Apple Announced iPhone 5, new iPods

As expected, today Apple announced the iPhone 5 with a refresh of the iPod Touch, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle. While the iPad mini was not announced there is enough evidence to indicate that it will probably come in a separate announcement to avoid stealing the iPhone's thunder. The video of the keynote can be found here. Below are the highlights with links to more details.

iPhone 5
- Lightest (3.95 ounces) and thinnest (7.6mm) yet
- 4", 1136 x 640 resolution screen, adds 5th row of icons, sort of a 16:9 ration screen, may have to letterbox (black bars like on TV) for some apps
- adds LTE connectivity worldwide
- iSight: new 8-megapixel camera, improved low light performance, 40% faster photo, Panorama mode, 1080p resolution video but still take photos
- A6 with improved speed, better graphics, better use of battery
- new Lightning dock connector (80% smaller) with reversible design.
- Battery life: Apple gave stats but it looks like it’s about the same
- Colors: Black, White
- Improved Siri, ships with i0S6
- Price: $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB), $399 (64GB)
- Release date: pre-orders start September 14th, out September 21st
- Comparison to other mobile phones
- Hands-on

iPod Touch 5th gen
- Same screen, resolution as iPhone 5
- Lightest (3.1 ounces) and thinnest (6.1mm) yet
- A5 chip (same as iPhone 4S, iPad3) so better graphics and performance
- Battery: 40 hours of music, 8 video so same as previous
- iSight: 5-megapixel camera, shoots in 1080p video
- Colors: pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver, black and red
- Supports Siri with i0S6
- Price: $299 (32GB); $399 (64GB);
- Release date: pre-order starts September 14th, maybe out September 21st
- Hands-on

iPod Nano 7 gen
- Thinner (5.4mm), 2.5" screen (so larger than previous), home button at bottom
- Built-in FM tuner with DVR-life functionality, Bluetooth, pedometer, new lightning connector
- Longer battery life (30 hours)
- Colors: pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver, black and red
- Price: $149 (16GB)
- Release date: sometime in October
- Hands-on

Other
- Lightning dock; $29 or $39 (with cord); new connector, 80% smaller, reversible. (more below)
- EarPods: $29; new headphone design, slightly improved sound; comes with new devices hands-on
- i06 out September 19th. If iDevice is older than 12 months, not going to get update
- iPod Shuffle: $49 (2GB); Colors: pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver, black and red; the same
- iPod Classic: $249 (160GB); no changes
- iTunes 11: set for October, mimics iPad design of iTunes

If it has not yet registered, the new Lightning dock connector means most of your previous iPhone/iPod accessories will not work with the new line-up. You can buy the ridiculously priced adapter for $29 (that probably didn't even cost $1 to make). That price adds up quick if have a lot of accessories. Just think of it as a bit of "f-you, with love" from Apple. Also to add to the fun, there is no guarantees that buying the adapter will still allow the accessory to work with the new iDevice so could be spending the money for nothing depending on the accessory. On the slightly brighter side there will probably be non-Apple made adapters out within a few weeks but who knows if the prices will be more reasonable or not. The lesson here is probably best to just see what accessories you can really do without and consider it no longer worth buying the often overpriced items especially if docking is a required part of its function. For those not considering upgrading, there is a host of products that are about to get cheaper as now officially obsolete.

Long story short, the iPhone 5 is just another incremental improvement on the iPhone. If you have an iPhone 4 or 4S, there is really no reason to upgrade unless you just love playing high graphics games or constantly use the built-in camera. If not sure if should go Android or iOS the hardware and software is basically even if get phone made that is six months or newer. Android actually is a whole lot more flexible but that depends if you like tweaking with settings and the like. If just want to install and forget, then iOS.

The real difference at this point is the App Store. AS much as I liked my Galaxy Tab, the simple fact is the Apple Apps are just better. Android will eventually catch up but many their apps just don't have the same polish and rich features that Apple apps tend to have. If you just have Apple apps you can't live without, you might as well stick with Apple. If you use it to surf the web, make phone calls, and check email with occasional app that could stop working tomorrow and you wouldn't care then you might want to give Android a closer look. In the end, when trying to decide what your next mobile device should be, think apps, not CPU speed, screen size or any other buzz word because those will dictate whether you like the device or not.