The iPhone 5.
The whole thing is a little taller, a little faster, and now has the 4G
they should have added a year ago.
But with the competition from Google and
Microsoft, itÃ?Â?s surprising that Apple didnÃ?Â?t raise the stakes a little higher.
So what would have put the iPhone 5 over the top?
IÃ?Â?m Donald Bell, and in this
episode of Top 5 weÃ?Â?re looking at the top 5 features missing from the iPhone 5.
5.
NFC
Starting off at #5: NFC.
Near-field communication.
The ability to use your phone
to make a payment, share photos, or launch an app, all by placing the phone
over a sensor.
ItÃ?Â?s like magic, and I thought Apple was all about the magic.
They
could have gotten out in front of this thing, but instead theyÃ?Â?re just sitting back
watching Android fans rub on each other.
Ewww.
4.
Higher capacity
At #4: higher capacity.
Tim Cook said that AppleÃ?Â?s average customer is using
more than 100 apps.
You add that up with 1080p camcorder, music, photos, and
HD movie downloads, and youÃ?Â?re going to max out that iPhone pretty quick.
They
DO know that The Hobbit is coming out, right?
What self respecting nerd isnÃ?Â?t
going to download that to their phone?
Give us a 128GB model, or for heavenÃ?Â?s
sake, put a microSD card slot on there.
3.
Biometric security
Coming in at #3: biometric security.
Now hereÃ?Â?s a feature that really could have
differentiated the iPhone.
Instead of unlocking your phone with a swipe or a
password, you have it read your fingerprint.
Apple spent $360 million this year to
acquire a company that specialized in exactly this kind of fingerprint scanning, so
itÃ?Â?s just a matter of time.
It just would have been cool if that time was now.
2.
Wireless charging
At #2: wireless charging.
This is a feature thatÃ?Â?s becoming much more common
on smartphones.
You walk in the door and plop your phone down on a little
charging plate and go on with your life.
ItÃ?Â?s the kind of elegant, uncluttered
solution that seems so totally Apple, but they so totally missed it.
Interstitial: #1 feature we didnÃ?Â?t want on the iPhone 5: Lightning port!
Speaking of charging, before we get to #1 letÃ?Â?s take a minute to recognize the
worst feature included on the iPhone 5: the new Lightning port.
What an utterly
pointless new feature.
Aside from the fact that itÃ?Â?s smaller, it adds nothing to the
phone and breaks compatibility with EVERY DOCKING ACCESSORY EVER
MADE!
Even the adapter just looks like a big fat middle finger from Apple.
1.
Significantly better battery life
Alright, and now the #1 feature missing from the iPhone 5: better battery life.
I
know itÃ?Â?s a little better using some metrics, and it probably required a miracle of
engineering to make a 4G phone this thin without hacking the battery life down to
minutes.
But who said we wanted a phone this thin?
I donÃ?Â?t care if my phone has
some junk in the trunk.
Just give me more battery so I donÃ?Â?t have to go running
for that idiotic Lightning cable.
(Sigh)
So there you go, all the features that should have been in the iPhone 5.
But donÃ?Â?t
let my negativity get to you.
ThereÃ?Â?s still plenty to love about this smartphone.
For
the full rundown, check out CNETÃ?Â?s iPhone 5 review over at Phones.
CNET.com.
And for more Top 5s like this, head over to Top5.
CNET.com.
IÃ?Â?m Donald Bell, thanks for watching.
