TO UPGRADE TO THE NEW IPHONE5, OR NOT?

Check out my Tech Talk segment today on Sunday Morning News on whether to upgrade to the new iPhone5: http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/video/tech+talk/video.html?v=2279853272&p=1&s=dd#newscasts

Well folks, you have had several days to read the first
impressions on Apple’s new iPhone5. I like the idea of a new cool gadget not
being available the same day it is announced. It gives you a chance to mull
things over and make better common sense buy

ing decisions.

Should you rush out to get the iPhone5? In a nutshell, no. In
fact, I would advise you not pre-order the phone. Hey, what’s a week or two of
wisely weighing your decision compared to forking out more money for a new
phone you may not need that soon.

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Let me share a few thoughts for iPhone4 and 4s users thinking
of upgrading to the iPhone5.

-Cellcos, don’t make a lot of money on an iPhone sale. It’s selling
you a phone plan, especially a new one, that makes their business worthwhile. Consider
the cost of paying off your current phone on your current plan. Cellcos vary on
their buyout policy, but TELUS, for example, will ask you for the remaining
balance of only the phone cost (figure between $12-$14 per month remaining on a
three year plan) and start a new plan with your iPhone5.

-Buy at the Apple Store or subscribe to a Cellco plan? It’s
not a cheap phone; in today’s competitive environment, the big cellcos basically
give you an advance interest-free subsidy, absorbed in the monthly plan. TELUS
will unlock your iPhone after 90 days so you could run it on other networks, if
you choose. The Apple store sells you an unlocked phone , but you have to pay
for it upfront. As long as you commit to a cellco, it’s a good deal. Do the
math.

-Save yourself some money and settle for a 32GB or even 16GB
iPhone. Surely, unless your need to carry your entire digital life in your
palm, a 64 GB iPhone (or iPad) is money from your pocket to Apple shareholders.

-I admire Apple for their thoughtful, well planned and
superbly engineered iPhones. They now are the only company whose 2^nd
and possibly 3^rd generation phone beats out many of the newest
models from competitors. This means that the discounted iPhone4s is the best
deal for a new phone to get into, if it’s your first time or holding on to it
for now. The larger (not much larger) screen of the iPhone5 is nice, thinner, but
the still industry-wide sharpest Retina display of the iPhone4, 4s are almost the
same width  and the extra height allows
room for one more row of icons. The iPhone4s industry-wide 8 megapixel camera and
hugely improved upcoming iOS 6 still make it a winner. The iPhone4 battery is
at par with the “improved” iPhone5 battery. Video is same quality

-The LTE capable iPhone5 is nice, but has two drawbacks. Superspeed
LTE doesn’t work everywhere, is still not in all majour cities from all Cellco,
is not constantly fast in any city and will make you use more data as the new
download speeds are addictive. For the budget conscious, it’s time versus
money.