The iPhone 6 and 6+ Review: Are these bigger phones worth the (much) bigger price tag?

The iPhone 6 and the larger iPhone 6+ have been in user's hands for about 10 days now and the user reviews are starting to come in.

In user's hands: iPhone 6 (L) and iPhone6+ (R)

To review, the new iPhones are larger (6= 4.7", 6+= 5.5") than the current iPhone 5s and are more in line with Android phone manufacturers who have been offering much more screen real estate for years now. Additionally, the new iPhones arrive with iOS8, a new camera and the ability to pay for your stuff using Near Field Communications technology and a great deal more.

Apple also claims the iPhones are the thinnest Apple phones ever, although I have always been puzzled as to why this claim is so important to their market. If it takes an extra millimeter to add a huge battery for a long life, I don't care- just get it done. But Apple has an obsession with thin, thin, thin and thinks everyone else does too. I don't think it's all that important, but apparently others do.

TechRadar extensively reviewed the phone recently and found it to be a better product all around, although they did criticize it for it's high price and average screen resolution. You can find the review here. Be warned- the review runs for twelve pages and is best viewed on a desktop or tablet as loading a new page every 45 seconds can get tedious.

Stephen Fry with his iPhone 6+ (I told you it was large!)
(courtesy: Gizmodo)

In more humorous vein, British funnyman Stephen Fry- long time and proud tech geek, Apple fan and commentator-  has written his take on the iPhone 6. It is very British with it's terms and lingo and slang, but his message is clear and delightful to read. Click here to go to it.

Will I get one of the bigger iPhone 6 siblings when the time comes to make that decision (March of next year)? I'm not sure...

I mean, my iPhone5 has been trouble-free and reliable for the past 18 months, but the way I use my smartphone doesn't necessarily mean I need a million apps, or one of the gazillion accessories available for the iPhone family. And the cost! Wow...

There's a lot of competition out there from Android and Windows phones and they're just going to get better every few months. So, when March arrives, I'm going to have to think a great deal about my next smartphone choice.

I can't wait.

The Galaxy S4- What's Next and Why the Name is a Bad Omen.

I don't know much about physics and what little I do know comes from watching "The Big Bang Theory". But, I do understand momentum and for business, momentum can be a powerful thing. For nearly the past decade, Apple has enjoyed that business momentum with the iPhone. For years, nothing the competition put out could touch it for looks, operational simplicity and elegance. It sold like crazy, with lines forming days before the debut of each iteration. But, lately, it seems Apple has slowed somewhat and the competition is even in many ways. In fact, the introduction of the iPhone5 was met with a thundering chorus of "meh". 

Hot or Not?
(technobuffalo.com)

But business, like momentum itself, cannot stand still and Samsung has been gaining on the company from Cupertino with offerings like the Galaxy Note 2, and the Galaxy S3. In fact, Samsung was one of the only cell phone makers to gain market share in the US during 2012. 

The S3 has been out for some time now and has established a reputation as a fast, easy to use Android based phone that many prefer to the iPhone itself. In the tech world, everything ages quickly and soon we can look forward to the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S4. And eerily enough, there is a group of fanboys out there drooling at the idea of this next generation of iPhone competition. In fact, CNET has started a very iPhone-like rumor roundup for the S4 and what it might have to battle the iPhone for smartphone supremacy in 2013. 

Is this leaked photo the next Galaxy S4? 

Some of the rumors include a 5 inch screen, wireless charging and a 13(!) megpixel camera. 

For the latest on the S4, go to CNET's Galaxy S4 Rumor Roundup here. 

To find out the cultural reason the S4 may not be called the S4, read the Digital Trends post at their site here. 

The momentum is building for Samsung right now and the impending introduction of the S4- rumored to be this April- only means more attention for Samsung, and at Apple's expense. 

However, funny thing about momentum- it can shift direction instantly and Apple is working hard to see that it rolls toward Silicon Valley again ASAP. Competition is a great thing and when it heats up like this, the winners are the consumers like you and me. 

And Now for Something Completely Different (from the iPhone)- the Nokia Lumina 920 Review

People are sheep. Even though we'd all like to think we're rugged individualists and our own person, fact is, most of us are not so unique, very different or like to move away from the middle ground. 

The same goes for smart phones. I asked my mother why she bought an iPhone. Her answer was as revealing as it was unsurprising, "Because that's what everyone else has." She felt safe making that choice.

And that's the issue for some people when it comes to smartphones. Many don't want the same phone everyone else has. While they do want a powerful, capable device able to perform all the functions of an iPhone, they seek out the different, the unusual and the unique. Even the Android operating system is not enough for these trailblazers- they're looking for a more out-there solution without sacrificing all of the conveniences the mainstream phones offer. 

For many, the Nokia Lumina 920 offers them the opportunity to use a robust, powerful and creative operating system while still rebelling against the mainstream user base. The secret is, though, that the 920 uses an operating system from the most mainstream of tech companies- Microsoft. The flagship of the Microsoft Windows Phone 8 system, the Lumina 920 is the equal of any of the top tier offerings from Apple or any of the Android phone makers. Available in a rainbow of bright, "look at me!" colors, the 920 seems tailor made for those who seek out different choices for themselves. 

For the rebel in all of us, the Nokia Lumina 920
(courtesy: telegraph.co.uk)

Neither light nor thin, the Lumina 920 nevertheless surprises with its square but rounded shape and big bright screen. Battery life seems to be average, but I think that most of use have learned to plug in and charge at any opportunity by this point in the tech evolution of the cellphone regardless of manufacturer. The camera is a delight with vibrant colors, a fast shutter and the ability to easily share your life with others. Slashgear.com did a full review and their look at this different offering can be found by clicking here.

There has been grumblings online with some complaining that the WP8 system offers "only" 100,000 apps. Over time, I have found that I tend to use the same 8-10 apps over and over again only adding one or removing one here or there occasionally, so I find this complaint to be unfounded and silly. All of the major OS's have tens of thousands of apps none of us will ever want, need or use. 

So which OS do you get? Go for the Apple OS and get 1,000,000 apps and all of the accessories available anywhere? Go Android and feel safe and snug? Or do you feel like a rebel and want to have some thing no one else does? 

If the answer is the Nokia Lumina 920, you might still be a sheep in some ways, but you'd be the one with a Mohawk.