iPhone 5 OUT NOW!!

The iPhone 5 is available in the UK from 21st September and mobile phone operators have announced their tariffs.

  Full Specs of the Phone Click Here 

 

Lowest monthly charges

Most operators are only offering the phone on a 24-month deal.

 

 O2 has the cheapest monthly charge for a 16GB iPhone 5 at £26 for unlimited calls and texts and 1GB of Internet data, plus £249.99 upfront. Over the two-year contract this has a total cost of £873.99.
The upfront charge increases to £299.99 for a 32GB phone and £399.99 for 64GB. Over two years they work out at £923.99 and £1,023.99 respectively.


 
Three's Ultimate Internet 500 contact includes all you can eat data, 500 any network minutes and 5,000 texts for £34 a month plus £79 upfront for the 16GB phone. That works out at £895 over the two-year contract. For a 32GB phone you pay £89 upfront and £37 a month for a total of £977, while a 64GB phone is £109 upfront and £40 a month, for a total of £1,069.

The operator's One Plan, meanwhile, includes all you can eat data, 2,000 any network minutes, 5,000 texts and 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes for £36 a month plus £79 upfront on a 16GB phone. That works out at £943. For a 32GB phone it's £89 upfront and £39 a month making a total of £1,025, while a 64GB phone is £109 upfront a £42 a month, for a total of £1,117.


Orange's The Works plans offer unlimited calls and texts, and charges vary according to the amount of data usage – £36 a month for 1GB, £41 a month for 2GB, £46 a month for 3GB and £51 a month for unlimited access. On the £36 plan the 16GB handset costs £109.99, for a total of £973.99 over two years. The 32GB handset costs £219.99 for a total of £1,083.99, while the 64GB handset is £269.99 upfront for a total of £1,133.99.






The T-Mobile Full Monty plan, which runs for 24 months, offers unlimited texts and Internet use plus 2,000 minutes for £36 a month plus £109 (16GB), £219 (32GB) or £269 (64GB). Those wanting unlimited call minutes can pay £41, £46 or £61 a month depending on the size of memory they want and how much they are prepared to pay for the handset.
On the £36 a month deal you will pay a total of £973 for a 16GB model, £1,083 for a 32GB model and £1,133 for a 64B model.

Free Handset

 

 Orange is offering a 16GB handset for free on two 24-month tariffs. The cheapest is £46 a month and comes with unlimited texts and calls and 3GB downloads. Over two years that's a total cost of £1,104. For unlimited data you pay £51 a month, which is £1,224 over two years.




  



O2 is also offering the iPhone 5 free on a £46-a-month tariff, although you only get 1GB of data downloads. Over 24 months that's a total of £1,104.




 




Vodafone is charging £47 a month on a 24-month tariff. It includes unlimited texts and calls and 2GB of data for £1,128 over two years.

 

 

Unlocked handset

Apple is selling an unlocked handset which you can use on any network you choose. The 16GB model costs £529, the 32GB model is £599 and the 64GB version costs £699. Numerous sim-only deals are available from most network providers and further afield starting at about £10 or £15 a month depending on data, text and call allowances.

Apple vs Android: Was IPhone4s a flop?

 Apple vs Android

In the past month Apple released a new iPhone, and despite the fact that the new iPhone 4S looks remarkably similar to its last offering it sold 4m devices in 3 days!
The question is why? Despite the fact there is a plethora of innovation and hi-spec choice in the smart phone market the half bitten, glossy silver Apple still attracts the masses. It’s smooth sailing from here on right? We all made our smart phone choice in favour of Apple surely?
Not so fast, things are rarely simple in the smart phone world, after all there’s an oddly shaped green Android taking bites out of apples… Em Apple.

You could say it’s a battle of the ages, greater than Churchill vs Hitler, Coke vs Pepsi, Freddy vs Jason all combined….. At least in the smart phone world anyway (the late Steve Jobs once said he wanted to destroy Android and would spend all of Apple’s money in the process if need be, so you get the idea).
But if you’ve already invested in a hefty contract for the iPhone 4S, you may be regretting that decision after hearing about Android’s latest offerings. Both the Motorola Droid RAZR and the Galaxy Nexus pack super hi-specs, as well as the latest Android 4.0 OS.

That is unless you’re one of those people that simply have to own an Apple product just because it reflects your lifestyle or it’s stylistically in tune…… Blah blah blah. For the rest you may have very good reason to think your missing out if your one of those 4m early adopters.
After all the Android OS now powers the lion’s share of smart phones, Google’s mobile OS gained its enormous market share in part by distributing its OS across multiple third party manufacturers. The obvious downside to this third party approach is that there is no  definitive Android device of choice. Some have better cameras than others, some prefer HTC’s Sense software overlay, others Samsung’s. Inevitably this leads to a hierarchy of quality, for many (like me) this is very confusing.

Apple Green With Envy?

Clearly, Apple does still maintain advantages over Android, partly because of the clarity of choice issues with Android, but also better music, movies and streaming video options.
Indeed Apple seemed to answer the Android onslaught with the iPhone 4S, and even though it wasn’t the Android destroying smart phone, many were fantasising over with the iPhone 5, reviews were pretty positive.

But many tended to see the 4S more as a decent update, with features such as its highly regarded new camera and the voice-activated assistant, Siri, and less on what wasn’t on show: A competitive 4-inch screen, with a proper home screen, fast 4G network capability etc.

Android 4.0 vs iOS 5

When Google recently announced they were to release an Android update called Ice Cream Sandwich (continuing the trend of naming their OS after deserts), for the first time, it showed a desire by Android to unify the look and feel of the OS across phones, just like that of the iOS.
Android 4.0 not only attempts to keep up with the iOS in terms of unified experience, its also looking to offer something more:

You can now place and re-size widgets on your home screen without going into apps. You can organise your special contacts into one nice folder. You can see your mobile data usage visually. There’s also some nifty features like a barometer (could create some interesting apps) and an app that allows you to unlock a phone with your face!

iPhone 4S vs Galaxy Nexus and the Motorola Droid RAZR

But ultimately it’s all about the actual phones right? And you cant deny how impressive the 4S looks on paper, so how does Android’s latest smart phone efforts stack up, well let’s see:
The iPhone’s 3.5-inch display is tiny compared to both the 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus and the 4.3 RAZR’s screen (both are higher resolution) also while physically larger, the Androids offerings are both thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S!

iPhone 4S specs:  800MHz dual-core processor; 512MB RAM; 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage;  8MP rear-facing and VGA front-facing cameras; LED flash; 1080p video recording.

Galaxy Nexus specs: 1.2GHz dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB or 32GB storage; 5MP rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras; LED flash; 1080p video recording;

Motorola Droid RAZR specs: The RAZR is similarly impressive when it comes to specs with 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display and 1GB RAM
It’s hard to argue with the facts right? iPhone 4S is surely already behind the curve?



Obviously the title of this post was meant to be provocative, are Apple really scared? Most likely not, will Apple die-hards really be looking on with envy and regret? Well it depends on why they choose the phone. For many, and according to a recent article in the Telegraph the ready made iPhone design and interface simply makes them happier than the more customisable Android’s offerings.

But for the rest of us, things are very interesting, there are very real choices for our next phone upgrades and the winner isn’t clear cut....