I cant get past the Win8 tiles. That is the fugliest interface I have ever seen. And Im done with Win anything.

Dude.... what are you smoking?

pre-orders starting at 12:01 AM Pacific Time / 3:01 AM Eastern Time. ...

^^^^

I'm there

Reflecting on the iPhone 5 details - I'll still get one, still mostly for the LTE, and I'm still not in a hurry.

In fact, I'm in even less of a hurry than I wasn't in before.

The problem is the cost. The new size and connector mean I'll have to spend around $375 on a new Otter case and enough connector adapters to equip the multiple chargers that I use (bedside, kitchen, office, briefcase, car). $29 for an adapter adds up, irritatingly so. Apple should be selling them at $29 for 3 or something like that.

That suggests maybe I'll get a 5 next year.

I am pretty ambivalent about LTE. I don't download much music, no videos or any other large files. What is it about LTE that attracts you versus good old HSPA+?

I sometimes watch videos. Or go to web pages with too many images, that load slowly on 3G.

Less frivolously, I have a LTE modem that I carry to be able to get online anywhere with my laptop, and LTE helps with some of the work apps. With a LTE phone, I can enable the hotspot feature, use the phone as the modem, and stop carrying the extra stuff.

Are your chargers hard connected or are they USB at one end? Mine are all USB. Which not just buy micro-usb cords and re-use the power supply? They are cheap.

I find 3G to be slow, even loading sites like Pelican. For watching videos on the go it's really frustrating. Maybe I'm just impatient......

My iPhone 3GS experience has been very unpleasant. My next phone will be an Android. My battery life is abysmal, dropped calls all the time, reboots at least once a day, buttons on side of phone are broken, etc... I take care of my phones and this iPhone simply is too fragile and unreliable for me...

FWIW my ancient 3G WinMo phone loads web pages slowly unless I use the device as a hotspot. ...then it's quiet reasonable.

You're right, my rant was not entirely correct. I guess I don't need to buy that many 30-pin to 8-pin adapters - maybe.

I guess it depends on how much the USB-to-8-pin Apple connector cords will cost initially. I seem to remember the USB-to-30-pin Apple connector cords were quite pricey at first.

EDIT: I'm seeing $19/each for a USB-to-8-pin cord. $29 for a 30-pin to 8-pin adapter. $39 for a 30-pin to 8-pin cable. Now, generic USB-to-30-pin cords are $5-7, and that is what I'd like to see the USB-to-8-pin cords cost.

The other problem is, the other 5 iPhones, iPods, iPads etc in the house all use the 30-pin connector. So some locations (kitchen, car, Mac) will need multiple chargers with 8-pin and 30-pin cables.

EDIT: FYI for those of us on grandfathered unlimited data plans (like me), you have to be careful to avoid losing that plan when you upgrade. Go to a carrier retail store and confirm explicitly w/ a live person that the order won't change your plan. Apparently ordering a phone online is a good way to lose the unlimited plan.

Interesting article about why the iPhone 5 isn't so stunning. At this point in the game, its hard for any manufacturer to revolutionize the smartphone... Apple didn't want to shake things up from the 4 because that design was good, very good...

The iPhone 5 is Boring and Amazing | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

included with the iphone...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8Rme3uZ_abc?list=UUE_M8A5yxnLfW0KghEeajjw&amp;hl=e n_US" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Well, I decided to take the plunge. Since the wife and kid are already on a family plan on Verizon I can add the phone and it actually is a bit cheaper than being on my own with T-Mobile. I'll have to do some transitioning of calendar/contacts but I just went to a new laptop at work so this is a good opportunity to clean a few digital houses. Today we were doing a demo of some of our apps for some retired flag officers. I had to admit to myself that the screen on the 4S is substantially better than the Galaxy. I'll still have that phone for testing apps but it'll be back to the Apple borg for phone. At this point, kind of 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Since I use (and have no issues with) iTunes, the ecosystem mostly works for me.

That said I got the boy parts to build up a gaming PC from the ground up. Should be a fun experiment and hopefully he'll start using Source Filmmaker soon.

btw, no problem ordering on Verizon's site. Apple.com however was slammed.

(Reuters) - Shipment dates for the latest iPhone slipped by a week on the first day of sales, Apple Inc's Website showed on Friday, suggesting overwhelming demand for the slimmer, lighter and faster version of the smartphone.
Apple's U.S. store, at Apple, was projecting shipments would take two weeks to fulfill, with analysts saying the date slipped within an hour of the start of presales.
AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp, the three US carriers who will sell the iPhone 5, continued to show availability for delivery next Friday, the announced first day of deliveries.
Apple said on its Website the new model would be available in its stores on that date.
"Clearly, iPhone 5 fever is in full swing," Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White said.
"When you do a pre-order, the last thing you want to do is upset customers, so obviously they are overwhelmed with the demand. No one wants to sell out in an hour."
Analysts have expressed surprise at how quickly Apple planned to roll out the new model around the world, saying this suggested supply constraints that afflicted past releases would not be a problem this time.
They raised their iPhone sales forecasts to reflect the quick consumption of the iPhone 5, with some saying more than 30 million Apple smartphones may be sold this quarter.
Topeka's White said he expects 1.3 million to 1.5 million in pre-orders, but added that the estimate now looked conservative. He said the iPhone 4s had seen 1 million pre-orders, while the earlier iPhone 4 received 600,000 pre-orders.
Apple started taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5 at midnight Pacific Time (0700 GMT) on Friday, with the first deliveries set for September 21.
"We believe the fast sell out indicates both high levels of demand and constrained supply," said Cross Research, an independent research house.
"However, given that the company announced an aggressive rollout schedule, we assume management's plan includes a rapid increase in production."
Apple shares rose 1.9 percent to a new all-time high of $695.86 on Friday, before easing back a little to $694.77 in heavy early morning trading on the Nasdaq.

Give it a month and I bet Walmart has a wide variety of generic cords and adapters for 1/3 of the Apple price.

I just gave up my unlimited plan. Too much $$ for nothing. Never used more than a gig per months over last 3 years.

I'm mostly on WiFi throughout the day.

The shared data plans can really save you some cash.

I'll need therapy to convince me to give up my unlimited plan. I really don't use it, but its nice to know its there if I ever need it. Crazy, I know.

I think that the linked "Earpods" commercial sums up the iPhone:

"One size fits all" with great marketing......

Everyone has different size and shaped ears, yet Apple markets that they can provide the ultimate experience for everyone with the Earpods. In my opinion, they are not even close but the marketing sounds great. What is interesting is that Apple markets itself as the "alternative" brand in comparison to PCs when in reality it is the mainstream choice for phones/tablets.

Disclaimer: I own an iPhone 4G but am disappointed with the specs and looks of the iPhone5.