Perceived Value: Why Apple and Costco Aren't So Different

The perception of value weighs strongly on consumers, a lot more than most people realize. It drives us at nearly all levels of consciousness because we inherently want valuable things. Now, keep in mind valuable isn't necessarily monetarily valuable, but can be measured in nearly any way.

We each have our own measure of value for everything in our lives, hence the famous saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure." So, why Apple and Costco? (P.S. those aren't the only two brands that do this.)

The main point is this - a large number of customers of these two companies have convinced themselves they're getting a good deal before they walk in the door.

Costco

At Costco you go in with a list of 10 things, but when you see the mega-pack of toothpaste you realize you're getting low and figure this has to be a good deal, sold. Ever think that the environment and decor wasn't just a warehouse because it is cheaper than a standard retail store? When you walk in and see the vast sea of products, the 100 TV boxes, and the 30 foot tall shelves full of the item you're buying, how could you not be getting a good deal since they bought THAT many of one item for a single store?

In reality, you usually are getting a good deal. Not always, but rarely do the masses comparison shop Costco like they do at Best Buy (I call Best Buy the Tech Titanic). Recently, I found that Christmas lights were 1.8x the price for 1/2 the length strands for LED bulbs at Costco, they were selling like crazy none-the-less.

The warehouse look isn't the only thing. They put a ton of effort into doing the research for you, so when you go, there is ONE ketchup option to chose. Can you imagine if the grocery store only had one option? The perception of value is different - the grocery store provides value through a wide selection and reasonable quantity options. Costco provides value through bulk pricing and making your choice easy so you don't even have to stop the cart to buy ketchup, you merely slow down as you throw out your back picking up a gallon or two.

The point with Costco is that they hit the nail on the head for making their customers understand the value they provide. Most anyone at Costco walks in the door expecting to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars and will even laugh when they get to check out and cheer "I did it for less than $400!" (I actually heard that once). The value they're getting isn't being measured by dollars first, so damn the expense, put it on the famous Costco AmEx!

Apple

Albeit an entirely different industry (I'm not sure if Apple has any plans for iKetchup, but I somehow doubt it), Apple is very much the same way with how their products are perceived.

Side note: Apple is a polarizing topic, and many people have blindly 100% dismissed Apple products as a bad deal no matter what, just like some have blindly 100% accepted their products as a good deal no matter what. These are closed minded people and most of them fall under the "troll" category.

Apple demonstrates their value through their famous product introductions (among other ways). The demonstrations are simple, clean, well documented by the press, and like their products, they are polished... freakishly well polished. Apple demonstrates their value through simplicity. Their products have changed the way society views buttons, they have reshaped industrial design as we know it, and to date there really isn't another product that is mistaken for an Apple product (crappy Chinese knock offs do not count). Apple demonstrates their value through ubiquity. Their products are understood, most anyone can navigate one (even if they never have before), their accessory market is larger than any other by a long shot. Recently they changed their dock connector, so that is a small (but totally necessary) setback for their accessory market, but they've been establishing that market with 10 years of compatibility, that's huge.

So when people are quick to point out why Apple products are expensive and they start comparing technical specs, they've already missed the point by a long shot. That person measures value differently than Apple and Apple has no interest in marketing to them. Tech specs simply aren't what matters to Apple. As Matt Drance points out (highlighted by John Gruber), "It's no coincidence that the 'Tech Specs' link atop apple.com/iphone is dead last."

Does that make people who measure tech specs wrong? No. I think tech specs have their place, and as a geek I have a deep appreciation for them. However, Apple has done a good job of showing why the product experience is more valuable than the tech specs for their products, and that is just something not everyone will agree on. No worries.

What this means is that just like Costco, people walk into an Apple store expecting to spend money because money isn't the most important thing in how they're determining the value of the products. Their perceived value of Apple products is just higher than other products. It is a reason why their product margins are higher than competition. The people who don't understand why people pay what they pay are the people who either don't know enough to understand that perception of value, they're too closed minded to accept it, or they genuinely don't put value in what Apple does.

It is a very interesting phenomenon, but is nothing new and not unique to Apple in any way. The way Apple could become unique is if they are able to survive the life-cycle that every other company in history has fallen victim to. Only time will tell.

Phone Buying Advice for the Non-Tech Inclined

Phone buying advice is not hard to find, rather it is hard to avoid. More than that, it is one of the more polarizing topics outside of religion and politics with the tech geek world. There's a fundamental problem with that though, and I've got some basic tips that can help to guide you to picking the right phone for you rather than the Verizon/AT&T/other employee who is selling it to you.

Employees of cell network carriers tend to be pretty familiar with smartphones, but not necessarily all phones. This leads to extremely biased dialog as they suggest their phone to everyone who walks in the door. The problem is that smartphones aren't a one-size-fits-all type of purchase. The people in the greatest need of tech advice get told to purchase a phone that may not be right for them. I have seen it happen several times, and once a person is convinced to buy a phone they will defend that purchase to the death to avoid feeling mislead.

This results in discomfort or malcontent for the phone, and then the user doesn't get to enjoy the phone as they rightfully should after spending that kind of money (monthly and/or up front). It is insulting to the customer, but if they don't know other phones that could more closely meet their needs exist, they'll never see how they've been wronged. Ok, enough of the rant, onto advice.

This article would be extraordinarily long if it were complete, but there are some key points that I'd like to mention.

Don't Get Blinded by "Features"

This point is the most important, and hands down the one that most people fall for - especially when you've got a salesperson telling you that you need phone X because it has the biggest screen, fastest processor, most apps, near-field communications (NFC), or any other feature they point to. This isn't to say these are to be avoided, these features are fantastic, but they aren't all fantastic for every consumer, a fact often overlooked.

The critical piece for the customer is to focus on what they need from their phone, how they plan to use it, and focus on how they can achieve this by prioritizing features. This takes a custom approach for the salesman to understand the user and guide them toward the right purchase for them. It is more time consuming and I have never seen a carrier store employee take the time to do this.

Considerations to make before committing to a purchase...

Screen Size - Things to consider here are what you'll do on the phone (movies, reading, games might warrant more screen space), but also how it affects the size of the phone. How big are your hands, can you reach the far corner when you're holding it with one hand?

Camera Quality - For many, the camera on smartphones has replaced the point and shoot we used to carry around. Do you have kids or puppies that move quickly? Make sure to check review on how quickly the camera snaps shots, how quickly the app opens, and how the quality compares. The built in sharing supporting your favorite social network (or Shared Photo Streams for iOS users) is a plus.

