Iphone

The iPhone 5 isn't just one of the most advanced pieces of consumer electronics ever made, Apple has taken the design and manufacturing itself well beyond the next level. Measured now in microns, the precision is as impressive as it is ephemeral -- easily seen in the fit and finish of every part up close, but disappearing instantly when you start using it, when it just becomes the phone, internet communicator, or widescreen iPod in your hand.

So lets take a moment to appreciate the iPhone 5 as object, as a piece of industrial design, as the craftsman of Apple and Jonathan Ive and Bob Mansfield and their teams, as a thing of beauty.

Until now, AT&T has always made exceptions for early iPhone adopters by qualifying these customers for full upgrade prices before their contract technically allowed it. I took advantage of this when upgrading from the iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS, from iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4, and from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S. Not this year. Those glorious days are now over.

A big addition to iOS 6 for the iPhone 5 will be a visually revamped App Store and iTunes for both mobile and Mac. The changes include improved performance, previews while browsing, better search results, and sharing out to Facebook and Twitter. Facebook likes will be built into every product page, furthering the social angle.

Yet another tidbit about the iPhone 5 coming out of today's big Apple event is that the new LTE-enabled smartphone will match or even exceed the iPhone 4S battery life, despite being slimmer and running faster. Browsing and talking on cellular networks gives you 8 hours, while the iPhone 5 can handle 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing or video, 40 hours of music, or 225 hours of standby. By comparison, the iPhone 4S is advertised as handling 8 hours of talk time, 200 hours standby, 6 hours of browsing on 3G, 9 hours on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video, and 40 hours of music.