The New iPhone Is Coming and I Don’t Want It, It’s been 14 months since Apple unveiled the iPhone 4. This radical redesign slathered the touchscreen phone in glass and metal. Despite Antennagate, the phone has been a hit. If you bought one, as I did, it’s likely a year old or less. That’s pretty fresh technology, isn’t it? Yet, I’m guessing that many of you are, like me, thinking about trading in your still shiny, still powerful, still effective phone for a new iPhone 5.
And why is that?
The gadget trade-up phenomenon is nothing new, but it always amazes me. In what other industry do consumers so readily turn in something that works just fine for something else that may work only incrementally better? Cars come to mind. People lease them, and then a few years into what is more or less a long-term car rental, they turn their car in for a newer model. Car technology doesn’t change that much in three years, but the consumer can get a completely different car. In other words, they can go from driving a sedan to, say, a convertible.
In the case of gadgets, three years would be a lifetime. The iPhone is only four years old and has gone through more than one major update. So perhaps that explains the urge to trade in, or maybe it doesn’t. Here’s what I think: Gadget owners don’t like to be left behind or to look like their handheld status symbol is in any way out of date. Everyone, it seems, knows about the iPhone 5 launch. If a few months from now you’re caught walking around with an iPhone 4, it could be a major gadget embarrassment.
For me, the knowledge a new iPhone is on the horizon induces a dual sense of fear and paranoia. I’m afraid if I do not jump to trade in my 2-month-old iPhone 4, I’ll be out of step with “The New” in technology. In my position, I can’t afford that. Paranoia comes into play when I see other people looking at me holding the iPhone 4. Mashable readers expect me to own the latest and greatest. Otherwise they may think less of me. At least that’s what I think they’re thinking when they look at me.
If I think about this rationally, the new iPhone 5 is not worth trading in my “old” one. Do I need a bigger screen that will make the perfectly-sized iPhone larger and more unwieldy in my pocket? No.
My iPhone is a peppy little device, so that new A5 chip doesn’t turn me on. The A4 CPU handles games and pretty much any task I throw at it with aplomb. What I could really use is all-day battery life, even when I use data for 12 hours. That doesn’t happen with the iPhone 4 and it won’t happen with the iPhone 5, either. If Apple CEO Tim Cook steps up this morning and announces a new battery technology, I may change my tune.
I like my iPhone’s 5-megapixel camera and have taken tons of great, fun shots and excellent 720 p video. When I want higher megapixel images, I pick up my Sony NEX-5 camera. It shoots 1080p, though I almost never shoot video at that resolution.
I love the look of my iPhone, so why do I need the teardrop shape? Will it change my life? No. Might I be more apt to drop the phone when I grab it by the skinny end? Yes.
What about The Assistant? That sounds awesome. I can speak to my phone, in natural language sentences, and it will respond with useful information and answers. If I say, “Where can I go to buy an iPhone 6?” It will gently explain to me that none are available in my area because the phone doesn’t exist yet.
Don’t forget that I can still get an upgrade of sorts simply by installing iOS 5 on my iPhone 4. I can get the deep Twitter integration (which I will love), iMessage will give me group messaging and more (through 3G and Wi-Fi), I can back up and restore via iCloud and, essentially, never connect my iPhone 4 to a PC again.
Put simply, I do not need the iPhone 5. My iPhone 4 makes me very happy. Seriously, I really don’t need a new phone. I’m happy with what I’ve got. Really. Truly.
Unrelated question: What are iPhone 4’s going for on eBay these days?
Don’t miss my live blog of the Apple iPhone announcement. It starts at 1 p.m. ET right here.
Top Searches: The New iPhone Is Coming and I Don’t Want It, iPhone History: The Story So Far [INFOGRAPHIC], iPhone 5 Release Countdown: Why New Apple Phone will Break Sales Records, iPhone 5 Scam: Fake Apple Announcement Email Leads to PC Virus [WARNING], iPhone 5S, Fake Apple Announcement Email, PC Virus, warning, No iPhone 5? Apple May Only Launch iPhone 4S, Apple iPhone 4S, Apple CDMA iPhone 4S, CDMA iPhone 5, Cook's time to shine with new Apple iPhone 5, Apple iPhone 5, iPhone 5: Here’s What It Might Look Like, iPhone 4S N94AP, Latest iPhone 5 Features, iPhone rumors, latest iPhone rumors, iPhone 4S, No iPhone 5, iPhone 5GS, Latest iPhone 4GS, Latest iPhone Photos, iPhone 5 Photos, iPhone 5 first look, how iPhone 5 Looks, Apple Announces iPhone Event for Oct 4, Let's Talk iPhone, Apple has officially confirmed iPhone Event, iPhone 5 Event on Oct 4 at Apple Campus Cupertino, iPhone 5 Event, Apple announce Let's talk iPhone, iPhone 5 Event will be in Apple Campus Cupertino, Breaking Long-Standing Tradition, Apple’s iPhone 5 event on Oct. 4, Want to play the iPhone 5 launch date game?, iPhone 5 Countdown: When Can You Actually Buy One?, News, Amazing, iPhone 5, Apple iPhone 5, Latest News of Apple iPhone 5, iPhone 5 Launch Date, Latest World News, Latest iPhone 5 News, Latest Apple News, Apple iPhone 5 Event, Apple coming event, Apple iPhone 5 event place, latest technology news, latest Apple news, iPhone 5 release on oct 4, iphone 5 launch on Oct 4, Apple Campus Cupertino, Apple Campus 2 Cupertino, Latest Apple iphone 5 news, latest USA News, Latest Canada News, Latest Singapore News, Latest UK News, iPhone 5 Countdown: When Can You Actually Buy One?, Apple annouce iPhone 5, iPhone 5 on Oct 04, iPhone 5 at Apple Campus Cupertino, Countdown begins, iPhone 5 Countdown, New Apple chief faces first test at iPhone 5 launch, As Tim Cook Prepares To Unveil iPhone 5, Apple's Tim Cook to Unveil iPhone 5 on October 4, New Apple CEO Tim Cook Will Introduce The iPhone 5 On October 4, Steve Jobs, Jobs not present iPhone 5, Silicon valley debut, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, iPhone, iPhone markets, iPhone 5 itunes, iPhone in asia markets, iPhone 5 in Asia, iPhone 5 in UK, iPhone US Market share, iPhone world market share, android, google smartphones, iPhone 5 launches, iPhone 5 in UK, iPhone 5 packages, iPhone 5 offers companies, App store, Apple Store, Apple release iPhone 5, Apple release iPhone 4S, iTunes releases iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 Breaks all records, Apple iOS 5, iPhone 5 with iOS 5, Twitter iPhone 5 News, iPhone 4S features, Latest features of iPhone 5, ROKR iTunes phone, infographic to reveal iPhone, iPhone complete history, iPhone infographic, Sony NEX-5, iCloud, iPhone 5 iCloud feature, iPhone 4S iCloud, iPhone 5 Car feature, iPhone 4S Car feature, Apple iPhone 5 wifi, A4 Chip, A5 Chip, announced, apple, apple iphone, AppleIphone, att, broadcast, broadcasting, cdma, cupertino, gsm, ios, ios 5, Ios5, iphone, iphone 4, iphone 4s, iphone 5, Iphone4, Iphone4s, Iphone5, keynote, lets talk iphone, LetsTalkIphone, live, live broadcast, liveblog, LiveBroadcast, mobilepostcross, smartphone, sprint, tim cook, TimCook, ustream, verizon, verizon wireless, VerizonWireless, video, vzw.
Source: mashable
