Apple has really done something about the break-ability factor.

Another iPhone 5 Drop Text

<blockquote>
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney scheduled a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser at the home of Phil Frost, the executive of the company that makes the Morning After Pill, on Wednesday night. Plan B One-Step is produced by Teva Pharmaceuticals, Frost’s company.
The <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/0516/Mitt-Romney-raising-money-at-home-of-morning-after-pill-exec">pharmaceutical executive’s residence</a> was one of several stops scheduled to <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/romney-fund-raiser-in-curious-location.html">increase Romney’s war chest</a> during a two-day swing through Florida.
</blockquote>
We've got ourselves a winner right here, I'm telling you what. I think this picture is appropriate.
<img src="/images/uploads/1436/mitt-romney__560.jpg" alt="">

Ben Johnson on LifeSiteNews.com

Your 'Pro-Life' Candidate

<blockquote>
Apple understands timeless design and that’s part of what makes them such an iconic and successful company. Believe me when I tell you, the Galaxy SIII’s design will be laughable in 10 years*.
-
*I think it’s laughable right now, but that’s a post for another day.
</blockquote>
I couldn't agree more.

Alex Arena

It Looks the Same

<blockquote>
The iPhone 5 had the highest first-day sales of any iPhone model yet, <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-first-day-pre-orders-of-iphone-5-top-2m/">hitting 2 million</a>.
</blockquote>
Absolutely stunning.

Gigaom

How Impressive Are iPhone 5 Sales?

<blockquote>
If you’re down in the dumps about not being able to buy the iPhone 5 right now, we have the most amazing solution you’ve ever seen. It’s the Magical iPhone 4 Life Extension sticker. Basically it’s just a sticker that makes your iPhone 4/4S look like the two-toned back plate of an iPhone 5.
</blockquote>
I have way too much class for this, but it's still funny.
<img src="/images/blog/2012/09/19/iphone-5-sticker.jpg" alt="iphone-5-sticker">

Cult of Mac

Make Your iPhone 4 and 4S Look New

<blockquote>
The Republican-majority House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $1.047 trillion bill funding the federal government through March 2013 that will permit funding for Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare--including the regulation that took effect on Aug. 1 that will require virtually all health plans in the United States to cover, without fees or co-pay, sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that induce abortions.
The vote was 329-91, and the bill now goes to the Senate for expected approval next week.
</blockquote>
...
<blockquote>
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who supports the CR along with the GOP House leadership, earlier this year described the health insurance mandate as an “unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country” and a violation of the First Amendment protecting the free exercise of religion.
</blockquote>
(emphasis in quote above is mine)
<blockquote>
The CR is a product of a deal announced in July between House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to extend federal spending past both the November election and the following lame-duck session of Congress.
</blockquote>
Remind me, what are we conserving?

Matt Cover, CNS News

Your 'Conservative' Party

Believe it or not, there is actually a very good reason for it.
<blockquote>
So why does Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy S III, a 4G LTE phone, juggle calls and data? Samsung added an extra antenna so that it pulls data from the 4G LTE network at the same time that it’s using another antenna to do voice, said Anand Shimpi, editor in chief of AnandTech.
Then why didn’t Apple add another antenna? Its phone already has two antennas in an effort to improve reception, and it would have had to add a third antenna just for Verizon and Sprint phones to give them simultaneous data and calls, Mr. Shimpi explained. Leaving that third antenna out allows Apple to simplify the process of manufacturing the iPhone for multiple carriers. Plus, in the next two years, 4G LTE technology is supposed to evolve to support voice calls, which would render another antenna unnecessary.
</blockquote>
That's actually a bit over-simplified. The iPhone 5 is using a single, custom designed cellular chipset. This chip handles all the cellular radio needs of the phone, CDMA/EV-DO/LTE in the case of Verizon and Sprint, GSM/EDGE/UMTS/LTE in the case of the AT&#x26;T model. This chip can only be in one radio mode at a time. Currently none of the carriers support VoLTE (Voice over LTE) on their young and evolving LTE networks. In order to make a call on the Verizon/Sprint model, the chip must be in CDMA mode, which as we know does not support simultaneous voice and data. To make a call on the AT&#x26;T model, the chip must be in either GSM or UMTS mode. If you are in a 3G/UMTS area, you will have simultaneous voice and data on the UMTS network. Note that on either network, you cannot use LTE while on a call.
Also note the situation with Verizon/Sprint CDMA is not like the situation with AT&#x26;T's GSM/EDGE (2G) network where incoming calls would simply be directed to voicemail when data was being used. Incoming calls will interrupt your data session and you can choose to answer or ignore and go back to using data. I still maintain that the simultaneous voice and data is not the killer feature people think it is. I have that capability on my current AT&#x26;T iPhone of course, and I use it so rarely that I don't care about the feature.

