Apple Devices Flow Into Corporate World

In The Wall Street Journal, tech reporter Daisuke Wakabayashi describes how Apple is expanding its reach into the business market. “The iPhone has replaced the BlackBerry as the mobile phone of choice, as the iPad assumes tasks once reserved for PCs,” Wakabayashi writes. He notes that “Apple is going mainstream” when it comes to the corporate world, and he profiles multiple large enterprises — including SAP, Nordstrom, and Cisco — that have rolled out iOS and other Apple devices to their employees. In fact, according to Good Technology, “More than 90 percent of all business apps were deployed on Apple’s iOS mobile-operating system in the third quarter.” Read more: online.wsj.com

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iTunes Music Store Launches in 56 New Countries, Movies Arrive in Four

Earlier today, we noted that the iTunes Music Store had gone live in Russia and Turkey, but now that changes have propagated throughout iTunes and we've had time to collect reports, it now appears that Apple is selling music through the iTunes Store in 56 new countries. The additions nearly double the number of countries in which the iTunes Music Store operates.

                           

- Europe: Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine

- Africa, the Middle East and India: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Zimbabwe

- Asia Pacific: Fiji, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

- Latin America and the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago

Beyond music, four of the new countries have also seen Apple roll out access to movies: India, Indonesia, Russia, and Turkey.

Update 9:08 PM: Apple has published a press release confirming that it has launched the iTunes Store in 56 new countries.

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Apple Hiring Former Texas Instruments Engineers in Israel

Apple is hiring "dozens" of laid off Texas Instruments engineers to beef up its chip-making R&D operations in Israel, according to a report by The Next Web.

According to sources close to the situation, Apple has been hiring "dozens" of engineers from Texas Instruments after the company begun cutting around 250 jobs from its Ra’anana development center as it looks to lay off around 1,700 employees (about 5 percent of its total workforce) globally.

Many of the engineers working at the development center were focused on the development of TI’s OMAP and radio (including WiFi and Bluetooth) chips, which are used a number of new smartphone and tablet devices.

It's possible that the engineers will work with the crew from Anobit that Apple purchased a year ago, perhaps at Apple's new research and development center in Haifa.

The Next Web notes that the new hires will likely be in the Technologies group that Senior Vice President Bob Mansfield is now in charge of after last month's executive reshuffling at the company.

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Size of the Average iOS App Increased 16% in Six Months

According to a study by ABI Research, the average size of an iOS app increased by 16% from March to September 2012; iOS games have grown even faster, jumping 42% over that same time period.

The increase is thought to be partly the result of the iPad's new retina display, as well as a March increase in the over-the-air App Store download limit from 20MB to 50MB.

Universal apps include all the resources needed for the iPad and iPhone, regardless of which device the app is downloaded onto. These factors, combined with the new high-resolution graphics needed for the new iPad Retina display have ballooned app sizes.

The flipside of the increasing file-sizes is that the internal storage of smartphones and tablets is becoming a scarcer resource, as the device capabilities struggle to keep up with the requirements of apps and mobile content. Markkanen predicts, "Especially the consumers with 16GB devices are likely to become more conscious about what apps to keep and what to uninstall, so the developers’ bar to impress will be getting even higher than it is now. This could also speed up the adoption of the mobile cloud as a storage remedy quite significantly."

Some have speculated that Apple could hold down the entry-level pricing on the iPad mini by offering an 8 GB model, but as universal apps with Retina iPad support push app download sizes ever higher, Apple is likely to maintain 16 GB as the floor for its tablet devices.

Even the iPhone has trended toward larger capacities, with Apple adding a 64 GB option for the iPhone 4S and now offering only the free iPhone 4 as an 8 GB device. Though it doesn't support downloadable apps, the new iPod Nano is also only offered in an 16GB capacity, dropping the 8GB capacity that the prior Nano was offered in.

