iPhone 5 opens to critical and commercial success
Owners of the iPhone 5 and media outlets alike praise the product’s battery life, sleek design and speed, though several sources reported glitches in Apple’s map programming (Photo from apple.com).
By Abigail Lovell, Editor-in-Chief
Apple reported record-breaking sales of the iPhone 5 on Monday morning following the product’s international release last Friday, Sept. 21. Apple announced that more than five million of the iPhone 5 were sold over the three-day weekend; comparatively, the 4S sold four million units in the same length of time following its opening to the public in October of 2011.
The arrival of the iPhone 5 to Apple stores worldwide ended months of frenzied anticipation among fans of the iconic smartphone. The scene surrounding Apple stores in the United States and abroad Friday morning recalled memories of the lines that wrapped for blocks before the release of the iPhone 4S in 2011. Intense expectation and speculation are by now standard fare for Apple, the global brand behind the MacBook and the iPod.
The iPhone 5, a larger and lighter version of the smartphone than its five predecessors, boasts a four-inch screen, LTE wireless technology intended to quicken data connection and improved battery power, according to the Apple web page. The latest iPhone weighs in 20 percent lighter than Apple’s 4S at 112 grams and measures only 7.6 millimeters in thickness. New additions to iPhone software include HD video recording and Passbook, a virtual storage unit for boarding passes, gift cards and movie tickets, for example. Apple also replaced the existing Google Maps feature with a map service designed entirely by Apple techs.
Owners of the iPhone 5 and media outlets alike praised the product’s battery life, sleek design and speed, though several sources reported glitches in Apple’s map programming; the corporation responded with admission that the service is a work-in-progress. The “bottom line,” according to ABC News, remains that the iPhone 5 “is hands-down the best smartphone for the masses.”
