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Home > Loving my iPhone 5

Loving my iPhone 5

January 8th, 2013 at 05:59 pm

Why is an entry about an iPhone appropriate for a financial blog? Well, ultimately, everything we do has financial impact so why not. Besides, a device that simplifies your life and can even save you money definitely fits the topic.

Anyway, enough rationalization. I got an iPhone 3G in early 2009. At the time, I thought it was terrific. It could do all kinds of things - check email, get online, play games, take pictures, record video, etc.

The 3G had one major fault, though. It was agonizingly slow. Many of the apps available simply didn't live up to their potential usefulness because the phone was just too darn slow. Yes, it is nice to have a device in your pocket that can be phone, computer, camera, GPS, game player, movie viewer, and more, but if it is too slow to actually accomplish those things, it isn't quite as impressive.

Enter the iphone 5. I got this just before Christmas when WalMart cut the prices. A phone that is $199 everywhere else was $127 at WalMart. I was planning to upgrade anyway and that made the decision even easier.

This phone is GREAT! It is lightning fast and all of those apps that had great potential before have actually now become useful in the real world. I've even started seeking out new apps for specific tasks which is something I rarely did on the old phone. This week, I got a running log app to record my treadmill time. I also got an app called Money Monitor that I've started using to record all of my medical survey income. I used to do that with pen and paper in my datebook. Then at the end of each month, I had to manually add up the total for the month. Now, each time I get a payment, I enter it on the app and anytime I want, I can quickly see how much I've earned so far that month (or year to date as the year progresses).

Sorry to sound like an iPhone commercial but for anyone thinking about it, now is definitely the time to go for it, or upgrade if you have an older model like I did.

6 Responses to “Loving my iPhone 5”

  1. mjrube94 Says:
    1357676982

    That's great! I've had my iPhone 4 for 1 1/2 years. It allows me to be so efficient, particularly with my long commute to work (3 hrs round trip/day). My only beef is that the battery goes quickly when I'm on it non-stop.

  2. disneysteve Says:
    1357682228

    Is your commute in your car? If so, I hope you are keeping the phone plugged in while you're driving.

    I'm sure you know this but there are a lot of little things you can do to extend battery life. Turn the brightness down, turn off bluetooth, turn off location services, turn off push notifications, don't have e-mail update as often (or do it manually), etc. Make sure you are fully shutting down apps, not just closing them. That's a biggie apparently.

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1357703759

    My 3GS is still working pretty well for me. Sometimes it is slow for some apps, but mostly it works just fine. I thought long and hard about upgrading to the 5, but besides the cost of the phone, I would have had to get a car charger and a new cover ... and since my current phone is still working well, I'll just wait til it dies. Big Grin
    You might want to check out the GymPact app - pays you to work out! Smile

  4. disneysteve Says:
    1357781007

    There is a big difference between the 3G and the 3GS. Had I known that when I bought mine, I might not have gotten it. I would have splurged and gotten the 3GS. As of November, Apple stopped supporting any OS before 4.3. The 3G can't upgrade past OS 4.2.1. So once that support ended, apps began to stop working as developers did updates to their apps. Little by little over November and December, I lost the use of numerous apps, including at least a couple that I used very regularly. That was really the driving force to replace the 3G - forced obsolescence. If not for that, I'd probably still be using my 3G.

    As for accessories, that cost is minimal if you shop on Amazon. I got a new car charger cord for $2.45 with free shipping.

  5. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1357784676

    That's true about the iOS system. I guess if Apple stops supporting updates to the 3GS, I'll probably upgrade to maybe the 4S. It really does put a hamper on things when you don't have the latest iOS.

  6. Jerry Says:
    1358176117

    That leads to a pretty sterling endorsement in my mind. I will be needing a new phone when I start residency in a few months and I think that the iPhone 5 will probably get the nod (with the AppleCare insurance, as well, just in case). Thanks for the insights, doc!
    Jerry

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