iPhone 5

[ManxSeagull]

Yeah looks like a steady hand and some trimming is the way forward. It is getting worryingly close to the chip though so risk of slipping when cutting and killing the sim card.

So you get a free game with the new phone called 'cut my sim'

 

[Aadam]

It's a curious one - I'm not sure how this is going to play out for the majority of folk who will walk into an Apple Store to buy a new iPhone to replace their 4/4s and be in possession of an existing Micro SIM they wish to use.

Could Apple give you some sort of generic Nano SIM that you then tell your network about and they port your account over to it? I don't know how this stuff works.

When I switched to a micro-sim I had to get o2 to transfer my number to the new simcard. Would imagine it's the same thing here.

 

[Bozza]

So you get a free game with the new phone called 'cut my sim'

It's what GiffGaff users have to do.

I bodged mine quite badly meaning when I have to reinsert my SIM - as I had to do when Apple swapped phones for me a few weeks back - it takes me quite a few tries to get the iPhone to recognise it. If I have to reduce it some more, it will probably be better. Sandpaper/nail file might be the way forward!

 

[ManxSeagull]

It's what GiffGaff users have to do.

I thought GifGaff supplied microsim cards. I recall ordering some for all of us last year (I think they were micro), but they didnt arrive until after we had left the Island so I purchased pay as you go with free data on O2 from Carphone Warehouse.

We get charged £1.50 per MB for data useage whilst off the Island (UK). We are treated as roaming anywhere off the Island and gets quite expensive. OK it is a work phone but need to be sensible about costs, wife and daughters bill I have to pay though

 

[beorhthelm]

What is the POINT of making a simcard the size of a flea ? Its not like the existing simcards are CUMBERSOME is it ?

i cant fathom it. the surface area remains the same so theres no change to the actual phone interface and its size. its not as if they need to reduce size anyway, phones are getting bigger if anything as they accomodate larger screens. it offers Apple's prefered network partners a small degree of lockin for a few months until the new form factor is available elsewhere.

but really, its just a little kick from Apple to tell everyone they are in charge, we want to change this, so we're changing it. they've always loved proprietary stuff.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

i cant fathom it. the surface area remains the same so theres no change to the actual phone interface and its size. its not as if they need to reduce size anyway, phones are getting bigger if anything as they accomodate larger screens. it offers Apple's prefered network partners a small degree of lockin for a few months until the new form factor is available elsewhere.

but really, its just a little kick from Apple to tell everyone they are in charge, we want to change this, so we're changing it. they've always loved proprietary stuff.

Surely any extra millimeter of space saved is better?

 

[beorhthelm]

Surely any extra millimeter of space saved is better?

for what? have a look where your SIM is, what on earth are they going to do with the mm saved? it's usually located in a dead space anyway, just occupying a hole in the plastic between battery and circuitry.

 

[Superphil]

for what? have a look where your SIM is, what on earth are they going to do with the mm saved? it's usually located in a dead space anyway, just occupying a hole in the plastic between battery and circuitry.

You'd think they might find a space for a micro SD card too.

 

[Colossal Squid]

You'd think they might find a space for a micro SD card too.

Here here.

I'm very seriously thinking about getting the new iPhone when it's launched (and readily available), going the Bozza route of buying it direct from Apple. However the lack of expandable storage frustrates me, as does not being able to swap the battery out.

I'm in a stupid situation at the moment where I actually have three phones all in use and I am just waiting to see if this iPhone is everything I want it to be before trading in the 4, the Nokia and the HTC and going 100% Apple. Trouble is, no matter what they do, one thing that won't be improved is the battery life. You know it won't last a day of heavy use and if you can't swap batteries then you have to accept that you will, on occasion, be completely without phone/mp3 player/life sorter outer etc.

 

[Drumstick]

Just get a 32gb plus like I have had no issues, regards battery if your smart turn off bluetooth/wifi if your not using them etc I've not had an issue. Besides don't like the idea of having to carry a spare battery anyway.

I guess you could get a car charger and charge it on the go to, also can't you get those battery saving app things?

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Here here.

I'm very seriously thinking about getting the new iPhone when it's launched (and readily available), going the Bozza route of buying it direct from Apple. However the lack of expandable storage frustrates me, as does not being able to swap the battery out.