Last month, Apple stopped selling any iPod Touch model in an 8GB capacity -- the smallest iPod touch nowadays is the 16GB 4th generation model, available for $199. The new 5th generation model starts at 32GB.

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Chitika: iPhone 5 Passes Samsung Galaxy S III in Web Usage

With millions of units shipped, and demand significantly outstripping supply, the initial launch of the iPhone 5 can probably be described as successful. Ad tracking firm has released some data comparing iPhone 5 mobile ad impressions to those from the Galaxy S III, a popular Android phone released by Samsung.

According to the firm, the three-week old iPhone 5 saw significantly more web traffic than the Galaxy S III, a phone that has been out for months.

Following the release of Apple’s iPhone 5 on September 21st, Chitika Insights was interested in comparing the Web usage rates of the newest phones from both manufacturers. To quantify our latest study, we conducted a user agent analysis on millions of mobile ad impressions, spanning a 7-day time frame from October 3rd through October 9th, 2012. Looking solely at impressions coming from the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III, we were able to observe the difference in Web traffic volume between the two devices, depicted in the figure below:

Another study, this time from 451 Research/ChangeWave Research, found that one third of North American consumers were "somewhat" or "very" likely to purchase the iPhone 5, a number that is some 10% higher than the consumers who were planning to buy the iPhone 4S.

The firm also found that 9 in 10 users hadn't experienced any significant problems with Apple's new mapping software, something that has received a great deal of attention in the press recently.

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Apple Publicly Responds to Complaints of Purple Lens Flare on iPhone 5 Photos

Soon after the release of the iPhone 5, some users began noticing a purple flare or halo showing up in photos taken with the device's camera pointed at or near bright light sources. The issue is certainly not unique to the iPhone 5, but it has caused concern for some users.

Last week, Gizmodo reported that Apple had responded to address the issue, with Apple's support staff providing an emailed response to a user inquiring about the purple flare. According to Apple's engineers, the issue is indeed normal and users are advised to point their phones away from bright light sources when taking photos.

Our engineering team just gave me this information and we recommend that you angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures. The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5's camera.

Following that private email response regarding the issue, Apple has now posted a public support document recommending similar action to minimize the issue.

Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources. This can happen when a light source is positioned at an angle (usually just outside the field of view) so that it causes a reflection off the surfaces inside the camera module and onto the camera sensor. Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect.

The iPhone 5 uses a similar camera to that found in the iPhone 4S, although Apple reduced the camera's thickness by 20% in order to fit into the thinner body of the iPhone 5. Apple did, however, add a several enhancements to the camera in the iPhone 5, moving to a sapphire lens cover, improved image signal processing and noise reduction, and a new dynamic low-light mode.

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Foxconn Workers Reportedly Strike over iPhone 5 Quality Control Demands

China Labor that thousands of Foxconn workers responsible for assembly of the iPhone 5 have gone on strike today, objecting to strict enforcement of increased quality control standards.

China Labor Watch (CLW) announced that at 1:00PM on October 5 (Beijing time), a strike occurred at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory that, according to workers, involved three to four thousand production workers. In addition to demanding that workers work during the holiday, Foxconn raised overly strict demands on product quality without providing worker training for the corresponding skills. This led to workers turning out products that did not meet standards and ultimately put a tremendous amount of pressure on workers.

According to the report, Apple and Foxconn had raised quality control standards to address issues related to scratching and other blemishes on the iPhone 5 casing, but the new standards made it extremely difficult for workers to produce phones satisfying those requirements given the equipment and training available to them.

The issues have reportedly resulted in significant tensions between production line workers and quality control supervisors, with several skirmishes having broken out in recent days resulting in injuries and damage to production facilities. In addition, Foxconn reportedly eliminated holiday vacations for workers, perhaps referring to last weekend's Moon Festival, and the company has reportedly "turned a deaf ear" to worker complaints.

