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Engadget:

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The iPhone 5 is a significant improvement over the iPhone 4S in nearly every regard, and in those areas that didn’t see an upgrade over its predecessor — camera, storage capacity — one could make a strong case that the iPhone 4S was already ahead of the curve. Every area, that is, except for the OS. If anything, it’s the operating system here that’s beginning to feel a bit dated and beginning to show its age.

Still, the iPhone 5 absolutely shines. Pick your benchmark and you’ll find Apple’s thin new weapon sitting at or near the top. Will it convince you to give up your Android or Windows Phone ways and join the iOS side? Maybe, maybe not. Will it wow you? Hold it in your hand — you might be surprised. For the iOS faithful this is a no-brainer upgrade. This is without a doubt the best iPhone yet. This is a hallmark of design. This is the one you’ve been waiting for.

The Loop:

Many of us have experience with LTE from using the iPad. I’ll tell you it’s great to see it on the iPhone. I actually use LTE more on the iPhone than I do on the iPad, simply because I use the phone a lot more. The speed is incredibly fast, especially when compared to what the iPhone 4S could do.

Like the faster processor and graphics, LTE gives you the feeling of never waiting for anything. Apps open fast and you are ready to work or browse the Web right away.

The Telegraph:

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Specificationists will say that with the iPhone 5 Apple is now behind its rivals in terms of features but in truth it’s hard to think of a feature offered elsewhere that the average person – as opposed to the tech obsessive – really needs. NFC is not sufficiently widely used, wireless charging is nice but still requires a charger plugged into the wall and most people get along fine without removable storage. The iPhone 5 is a great smartphone made even better. It’s fast, lightweight and backed by the largest application store for any device. It’s also probably the most beautiful smartphone anyone has ever made.

More reviews below:

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Just as it did for the iPhone 5, Apple posted schematics for the new fifth-generation iPod touch and seventh-generation iPod nano—both of which will be available to customers in the coming weeks. The blueprints are certainly useful if you are in the accessory game. You can see the iPod touch above (get a look at where the Loop is and the top area that should not be obscured by metal) and the iPod nano past the break (also notice a Bluetooth antenna area):

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Apple made the iPhone 5, new iPods, and a slew of accessory products available on its online store last night. The excitement surrounding the occasion was certainly there.

Shipping estimates for the iPhone 5 already slipped to “2-3 weeks” just an hour after sales began. Strangely, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint are all still advertising a Sept. 21 ship date.

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Apple’s Lightning-30 pin port adaptor also sold out with shipments pushed to October. There was some confusion last evening due to reports of Lightning adapters shipping free with the iPhone  5. Those were apparently glitches, as Apple later confirmed the additional $30 charge.

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It certainly been a huge week for those glued to the latest out of Cupertino: After the iPhone 5 unveiled at a media event in San Francisco Sept. 12, Apple further continued the excitement by making the device available for pre-order on its website this morning in nine countries. The three largest U.S. carriers also joined in on the fun, offering the iPhone 5 at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB on a two-year contract. Customers will find plenty of delays when attempting to get their pre-orders in, which is typical for Apple iPhone launches. Word on the street is that the Apple Store app is the quickest way.

Apple further made the fifth-generation iPod touch available, featuring five new colors and a 5-megapixel camera, along with the seventh-generation 5.4mm iPod nano, for pre-order this evening. Customers will be able to pre-order the new iPod touch starting at $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB, while the new iPod nano starts at $149. Apple said it would begin shipping both in October.

As for when the iPhone 5 will ship, Apple said the first batch of pre-orders will be made available Sept. 21 in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore alongside in-store units. As pre-orders begin ramping up late into the evening morning, we expect shipping times to start increasing quickly. We laid out a full pricing matrix below: 

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Update: Target has also started accepting preorders for iPhone 5, according to CNET, through its almost 1,500 retail outlets.

The nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, will begin offering iPhone 5 pre-orders in-stores at 8 a.m. on Sept. 14, as Bloomberg first noted. At the same token, Apple will allow customers to reserve devices tomorrow and will begin offering pre-orders online at 12:01 a.m. PST—alongside Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T. However, Walmart might be the spot to shop. The retailer will undercut Apple by $10 and offer the cheapest pricing for the iPhone 5: $189.97 for the 16GB version on a two-year contract. Walmart will make the iPhone 5 available for pick up Sept. 21 in-store, the same day as Apple and the nation’s big three carriers. Pricing for the 32GB and 64GB version at Walmart is not clear, but we suspect both also undercut Apple by $10.

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Pre-paid carrier Cricket has become the first of its kind to announce availability for the iPhone 5—the device that was introduced yesterday at a media event in San Francisco. The iPhone 5 will be available on Cricket beginning Sept. 28, which is one week after it becomes available on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint in the United States. Past a launch date, Cricket has not provided any information on its launch page nor in its press release seen below in regards to pricing. We will let you know when more information becomes available.

The iPhone 4S first launched on Cricket on June 22. It also launched with several other pre-paid carriers in many regions around the country to “make the best smartphone more accessible to an even broader market,” Apple stated. We suspect Cricket will not be alone in offering the iPhone 5. [Cricket]

Update: C Spire, a Mississippi area regional, just announced it will also carry the iPhone September 28th.

Update 2: Alaska’s GCI and Appalachian Wireless are also in on the September 28th parade.

Update 3: Kentucky-based Bluegrass Cellular will have iPhone 5 on September 28th too. 

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AT&T announced earlier this afternoon that it would allow customers on a grandfathered unlimited data plan to keep their plan even when paying a subsidized price for the iPhone 5. The nation’s largest carrier looks to take things a different way, however. A Verizon representative confirmed with 9to5mac this evening that customers will only be able to keep their unlimited data plan if they pay full price for the iPhone 5 ($649 for 16GB). Furthermore, existing Verizon customers can keep their old Nationwide Usage Based plan. They will not be forced to switch to one of Verizon’s new Share Everything Plans when buying the iPhone 5 on a two-year contract.
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Ready to tout the new features of its iPhone 5, Apple just posted a page on its website dedicated to showing off what type of photos the iPhone 5’s 8-megapixel camera can take. During the event, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller explained that the 8-megapixel iSight camera was “enhanced” thanks to a new “sapphire crystal lens covering.” Schiller added that the new camera can take photos up to 40 percent faster and is 25 percent smaller to compensate for the iPhone 5’s smaller body. In the gallery below, you will find the first shots from the iPhone 5. They definitely look good, but I am not too sure there is much of an improvement from the iPhone 4S’ camera. I will let you be the judge, however: [Apple via Gizmodo]

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Following Apple’s media event in San Francisco this afternoon to reveal the new iPhone 5 and a slew of other products, the company began detailing devices further on its website. According to Apple’s official specs page for the iPhone 5, the device will ship in two separate CDMA and GSM versions in the United States (the iPhone 4S only shipped as a combined CDMA and GSM unit). Apple will ship the iPhone worldwide in a separate GSM model, as explained below. We suspect LTE has something to do with it…

Apple also detailed the iPhone 5’s new nano-SIM card that was rumored months before the event, but it said the current SIMs will not be available to use on the new device.

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You can read more from the event in our iPhone 5 hub or catch up on our liveblog from earlier this afternoon! [Apple]

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After months of making iOS 6 available as a beta to developers, Apple has just released the iOS 6 GM (Golden Master) for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. While it has been available to developers for months, iOS 6 will be made available to customers free of charge September 19th. Also adding to the excitement, Apple made available the Xcode 4.5 GM to developers.

Let us know what you find: tips@9to5mac.com. 

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Ahead of releasing a majorly revamped iTunes 11 in October, Apple released iTunes 10.7 in a 157MB download this afternoon. According to release notes provided by the company: “iTunes 10.7 adds support for iOS 6 running on compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models. This update also adds support for the latest iPod nano and iPod shuffle models.” [Download]

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