Writer's block
Yeah, yeah, yeah i know people. This blog has been inactive for a long time. I guess i had a writer's complex, sort of. Or something like that.
Though some interesting gadgets found their way to my house in the meanwhile, i could not write about them or anything else. Just couldn't.
I will say no more about the God damned block. Anyway, i think it is over now and i am back.
Back to the basics
Yeah baby i am back to the iPhone! The whole (not quite) family is here to welcome the lost sheep...
Yeap, i am the exact same person who thought that the iPhone 5S is anticlimactic, to say the least. I know i am changing my mind faster than the national debt doubles itself, but yes: I am proud to be now telling you that i am back in the bright track.
Let me give you the executive summary. In August i grew too damned tired of the iPhone 5 and swapped it for an HTC One. Possibly the best (not i) phone there is out there. Then Samsung presented to the amazed masses the Gear. And i had to have this one. So i was forced to exchange the One for a Galaxy S4. And i was happy for some time. But (and this is a big but) the truth is that what the Gear (actually the Gear & Galaxy S4 combination) offered in terms of user experience was significantly less than what i was losing by not having an iPhone anymore. Sad but true, people.
Fact:
The iPhone still remains the best phone money can buy.
(Definition of phone: A device capable of making phonecalls, that can be easily handled onehandedly by an average sized person.)
For those of you still wondering, a phablet is not a phone. It is just some tech abomination Samsung came up with and yet miraculously people liked it. A cross between a phone and a tablet. A triumph of convergence over practicality. Still, many people seem to like phablets. Then again, i have actually met people who claim to enjoy eating this, so i rest my case.
Okay now that you have puked your guts, welcome back onboard. I am deeply sorry for what you went through by just looking a the "dish" on the left. So, again: A "look mom, no more hands available" slab of plastic with an LCD on top is not a phone. It is a God damned burden. Simple as that. In my book, at least.
The iPhone 5S
Where was i, now? Uhmmm, yeah, the iPhone. Yes people, my phone now is the iPhone 5S. I admit it is pig ugly, especially in the gold (desperately need to show off i have the latest model) variation. I have extensively elaborated on that in the past, so no need to repeat myself.
But it is lightning fast! The 64 bit architecture may or may not be something to write home about, but i am thinking it could be the first because other manufacturers seem to be ready to jump onto the 64 bit train as well.
The UI is what you have learned to expect from the latest iPhone: Smooth as butter, rather intuitive, pleasing on the eye. iOS 7 is old news so i will say no more on this one.
For people who want deeper control and parameterization over their iPhones the latest evasion jailbreak is out there available for every iDevice.
The 5S camera
The camera is fantastic. Let me explain:
Normal people do not carry DSLRs. Normal people take photos for fun. By fun i mean, take a photo without anticipating the next masterpiece. Usually it is "capture the moment" kind of stuff, so there is no time to wait for the perfect angle or light. Therefore, the vast majority of normal people does not mess with camera settings when trying to capture their buddy performing (once in a lifetime) a good skate move or their girlfriend laughing in the sun or a graffiti on the wall. They just want to press the damned button and have the photo, which will most likely never be printed but is rather likely to be uploaded to a social network or cloud service or sent to someone else.
Hear me manufacturers: Most people do not want to mess with a million little settings that have a huge impact on the final photo taken. They just want a camera phone that takes good photos with minimal fuss. And the iPhone 5S is the best there is right now. Point and tap. And the photo will deifinetely look at least very good. Not perfect, but who would sacrifice the time and frustration it takes for the small leap from 80% to 95% (photo quality) for a photo (s)he took just for the fun it?
One last thing about the 5S camera. There is a 120 fps slomo video option available. Yeah i know, it has been done before. Among others, the HTC One did slomo, as well as the Galaxy Note 3. But (and this is a HUGE but) on the 5S people tend to actually use this mode. You know why? Because all it takes is to swipe to the right when on the camera screen. Yeap. Whereas in the HTC One i knew it was there but never managed to gather the courage and/or patience required to dig through the menu and find the damned option.
The Apple way of things
This is the Apple philosophy people. iOS uses default settings for almost every little parameter that hardcore Android users struggle with, novice Android users just do not know where to find/what to choose (ignorance is bliss) and Windows Phone users are desperately trying to find (exercise in futility). However, Apple's default settings are indeed well thought and actually represent what the vast majority of normal people actually want. Then again, for the Apple loving propeller-heads (myself included) there is the jb process that allows them to tinker with their phones and get out of the "walled garden". At their own risk, of course.
For me it is actually very simple: If you want the best of both worlds, you get an iPhone and do a jailbreak the moment you open the box.