Apple and Foxconn have been struggling to keep up with demand for the iPhone 5, with new online orders through Apple still being quoted 3-4 week shipping estimates. Customers have also been complaining about scratching issues, particularly on the black model, with some customers reporting that their devices have arrived scratched right out of the box.

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Google Adds Street View to Web-Based Google Maps for Mobile Devices

As noted by iPhoneinCanada. Google today added its Street View functionality to the web-based version of its Google Maps product available to iOS and other mobile device users. With Apple's transition to its own Maps app in iOS 6, users still wishing to use Google Maps have been able to do so through the maps.google.com web app, but the web version has been missing some features compared to the native iOS app that was previously available on Apple's devices.

Our own tests with Google Street View via the Google Maps web app were very straightforward. Just load up the maps.google.com web app in mobile Safari, tap on a location and a new bottom bar emerges with an icon of a person. Tap that and voila–you have Street View, which opens up in a new tab displaying the URL maps.gstatic.com.

Access to the feature appears to require that users allow the web-based Google Maps app to access their locations.

Google is reportedly working on its own native iOS maps app for submission to the App Store, but that app is not expected to be ready for several more months. In the meantime, Google appears to be beefing up its web-based maps to help bridge the gap while also enhancing functionality for other mobile devices.

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Apple Launches New Featured Category For Alternative Map Apps In App Store

In his open letter to customer published earlier today, Apple's CEO Tim Cook apologized for iOS 6 Maps app and also recommended customers to try alternative mapping apps available in the App Store or web-based mapping services offered by Google and Nokia.

Apple has followed it up by launching a new featured category “Find maps for your iPhone” (similar one for the iPad) in the App Store, which showcases mapping apps from Waze, MapQuest, Microsoft’s Bing etc.


Apple has also launched a new web page on its website, which shows how to add a Home screen icon (web clip) for web-based mapping services from Google and Nokia.

It is good to see Apple going that extra mile to show customers how to find alternative map apps from its competitors, it makes Tim Cook's apology that much more genuine.

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How Does The iPhone 5 Camera Stack-Up Against Previous iPhone Cameras?

Though iPhone 5's back-facing camera has the same 8-megapixel, five-element lens with 2.4 aperture, which is similar to the iPhone 4S, but is 25% smaller and the same 3,264 by 2,448 backside-illuminated sensor, it comes with improvements such as 40% faster photo capture, improved low-light performance, and improved noise reduction.

Folks at Camera+ - developers of popular camera app that was recently released for the iPad, have carried out a series of tests to find out how the iPhone 5 camera stack-up against previous iPhone cameras.

Camera+ has compared the photos taken with the Camera+ app (iTunes link) using the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 in three situations:

A well lit macro setting to test detail and quality of the cameras
A skyline shot to test sharpness and saturation
A candle lit low light macro photo to test noise.
Here's the side-by-side comparison photos:

Macro Comparison

 Skyline Comparison

Low Light Macro Comparison

Lisa Bettany of Camera+ concludes:

It's clear from the detail shots that the iPhone 5 produces sharper photos with more accurate white balance, contrast, and saturation.




What do you think? We would love to hear what our resident experts think about the quality of iPhone 5 camera

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iPhone 5 Costs Roughly $0.41 Per Year to Charge

Energy efficiency company Opower today released a study calculating the annual energy cost for charging the iPhone 5 at just $0.41. While any user's actual cost would vary based on use and electricity rates in their areas, Opower's estimate assumes a full charge once per day at a U.S. average of 11.8 cents per kWh.

But while an individual iPhone 5 uses a minuscule amount of energy, the massive popularity of Apple's devices results in significant energy demand in aggregate.

Even if we consider just the 170 million iPhone 5’s that are projected to be sold globally in the next year, their aggregate electricity requirements are nothing to sneeze at. The collective annual electricity consumption of the iPhone 5’s sold within 12 months will be equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 54,000 US households (roughly equivalent to the size of Cedar Rapids – the second largest city in Iowa). That’s just for one smartphone model over one year.
Still, the study notes that smartphones use significantly less energy than other entertainment devices, and a shift from more traditional entertainment sources to smartphones can result in an overall benefit to energy consumption.


