To iPhone 5 or not to iPhone 5?

Our Tech Super Heroes have a wide variety of smart phones currently owned and in use.  The first big debate is iPhone vs. Droid.  If you (like me) decided on the iPhone, we now have a new question to answer: To iPhone 5 or not to iPhone 5?

If, and this is a big “if”, you are eligible for a new upgrade discount, the iPhone 5 starts at about $200 for a 16 GB model.  This is by no means cheap, but if you are already an “iPhoner” you are likely comfortable with this price.  I think the full retail price on these phones is just flat out not worth it…  $650 for a phone that, for the most part, does everything your iPhone 4s does, just a little faster.

So here is what I have garnered through my research and window shopping:

The most significant improvements from the 4s to the 5 are the screen size (now a 4″ Retina Display), combined with a slightly thinner and lighter (but longer) physical footprint.  In addition, the 4G LTE network speeds are noticeably faster (although when using Wifi the 4s and 5 will download at the same speeds).

There are many other techie improvements, like the crazy fast A6 processor in the 5, and the new iOS 6 (comes on the 5, however it is a free upgrade on the older iPhones).  At the end of the day, however, the processor on the iPhone 5 is only incrementally faster than the 4s.

When all is said and done, I think it will come down to one main question:  How bad do you want the feeling of having the latest and greatest Apple iPhone in your hand?  Let’s face it…  if you are already an iPhoner (or Droid-dude, for that matter), you have an impressively sophisticated piece of equipment in your pocket. In fact, my Uncle Jerry calls my iPhone 4s a weapon of mass destruction!  Thus, I, like you, don’t NEED any of the features on the iPhone 5, as they just aren’t earth shattering enough to change my personal of professional life.

That being said, I will write an response to this post once my shiny new iPhone 5 arrives in the mail in a couple of weeks!

Happy Computing!

– Rob