Battery Life - This is important, but more for some than others. Those with desk jobs and 10 chargers laying around might not consider this as critical as those on job sites for 2 days at a time.

Apps - As far as phones go, Android and iOS both have more than you'll ever need for apps. Windows Phone and BlackBerry might not.

"Open" vs. "Closed" - Don't get fooled... I cannot tell you the number of people that I've heard rag on iOS for being "closed" or praising Android for being "open" and NOT be able to back it up with an example of how this was actually a problem for them. There ARE pros and cons for each, but the guy at the Verizon store telling you an iPhone is "closed" (and they all do in my experience) means nothing to the vast majority of people. Before you commit, talk to someone with each platform you're interested in and ask them how they do X or solve problem Y. The odds are very good you'll find satisfactory (or even enjoyable) solutions on every single platform. Note: This is in reference to "normal" tasks from non-tech savvy users. There are examples where this simply doesn't hold true.

Extended Screens - Your smartphone isn't just a smartphone anymore. It is a hub for your life and can be used to broadcast to your TV, stream music to wireless speakers, print (haha, who the hell prints anymore?!), or seamlessly share content. For $99 any iOS device can stream video/audio to an Apple TV. Google is reportedly working on an "open" alternative to that. iOS devices have Shared Photo Streams that shares photos seamlessly via iCloud. These are just a few examples, it is worth considering how well your new phone will integrate with the technology you already have or want to get soon.

Price - Price is a factor to almost everyone, but will you kick yourself for saving $30 and being miserable (or even inconvenienced) for the next 2 years? Sure a toy today has a great deal of appeal, but what if you save up for 4 more weeks and get your dream phone?

Understanding 4G - Not all 4G is the same, and carriers are anything but straightforward with you (unless you meticulously read the fine print). Here's a guide to understanding 4G - Understanding when "4G" isn't 4G.

Accessory Market - How good is the accessory market, and do you need many? People who drop their phones a lot will need a good rugged case, some phones have very few (if any) rugged case options available. Do you need a charging cable everywhere you turn? Are they easily (and cheaply) available? How about a dock for your alarm clock?

Understanding When "4G" isn't 4G

Not All "4G" is Equal

Most carriers are lying to you. I find it a bit insulting, here is what you need to know to make informed decisions about 4G.

The term "4G" is overused, abused, and throughly misleading... thanks to the carriers. Real 4G networks are Long Term Evolution (commonly referred to as LTE) and WiMax (which Sprint is repurposing for prepaid 4G service only). Fake 4G, referred to by most geeks as 3.5G, is HSPA+ and is almost entirely what AT&T and entirely what T-Mobile rely on and call "4G".

You probably recognize "LTE" from Verizon commercials, that is because they're the only carrier that isn't lying to you about their 4G coverage. Here's what I mean... (iPhone 4S users, there's a section specially for you below.)

AT&T

AT&T claims to have the "largest 4G network." This conveniently avoids defining what they mean by "4G" because their coverage isn't actually 4G, it is 3.5G or HSPA+. Here are the coverage maps to compare AT&T vs. Verizon on their 4G LTE coverage.

AT&T 4G LTE Coverage

Verizon 4G LTE Coverage

It is worth mentioning that the places where AT&T has LTE coverage, it is very fast and reportedly satisfactory, same as Verizon.

T-Mobile

The lies don't stop there, T-Mobile has no 4G LTE coverage to speak of, they plan to start building it in 2013.

T-Mobile tries to sell their "4G" network (actually 3.5G) by comparing to other carriers. There's just one problem, they aren't comparing apples to apples. In this head-to-head with Verizon, they compare the Samsung Galaxy SII (T-Mobile) to the iPhone 4S (Verizon). They cover themselves legally by noting this in the fine print, but who reads that? The iPhone 4S on Verizon is a 3G device ONLY. There is no LTE support on the iPhone 4S, and Verizon doesn't have an HSPA+ network (which the iPhone 4S does support if the network does). They compare 3.5G HSPA+ to 3G CDMA, there is no relevant comparison to be made. I call bullshit.

iPhone 4S Users, What You Need to Know

I get the confused questions quite frequently with the iPhone 4S regarding 3G/4G support. The iPhone 4S supports HSPA+, which AT&T has and calls 4G. Verizon doesn't have an HSPA+ network, so Verizon iPhone 4S owners never see "4G" in their status bar. However, AT&T iPhone 4S owners do frequently see "4G" in their status bar. I hope the above article helps to clarify why that is. The iPhone 4S does not support 4G LTE, so when your iPhone 4S reads "4G" it is really 3.5G.

Closing Comments

HSPA+ isn't a bad technology and it doesn't result in slow crummy internet connections. It is quite the opposite in fact. I have no qualm with HSPA+ and I like that AT&T customers have that to fall back on before falling back yet again onto 3G. I just dislike the lack of clarity and false inflation of terms to try to sell you things that aren't accurate.

The argument on the flip side of the coin is that HSPA+ speeds are closer to 4G than to 3G, this is true. I saw HSPA+ called "3.75G" rather than 3.5G, and that might be a more accurate term.

What it all comes down to is understanding the network you rely on all day every day. This can save you money and will hopefully save you from the dreaded (biased as hell) salesmen at the carrier's stores.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/counter-arguments in the comments.

Understanding When "4G" isn't 4G

Not All "4G" is Equal

Most carriers are lying to you. I find it a bit insulting, here is what you need to know to make informed decisions about 4G.

The term "4G" is overused, abused, and throughly misleading... thanks to the carriers. Real 4G networks are Long Term Evolution (commonly referred to as LTE) and WiMax (which Sprint is repurposing for prepaid 4G service only). Fake 4G, referred to by most geeks as 3.5G, is HSPA+ and is almost entirely what AT&T and entirely what T-Mobile rely on and call "4G".

You probably recognize "LTE" from Verizon commercials, that is because they're the only carrier that isn't lying to you about their 4G coverage. Here's what I mean... (iPhone 4S users, there's a section specially for you below.)

AT&T

AT&T claims to have the "largest 4G network." This conveniently avoids defining what they mean by "4G" because their coverage isn't actually 4G, it is 3.5G or HSPA+. Here are the coverage maps to compare AT&T vs. Verizon on their 4G LTE coverage.

AT&T 4G LTE Coverage

Verizon 4G LTE Coverage

It is worth mentioning that the places where AT&T has LTE coverage, it is very fast and reportedly satisfactory, same as Verizon.

T-Mobile

The lies don't stop there, T-Mobile has no 4G LTE coverage to speak of, they plan to start building it in 2013.

