My take on the iPhone 5

Sleek. Love the four inch screen. But, honestly, I dont think there is anything on this new iPhone 5 that hasn’t been available on other phones – notably the Droids – for some time.

That said, I’m glad I got it. Kinda. Mostly because now my iPhone, with only a few exceptions, is up to date. But, truth told, the iPhone 5 is feeling more like catch up than innovation.

You need to understand, I’m a huge Apple fanboy. I think, in fact, that I bought the very first iPhone five years ago. I stood in line all night with hundreds of others and coordinated it with AT&T so that, at exactly 12 noon EST, when sale began, my sale would go through. We dd the whole thing live on local TV at the time. Later, I was told I beat out even someone in New York, which tried the same thing. Ever since then, I’ve  bought every single upgrade.

Maybe I’ve become too familiar with the iPhone. But this new one is just not very exciting. I’ve seen it all before. Mostly on Droids.

The new connector for the iPhone 5

Best feature of the new iPhone, hands down, is 4g LTE wireless connectivity.

My 64GB black iPhone 5 runs on the Verizon network and, after criss-crossing the country over the past few months, I can attest to the reliability of VZW’s connection. They tell me their 4g LTE covers something like 70% of the U.S. population now and is improving daily.

The iPad has worked on 4g for months. Having the iPhone be able to access that speed is huge.

The first thing you’ll notice about the new iPhone is how sleek and slim it is. The new 4-inch screen gives you an extra row of icons.

The new earbuds

In the box, there are two new things. A new charger/connector that makes your old charger obsolete unless you buy a $25 adapter. At the Verizon store where I picked up my new iPhone 5, they did not have any of the adapters or even extra chargers, something I will want to have. I did buy a $25 cigarette plug adapter that takes the USB connector to charge the iPhone.

You will also notice new earphones. Gone are the old familiar earbuds of the iPhone and iPod. The new version fit in your ear and are much less apt to fall out.

The camera is improved, too, though I have yet to play with it enough. The iOS^ software upgrade that is available for existing iPhones adds panoramic capabilities, something which, again, has been in use on Droids for months.

If you already have an iPhone and can upgrade because you are out of contract by all means get one.

If, however, you are not out of contract and, like me, have to pay full price – in my case for the 64 GB version it was $900 after tax – you’re financially stupid to take such a hit. Unless, of course, you cover tech for a living and need to be up to date. At least that’s the excuse I’ll give my wife.

If you are a Droid user or are looking for a new smartphone, then look at the Samsung Galaxy III. It is the most stunning phone I have ever seen. And if I wasn’t so heavily invested into the iPhone, that would be the smartphone I’d choose.

But I have the iPhone 5. And I gotta say… what’s all the excitement about?