How They Work:“The Apple iPhone 5 released (Part II)”

AS we continue to look at the iPhone 5 released just a week or two ago, we are obliged to analyse it fully. To some of us in far off lands, we shall have to wait a little longer for the same to arrive!The added length could have made the phone unwieldy, but the loss of thickness ensures that it maintains its balance and premium feel. Those people who have got used to the iPhone 4 and 4S will certainly notice the difference that the new iPhone 5 design brings. It served to make the device feel more modern, and the materials used keep that premium feel that Apple has put so much stock into. The much slim, lighter and more screens were always on the cards, and the fans’ desires are comprehensible. The aluminium back-plate feels lovely just textured enough to feel very different from its predecessors and, to our taste, preferable to the glass. The iPhone 5 screen is bright and colourful, although it’s difficult to truly appreciate the small upgrade that Apple has made in the bright lights of the show room. The camera is also more difficult to test properly, but it certainly seemed faster to take a photo, something that can be a frustration on older iPhones. From a software perspective, iOS 6 brings with it a wealth of new features that will certainly make a major difference to not only the way the iPhone 5 feels, but also its predecessors the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, when they get the updated software. Maps, for instance, is significantly altered after Apple ended its longstanding agreement to use Google Maps and pushed forward with its own offering, in conjunction with sat NAV giant TomTom. The new maps certainly look the part, with some beautiful 3D renders and snazzy looking new vector graphics. We really want to take some time to tell you just how well the new offering performs in the wild, when we get a handset in for our full iPhone 5 review, coming soon However Maps is by no means perfect, and those of you who are used to the wealth of information offered up by Google Maps may be disappointed with Apple’s solution, especially as there isn’t a Google Maps app in the App Store yet. Apple Maps seems to be missing key details, it is said that, certain London train stations didn’t exist in the Cupertino firm’s world. Still, the whole Maps experience flows very well, with the smooth zoom and slick image rendering making it a joy to use - with hardly any waiting around for new areas of the world to load, something which can take its time on Google’s version. Safari has also received an overhaul and a noticeable boost in speed is apparent from the word go, as the iPhone 5 zips through pages like a hot knife through butter - the famous TechRadar.com took just three-four seconds to load in a usable form, and an additional two to fully display all the banners.We still prefer the Android way of doing bookmarks, with small thumbnails of your favourite sites offering a more visually pleasing experience, but Safari’s list does the job. (To be continued)

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How They Work:“The Apple iPhone 5 released (Part II)”