The explosion in smartphone usage is of course just one part of a surge in consumer electronics, which now represent approximately 13% of U.S. household energy usage. That growth, which comes even as the efficiency of appliances and other devices has significantly improved, has been driven by a massive increase in the kinds and numbers of devices being used in homes, from televisions to gaming systems to computers.

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iPhone 5 Battery Life May Be Impacted Greatly by Cellular Signal Strength

Deep in its lengthy review of the iPhone 5, iLounge has performed an analysis on the battery life of the iPhone 5. The site tested the device under a number of conditions, including both cellular and Wi-Fi web browsing, voice calls, FaceTime calls, video recording, and video and audio playback.


The phone performed fairly well but iLounge found battery life struggled when transferring cellular data or making voice calls, which they speculated was due to a weak signal:

if you’re using your iPhone 5 in places a with a very strong (4- to 5-bar) LTE or 3G signal, your cellular battery life may approach that number, but if not, the cellular antenna will struggle to maintain a signal, and fall well short. Because LTE and 3G/4G towers are in a state of build-out flux right now, our tests suggest that many LTE users won’t come close to Apple’s promised numbers.

iLounge has the detailed results on its battery testing in its iPhone 5 review, but unsurprisingly, mileage will vary greatly depending on a number of factors including health of the battery, signal strength, screen brightness, and other considerations.

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Apple's Split with Google Over iOS Maps Driven by Turn-by-Turn Navigation Dispute

Apple and Google that saw Apple replace its Google-powered Maps app for iOS with its own solution have continued to trickle out, with AllThingsD now reporting that the lack of turn-by-turn directions on Google's Maps app for iOS was the key motivator for Apple.

[M]ultiple sources familiar with Apple’s thinking say the company felt it had no choice but to replace Google maps with its own because of a disagreement over a key feature: Voice-guided turn-by-turn driving directions.

Spoken turn-by-turn navigation has been a free service offered through Google’s Android mobile OS for a few years now. But it was never part of the deal that brought Google’s maps to iOS. And Apple very much wanted it to be. Requiring iPhone users to look directly at handsets for directions and manually move through each step while Android users enjoyed native voice-guided instructions put Apple at a clear disadvantage in the mobile space. And having chosen Google as its original mapping partner, the iPhone-maker was now in a position where an arch rival was calling the shots on functionality important to the iOS maps feature set.

Apple reportedly pushed hard for voice navigation in Google's maps on iOS, but Google was unwilling to hand over the functionality without concessions from Apple. As detailed by other sources, Google was seeking greater control over the mapping experience on the iPhone, such as Google branding and Google Latitude integration, concessions Apple was unwilling to make.


Combined with the deterioration of the overall Apple-Google relationship and Apple's concerns that Google was collecting too much information from iOS users, Apple ramped up its mapping efforts in order to bring its own turn-by-turn directions to the device, ultimately deciding that it could afford to do away entirely with Google's maps.

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Phil Schiller Says iPhone 5 Scratching 'Normal' for Any Aluminum Product

9to5Mac reports that one of its readers emailed Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller regarding scratching of the iPhone 5, an issue that we documented on launch day. The issue is most visible on the black models due to the anodized slate color scratching off to reveal the silver color underneath. According to Schiller, such scratching is "normal" with use.

Q: I love my Black & Slate iPhone 5, but I've been seeing some scuffs, scratches and marks throughout the band around the phone along with many others. What should we all do? Any plans to fix this?

Schiller: Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color. That is normal.

Not only are users experiencing scratching on their iPhone 5 bodies with normal use, but a number of complaints have surfaced regarding units being scratched right out of the box. According to a a thread in our forums, several readers have reprted scratching or scuffing out of the box before the device had even been handled.