I'm in a stupid situation at the moment where I actually have three phones all in use and I am just waiting to see if this iPhone is everything I want it to be before trading in the 4, the Nokia and the HTC and going 100% Apple. Trouble is, no matter what they do, one thing that won't be improved is the battery life. You know it won't last a day of heavy use and if you can't swap batteries then you have to accept that you will, on occasion, be completely without phone/mp3 player/life sorter outer etc.

Not really. You can buy an external battery that charges the iPhone on the go. I used to have one for my iPhone 3G.

 

[Gary Leeds]

every mm of spaced saved on the circuit board means more components can be added to the board which can increase the functions on the phone. The processor could be slightly bigger meaning less heat meaning faster running speeds. This is the main reason the old connector has gone and been replaced with a smaller version and one of the reasons you wont see a micro sd slot (apart from Apple wanting everyone to have the 64gb or 128gb version).

The increase in overall phone size has allowed them to cram a lot more in as well including a bigger battery meaning longer life

The Nano sim cards are the smallest they can be without reducing the size of the chip itself so yes careful use of a nail file will work. For those worried about wrecking their new sim card from giff gaff I would go out and buy a couple of cheap cards (think tescos were doing them for 9p at one point) and have a practice on them. If you see metal between the plastic then you have gone too far

 

[beorhthelm]

every mm of spaced saved on the circuit board means more components can be added...

as the americans likes to say, someones been drinking the koolaid. the processor package size is determined by the number of pins you need to expose from the actual processor (which is probably about 1cm x 1cm.). bigger processors do not mean less heat, dont know where you got that from (maybe surface area).

the old connector is replaced so that Apple can licence the eco-system of peripherals, thus making more money. it would take a few mm on the edge of the board and case and i venture that space will not be used by anything. theres no SD card slot because they want to drive you to larger memory with larger profit margin or using thier cloud based services, thus making more money. again the space saved is a couple of mm on the edge of the board and case.

the fact the size of the SIM chip itself and its connectors for that on the board is unchanged should show this space saving thing is a load of bollocks. if you look up the main baord PCB of an iphone, you'll see its already pretty small, leaving loads of space inside the case which is determined by screen size. smaller phones manage both SD and full size SIM cards, Apple could if they chose to.

 

[Superphil]

I'm going to the USA in 3 weeks, if I buy an iPhone there, is there any reason it won't work here?

 

[BeardyChops]

 

[Bozza]

I'm going to the USA in 3 weeks, if I buy an iPhone there, is there any reason it won't work here?

It would be fine.

However you may struggle, and not just because they'll be generally hard to get hold of. I think when iPhone 4s came out in the US, you could only get it with a contract for a while before it came available SIM free.

 

[Superphil]

It would be fine.

However you may struggle, and not just because they'll be generally hard to get hold of. I think when iPhone 4s came out in the US, you could only get it with a contract for a while before it came available SIM free.

Thanks Bozza, I shall keep fingers crossed then.

 

[Falkor]

Just seen I phones profit on each phone a whopping £323.

Makes me want to say get stuffed really.

Pay the people that make them £1.12 an hour

not the nicest of companies really considering the profit they make each year of £108 billion

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Just seen I phones profit on each phone a whopping £323.

Makes me want to say get stuffed really.

Pay the people that make them £1.12 an hour

not the nicest of companies really considering the profit they make each year of £108 billion

Apple spends a huge amount on research and development, both for hardware and software. Does that figure take that into account?

 

[beorhthelm]

Just seen I phones profit on each phone a whopping £323.

thats a conservative number, if you use some estimates on the bill of materials cost you could add £50 to that and still have left over for transportation to UK. the competition is similar, CPUs, memory, screens, camera and manufacturing are all similar costs who ever the supplier.

Apple spends a huge amount on research and development, both for hardware and software. Does that figure take that into account?

no it wouldnt. no doubt they do spend a large nominal amount but i recall its considerably less than their peers. they got most thier OS for free, using the free BSD unix OS to underpin OS X and iOS. alot of the research occured under NeXT which Jobs ran while away from Apple through the 90's.