T-Mobile tries to sell their "4G" network (actually 3.5G) by comparing to other carriers. There's just one problem, they aren't comparing apples to apples. In this head-to-head with Verizon, they compare the Samsung Galaxy SII (T-Mobile) to the iPhone 4S (Verizon). They cover themselves legally by noting this in the fine print, but who reads that? The iPhone 4S on Verizon is a 3G device ONLY. There is no LTE support on the iPhone 4S, and Verizon doesn't have an HSPA+ network (which the iPhone 4S does support if the network does). They compare 3.5G HSPA+ to 3G CDMA, there is no relevant comparison to be made. I call bullshit.

iPhone 4S Users, What You Need to Know

I get the confused questions quite frequently with the iPhone 4S regarding 3G/4G support. The iPhone 4S supports HSPA+, which AT&T has and calls 4G. Verizon doesn't have an HSPA+ network, so Verizon iPhone 4S owners never see "4G" in their status bar. However, AT&T iPhone 4S owners do frequently see "4G" in their status bar. I hope the above article helps to clarify why that is. The iPhone 4S does not support 4G LTE, so when your iPhone 4S reads "4G" it is really 3.5G.

Closing Comments

HSPA+ isn't a bad technology and it doesn't result in slow crummy internet connections. It is quite the opposite in fact. I have no qualm with HSPA+ and I like that AT&T customers have that to fall back on before falling back yet again onto 3G. I just dislike the lack of clarity and false inflation of terms to try to sell you things that aren't accurate.

The argument on the flip side of the coin is that HSPA+ speeds are closer to 4G than to 3G, this is true. I saw HSPA+ called "3.75G" rather than 3.5G, and that might be a more accurate term.

What it all comes down to is understanding the network you rely on all day every day. This can save you money and will hopefully save you from the dreaded (biased as hell) salesmen at the carrier's stores.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/counter-arguments in the comments.

Living with the Nest 2.0 Thermostat

The Nest is a profound re-imagination of an otherwise stale and uninteresting technology - your home's thermostat. You might not be able to picture yourself getting excited about a thermostat, and for a perfectly good reason, but that's about to change. What you're about to see is a brilliant, intuitive, beautifully designed piece of hardware that makes your controlling your home's temperature fun, smart, and interesting - oh and there's an app! Here's their promo video:

Starting to see why this might be fun? Here's what I mean when I say it is beautifully designed.

Source: Nest.com

The learning thermostat.

I have had the Nest 2.0 for 2 weeks now, so I'm only getting started. This has without question been one of my favorite new toys. Nest 2.0 is pictured above and is 20% slimmer than 1.0. They both run the same 3.0 software and have similar feature sets, though the 2.0 is compatible with more systems. Nest has 4 sensors and connects to your home WiFi network to always be accessible via any computer or smartphone. The first week or so you'll want to program your Nest when you expect to see a change. You can set up a schedule and even still you may make manual changes here and there. You'll notice it starts to get smarter as you use it. 

Nest understands that your life isn't clockwork, your Monday schedule last week might not be your Monday schedule this week. Yet when an unexpected snow storm hits next Monday and you forgot to set the schedule to warm up right before you get home, you won't even need to use the app to do it because it is aware of the weather and will do it for you.

Talking with people who have had the first generation Nest for a year, they say they haven't touched or programmed their thermostat in months even as they transition between seasons, they are just always comfortable. One of those houses was even a more dynamic house with a few people living there and roommates moving in and out periodically, Nest figured it all out.

Nest is smart, eerily smart.

Nest knows the weather outside, it knows when you're home or away, and it knows what temperature keeps your family comfortable and when. It knows the difference between you being home yet asleep and you being away, though I haven't done extensive testing to "trick" it. It did figure out when we left for the weekend after only 1 week of ownership. A big perk for us is that it doesn't misunderstand your dog's motion as thinking you've gotten home. 

Like other smarter thermostats it will inform you when your filter needs to be changed too. Yet unlike many thermostats there is attention to detail and efficiency everywhere you look. As a great example, when you run your AC and your house reaches the desired temperature, it shuts off. What about all the cold air still in the system though? The Nest understands when your home is nearing the desired temperature and shuts off the AC but continues to pump the cool air. This can save you as much as 20%* of your AC run time, that is extraordinary!

*Source: Nest.com

Green.

Nest is designed to keep you comfortable, but also to keep you informed and help you make greener choices. This translates to money in your pocket and feeling good that you've done something good for the planet.

When you're setting your system (or it sets itself) to a temperature that requires less heating or cooling to achieve, you see a small green leaf on the display. It sounds tiny, but it is really powerful feedback. If you were leaving for the afternoon and lowered your heat to say 65 but noticed a leaf when you accidentally went past it to 63, wouldn't you leave it at 63? I have found that just a couple of degrees has made me "greener" nearly every single day.

From the app or web app you can monitor your usage to see when your system is running, what the resulting temperature is, and how that related to the weather outside that day. We just bought our house so we don't have previous years of data to compare bills to, but I know with our previous stagnant single temperature setup we are saving a significant amount of money with our new Nest without question.

The critics.

There are critics of the Nest that claim the Nest is no (or hardly) better than a standard programmable thermostat. Is Nest a programmable thermostat? Well yes, in the same way that a Bentley is a car. (Insert a joke about the cost here!) The Nest is much smarter than any other thermostat, it is much more accessible than most other thermostats (and even thermostats that have apps to control them pale in comparison with app quality and functionality), and frankly it is designed by folks who care. A thermostat doesn't have to be a hideous white brick on your wall.

Cost.

Naturally the biggest drawback here is cost. The Nest 2.0 costs $249 and can be purchased at Amazon.com**, Nest.com, or others. High end programmable thermostats are $150 to $200, and even a decent lower end one is going to cost you $80. The efficiency savings, the convenience of control on-the-go, the beautiful design, and the extremely powerful data it gives you about your system usage, all more than make up for that price.

**At the time of writing Amazon appears to be out of stock and claiming it is $289 and only available through 3rd party retailers, I know this isn't true since that's where I got mine.


I cannot recommend this product more highly. I love my Nest and it was worth every penny. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments. Since I've only had it a short time, I might have forgotten to elaborate on a particular subject, please feel free to let me know and I'll add to my review!

Harmony Between Your iPhone and Gmail, Google Cal, etc.

It seems like just about every single article says either Apple or Google has a great product for one reason or another. I emphasize the "or" because the topic seems to be getting as polarized as politics. I can't imagine my daily life without the stunning simplicity, convenience, and technological bliss that is the marriage of Apple and Google products. I wanted to put together this guide to help out friends, family, and anyone else who wants the same.