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Apple Flooded with iCloud Password Reset Requests Amid Tightened Account Security Controls

In a high-profile case last month, a hacker was able to gain access to Wired reporter Mat Honan's iCloud, Gmail, Twitter, and Amazon accounts, taking control of much of Honan's digital life and remote wiping his iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. Honan later detailed how the hack was accomplished through social engineering by entering the system through weaknesses in Amazon's account security and then using credit card information stored there to gain access to Honan's iCloud account.

Following the incident, Apple temporarily halted over-the-phone iCloud password resets, which had required only the user's billing address and the last four digits of the credit card on file with the account. Apple has since rolled out new authentication for password resets, including a requirement that users provide two correct responses to a small group of challenges that includes user-set security questions, more detailed credit card information, and device confirmations via either serial number or pushed Find My iPhone verification codes.

We've heard from several Apple support employees who have noted that their abilities to help customers have been severely restricted as part of the effort to tighten up security, with staff only able to send password resets to email addresses on file with the account. Employees are no longer permitted to send password resets to arbitrary email addresses and can no longer set temporary passwords on accounts to enter troubleshooting mode during support calls.

One employee we spoke with has detailed a tremendous influx in support calls with the release of iPhone 5, as customers looking to restore iCloud backups of their old phones onto their new phones are in some cases having difficulty remembering their passwords. Support calls are said to be up on the order of tenfold over the past week or so surrounding the iOS 6 and iPhone 5 launches.
I know what you are thinking. The rightful person that owns the Apple ID should have no problem doing enough of that to be able to verify their ID and be able to then reset their password or security questions or unlock their account. And you would be wrong in thinking that.
This employee has emphasized that if users can not confirm their identities within the new framework of authentication challenges, there is nothing Apple support staff can do to help them and they will be frozen out of their iCloud accounts. For this reason, the employee notes that users are strongly encouraged to know the exact answers to their security questions, make sure a proper credit card is associated with the account, and set up Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod, maximizing their chances of being able to regain access to their accounts should their passwords be lost.


Finally, this employee has cautioned users about both changing their password and resetting their security questions at the same time, particularly if they do not have a credit card on file with the account. In that instance, if the user is unable to get into their account with the reset password, the deleted security questions and the lack of a credit card will essentially make it impossible for Apple support to verify their identity and regain access to the account.

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Apple to Launch Personal Pickup for iPhone 5 Tonight

9to5Mac reports that Apple is planning to launch Personal Pickup for new iPhone 5 orders starting tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern. The program allows users to place and pay for orders online in advance and then pick up their items at an Apple retail store.
Customers can use the Apple Store App or website between 10PM-4AM nightly to pre-purchase available iPhone 5 inventory for the next day.

AppleInsider notes that the program is new for U.S. iPhone 5 customers, as sales in many other countries have already been made available on a reservation basis.
An announcement about the policy change was reportedly made internally to Apple's employees on Monday. Word then began spreading as the day went on.

For now, Apple's website still says that iPhone 5 purchases are available on a first-come, first-served basis. In contrast, customers in other countries, such as the U.K., have the option to reserve an iPhone 5 and pick it up the next day at an Apple retail store.
Reports differ on how long customers will have to pick up their purchased iPhones, with 9to5Mac saying that customers will have "upwards of 2 weeks" while AppleInsider says that customers will have to pick them up the following day or the units will be returned to the pool for purchase by other customers.

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iPhone 5 (vs Samsung Galaxy S3) Drop Tests Show Very Durable Device and Screen

With the launch of the iPhone 5, several companies are performing tests and benchmarks on the new device. One common effort is to put any new iPhone in a series of drop tests to see how well it survives common falls. 

Android Authority (via iPhoneinCanada) posts a drop test comparison video between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 and actually finds in favor of the iPhone 5. 


