Should I Wait to Buy My Next iPhone?

By Lance Ulanoff2013-05-11 20:59:15 UTC

Back in the summer of 2011, I bought an iPhone 4. Yup, that’s right, just three months before Apple unveiled iPhone 4S and Siri, I plunked down $200 for yesterday’s technology. In my defense, I was changing jobs and needed a phone ASAP. iPhone was my first choice.

Fast-forward to today and I’m now eligible for an iPhone 5 upgrade. That’s good news, since I’ve tested the iPhone 5 and am impressed. So why don’t I just run out now and get it? You know why. I keep wondering, how soon before the next iPhone?

For as good as the iPhone is, it’s no longer the new smartphone on the block and has been eclipsed in functionality by competitors, including everyone from Samsung to HTC. Not that I want an Android Phone. I mean they’re really good phones: The Samsung Galaxy S4 is beautiful. It’s smart, fast, and powerful, with mind-blowing features like Smart Scroll, Smart Video and the Jedi-control-like Air View. The HTC One is equally impressive with, perhaps, more than a bit of a design nod to the iPhone.

But I still want an iPhone, partly because I prefer my phones small and also because I still choose iOS over Android (though the choice gets harder every year.)

So I know, more or less, what I want, but Apple has left me in something of a pickle. Apple CEO Tim Cook essentially told us we should expect no new hardware announcements until the fall. That likely means we shouldn’t expect a new iPhone until then.

Maybe.

And if that’s true, which iPhone? The 5s? An iPhone 6? A cheaper iPhone? A bigger iPhone? There are a lot of variables here. If I want my next iPhone to be the apex iPhone, what do I do? How long do I wait?

I think the best way to figure this out is to start with what we know, or at least what we think we know.

Next month, Apple will tip its product pipeline hand in its yearly World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Normally, a dev conference would be of little interest to consumers, but Apple watchers know that this is where savvy Apple fanatics can divine the next 12 months of product innovation.

While Apple has occasionally mixed it up with one-off, nearly day-long events for new iOS versions, Apple now tends to squeeze most OS update news into the WWDC keynote. Sometimes, Apple even unveils a hardware update or two, though considering what Cook said last month, that seems unlikely this year.

Our first glimpse of iOS 7, the follow-up to iOS 6, is almost a certainty. Depending on how much Apple shows and the amount of detail they go into, we could also learn quite a bit about — yes, you guessed it — the next iPhone[s]. Capabilities enabled in software typically have to be supported in hardware. The voice assistant Siri is a perfect example; it’s software supported by the power of the A6 mobile CPU. Similarly, the iPhone 5’s photography prowess is a combination of hardware and software.

We’ll also watch the WWDC keynote for any inadvertent slips from which we could draw fresh conclusions. Mobile phone screen shots, for example, where the aspect ratio doesn’t match the iPhone 5. Or maybe a commerce detail that indicates the existence of NFC, which the iPhone 5 lacks.

There is also the chance that, while Apple won’t ship an iPhone until late this year, it could show us something now. I know, that’s not the Apple way. Traditionally, Apple announces a product and it's on shelves within 30 days. On the other hand, this is a new Apple. Steve Jobs is a fading memory; Tim Cook has spent more time in recent months answering critics than delivering fresh products. It may be time to shake things up and generate, in essence, a summer of iPhone anticipation excitement.

I may be projecting here a bit, since knowing exactly what Apple will ship this fall would serve my purposes: I’d know whether or not to upgrade now or wait until September (or October).

Regardless of what happens next month at WWDC, it's pretty much guaranteed that I will not have a new iPhone model to choose from in the near future, which means I still have to make that choice.

There is nothing wrong with my iPhone 4, but using it makes me increasingly feel out of step with the now. I want to be in step.

If I go forward, though, and the iPhone 6, iPhone Slim, iPhone Big or iPhone Cheap is significantly better than the iPhone 5 ... well, I’m gonna be upset. Very upset. But I guess I'll have no one to blame but myself.

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5 Games You Should Play This Weekend

Chelsea Stark2013-04-27 18:24:12 UTC

The weather may be getting nicer, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't spend part of this weekend playing some great games.

While there weren't really any major console releases worth noting this week, there were plenty of new games released for downloadable systems. All the games we highlighted are fun, charming and engrossing, and none of them cost more than $15.

Check out our list above for suggestions. What are you playing this weekend? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Homepage image courtesy Adult Swim Games.

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Ad Suggests Kim Jong-un Should Get 'Great Bod' to Reduce Stress

Samantha Murphy2013-04-15 16:50:44 UTC

Everyone knows that a workout can wash away daily stresses and aggregation, so if you ask gym franchise company New York Sports Clubs, all Kim Jong-un needs is a good jog.

NYSC in New York City ran an advertisement in Monday's Metro newspaper suggesting North Korean leader Jong-un should invest in whipping his body into shape to better the world as a whole.

"Kim Jong-un, with a great bod, you don't need a big missile," the ad says. "Exercise reduces aggression and makes you more attractive to others. Join today."

The ad comes following news reports that North Korea is readying nuclear weapons small enough to be delivered on a ballistic missile.

What do you think of the messaging? Funny or a stretch? Let us know in the comments.

Image via Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages, and ad image via Lyna Nyna Nguyen

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Dramatic Video Shows Why You Should Never Jump Onto Train Tracks

Andrea Smith2013-04-02 15:02:12 UTC

Train tracks are a dangerous place, people. If you drop something on the tracks — like your cellphone — remind yourself it just isn't worth it.

The latest video showing a death-defying attempt at rescuing a cellphone shows a young woman in Sao Paulo, Brazil being frantically pulled back to the platform as a train is coming into the station. You can see how close it was in the video above.

The woman apparently dropped her phone onto the tracks and like so many people before her, jumped onto the tracks to retrieve it. In the video notice the man who helped pull her to safety is a trained security guard. She was lucky. There have been numerous stories before where people struggled to help someone back up. Of course, others stop to record the entire episode on their phones as well.

This morning on a crowded train platform in New Jersey I actually witnessed someone watch in horror as something spilled out of her bag onto the tracks. You could see for a fleeting moment she looked up in the direction the train comes from to see if she had time to retrieve it. She looked back down. It seemed like she might really jump down to go after it. Luckily, the people around her warned her not to and a station official was called.

Numerous studies show many of us have become addicted to our mobile devices — with 60% of those responding to one survey saying they usually can't go longer than an hour without checking their phone. Sure, you can squeeze out 30 extra seconds of email or texting while you wait for the train, but if the unthinkable happens, and it's going to happen, is it really worth risking your life?

What would you do if your cellphone fell onto the tracks? Does the video scare you? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy Flickr, mikecogh

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