I know the post is long, but this is as exhaustive of a summary and guide as I've seen on the internet. I hope it helps to better your experience of iOS and Google products working in a wonderful harmony!

My Devices & Services

• iPhone 4S & iPad 2 (same setup for both is recommended)
• Gmail
• Google Calendar
• All contacts are in Gmail

Setup

Account Types on the iPhone

This isn't as simple as adding a Gmail type account to your iOS device, this is the primary reason that most people aren't enjoying this setup.

Add a new Exchange account by selecting Settings (app) > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account...

Fill out your Email, Password, and add any description you like (mine is just "Gmail").

Press Next, there will be more to fill out. Note that your email address is your username @ your domain, so you should either leave the "Domain" blank and have your full email address as your username, or do what I do below. It shouldn't technically matter which way you chose.

Press Done.

Settings

Here are the rest of my settings for the account:

• Sync Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Reminders. 
• Mail - This is a true sync (using the IMAP protocol), so if you delete on your iPhone you Archive it in Gmail. The exact contents of the Inbox on your phone will represent the Inbox on the server. This gets rid of the old-school concept of downloading a message off the server where the message is literally removed from the server (this technology was known as POP3). The question I get most often is how to actually delete an email - you must select Move To... then the Trash folder, just as you would move it to any other folder.
• Please note: You will need to enable IMAP access in your Gmail Settings, last I checked this is disabled be default. It is simple to do, please follow this guide.
• Contacts - Gmail keeps the golden master copy of my contacts list. I keep nothing local on the phone. This makes my life a breeze when I jump back to Gmail.com. I can also easily edit large groups of contacts on the web. iCloud has similar offerings, I just prefer Gmail so it'd be silly not to have my contacts in the same place. P.S. I suggest populating the contact's birthday, this way it'll show up on your calendar!
• Calendars - Calendars run my life. Anything I am doing or my wife is doing had better be in the calendar or I likely won't show up. I do as much event management on my phone as on the computer, it's nice to have it instantly sync both ways.
• Reminders - I'm a bit weird here. I LOVE reminders and use them constantly. I don't like Gmail's implementation of reminders (it isn't as nice of a user interface or as functionally laid out as iCloud), so even though I sync them, I actually strictly use iCloud for my reminders. 99% of the time I use my iPhone to manage Reminders, but on my work PC I also use iCloud.com. Of course the iPad has the same native app that the iPhone has, and Macs running OS X 10.8 or later (Mountain Lion) have the same Reminders app there as well.
• Oddly enough, you can create a new shared reminders list from the iCloud.com app or the Mac's native app, but you cannot create a new shared reminders list from an iOS device. You can edit and manage items on those shared lists though, so at most this is the slightest of "inconveniences" if you can even call it that.

Mail

• Mail Days to Sync - This is a tricky one for some. I suggest you personally subscribe to the "Inbox Zero" lifestyle where you don't keep email in your inbox. Tools like Gmail's labels and plugins like Boomerang just make it too easy and there's no reason to keep email around in the inbox. This doesn't mean getting rid of email, on the contrary I keep every single email that isn't junk or a daily mailer from LivingSocial or Groupon type sites. If you keep a relatively empty inbox I suggest syncing all mail in your Inbox. Consider a change in practice if you've never archived anything or have thousands of emails in your inbox.
• Mail Folders to Push - This setting selects which folders (Inbox is technically a folder) will by synced to the server. This means every email in that folder on the server will also be on your phone. I recommend only Inbox (default) for 99% of folks out there. However, some of you have advanced setups where you've got secondary accounts set up that automatically get labeled and archived (neat Gmail magic, if you don't know what I mean I've done a blog post that talks about it). For those power users you might want to push your other "Inboxes" as well.
• Keep in mind that even if you only check Inbox you can still see the entire folder hierarchy structure you have in place. You can also go into those folders and download their contents to view or manage emails. The difference is that those folders won't be actively synced and if you open them that will initiate a download of that folder's contents from the server at that time.

Note: These settings apply only to this particular account.

Note: The rest of the settings I'll cover apply to all accounts, not just your newly setup Gmail account. There are exceptions like Push/Pull, you can have a different account not setup for Pull. If you want additional details just ask in the comments and I'll get back to you usually within a few hours.

• Fetch New Data - Push. Push. Push. Enough said. If you want pull, set it up as a Gmail type account, I don't see any reason to do this for your iPhone. The "Gmail" account type for iOS doesn't support Push, this is why I suggest setting it up as an Exchange account. With that being said, what is Push and what is "Pull"?
• Push - Any folder you selected for "Mail Folders to Push" above will have emails "pushed" to your phone instantly when that email is received. Often I'll even see it come through on my phone a second or two before I see it in my inbox on gmail.com.
• Benefits (no cons if you ask me):
1. Emails show up instantly.
2. Your phone only gets email when there is new email to be grabbed. This saves battery life and network traffic.
• Pull - Every X minutes (this amount of time is adjustable) your phone will go and check the server for any new email (or changes to folder contents of any kind) for every folder you selected for "Mail Folders to Push" in the previous step. 
• Cons (no benefits if you ask me):
1. There is a delay between when you get an email and when your phone gets an email. This delay is the time between receiving the email and the next time your phone goes to check for emails. On the iPhone the minimum "Pull" time is 15 minutes, the maximum is just any time you open your Mail app. This means that new emails won't ever be delivered to your phone until you open the Mail app - I cannot imagine why someone would do this.
2. This uses more network traffic because whether or not you have a new email it has to go and check the server for emails.
3. This decreases battery life because it checks the server every X minutes 24/7.
• Show - This determines how many emails will be shown in a synced folder (i.e. Inbox). I show 200 emails (default) since I never get anywhere near that number in my Inbox anyway. If you've got a full inbox and see performance issues, consider lowering this. I have no idea if you'd ever see performance issues though. The max is 1,000. You can show more by tapping "Show More..." if you've hit this limit but the folder contains more items.
• Show To/CC Label - This will show or hide the To/CC icon that will appear on a message in a folder to indicate whether you are on the To or the CC of an email. It requires very little real estate on the screen and can be very handy if you're often on larger email threads (mostly a work account thing for me, but this setting applies to all email accounts on the phone).
• Ask Before Deleting - When you tap the trash icon, this will confirm by asking you if you're sure you want to delete the message. As we discussed, for an Exchange Gmail account (what we just setup) this actually means archive and not delete. I'm anal about handling and filing away email. Since deleting is just archiving, so this is total overkill, but I do it anyway.
• Load Remote Images - This option enables/disables emails downloading remote images from the server. Many coupon emails or emails from websites use HTML which is a simplified website right there in your email. Rather than attaching all those images, they host them on a remote server so that the email they send you is much smaller. Personally, I want my email to look as good and natural as possible. I am not worried about data quotas or anything, so I have this on. If you're traveling abroad or near your data quota for the month consider disabling it.
• Organize By Thread - This option allows your phone to group emails from a conversation together. It greatly cleans up your folders and is much more visually appealing. Enable this. Right now, I'll wait. You may as well use carrier pigeons if you disable this option. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating to entertain myself; please let me know if and why you don't use this in the comments.

