Apple iPhone 5 - The Maps Debacle

I've been sitting back and watching the Apple iPhone 5 release unfold with some interest.  It's kinda been the first really major release from Apple since the great Steve Jobs left this world and, personally, I was hoping for something that was actually a bit of a departure from the stock expectation.

Did Apple disappoint?  In some ways yes, in others no.  iPhone 5 saw an increase in screen size, a removal of the glass back and a slight change in the UI layout (if adding a row of icons can be described as a change in UI).  It also saw them take another step away from the shared Apple/Google ecosystem by removing the GMaps from the core OS as part of the iOS6 update.  The other major change was with the connector but that was in many ways expected.

Just briefly on the form factor change.  Really it was about time.  iPhone when placed next to any other high end smartphone looks like a poor cousin in terms of screen size and I'd have to say that the added real estate  has to be the most welcome change.  Getting rid of the glass back was something of a necessity as I suspect that the expense incurred by Apple through smashed chassis had to have hurt.  It also means that the phone can be a little lighter and a little thinner.  Headphone socket at the bottom... meh, I think you might find that there is an added reason for this with docks since the analog audio function has been removed from the dock connector but then it might just be because that's the only place they could fit it in.

Changing the dock connecter from the standard 30 pin to their new 'Lightning' connecter strikes me as a pessimistic and ultimately exploitive move essentially there to generate more income.  There is nothing (yet) that the connector does that a Micro USB connector can't do and, from a customer perspective, it means that everyone is going to buy a whole stack of new peripherals.  The Lightning connecter has an 'advantage' in that it can be inserted any way thus removing the frustration of trying to jam your socket in the wrong way.  What they seem to miss is that the Micro USB plug actually has a large 'B' on one side of it which means that you should be able to tell which way is the right way just by touch.  The other thing of note is that the Lightning connecter has electronics built into it that will make duplicating the cables a slightly pricier prospect and unfortunately for the consumer it means that it will be a long time before we can buy the $5 versions off eBay etc.  Once again Apple is treating their customers like money bags...

Other than a processor update and some other very small OS tweaks, the main thing that has been rearing it's head amongst the media has been the exclusion of Google Maps from iOS6.  Apple still has a year left on their contract with Google Maps and so had no financial reason to exclude it from the iOS6 release so we can safely assume that it is part of their greater roadmap to remove any form of reliance from their nearest competitor.  After dredging up some of the interweb scuttlebut I've discovered that their inhouse mapping App was shoehorned into the iOS6 release with a matter of weeks left and it seemed to have undergone the bare minimum of field testing.

I don't know about anyone else, but mapping plays a major role in my mobile experience.  I rely on it almost every single day and I take great comfort in knowing that if I get myself lost, I have a very powerful mapping tool to get me back on track.  I would go so far as to say that the mapping and navigation functionality of my mobile is the single most important application that it has, closely followed by its music capability and then email/messaging and finally as a phone.  For Apple to have pushed this out with such a small, apparent, amount of field testing shows a lack of foresight.  Apple are in a place where they are vulnerable to being shot down for the smallest failure.  With Steve Jobs gone, the tech world is waiting for Tim Cook to go to pieces and for Apple to follow.

An old boss of mine made a very astute call once.  He said "perception is reality".  This is very true, regardless of whether the mapping functionality of the iPhone 5 is actually any good or not, the media and those that are not enveloped in Apples 'reality bubble' are just waiting for any excuse to shoot them down and they gleefully lept on the mapping failure as ammunition.  To add to the fun, Tim Cook has issued a subsequent apology to the lack of apparent quality of the app and suggested using one of the other competitors apps in place - that being either Nokia or Microsofts Bing Maps.  What Apple has done is allowed for the perception of their product to be tarnished.  Jobs had a flare for dressing up his releases with a charismatic delivery of pomp and glitter that was swallowed up whole heartedly by the media and Apple fans alike.  Tim Cook has not maintained that, the smoke and mirrors have cleared and suddenly the flawless gem is a vat grown knock off with a big crack down the middle.