Brian X. Chen

No Simultaneous Voice and Data for CDMA/LTE iPhone 5

<blockquote>
Three things to think about for whether or not a gadget, app, or any other product is worth your continued investment of use and money:
<ol>
<li>Do you actually use it?</li>
<li>Do you like to use it?</li>
<li>Is the company who makes it trying to make it better for you?</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
Good questions.

Shawn Blanc

Shawn Blanc's Three Things


<blockquote>
We <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2012/09/13/iphone-5-announcement-analysis-disappointing/">recently wrote</a> that following all the leaks and rumors leading up to the <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/iphone-5">iPhone 5</a> unveiling, the only thing more predictable than the new <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/iphone">iPhone</a> itself was people’s reactions to it. Well, the only thing even more predictable than response to the iPhone 5 was the fact that preorders would sell out quickly. <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/apple">Apple</a> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=AAPL">AAPL</a>) made preorders of its new iPhone available on apple.com at 3:01 a.m. EDT, 12:01 a.m. PDT and in less than one hour, the company’s initial stock of new iPhones for <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/verizon">Verizon Wireless</a> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=VZ">VZ</a>), <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/att">AT&#x26;T</a> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=T">T</a>) and <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/sprint">Sprint</a> (<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=S">S</a>) was depleted.
</blockquote>
So disappointing.

Zach Epstein writing at BGR

So 'Disappointing'

This is a comparison of the cites with LTE coverage.
Verizon:
<img src="http://buzzingpixel.com/?ACT=40&#x26;fid=90&#x26;d=1427&#x26;f=verizon__600.jpg" alt="">
AT&#x26;T:
<img src="http://buzzingpixel.com/?ACT=40&#x26;fid=90&#x26;d=1427&#x26;f=att__600.jpg" alt="">
Devastating.
Be sure to click through for the interactive part. You can hover over the cities and see the names.

CNN Money

Speaking of LTE Coverage

<blockquote>
If I stay with AT&#x26;T and purchase a 16 GB iPhone 5, it's going to cost me $450. If I cancel my account with AT&#x26;T, I will have to pay an ETF of $215 then purchase the 16 GB iPhone 5 on Verizon for $200. So ultimately, the cost to switch to Verizon is $415 (upgrade fees and activation fees aside).
So for $450 I can stay on AT&#x26;T with no LTE, or for $415 I can switch to Verizon and gain LTE. This is a no-brainer.
</blockquote>
This is a head scratcher to me. Obviously I'm not saying, and Leanna is not saying that she is entitled to some sort of discount from AT&#x26;T, but simply that they have in the past offered this to early iPhone upgraders to keep them happy. It seems like a really bad decision to make iPhone owners upset right now, and particularly to make the early termination fee work out so that it's a little cheaper to pay the fee and go to Verizon than to pay the fee and stay with AT&#x26;T.
The reason it is particularly head scratching is because AT&#x26;T is not in a good position to be angering it's LTE iPhone customers. Verizon is ahead of AT&#x26;T on LTE roll out so far right now that it's laughable. I think they may want to re-think this strategy for customer retention.

Leanna Lofte writing at iMore

AT&T Doesn't Want Leanna As A Customer


<blockquote>
Lost amongst the angst and howls of those for whom design is an appearance thing -- for whom ever more giant, creaky, plastic phones that are gray one year and blue the next, that are thin on one end and humped on the other, that sacrifice pixel quality for size, and consistency and cohesiveness for feature creep, are innovation -- is the leap forward Ive and Apple are taking here.
The leap from iPhone 4S to iPhone 5 is no less significant or impressive than the leap from the original MacBook Pro to the Unibody. In both cases, the end result bore familiarity of form, but was lightyears ahead in terms of process and results.
</blockquote>
Yep. Go read it.

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