has helped break down and define the iPhone 5's specs ahead of next Friday's release, click here to view.
To watch some of the iPhone 5's reviews from YouTube, click here.
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