Apple are in a 'Tall Poppy' situation currently and they have handed the media and the Apple haters a massive chunk of ammunition to 'cut them down'.  Personally I've got no real problem with this because Apple set themselves up to be the elite in a seriously underhanded way through patent litigation and sometimes when you build a reputation on falsehoods and smoke and mirrors it comes back to bite you in the ass.  I don't like the way Apple do business.  I don't like the fact that they've just handed the world's landfills a huge array of old dock devices and I especially don't like the fact that they keep releasing the same device over and over with the only major changes being to take away functionality.  Yeah... I don't like Apple a whole lot.  I'm more interested, these days, in what Windows Mobile is coming up with but for now I'll stick with the environment that doesn't treat me like a slightly retarded purse...

iPhone 5

The first thing to knock off is going to have to be the iPhone 5.  Having just been released I'd have to join the general observation in that it's a resounding bundle of 'Blah'.  Slightly bigger screen, slightly higher resolution, another row of icons, thinner chassis and an aluminium back. Also a processor that is apparently twice as fast as the 4S.

No real redesign as far as looks goes, and a different dock socket (they will be releasing an adaptor for the old socket...). Looks like Apple have 

again failed on the innovation front. They simply can't keep rehashing the same thing over and over and expect to stay competitive in the mobile market. Although there will be a big number of these things getting shifted on release (September 21st) I can see a large number of Apple fans looking to move on to greener and more innovative pastures. With the likes of HTC, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung putting out new and exciting devices and daring to be a bit different, Apple is looking more and more like a one trick pony. Albeit a one trick pony with excellent aesthetic designers and a great (and wealthy) legal department.

Simply put, Apple have not delivered anything in the iPhone 5 that resets the industry expectations, that raises the bar for what a mobile device should look like or how it should perform both in speed and functionality. You have a slightly larger 4Gs... and that's it.

Interestingly they also announced a new iPod touch with which they seem to be attempting to move on the OS based camera device (like the Samsung one I mentioned earlier) but still using the very small lens and mobile form factor. It's a nice to have device but you know I still prefer my Classic iPod with a click wheel... why? Because I can keep my entire music collection on it without having to pair it down to 64GB, it has better battery life and I can use it without needing iTunes.

Need a reason to not buy the iPhone 5?

With the new dock connector Apple have done away with both the video out, analogue audio out and iPod out which means that even with the adapter they won't work with your current i-implementations or devices. So with the adapter your nice Bose speakers won't work, your car connector won't work and your radio connector won't work. Pretty much the only t

hing that will work is the charging.

To add insult to injury, not only will you have to buy all new accessories, but you don't get USB3 with it so you're still stuck with slow transfer speeds. From an environmental perspective Apple have done a great disservice also in that they're wilfully adding to landfill by making you throw away all your old chargers and dock speakers. They are effectively forcing their customers into purchasing an entirely new set of devices because the adaptor is functionally useless for anything other than charging - functionally useless at $39 - thank you Apple.

Why they couldn't just make it micro USB like all other mobile phone makers is clear - Apple consumers are seen as wallets with legs and are treated as such. Personally I wouldn't buy the iPhone 5 on principal alone. Not only are Apple anticompetitive and anti consumer but they are also ecologically irresponsible.

EDIT: 

 Interesting, it looks like Apple have been quick to respond to the adaptor issue and will be distributing the iP5 with a free adaptor. The adaptor will also apparently contain a chip that will convert digital audio to analog for the old 30 pin devices to work with. I guess I will have to retract my mini rant... partially... video is still out of the equation and any extended functionality means extra adaptors. I guess in a round about way they deserve a little kudos...

Second EDIT:Uh no... I was too quick to praise Apple. They've now said that it was a mistake on their shop site... free stuff from Apple. Don't be silly!

Google Android - T-Mobile G2?

It seems that the rumour mill has started and it's heading in a pretty predictable direction - Android is supposedly coming to the HTC Touch HD that I have previously mentioned.

Quite the bonus really - not only will it be coming to a piece of hardware far superior to the Apple iPhone but it will also be a later iteration of the Android OS which can only be a good thing. Staying away from early adoption is in many circumstances a good plan.