• Always BCC Myself - If enabled, this will BCC you on every email you send from your device. I do this for work where we don't use gmail and sent messages don't appear in line with other messages like Gmail shows. Most people shouldn't do this.
• Increase Quote Level - This will increase the quote level a forwarded email; you've seen all the bars on the left side of an email that's been forwarded 25 times? Yeah, that. If you forward a lot of emails, don't do this because it is really annoying to the rest of us. 'On' is default and I've just never changed it. I'm not a frequent forwarder.
• Signature - This is your email signature that will appear at the bottom of emails you compose. New in iOS 6 you can have multiple signatures, unique to an email account! Note that by default this will have "-Sent from my iPhone" (or iPad or iPod Touch) when you first get the device. This being the default signature is why you see it so often, it isn't people being smug, they just haven't changed it.
• Default Account - Select what default account you want for sending a new email. When you have work & personal email, be careful here. When replying to an email, it'll reply with whatever the original was sent to, so this only applies to new emails.

Contacts

• Sort Order - This is the order that the contacts are sorted in your phone, not the way the names are viewed/displayed. "Last, First" makes the most sense to me, but I have every contact in there with a full name. If you have contacts like "Mom" and "Dad" (yes, my parents and my wife are all in there with their full names, yes I have taken "heat" for that) you might want to change this.
• Display Order - This is the way contacts are displayed on your phone. "First,Last" is more natural, but may be counterintuitive since you may not sort that way.
• My Info - I highly recommend everyone has themselves in their contact book with every piece of information you're willing to share, there are some good reasons.
• Siri - Siri uses this to route you home or to work and to remember connections like who your spouse/parents/siblings is/are.
• Bump/Contact Sharing - When you meet someone new you can use Bump or a similar "business card" sharing app to send someone your info. When you control the info in the business card it is up to you to have your contact represented professionally in their phone. Maybe it is just me, but I have a great appreciation for a well organized, nicely filled out contact card with a high resolution contact photo in my phone.
• Default Account - This is the account where any new contact you create will go unless you specify otherwise. Like I said, I keep all my personal contacts in Gmail, so naturally that's my default.
• There has been confusion on how to create a contact in a certain group. To do this you need to go into your Address Book, then into the group you want to add a contact in, then press the + to add them. If you create them in the "All Contacts" area of the Address Book, they will be added to your default account.
• Import SIM Contacts - Essentially this will import contacts from your SIM card to your local contacts on your iPhone (only AT&T and T-Mobile have those in the US for 3G and earlier networks, LTE uses a SIM card now too). Older phones used to store contacts here so they could be brought with you as you went to a new phone. When you import them here, they'll be added to your iPhone local contacts, not to your default account - I am pretty sure (not 100%). I haven't had to deal with this, if you need help here please ask in the comments and I can do some poking around to see how to solve problems that you might have with it.

Calendars

• New Invitation Alerts - PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ONE! This is a hidden gem if you ask me. By default this is on, I dislike that. What this does is play the alert tone that otherwise plays to alert you of a calendar event that's about to start, but it plays when a person sends you an invite regardless of when the event is for. I don't want an alert at midnight when someone sends me a lunch invitation for a month from now. I don't like this being enabled by default, particularly because I work with folks overseas who send invites in the middle of my night quite frequently.
• Time Zone Support - This one is tricky, in general it is best to have it turned on and to be aware of how it works, but use this information to determine what is best for you.
• This will make sure calendar invitations are handled properly when you send them to or get them from a time zone other than your own. If you do this often, I suggest enabling it.
• If this is enabled, and if you're planning an event in a different time zone and have an event at 2PM in that time zone then you will need to add it to your calendar for whatever time that is in the time zone you're currently in. This can be counterintuitive at first, but ultimately makes sense. If this is something you do often and your calendar is primarily just for your events (not for meetings with others), then you might want to consider disabling this. Unfortunately you cannot have 1 setting for 1 account (i.e. Work) and a different setting for another account (i.e. Personal).
• Sync - This option selects how long into the past to sync changes to an event. It doesn't clear events from your calendar that are older than this amount of time, but if you change something older than this, the change will not be synced to the server (Google Calendar). Similarly if you change an event on the Google Calendar website it won't sync the change to your phone. I've found 1 month back is more than sufficient, I see no reason to change the default here.
• Default Calendar - Make sure you've got this set how you want it if you have work and personal stuff on here. You don't want to send your boss a meeting invite from your Gmail account! Every time you create an event you can choose which calendar to put it on, this option just determine what the default is. I suggest making it whichever calendar you schedule more appointments on from your phone.
• Siri - As far as I have noticed Siri will only schedule on your default calendar, but  I haven't tried making Siri schedule work meetings for me so that might not be accurate.
• Shared Calendar Alerts - If enabled, this will alert you when there is a change to a calendar event on a shared calendar. If you share a calendar with a spouse this could be handy to know if something like your evening plans are how an hour earlier and you need to leave work early. Similar to New Invitation Alerts though, this could be annoying if you share a calendar with someone who is in a different time zone or is making changes while you sleep (and you don't use the new iOS 6 feature Do Not Disturb, which I suggest you do).

Alright, that epic novel sums up just about every detail of making my favorite email service (Gmail) play nicely with one of the world's most popular brands of phones (iPhones, and any iOS device really). Thank you to Heather (my sister) for the suggested topic of this post. I wish I would have kept track of the frequency of her tech help request iMessages before this was posted so that I can compare to them afterward :).

I know this is a long post, but there are a lot of people out there who use Gmail on an iPhone and are putting up with nuances that they don't realize they have full control over. Please share this with those people, it really is true that you can find harmony with both Google and Apple products together!

Apple's Oct. 23, 2012 Media Event Expectations

I wanted to quickly summarize my expectations for the media event that Apple just announced.

iPad Mini [Confidence: High]

Perhaps most importantly I think we will see an iPad Mini, this will likely be the "main attraction" of the event.