Well, as much as we hate to admit it, the iPhone 5 did amazingly well in our drop test, while the Samsung Galaxy S3 came out in pretty bad shape. It’s the cold hard truth that we can’t hide and we can’t ignore.  ....  The hard aluminum shell of the iPhone 5 withstood the impact pretty well, and the glass protecting the display remained intact. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S3 predictably lost its back cover and suffered damage to the casing and the front glass. Sad, sad, sad.
The iPhone 5 survived all the falls until they finally threw the device screen down. They describe the device as the "most durable iPhone" they've seen.

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Shipping Estimates for New iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Through Apple Slip to 3-4 Weeks

The iPhone 5 does not officially launch until Friday, but pre-orders are clearly continuing to roll in through Apple's online store as the company has now bumped shipping estimates for new pre-orders to 3-4 weeks. Apple sold out of its launch day pre-order stock in just about an hour last Friday, with shipping estimates quickly moving to two weeks and then drifting to 2-3 weeks, where they have been for the past few days. 


The new 3-4 week estimates are in place in the United States, Canada, and Australia, while several other launch markets including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany remain at 2-3 weeks for the time being. Accounting for shipping time, the new estimates suggest that those placing orders today may not receive their devices until mid-October. 

Not only are Apple's lengthening shipping estimates coming before the first round of launches in nine countries this Friday, but the new pre-orders are being pushed well past Apple's second round of launches set to take place in 22 more countries and on additional carriers in some of the first-round markets on September 28. Apple will undoubtedly be reserving some stock for launch availability in the new countries and is of course holding stock for in-store sales beginning this Friday as it rolls out availability, but online orders are now seeing even more substantial delays for the popular device that saw two million pre-orders in just the first 24 hours of availability.

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First iPhone 5 Reviews: Thinner, Lighter, LTE "Stunningly Fast"

The embargo has just lifted on the first iPhone 5 reviews. Apple has provided some publications with an early review unit of the iPhone 5. We are collecting some of the more interesting points from each review, but you can click each title to read the full writeup. The iPhone 5 will officially launch on September 21st and will be available in retail stores beginning at 8am.

CNet Review

- "The screen size lengthening is subtle: but, like the Retina Display, you're going to have a hard time going back once you've used it."
- "LTE, in my tests, ran anywhere from 10 to 20 [Mbps], which is up to twice as fast as my wireless router's connection at home."
- "Still pictures taken while recording video aren't shot using the normal 8-megapixel Web cam; they're screen captures of the video itself. The aspect ratio is different, and the image quality's a bit weaker."
- "callers I reached via speakerphone noticed a crisper, clearer call on the iPhone 5 versus the iPhone 4S."
- "The phone's lasted roughly the whole day each day, unplugging around 8 a.m. and engaging in a mix of calling, web surfing, video playback, downloading, game playing, FaceTime calling over Wi-Fi and LTE, and even a little 4G LTE hot spot use via my MacBook Air."

The Loop Review by Jim Dalrymple

- "If you told me that I would be able to see another few rows of emails or more of a Web page, I don’t know that I would see the importance, but when you look at the iPhone 5, it’s more than that. You have to see it to get an idea of what can be done."

The New York Times Review by David Pogue

- "The new phone, in all black or white, is beautiful. Especially the black one, whose gleaming, black-on-black, glass-and-aluminum body carries the design cues of a Stealth bomber."
- "The camera is among the best ever put into a phone. Its lowlight shots blow away the same efforts from an iPhone 4S."
- "It’s just too bad about that connector change. Doesn’t Apple worry about losing customer loyalty and sales?"

