iPhone 5

If you missed purchasing an iPhone 5 this weekend, we might have some good news for you. We are hearing Apple expects to launch its in-store product reservation system, Personal Pickup, for iPhone 5 tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern. Customers can use the Apple Store app or website between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. nightly to pre-purchase available iPhone 5 inventory for the next day. Because customers are actually purchasing the iPhone, they will have upwards of two weeks to pick up the phone (when it becomes available).

This certainly seems to be the best way to get your hands on Apple’s newest phone as ship times at Apple.com are still delayed “3-4 weeks”. Demand has been extremely high for this phone, so we recommend logging on to the reservation system as it becomes available.

Update:  It appears Apple’s iPhone 5 Personal Pickup page has been updated ahead of the 10 p.m. launch.  It reaffirms the reservation process which we outlined early this afternoon.  All pre-purchased iPhone 5 units will be available for in-store pickup the next business day and any units not pre-purchased will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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It sounds like actor Jeff Daniels, of “Dumb and Dumber” and “Newsroom”, narrates the first iPhone 5 ads.

“Thumbs” shows how the 4-inch screen is tailored to the windshield-wiper motion of your thumb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Rc4MDmr8o&feature=plcp

“Cheese” shows the new panorama feature with a comical “cheeeeeeee *breath* eeese”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtm4ySJQPOc&feature=plcp

Two more and a poll below:

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Unless Walt Mossberg or David Pogue knocked it last week, @Chpwn (Grant Paul) has the first jailbroken iPhone 5,which he posted to his Twitter account a few minutes ago. It is usually common courtesy to give Apple devices 24 hours before jailbreaking, but someone apparently could not help himself. More below:

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We were just sent what appears to be a legitimate internal memo floating around BestBuy’s systems. It confirmed the retailer would not fulfill all iPhone 5 pre-orders based on “current inventory allocation.” Originally expected for delivery by today, the memo confirmed BestBuy sent emails to some customers informing they will not receive the pre-ordered iPhone 5 by this weekend. Instead, BestBuy is promising to fulfill preorders by mid-October—”no later than 28 days from launch.” Shipping times for the device slipped to “3-4 weeks” even on Apple’s website, but this is confirmation from a major retailer that some pre-order customers promised delivery by this weekend will not get their device. We recently posted documents showing Walmart’s internal iPhone 5 launch plans, which confirmed the retailer will also not guarantee Sept. 21 availability for preorder customers.

We have a reader email below:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nf5-Prx19ZM]

Samsung just released its latest ad mocking iPhone line sitters—right on time for the release of the iPhone 5 this week. The ad is quite similar to its old “The Next Big Thing” Galaxy ads, as it bashes iPhone customers waiting in line at the Apple Store. This commercial is for Samsung’s latest device, of course, the Galaxy S III.

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[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/248054034156617728]

Engadget:

[viddler id=82e97344 w=545 h=307]

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:

[ooyala code=”xweHZ3NTp9064-eacNLMRkmDFJNXZGhI”]

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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Look what just popped up on Amazon: A company called Nanotch is offering pre-orders for 30-pin to Lightning adapters. There had been concern when a report last month said the 9-pin adapters were only going to cost $10 each and Apple would be the sole manufacturer, but neither looks to be true.

The company listed the following features:

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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We already knew T-Mobile had big plans for the iPhone in coming months when it announced plans to launch the Unlimited & Unlocked iPhone marketing initiative on the same day as the iPhone 5 launch. Today, we get confirmation from TmoNews that nano-SIMs are indeed on the way to T-Mobile for customers wishing to use the new iPhone on its network. The carrier expects the SIMs to arrive in October, but we are hearing they have already started arriving. You will, of course, first have to get your hands on an unlocked iPhone 5.

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AT&T just ran out of Sept. 21 stock for the iPhone 5. The delivery page has now pushed sales to “14-21 business days,” which equals almost three to five weeks. Verizon ran out of stock earlier today, but it is hard to determine if this shows demand per carrier since AT&T is such a big legacy iPhone carrier and Apple obviously gave it a lot more stock than others.

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/246631458775646208]

Both big carriers have downsides: AT&T will not run FaceTime unless you buy a Mobile Share plan, while Verizon will run FaceTime on all of its iPhones—but new customers must sign up for a Mobile Share plan (no matter what). In addition, the CDMA version of the iPhone, which Verizon and Sprint both carry, will not support simultaneous talk and data. Speaking of Sprint, it is still advertising ship dates of Sept. 21.

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Unlike Verizon’s lineup of LTE Android smartphones, we just confirmed with the carrier that the new iPhone 5 would not support simultaneous voice and data over its LTE network.

A Verizon spokesperson told us:

“The iPhone 5 was designed to allow customers to place a voice call on the Verizon Wireless network, while simultaneously letting customers access the Internet over the WiFi.”

We confirmed with AT&T, however, that the feature will work on its GSM model of the iPhone 5. AT&T told us:

“AT&T customers can talk and surf simultaneously on the new iPhone 5.”

We know Apple is shipping the same CDMA model iPhone 5 to both Sprint and Verizon, so it is probable that Sprint’s iPhone 5 will not support simultaneous voice and data as well.

Some Android devices do simultaneous voice and data on Verizon, so it is probably Apple’s baseband processor choice that led to the situation.

Update: According to the New York Times, the change is due to Apple. An Apple spokesperson explained:

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[slideshow]

A few apps updated, went on sale, or made announcements recently, and 9to5Mac gathered the most noteworthy ones in our regular round up below. Today’s crop includes game and productivity app updates, an Angry Birds game sale, and promo codes for an iPhone 5-optimized GPS app. Per usual, we will continue to update this list throughout the day.

Check them out:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rme3uZ_abc&feature=plcp]

We told you they were coming: Apple officially unveiled its new “EarPods” earlier today. The company explained during this morning’s media event that the EarPods are three years in the making. Apple has yet to post the video of the full iPhone 5/iPod event, but now we get a look at a video played during the presentation. It features Jony Ive explaining the process of creating the new earbuds. In addition to the engineering process described by Ives above, Apple explained on its website that it tested over 100 prototypes to make the EarPods more durable and stable than its previous-generation earphones:

Apple engineers asked more than 600 people to test over 100 iterations of the Apple EarPods. Testers ran on treadmills in extreme heat and extreme cold. They performed various cardio workouts. They were even asked to shake their heads side to side, up and down. The result: Apple EarPods provide stronger protection from sweat and water, and they’re remarkably stable in the ear. Which means they stay in, even when you’re on the go.