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iPhone 5 Review: 'Fantastic Update'

Well, it's that time of year again. Lines have formed. Jealous (albeit refusing to admit to being so) Android users are attempting to get in their jabs. People are frantically checking out the status of their cell phone contracts, looking for their eligibility status. Yes, folks – the new iPhone is here!

After last year's somewhat lackluster release of the iPhone 4S, the rumor mill was churning extra hard this time around. Sure, we got Siri last year…and it spawned a huge collection of parodies which kept us entertained – but we were left wanting more. Some may argue the latest update to the highly sought after hardware was, again, a less than thrilling update…but the iPhone fans will mostly agree, the iPhone 5 is a fantastic update to their favorite handheld hardware.

I was one to set my alarm last Thursday for the 3 a.m. pre-sale release…and even though I paid for the middle of the night wake up call at work the following morning, it certainly beat standing in line for 6 hours like I've previously done. (ok, ok…I know it, I'm a fanboy) And the previous week of anticipation for my favorite delivery man in little brown shorts took me back to my childhood years, waiting to ravage the colorful boxes covered in bows underneath our holiday tree. I was visibly giddy, an unexplainable smile on my face all day. "It's new iPhone day!" I exclaimed, to every co-worker who would listen.

And so it arrived. I knew the drill…had iTunes fully updated, previous iPhone backed up and ready to be let out to pasture. I quickly dove right in, got the newly acquired companion who I will be spending the next 364 days hand-in-hand with turned on, plugged in and ready to go! The up front changes were immediately noticeable…the bigger screen, the lighter weight, the aluminum backing. It really is the sexiest looking phone to date – and gives off the polished, distinguished look you'd expect from the trendiest tech company known to man. After using the new phone for a few hours, some great improvements were noticed.

The speed is both the phone's processing is great – as is my new cellular LTE connection. The colors and contrast of the screen is amazing, and it's extremely impressive to see what sort of pictures this cell phone can create. The new panoramic pictures will definitely produce some fun – and interesting – shots.

At the end of the day, it's what we've grown to expect from Apple. Extremely polished, attractive and excellent functioning hardware. Sure, the naysayers will still find their ways to take digs on the iPhone 5 – as well as those people who line up to buy it – but at the end of the day, it's an astounding device. So whether you were one of the lucky ones to get a pre-order, fell victim to the "2 week shipment" curse, or a closet Apple fan still trying to defend your Evo…take it from this guy…the iPhone 5 is the real deal, and is – hands down – the best smart phone on the market.

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