• 7.85" display [Confidence: High]
• A5, same as iPad 2 [Confidence: High]
• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB capacities [Confidence: High]
• 64GB capacity [Confidence: Low] Edit: Given the new stats on the size of apps increasing and the fact that 8GB really is just too small, I'm adjusting my estimate to match the standard iPad capacity line up.
• 3G/4G connectivity [Confidence: High]
• $349 starting price [Confidence: Medium] Update: Gruber makes a great point for how unsurprising a $249 starting price would be. I personally think that's the sweet spot to wow people on price, I just have a hard time being confident we'll see that.
• Smart covers [Confidence: High]

Education [Confidence: High]

I suspect there will be a key focus on education throughout. I'd even go as far as to say I somewhat expect some educational pricing options on the new iPad Mini, though I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it. I expect an update on their textbook initiatives, and hopefully some innovative new way to really push into the money-deprived public schools with these new devices.

13" Retina MacBook Pro [Confidence: High]

I fully expect MacRumors.com's coverage to be accurate.

• Starting price: $1699 [Confidence: High] Update: Previous value was a typo, I had looked at the wrong starting prices for the 15" model by accident. Oops! Sorry :)

Updated iMac & Mac Mini [Confidence: High]

Again I agree with MacRumors.com's coverage, and I fully expect an updated (and much thinner) iMac and updated Mac Mini to be revealed. There could be room for some education announcement in this sector too, maybe the previous generation iMac with strong educational discounts? The education pricing here is just a total guess, either way we'll see new iMacs and Mac Mini's.

• Prices likely to remain unchanged.

Sarcasm Font, Let's Make it Happen

Unless you're a complete square, odds are you or your friends have been able to toss out some memorable one-liners or make each other laugh with some good ol' sarcasm. So how is it that we now live almost entirely online, or many do anyway, and yet we cannot find a good way to communicate sarcastically?

My friends and I have been trying a few methods, and we've found a clear standout winner. That's right, we have sarcasm font. It works remarkably well, and has in every way changed how we communicate socially online.

So here it is...

Since Google has graced us with the ability to add bold, italic, or strike-through to our font, we've decided to "sacrifice" one of these and re-purpose it. Italic was the winner. We simply didn't need it for anything else, we use bold for emphasis, so why not make it the perfect way to finally communicate sarcasm digitally?

I implore you to try this. Tell a handful of your friends and give it a try the next week or two. For me this bridged the vast chasm (one might call it the sar-chasm?) between the digital world and the "real" world. It has become second nature when reading and writing, it is elegant and subtle, and I really don't think I can ever go back.

Our failed attempts:

We tried a few other systems, most of them were essentially HTML tags or something like it. We started with <sarcasm> yadda yadda </sarcasm> at first, then got lazy and just switch to </sarcasm> at the end of sentences. This worked, but it was too explicit and it took away from the witty nature of sarcastic jokes. We tried similar variants, like adding (sarcasm) to sarcastic comments, but this just didn't work. That's like trying to show someone what the Mona Lisa looks like by drawing with a crayon on a wet bar napkin.

Spread the word, we have finally created sarcasm font!

Verizon to Sell Personal Data, Opt-Out Available

Verizon has just put a price on the respect they have for their customers. I am talking about the recent decision to share your personal information such as location, age, browser history, dining habits, and more. This information will be used by Verizon and by third parties, but details are scarce beyond that.

The worst part? This is an opt-out change. This means by default you opt-in whether you like it or not.

Yes Verizon, we, your financiers, get that you have a duty to shareholders to maximize profits and increase your margins. We aren't privy to exactly how much this arguably immoral change will boost your profit, but whatever that delta may be is certainly more valuable than the respect you have for your customers' trust.

Maybe Verizon will learn from the great stir this has caused. Maybe they will not. After all, this "only" affects smartphone users. Yes, all smartphone users. Most authors use "iPhone" in the title or body since that will get them more hits on searches, but rest assured, this mistreatment is platform agnostic.

Personally, I'm not much for worrying about a company's privacy policy usually. I submit the anonymous usage statistics on my devices. I have all my location services enabled. I have no reason to think I am an interesting enough person that tracking me is worth anyone's time. Even if I'm wrong I don't do many things (wait, Grandma are you reading this? I meant ANY things...) outside of my moral bounds that I'm ashamed of that are worth hiding from service and/or content providers.

So why my discontent over Verizon's choice? It boils down to this being a shady move. There is solid evidence to show that opt-out is vastly more successful than opt-in systems if you're trying to get people to opt-in. Selling your information to third parties is almost certainly not something a significant number of people would opt in for; so if they're going to sell your information, I supposed this is the way to do it.

Who knows, maybe Verizon will start offering us in Colorado volcano insurance next! That seems like the slippery slope their integrity is on with a move like this.

Let me know what you think of the changes in the comments. Are people blowing this out of proportion?

Why You Should be Using Gmail

Gmail is #1, Plain and Simple...

If you don't use Gmail, I very highly recommend you make the move. If only it were possible, I'd suggest you travel back in time and make the move years ago. It is beautiful, powerful, easy to make your own, and makes email management so much more logical, clean, and fast. Whenever possible, my email inbox is empty. I only delete junk, so everything else in my life is searchable (I hear these Google folks have search pretty well figured out) and yet even with this volume my email is organized with very little effort on my part.

Labels - Not Just for Email, This is the New Way to Organize

Labels are an easy way to keep emails organized, but more than that labels will soon (I think) become the standard for all things tech. We see it on blog sites already, it isn't a new concept. Think to your personal computer, you know you put together a guest list for a party a few years ago and want to start with that for a new one. It is in your documents... somewhere. In 2012 you solve this by searching, maybe remembering, but only after some time. In 2015 (ish?) you solve it because you start typing related topics "party" and "list" or maybe the ".xlsx" extension - the file instantly appears as the top hit. Who cares where a file actually exists on your hard drive if it is instantly available when you need it? Apply 5 relevant labels then get that file out of sight. (The slow-to-adopt tech folks are cringing here, bear with me).

Gmail pioneered bringing labels to email. The email receipt from a donation gets "Receipts" because it is just that. However it also gets "2012 Taxes" and maybe "Finances". This way when I go to my 2012 Taxes "folder" (I'll explain the merge of folder and label concepts soon), I can easily find all my tax related emails including this one. I also want to see it when I am looking through receipts though, but why would I want to duplicate an email just to have it in 2 places? You don't. 