iPhone 4S vs 5 photo via CNet

Engadget Review by Tim Stevens

- " At 112 grams it's 20 percent lighter than the 4S, a figure that doesn't seem like it would make much of an impact. It does -- so much so that it's the lightness, not the bigger display or the thinness, that nearly everybody praises when first getting a chance to hold the iPhone 5 in their own hands."
- "the Lightning connector is infinitely easier to connect. It slots in nicely and does so regardless of orientation, plugging in right-side-up or upside-down."
- "More problematic is the speed of this new connector. " -- Based on USB 2.0, so no faster than existing connector/cable.
- Taking photo speed is much improved.
- "On our standard battery rundown test, in which we loop a video with LTE and WiFi enabled and social accounts pinging at regular intervals, the iPhone 5 managed a hugely impressive 11 hours and 15 minutes."
- "In general, iOS 6 has seen some nice nips and tucks where it needed it. iCloud integration is tighter, Safari is better and the overall experience is more polished. But, it isn't a major step forward in any regard. "

Wall Street Journal Review by Walt Mossberg

- "I found the new iPhone screen much easier to hold and manipulate than its larger rivals and preferred it. In my view, Apple’s approach makes the phone far more comfortable to use, especially one-handed."
- "The iPhone 5′s battery lasted between 9 and 12 hours every day, in mixed use. For most people, the phone would last the day without recharging."
- "The biggest drawback I found is the new Maps app. Apple has replaced Google Maps with a new maps app of its own. "

T3 Review by Luke Peters

- "Don’t get us wrong, it’s a miracle how Apple has shed so much excess podge and millions of people will love the lightweight design, but we preferred the more robust, weapon-like nature of the 4S."
- "Given that iPhone 4S users can upgrade to iOS 6 and do just about everything the iPhone 5 can do, and that Android users can get similarly impressive handsets for less dosh, we reckon the smart money won’t all be going on a new iPhone this year, even if the mass market can’t get enough of it. It’s good, very good. But it’s no longer the best around."

Pocket Lint Review by Stuart Miles

- "It is now chamfered and while that looks pretty, we've already noticed that on the black model the edge has started to wear, revealing the shiny silver aluminium metal underneath the "slate" coloured coating and, indeed, we've witnessed it on two separate models, ruling out a fluke manufacturing error."

TechCrunch Review by MG Siegler

- "One nice side effect of the letterboxing is that the iOS system elements can still use the larger screen. So, for example, when Push Notifications come in, they flip down from the top of the screen and settle perfectly above the 3.5-inch app (as opposed to on top of it)."

Others

- USA Today Review by Edward Baig 
- Daring Fireball Review by John Gruber 
- CBC Review by Peter Nowak 

Overall, the reviews are very positive. Regular iPhone users seem to enjoy the added space. Everyone seems to comment on the lightness and thinness of the device. Apple's 2x speed claims and battery claims seem accurate. The new Lightning connector seems to be physically nice, though there is disappointment there is no speed improvement in syncing as compared to the old sync cable/connectors.

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AT&T Says iPhone 5 Fastest Selling iPhone It Has Ever Offered

AT&T has said that it has set a new sales record with Apple's new iPhone 5 pre-orders over the weekend, making it the fastest selling iPhone the company has ever offered, according to report on Reuters.

This doesn't come as a major surprise as Apple had said that it was completely blown away by customer response to iPhone 5 on Friday.

AT&T did not reveal the number of iPhone 5s sold. We expect Apple and its carrier partners to announce the numbers next week, after the launch weekend. AT&T had activated 1 million iPhone 4S over the launch weekend last year.

iPhone 5 goes on sale in US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK on Friday, September 21.

Apple started taking iPhone 5 pre-orders on Friday and sold out it's iPhone 5 stock for launch day delivery in less than an hour and is now quoting delivery estimates of 2-3 weeks currently.

Delivery estimates for new iPhone 5 pre-orders have slipped by a week on Verizon and AT&T is quoting shipping estimates of 14-21 business days.

Apple has already started shipping iPhone 5 to customers for the launch day.

Customers who haven't pre-ordered the iPhone 5 will be able to pick one up at Apple's retail stores as well as from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon retail stores or resellers like Walmart, Target, Radio Shack.

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