15 November 2012, 06:04 PM IST
iPhone 5 is here. It was launched in India in the first week of November. Most of you who are interested in gadgets have already read reviews on global websites. In a few days, you will start reading what Indian tech writers have to say about it. We will also have a review. But in the meantime, I wanted to do a quick piece on 'case for and against iPhone 5' based on the market realities.
These market conditions are peculiar to India and are not covered by global tech blogs. For example, in the US, iPhone 5 (as well as other high-end phones) costs $199 on contract. There is no price disparity there. Similarly, some phones, including iPhone, cannot be used with other carriers. In India, we don't have these issues.
Keeping this in mind, let's see why you should buy iPhone 5.
1- If you want a stylish and gorgeous-looking device, iPhone 5 fits the bill. The build quality, with all the aluminum, glass and diamond-cut edges, is fantastic. The only other phone that comes close in the style department is HTC One X. But even that doesn't give the expensive and premium-feel that iPhone 5 does.
2- The quality of apps that iOS, which powers iPhone, remains unmatched. Yes, the app scene on Android has improved a lot. But iPhone still has access to most polished apps, even if most of them cost a dollar or two.
3- Whenever Apple publishes an update to the phone software, people who use the latest iPhone get it ASAP. This means your phone is always running the best possible software available from Apple.
4- Apple's after-sales service is the best you can get in India from any company that sells a gadget. If something goes wrong with your phone, you can count on an Apple service centre to either fix it without much fuss or replace it without asking thousands of questions. I can't say the same for the service centres run by other phone companies. But at the same time, if your phone is out of warranty, Apple service centre may charge a fortune to fix it.
5- iPhone 5 is also a very good phone. Yes, phone and not only a smartphone. The reason why I say this is because it has superb call quality and its size is just right if you are someone who talks a lot on phone.
6- The camera on iPhone 5 is fantastic. It is not as good as the one in Nokia Pureview 808 but for all practical purposes it is one of the best cameras ever put into a phone.
7- It has a very good battery life.
But wait a while before you whip out your wallet and say, "take my money". There are some equally valid reasons why you shouldn't buy the iPhone 5 in India.
1- It has a tiny screen. OK, tiny is too strong a word here. But for all practical purposes, the screen on iPhone 5 doesn't match the screens on phones like Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X. Last year, I criticized iPhone for having a 3.5-inch screen and I was slammed by Apple fanboys who (falsely) believed that no phone screen could match the "retina display" on iPhone. This is when "retina display" is nothing but a marketing buzzword.
Apple realized that iPhone screen is too small. In iPhone 5 it has increased the size to 4 inches. But don't get fooled by the 4-inch moniker. It's too late, too little. The screen is still small. Compared to previous iPhone only the length of the screen has gone up. The width remains the same. In fact, in real-life usage you hardly feel any difference. The result is that phones like S3 and One X that have bigger screens and higher resolution are better devices for web browsing, watching videos, going through Facebook feeds and reading stuff.
The small screen of iPhone (especially in terms of width) is the primary reason why I will advice against buying it.
2- There was a time when iOS was the gold standard for the mobile operating system. Not anymore. Android was always better in terms overall functionality but after the Ice Cream Sandwich version it is also better looking and polished compared to iOS 6. iOS 6 looks bloated and superfluous. More importantly it lacks functionality. It lacks the multi-functional notification that Android has. It lacks the easy way in which Android apps can communicate with each other and share stuff. It lacks the ease of multitasking on Android.
3- If you use Google services a lot, you should stay away from iPhone. Services like Gmail, GTalk and Google+ offer the best experience on Android.
4- Apple Maps bundled with iOS 6 is terrible. Yes, it is bad even in the US but in India it is useless. There is virtually no local and India-specific data in Apple's Maps. In comparison, maps available on Google or Nokia phones are very rich. Unlike the maps app in iOS, the location apps by Google or Nokia also offer navigation and live-traffic feature in India. If you rely on your phone to find routes and places during travel, you should stay away from iPhone 5.
5- Google Now, the virtual assistant that is part of Jelly Bean version of Android (but not Ice Cream Sandwich or older versions), is superior and more useful compared to Siri on iPhone 5, especially in India.
6- iPhone 5 uses mini SIM card. Currently it's the only phone to use it. There are moments when you may have to swap phones. But you can't take out SIM from iPhone 5 and use it in other phones. It's not a very big issue but keep this in mind.
7- Using an iPhone 5 also means dealing with Apple's ecosystem. And depending on how much you care for doing things your own way, Apple's ecosystem can either feel liberating or suffocating. The bottom line with Apple is that technology should not get in the way of users. This means, Apple takes care of everything. But this also means that you can only install apps from iOS Store, you can only use the video formats that Apple wants you to use, you can only sync your iPhone with a computer through iTunes; you cannot change your keyboard on the iPhone, you cannot transfer files between iPhone and iPad using Bluetooth, you cannot charge your iPhone using just any other microUSB cable the way you can with other smartphones, and you can get only those apps that have been approved by Apple.
In sum, if you like tinkering with your phone, stay away from iPhone 5.
8- iPhone 5 is very expensive for what it does. It costs Rs 45,500. In comparison, comparable phones like Galaxy S3 and One X cost less than Rs 35,000.
Well, broadly this is it. Depending on what you expect from your smartphone, iPhone 5 can be a very good choice or very bad. Just don't buy into the hype around iPhone. Think before you take out your wallet and select a device that fits your usage pattern.
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