Oh and to make your life easy, you can automate the label application process so your email labels itself.

Folders Meet Labels

The Gmail terminology is to Archive an email (with or without labels applied to it) to get it out of your inbox without deleting it. You can think of moving an email to a folder as applying a label (the name of the folder) then archiving that message. 2 labels? No problem, the message is effectively in 2 "folders" without duplicating that email and eating up more of your quota.

Cross Platform Beauty

One great aspect of Gmail is that it is platform agnostic. I've got an iPad, iPhone, MacBook Pro, a Dell laptop for work, and a custom built Windows 7 PC home media server. Queue the faithful UNIX user rolling eyes at the omission from the list (I use UNIX 8-12 hours per day, every day, just go with it). Notably absent from the list is Android, but it is a safe bet that Google's email solution is tailored to have the best experience on their platform.

Gmail plays nicely with all sorts of mail clients, if you insist on using a mail client. I have personally shifted from a faithful mail client user (I've tried many different flavors) to the web interface. I'll go into more detail later, but the web interface is how you'd expect email to work because it is so highly customizable, but it is beautiful, yet simple and powerful exactly as it is with no customizations. The phone and tablet versions even support the "swipe to delete" motion that you're used to.

One Inbox, Infinite* Accounts

You can redirect all of your email accounts to go to Gmail so that you can log into Gmail and see everything. You can send emails while logged into your Gmail account from any account also. For example I have my University of Colorado email come to Gmail and I can respond to any email with my CU account (regardless of where it was sent to originally).

If you don't want the clutter of multiple accounts you can apply a rule that any email from a given account (i.e. CU) gets the label "CU" and skips the inbox. This way your "CU" folder is a 2nd inbox for only messages from that account.

*If there is a limit to the number of accounts you can plug in, I haven't hit it yet.

Labs, Customizing Gmail

Out of the box Gmail is great. There are some things you might want to tweak to make it even better, these are "Labs." Labs are features you turn on or off (off by default) that really enhance the experience, and are a strong reason to use the Gmail web interface instead of a mail client. Beyond the style there are some layout labs, some features, and some nerdy fun (like enabling the game Snake right in your inbox!). First you'll have to enable Gmail labs.

Here are some of my favorite (out of the many options):

• Signature Tweaks - This puts your email signature at the bottom of the email you're composing, not the bottom of the entire thread. I can't imagine why Google doesn't change the default here, but at least there is a lab to fix it.
• Send & Archive button - Adds a 'Send & Archive' button when composing messages to archive the email after you send it.
• YouTube/Flickr/Google Docs/etc. previews - Attachments and/or links can be viewed right in your message without having to go to the external site for certain objects.

Push and Pull, Gmail on your iOS Device

Gmail on your iPhone is awesome. I use Gmail as my master contacts list so that I never lose anything if I get a new phone, plus it makes bulk edits much easier since I can use the browser interface. When you set it up you have the option to use the Gmail account type or the Exchange account type, the latter isn't made obvious to you.

I highly suggest setting up your Gmail account as an Exchange account, here's how. This way your contacts, notes, tasks, calendars, and email are all instantly synced with the web. Changes to any item in one place is immediately available everywhere, on every device. What this gets you is Push support meaning emails are pushed to your phone instead of your phone having to check the server every X minutes (which drains the battery). Push email also means emails come to your phone immediately. One thing to note is that when you tap the Trash icon in the native iOS mail client you are actually archiving the message, not deleting it. This can be solved by selecting the 'Move to Folder' icon and selecting the trash. If you set it up as a Gmail account instead of Exchange, you can select what you want the delete button to do.

Making the Switch

If you're hesitant, there is a lot of help out there. Google has official support pages for it. You can keep your old account by forwarding it all to your Gmail account, and if you don't want to tell anyone you're using Gmail you can still respond from your old email address while enjoying all of the other features of Gmail. Feel free to ask questions in the comments. Everyone in my family has made the switch, this includes folks from 12 to 85 of all technological competencies.

Plugins

There are lots of really cool plugins that Gmail openly supports. My favorite is Boomerang. Boomerang allows you to have messages "Boomerang" right back to your inbox when you want them to. It is very powerful, and it is free. There are many other plugins by other 3rd parties so you can solve nearly any problem you might have.


I'm sure there are many more reasons to use Gmail, I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Windows Anti-Virus Product Rankings, You'll Be Surprised

Even with anti-virus products, you'd be surprised how vulnerable you still are. AV-Test reports on a study done that scores a wide array of anti-virus products on their ability to protect Windows-based computers. The most recent results for Windows 7 and Windows XP show a decrease in protection since the last round of testing for quite a few commonly used anti-virus services.

CNET provides a nice summary. Is it time to upgrade your anti-virus software?

Size Matters, for Smartphones...

Bear with me, this isn't an ode to the new 4" iPhone 5 screen.

The number of use cases of our beloved pocket computers is immeasurable for all intensive purposes. The myriad of interactions gives way to the need for many permutations of phone. There are 2 approaches to solving this, shocking I know (<-- sarcasm font).

1. Pick an "average" acceptable size, aim at the center of the distribution curve, and stick to it. I can think of a fruit company who did alright with this approach ;).
2. Make a wide selection of screen sizes and let the consumer choose. An approach that works for some (Samsung) and not for others (the rest of the market struggling to make any money). 

I've enjoyed the 3.5" screen for several years now. Sometimes I wish I had more, like when I see a coworker composing an email and he can see more than the last 1.5 sentences he types. The flip side of this is that the phones I've chosen just so happen to be artistically beautiful, so without a case I love being able to easily and safely cradle my phone while I'm out and about. Never mind the merits of being able to rather easily reach every corner with 1 thumb while safely cradling said device.

I don't have huge hands, and I'm stubborn about cases, meaning 1 drop ends it all. That's my excuse anyway. I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish I could see more than 2 lines of text in landscape mode though. The Samsung Galaxy SIII has been calling to me. If I was on AT&T and had the option to swap SIMs to pick my phone-of-the-day each morning, I think I'd be in nerd heaven. Of course the down side to that is being on AT&T... 

Side note, Apple has famously stated they don't use or listen to polls because often users don't know what they want until they have it. This has been true for them in many ways, no one predicted the success of the iPod, iPhone, or iPad. However, there are plenty of annoyances (or "quirks" if you prefer) that people would like to see resolved. Did Apple make the screen size choice to respond to their customers? That would be a rare move...

