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iPhone 5: Time Magazine's Gadget of the Year?

skaertus

skaertus

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 23, 2009
4,232
1,380
Brazil
Time Magazine has just named the iPhone 5 the gadget of the year:

http://techland.time.com/2012/12/04/top-10-tech-lists/slide/iphone-5/

Seriously, what's so great about it?

The iPhone has always been a great product, and the iPhone 5 is no exception. The iPhone 5 is great. Yes, it is.

But it was also the most predictable product on Earth. I feel that the iPhone 5, while great, was not so much of an improvement over the iPhone 4/4S, considering that it was the first new design in 2 years.

What has Apple added to the iPhone 5 that made it so special over the iPhone 4S and over the already existing competitors to the point of it being named "Gadget of the Year"? Is it just me that can't see it?
 
Beeplance

Beeplance

macrumors 68000
Jul 29, 2012
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Seriously??

When they named the original iPhone back in 2007 as the invention of the year, I applaud them because it is truly revolutionary and innovative.

With the iPhone 5, not that much.... No doubt it's a great phone with decent hardware, but I don't think it's that significant to be named as "Gadget of the Year" anymore. And I agree with your part about it being predictable as well.

Just my 2 cents.
 
zhenya

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
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It only seems like 'what's so great' when we are jaded from too much time on sites like these causing us to have unrealistic expectations.

Really, it's thinner, lighter, more powerful and has better battery life than just about any other smartphone, and it's in the most beautiful case that Apple has ever made. It's selling like no other phone ever before it. You may not like it for one reason or another, but it's not an outrageous choice. We can't have paradigm shifting inventions every year.
 
w00t951

w00t951

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Jan 6, 2009
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I personally think that the Nexus 4 is a better candidate. It has the latest technology stuffed into a $300 package. That price by itself makes the N4 a more innovative device than the predictable iPhone.
 
zhenya

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
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w00t951 said:
I personally think that the Nexus 4 is a better candidate. It has the latest technology stuffed into a $300 package. That price by itself makes the N4 a more innovative device than the predictable iPhone.
Click to expand...

Why would a device that is heavier, less powerful, with poor battery life, no LTE and middling construction be up for gadget of the year just because its subsidy is coming from Google rather than the phone companies?
 
w00t951

w00t951

macrumors 68000
Jan 6, 2009
1,834
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Pittsburgh, PA
zhenya said:
Why would a device that is heavier, less powerful, with poor battery life, no LTE and middling construction be up for gadget of the year just because its subsidy is coming from Google rather than the phone companies?
Click to expand...

While it may be heavier, it's more powerful, has good battery life, has Band 4 LTE, and has good build quality. It's because it represents the trend away from ultra expensive gadgets - the Nexus line of devices is affordable yet cutting edge, setting a trend in the future for good hardware at low prices.
 
zhenya

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,929
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w00t951 said:
While it may be heavier, it's more powerful, has good battery life, has Band 4 LTE, and has good build quality. It's because it represents the trend away from ultra expensive gadgets - the Nexus line of devices is affordable yet cutting edge, setting a trend in the future for good hardware at low prices.
Click to expand...

It's not more powerful, it is markedly less so on almost every benchmark. It doesn't matter if it has 'good' battery life and build quality when Apple's is much better, and great, I get to hack my phone to access some LTE in some locations, maybe. Those are definitely the makings of a gadget of the year. :rolleyes:
 
Beeplance

Beeplance

macrumors 68000
Jul 29, 2012
1,564
500
w00t951 said:
While it may be heavier, it's more powerful, has good battery life, has Band 4 LTE, and has good build quality. It's because it represents the trend away from ultra expensive gadgets - the Nexus line of devices is affordable yet cutting edge, setting a trend in the future for good hardware at low prices.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. Along with the S3 and the Note 2, many people see it as a potential competitor with the iPhone, because the specs are already quite good in a sense. 2GB of RAM too. And with that price-point, it is impressive.
 
N

nharrietha

macrumors member
Oct 17, 2012
70
0
Canada
I have a feeling money had a part in this. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone 5, but it's mainly because of the ecosystem. By no means a groundbreaking phone.
 
skaertus

skaertus

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 23, 2009
4,232
1,380
Brazil
The iPhone 5 has just been released here in Brazil and I visited a store today to see the product (again - I had already seen it on an Apple Store in the U.S.). The price is outrageous. The 16 GB model costs approximately US$ 1,200, and the 64 GB version is about US$ 1,500. Very heavy taxes here. That, and an ufavorable exchange rate, makes the iPhone 5 a very unaffordable product here in Brazil (it's no wonder that iPhone's market share is only 1.6% here). Apart from the price tag, I was again disappointed by the product. It's lighter than my iPhone 4S, and has a longer screen, but not much else. It doesn't support the LTE standard used by Brazilian carriers, so there's not much benefit in acquiring one. Especially at these prices.

I also took a look at the Samsung Galaxy SIII. It has a much larger screen, and features a higher resolution, which is comfortable for surfing the web and using office apps. The phone is big, and it is harder to hold while typing with just one hand than the iPhone 5. However, I was still able to use it with one hand and, due to the wider screen, I just commited less mistakes when typing than when using the tiny screen of the iPhone (I just hope Samsung doesn't make the screen any larger, enough is enough). The SIII really represented a huge improvement over the SII, while the iPhone 5 felt just like an update. I'm not saying that one is better than the other. But I just felt that the big difference that separated Apple's iPhone 4S from Samsung Galaxy SII is no longer there. The SIII may be even a more suitable product than the iPhone 5 for many users. And Samsung has just released a new version that supports Brazilian LTE. In addition, the price tag is much more reasonable: the SIII may be found for US$ 800 or US$ 900 here. A much better deal than the iPhone 5, especially considering that it supports LTE.
 
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