Anyone make the switch from a little screen to a big one? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Still No Simultaneous Voice & Data on iPhone 5

In a wildly disappointing turn of events, it has been confirmed that the iPhone 5 running on the Verizon network still won't support simultaneous voice and data. The decision was made due to the need for a 3rd antenna that would be needed to support the feature.

Android phones with LTE compatibility have long since offered simultaneous voice and data on the Verizon network, it was widely expected that Apple will do the same. For the time being, iPhone 5 users will have to rely on data through WiFi while on a voice call like all previous generations of Verizon iPhones.

Sprint has not yet commented what to expect with an iPhone 5 running on their network. AT&T iPhone 5 owners will enjoy simultaneous voice and data as this restriction doesn't affect GSM networks.

Study Finds Half of Android Devices are Vulnerable to Hacks

Recently, a study has found that half of Android devices have "unpatched vulnerabilities" that could leave the phone exposed to hacks, viruses, or other unfriendly results.

This doesn't mean half of Android devices are infected. There is an explicit distinction that clarifies the study scanned how vulnerable a phone is to attacks rather than whether or not an attack had taken place. Still, this is a scary number.

It is too easy to think of a phone as just a phone, and not a full computer as it (nearly) is today. We're rather complacent, we have banking apps that automatically log in for us when they're opened. We routinely check stocks or finances, and our address book is filled with personal and contact information for everyone we know.

Of course this convenience is why we love our phones, but just think if a hacker had full remote access of your phone. Set aside the case where you're unable to use your phone or recover your data, which is probably a nightmare for most. What about the hacker that has full control without you ever knowing it? The hacker that quietly collects your passwords and banking information by way of key-logging, or watches your calendar for when you're out of town and your home is unguarded, or any other wildly malicious situation.

The odds of this happening to you? Low. Very low. That doesn't mean it isn't valuable to be cognisant of these issues and proactive in protecting yourself.

iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Begin 12:01PST Friday Sept. 14th

Apple has confirmed via Wired.com that iPhone 5 pre-orders will begin at 12:01 AM Pacific time on Friday September 14th, approximately 12 hours from now.

Despite the lack of confirmation, it is expected that phones will only be available to those upgrading or starting a new service contract. It isn't yet known when out-of-contract versions of the phone will become available, or at what price. In past years, these devices have run $649/$749/$849 for the 16/32/64GB respectively.

Apple Wins Primary Injuction Against Motorola in Germany

There seems to be news every day on Apple litigation ongoings, here's the latest. PC World reports that a German court has ruled in favor of Apple's rubber band effect for scrolling.

Apple Wins Preliminary Sales Ban on Motorola Phones and Tablets in Germany (PC World)

A Realistic Look at the iPhone 5 Release

Today Apple announced their next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5. Whether or not you love Apple's best selling line of devices, there is no denying the vast impact it has on the world around it; I mean what other cell phone adds 0.5% to the US GDP?

Source: macrumors.com

Features at a glance:

• 4" Screen - 1136x640 pixels
• 4G LTE connectivity (with "world" LTE compatibility)
• New 8 pin dock connector
• Brushed aluminum back
• 8MP rear camera with improved low light shooting & ability to take photos while shooting 1080p video
• 720p front facing FaceTime camera
• iOS6
• FaceTime over cell network
• A6 - 2x faster performance, 2x faster graphics
• Pre-orders start Friday September 14th, sales start Friday September 21st

The iPhone 5 sports a larger 4" screen (up from 3.5") while maintaining the same width, this gives the larger screen experience without the larger phone feel. The new 4G LTE connectivity brings the iPhone up to speed with the other top smartphones of today.

Note that iPhone 4S devices on the AT&T network have reported "4G" service ever since the iOS5 release, but AT&T's "4G" network is mostly HSPA+, which isn't actually 4G. This is why AT&T's commercials claim they have the most 4G, where Verizon's clearly state they have the most 4G LTE coverage. Both are correct, but nerds everywhere cringe at the suggestion that HSPA+ is "4G"...

The other big news is the new 8 pin dock connector, thus bringing an end to the 9 year reign of the 30 pin dock connector first introduced with iPods in 2003. Despite being a huge disruption in the accessory market for iDevices, it was a necessary update and will not change again for a very long time.

Source: macrumors.com

Why the iPhone 5 is Great

Apple does some things very well. They've taken the industry standard hardware in today's top smartphones and incorporated them into the iPhone 5. It is faster thanks to faster network connectivity options and the new A6 that powers it. It is thinner, a lot thinner; down to 7.6mm. The new metal back is more durable than the previous generations' glass, but with a dual antenna design you don't have to worry about another antennagate issue.

The phone is on par with today's greatest when you match spec for spec, but that isn't what Apple has ever been about. Apple's newest device maintains the industry standard of user experiences, sets the standard for stunning design, and doesn't sacrifice battery life.

This phone is perfect for anyone looking to upgrade their iPhone, or someone looking for an all around enjoyable smartphone experience that is very consistent with the genuinely great user experience you can expect from Apple products. I can say with no reservations, this is a great phone. Faithful Android users, or those looking for a more customizable phone, read on.

Why the iPhone 5 is Disappointing (for some)

Apple set the bar high with the original iPhone, then again with the App Store, again with the retina display on the iPhone 4, and arguably with Siri on the iPhone 4S (not all agree with this last point). This is both incredible and damning to what people have come to expect from Apple because it isn't realistic to expect mind-blowing announcements every year. The reports after the 4S announcement were less enthusiastic than previous generations, but sales numbers told a very different story. I'm hearing similar grumblings this year.

The announcement lacked surprise. Each part of the iPhone had been leaked before - from the A6, to the new screen, aluminum back, thinner form factor, to the new 8 pin dock connector. With Apple's new products being in such high demand, it isn't necessarily Apple's fault (unless the leaks were controlled) that this information got out. One can't help but hope for one big surprise with these announcements, but there wasn't anything of the sort today. The specs of the device aren't record setting, each technology (other than the in-cell touch screen) is available on another phone. But...

Wrap Up
With all of this being said, Apple works hard to make stunningly beautiful devices that work great, are easy to get, and fun to use - they have yet again succeeded with the release of the iPhone 5. This article is to discuss the phone, not to proclaim it as the God of smartphones, so don't bother with "the only good smartphone is the iPhone" or "Everything Apple does sucks" fanboi comments, no one wants to hear it (and for the love of God, give the lawsuit commentary a rest). Capitalism and competition are beautiful things. Both Android and Apple have their perks and flaws, embrace it!

Helpful Links
Apple's Video of the iPhone 5 Announcement
MacRumors Summary
iOS 6 drops September 19th